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:
Adweek, @bobgeiger.bsky.social, 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, Twitchy, Townhall, @seanspicer, Columbia Journalism Review, @brianstelter, freebeacon.com, Reason, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Bulwark, Newsbusters, Fox News, @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
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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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
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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:
@kaitlancollins, Le Monde, Passionfruit, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Digital Music News, Washington Post, HotAir, @eggerdc, USA Today, KTVU-TV, CBS News, Engadget, Forbes, @atrupar, NBC Bay Area, TechCrunch, MarTech, Financial Times, @hannahbrandt_tv, Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg, Variety, @jdbunchanumbers.bsky.social, @macfarlanenews, SCOTUSblog, @mattschett, Associated Press, Adweek, The Gateway Pundit, Semafor, The Verge, Deadline, Election Law Blog, MediaPost and Capital Brief, more at Techmeme »
Danielle Kaye / New York Times:
Ozy Media co-founder Carlos Watson is sentenced to almost 10 years in prison for trying to defraud investors and lenders by lying about the company'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:
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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:
The Wrap, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Alternet.org, KVIA-TV, Puck, Deadline, CBS News, @richardhanania, @hadas_gold, @paulmotty.bsky.social, Daily Mail, @laurenbaratzl, @artcandee, Vanity Fair, @jhweissmann, KTVU-TV, @atrupar, HuffPost, New Republic, Daily Caller News Foundation, Raw Story, Twitchy, Breitbart, HuffPost, The Hill and Mediaite
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.
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:
Crikey, Mumbrella, AdNews News, news.com.au, The Guardian, ABC, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Capital Brief, Mediaweek, The Nightly, @railmaps.com.au, Sydney Morning Herald, @mediaanalystoz, @demwar.bsky.social, @ajgardineresq, @peterwmurphy1, @simonrosenberg.bsky.social, @halpocalypse.bsky.social, @petercronau, Australian Financial Review, Mumbrella, @belindajones68.bsky.social, Always Be Watching, @kieragorden, @timdunlop.bsky.social, @philmupp1, @kentparkskeet.bsky.social, @quentindempster, @shiannonc and @mcg63679777
Rachel Metz / Bloomberg:
OpenAI makes ChatGPT Search available to logged-in users, not just subscribers, and says they 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, The Verge, Digital Trends, TechCrunch and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
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, TechCrunch, Social Media Today, @zuck@threads.net, @tomwarrenuk@threads.net, @joshmcconnell@threads.net, @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 »
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
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Virgin Music Group, which is owned by UMG, strikes a deal to acquire Downtown Music Group Holdings for $775M, with the deal expected to close in H2 2025 — Downtown Music Group includes FUGA, Downtown Artist & Label Services, Curve Royalties and more. — Virgin Music Group …
Discussion:
Variety, Los Angeles Times, CMU, Billboard, Digital Music News, Music Ally, Reuters, Bloomberg and Music Business Worldwide
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:
Business Insider, Financial Times, acecomments.mu.nu, @theviewfromll2, @danielahorwitz.bsky.social, Alternet.org, @bradkleinnews, @pkafka, New York Magazine, Slate, 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, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Newser and @markzaidesq.bsky.social
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