Top News:
Kiyoshi Takenaka / Reuters:
Sony buys ~$320M of shares in Japanese media powerhouse Kadokawa, which owns FromSoftware, taking its stake to ~10% and becoming Kadokawa's top shareholder — Sony Group (6758.T) said on Thursday it will invest about 50 billion yen ($320 million) to acquire new shares of Kadokawa (9468.T) …
Discussion:
Comic Book, @ssstylishhuntr, @cattheplayed11, @jawmuncher, The Verge, Agence France-Presse, @madcap412, Eurogamer.net, Newsweek, @_nixne, @playstationsize, @naijeru03, Sony Group Portal, Gematsu, @gibbogame, Wccftech, @crylowe_, @hoeglaw, @stealth40k.bsky.social, Benzinga, r/Games, r/GamingLeaksAndRumours and r/PHGamers, more at Techmeme »
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James Batchelor / GamesIndustry.biz:
As part of Sony's Kadokawa investment, the companies plan to adapt Kadokawa's IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, and more — PlayStation firm will up existing stake to 10% for $318 million — News by James Batchelor Editor-in-chief
Discussion:
Screen Rant, Windows Central and @kujikawaii.bsky.social
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Semafor plans to launch an invite-only newsletter for CEOs, The CEO Signal, in January 2025, written by former FT US News Editor Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson — Numerous media outlets, looking for new lucrative lines of business, are pursuing newsletters and events aimed specifically at top executives.
Discussion:
@semaforben, @mediaevan, Semafor, @semafor, @semafor, @dcnorg and @katie_robertson
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years at the network; source: Fox offered him a new deal that he declined to accept and ultimately decided to leave — Neil Cavuto is leaving Fox News after 28 years at the network and will bid viewers farewell at the end of Your World Thursday afternoon, Mediaite has learned.
Graham Fraser / BBC:
Reporters Without Borders urges Apple to scrap Apple Intelligence's notification summaries after a BBC complaint said the feature created a misleading headline — A major journalism body has urged Apple to scrap its new generative AI feature after it created a misleading headline about a high-profile killing in the United States.
Discussion:
BGR, MacRumors, Reporters Without Borders and 9to5Mac
Leo Schwartz / Fortune:
Sources: CoinDesk owner Bullish removed an article on Tron founder Justin Sun after complaints from his team; editorial chair Matt Murray resigned on Dec. 16 — In late November, the leading crypto trade publication CoinDesk published a story about the latest antic by one of the industry's more outlandish figures.
Discussion:
@leomschwartz, @jeffjohnroberts, @leomschwartz, @bft.wtf, Talking Biz News and @bft.wtf
Robert Booth / The Guardian:
A coalition of newspapers, writers, movie producers, and others rejects UK's plans to create a copyright exemption for AI companies to train their models — Exclusive: Coalition of musicians, photographers and newspapers insist existing copyright laws must be respected
Discussion:
New Scientist, @tomkiehl, @ednewtonrex, @dominicyoung, @the_ipo, @ednewtonrex, @profbillmcguire and InPublishing, more at Techmeme »
S.E. Smith / The Verge:
A look at the quickly disappearing web, as digital decay and link rot erase all kinds of media; a Pew study says 38% of webpages accessible in 2013 are now gone — The internet is forever. But also, it isn't. What happens to our culture when websites start to vanish at random?
James Cridland / Podnews:
A look at TuneIn: top executive departures and mass layoffs since 2020, the service hasn't updated its podcast database since February 2024, and more — In December 2009, I visited Bill Moore, in an industrial estate north of Dallas TX. Bill was the founder of TuneIn - known at the time as RadioTime …
Discussion:
@james.crid.land
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
A look at NBCUniversal's push to increase revenue through live events and other “experiential” products tied to its famous shows and anchors like Wille Geist — Geist has interviewed 539 different celebrities and newsmakers during his tenure as Sunday host, and, on January 22 …
Discussion:
@dannygroner.bsky.social, @likesherlock17.bsky.social and @bristei
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Adam Mosseri teases an AI editing tool in Instagram powered by Meta's Movie Gen AI model to change outfits, backgrounds, and more in videos with a text prompt — Instagram is planning to introduce a generative AI editing feature next year that will allow users to “change nearly any aspect of your videos.”
Discussion:
Adam Mosseri on Instagram, @zuck@threads.net and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Reuters Institute:
An overview of key insights from the Reuters Institute's work on how 2024 shaped journalism, from the impact of AI to a decline in trust in news organizations — 2024 has been a difficult year for the profession, with journalists facing a decline in press freedom, new rounds of lay-offs …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @reutersinstitute.bsky.social and Nieman Lab