Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos deactivated his account on X, where he had 2.3M+ followers, over the weekend after ABC News settled Trump's lawsuit — ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos deactivated his account on X, formerly Twitter, where he had more than 2.3 million followers.
Discussion:
@bobgeiger.bsky.social, Adweek, RedState, @taraemcg.bsky.social, Justin's Political Corner and Fox News
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Brian Stelter / CNN:
Some media lawyers say ABC had a good chance of beating Trump at trial, but risked severe reputational damage when internal emails are scrutinized in discovery
Discussion:
The Present Age, Fox News, The Intercept, Twitchy, Townhall, @seanspicer, Columbia Journalism Review, @brianstelter, freebeacon.com, Reason, Newsbusters, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Bulwark, @leslieclevin.bsky.social, Talking Points Memo, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @passantino.bsky.social, HuffPost, New York Post, PJ Media, NPR, Louder With Crowder, JONATHAN TURLEY, Daily Mail and The Moderate Voice
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
Amnesty International: Serbian authorities used phone hacking startup Cellebrite's tools to unlock a journalist's phone before infecting the device with malware — A new report from Amnesty International reveals multiple cases where Serbian authorities used Cellebrite devices …
CNN:
Syrian locals say a man filmed by CNN being released by rebels from a Damascus jail was a former intelligence officer with the deposed Syrian regime — A man who was filmed by CNN being released by rebels from a Damascus jail was a former intelligence officer with the deposed Syrian regime …
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Sean Craig / The Daily Beast:
Syrian fact-checking group Verify-Sy says that a Syrian man may have given CNN a “false identity” during a segment depicting his apparent release
Discussion:
Newser, @clarissaward, @clarissaward, RADAR, @jeremymbarr, @txp_rbi_xctuxl, @bfistein, @anfisasredbag, @yousefmunayyer, @kaitlancollins, @vinayaravind, @johnpopek2, @hardpass4, @markhertling, @lyse_mauvais, @nxthompson, @seamus_malek, @kareemrifai, @clarissaward, @sstrangio, @hannahmc_carthy, @is_not_brian, @progdirectorate, @uroojmk, @charlienash, @evanhill, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Blaze Media, New York Post, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Breitbart, New Republic, @charlienash, @lconecnn, The Daily Caller, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, RedState, The Post Millennial, Twitchy, freebeacon.com, @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social and The Wrap
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
DeepMind unveils Veo 2, a next-gen video-generating AI model that can create 2+ minute long clips in resolutions up to 4K, behind a waitlist as part of VideoFX — Google DeepMind, Google's flagship AI research lab, wants to beat OpenAI at the video generation game — and it might just, at least for a little while.
Discussion:
@conorgrennan, @bengeskin, @agrimgupta92, @gbarthmaron, @web3willbefree, @ai_for_success, @swyx, @rubenevillegas, @tkipf, @aravsrinivas, @tkipf, @angrypenguinpng, @ai_for_success, @googledeepmind, @sundarpichai, @rubenevillegas, @krishnanrohit, Engadget, @bilawalsidhu, @doomie, @rowancheung, @ada_rob, @matthewberman, @rpnickson, @sundarpichai, @hhm, @matthewberman, @thoughtlesslabs, @doomie, @dylanneve10, @doomie, MediaPost, @poolio, @drjwrae, @hhm, @diesol, @gbarthmaron, @_tim_brooks, @mayorkingai, @kimmonismus, @mattturck, @_tim_brooks, @doomie, The Verge, Benzinga, VentureBeat, 9to5Google, The Keyword, Fortune and Digital Trends, more at Techmeme »
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
YouTube is testing the ability for some US creators to reply to comments on their videos using voice notes in its iOS app — YouTube is experimenting with a new way to engage fans by giving creators the ability to post voice notes and reply to comments on their videos, the company announced on Monday.
Discussion:
Digital Music News and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
ByteDance asks SCOTUS to block the US law that could ban TikTok on January 19; when asked about the law, Trump says he has a “warm spot” in his heart for TikTok — The law will go into effect on Jan. 19 if the justices don't grant the company's request.
Discussion:
Reuters, @kaitlancollins, Washington Examiner, Digital Music News, Washington Post, HotAir, @eggerdc, KTVU-TV, CBS News, Engadget, @atrupar, NBC Bay Area, Le Monde, Financial Times, @hannahbrandt_tv, Bloomberg Law, Variety, @macfarlanenews, Forbes, @mattschett, Bloomberg, SCOTUSblog, MarTech, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, TechCrunch, USA Today, Passionfruit, @jdbunchanumbers.bsky.social, Associated Press, Semafor, Adweek, The Verge, Deadline and Election Law Blog, more at Techmeme »
Danielle Kaye / New York Times:
A US judge sentences Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson to almost 10 years in prison for trying to defraud investors and lenders by lying about Ozy's finances — A federal jury in July found Mr. Watson, who started the digital media company in 2013, guilty of trying to defraud investors and lenders.
Discussion:
Adweek, Bloomberg, Associated Press, @banikarim, @katie_robertson, Newser, Washington Post, The San Francisco Standard, @sherman4949, @shaanmerchant1, Mediaite, Reuters, @mediaevan, US Department of Justice, The Wrap, The Hill, @andrewfeinberg, NBC News, Inc.com, @paleofuture.bsky.social and San Diego Union-Tribune
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Memo: LAT opinion staff express concern over Soon-Shiong's new policy forcing editorials critical of Trump to be presented side-by-side with an opposing view — Patrick Soon-Shiong, the owner of the Los Angeles Times, has dismayed staffers as he curtails critical coverage of Donald Trump.
Hadas Gold / CNN:
Donald Trump says he plans to sue The Des Moines Register over its final poll of Iowa voters by Ann Selzer, saying he wants to “straighten out the press” — New York CNN — — President-elect Donald Trump had not been terribly successful in suing media organizations until …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Alternet.org, KVIA-TV, CBS News, @richardhanania, @hadas_gold, @paulmotty.bsky.social, Daily Mail, @laurenbaratzl, @artcandee, Vanity Fair, @jhweissmann, KTVU-TV, Puck, @atrupar, Deadline, HuffPost, New Republic, Daily Caller News Foundation, Raw Story, Twitchy, Breitbart and HuffPost
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Virgin Music Group, which is owned by UMG, agrees a deal to acquire Downtown Music Group Holdings for $775M, expected to close in H2 2025 — Downtown Music Group includes FUGA, Downtown Artist & Label Services, Curve Royalties and more. — Virgin Music Group, which is owned by Universal Music Group …
Discussion:
Variety, Los Angeles Times, CMU, Billboard, Digital Music News, Music Ally, Reuters, Bloomberg and Music Business Worldwide
Melissa Clarke / ABC:
Australia's ABC names former Nine CEO Hugh Marks as managing director, starting March 10, 2025; Marks oversaw the AU$4B merger of Nine and Fairfax Media in 2018 — In short: — The ABC's next managing director will be former Nine Entertainment chief executive Hugh Marks.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Crikey, Deadline, Mumbrella, ABC, Sydney Morning Herald, Capital Brief, Mediaweek, The Nightly, @railmaps.com.au, The Age, @mediaanalystoz, @ajgardineresq, @peterwmurphy1, @halpocalypse.bsky.social, AdNews News, @petercronau, Always Be Watching, @kieragorden, @philmupp1, @kentparkskeet.bsky.social, @quentindempster, @shiannonc, The Guardian, news.com.au, @mcg63679777, @timdunlop.bsky.social, @demwar.bsky.social, @belindajones68.bsky.social, Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, Mumbrella and @simonrosenberg.bsky.social
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads now has 100M+ DAUs, revealing its DAU figure for the first time, and 300M+ MAUs, up from 275M+ MAUs in November 2024 — It's a notable milestone not just because it's a big number; it's also the first time Meta has a daily active user figure publicly.
Discussion:
Engadget, @zuck@threads.net, Social Media Today, @tomwarrenuk@threads.net, @joshmcconnell@threads.net, TechCrunch, @tomwarren.co.uk, @sarahfrier@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @kurtwag8@threads.net, @richphoto.io@threads.net, @greenbaumly@threads.net, @noise.in.vacuum@threads.net and @jaypeters.net, more at Techmeme »
Rachel Metz / Bloomberg:
OpenAI makes ChatGPT Search available to logged-in users, not just subscribers, and says users can set ChatGPT Search as their browser's default search engine — The product, called ChatGPT Search, will be available to any user who is logged in with an account for the chatbot across …
Discussion:
Benzinga, @shuchaobi, @nearcyan, @openai, @dylanmcd8, @openai, @stevemoser, @kevinweil, @omooretweets, @snsf, @openai, @openai, Engadget, @gdb, 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
The NFL strikes a partnership with Betches Media, owned by LADbible parent LBG Media, to produce NFL content for millennial and Gen Z women — The NFL already has women fans. According to the league, this year's Super Bowl LVIII game had a record-breaking increase in female viewership …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing and Adweek
David Enrich / New York Times:
How Trump and his allies are using actual or threatened lawsuits to crack down on unfavorable media coverage, even before Trump moves back into the White House — The small flurry of threatened defamation suits is the latest sign that the incoming Trump administration appears poised …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Business Insider, acecomments.mu.nu, @theviewfromll2, @danielahorwitz.bsky.social, @bradkleinnews, @pkafka, New York Magazine, Slate, Alternet.org, Boing Boing, Daily Kos, Mediaite, PR Daily, HotAir, Digby's Hullabaloo, Talking Points Memo, @nastynatasha, @taraogrady.bsky.social, @jonathancohn.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, @passthesalty.bsky.social, @cdarwin@c.im, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @fridaghitis.bsky.social, @poniewozik.bsky.social, @ndhapple.bsky.social, @walterolson.bsky.social, @michaelmechanic.bsky.social, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @davidenrich.bsky.social, @mollyjongfast.bsky.social and @markzaidesq.bsky.social
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