Top News:
Richard Lawler / The Verge:
Adam Mosseri says Meta is adding political content recommendations to Instagram and Threads; Threads' political content control setting will have three options — It's been nearly a year since Instagram and Threads defaulted to blocking recommendations of “political” content from accounts …
Discussion:
Meta, PhoneArena, @youcaughtscott.com, Wall Street Journal, @foolishowl@social.coop, Engadget, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, @dannygroner.bsky.social, @thebrianpenny@threads.net, @david_ingram@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @mosseri@threads.net, @jack_toohey@threads.net, @johndellaporta@threads.net, @broken.com, @mosseri@threads.net and 6abc, more at Techmeme »
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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko says Meta's moderation changes are “deeply troubling”, and Mastodon will take action on Threads accounts violating Mastodon's policies
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Meta revamping its content moderation systems with Community Notes is good, but Zuckerberg pretending it's about free speech is bad, and the timing is stupid
Discussion:
@rani.bsky.social, Beyond Search, The Future, Now and Then, The Atlantic, The Information, The Economist, Business Insider, Garbage Day, Write In Stone, @joshsternberg.com, Wired, Semafor, @karlbode.com, @mmasnick.bsky.social, Townhall, Just Security, Breitbart, GB News, Talking Points Memo, HotAir, Vox, Barron's Online, Popular Information, Axios and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
Pranav Dixit / Business Insider:
Audio: Meta told the International Fact-Checking Network that its US partnerships will end in March but Community Notes rollout is expected to take time
Discussion:
PR Daily, LifeNews.com, Hindustan Times, BGR, @mikeisaac, @joannag, @brianstelter.bsky.social, Pranav Dixit on LinkedIn and Poynter
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix says WWE's Monday Night Raw pulled in 4.9M views in the regions where it's distributed; VideoAmp: Raw averaged 2.6M US households on Netflix — The streamer's debut for the pro wrestling show pulls in more than double its 2024 average in household viewing.
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Variety, TVLine, The Wrap, Deadline, @prowrestletimes and About Netflix
Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat / Reuters:
Frank McCourt's Project Liberty says it made a formal bid to ByteDance to buy TikTok's US assets and keep the app alive without its current algorithm — Entrepreneur and former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt's Project Liberty and its consortium of partners in The People's Bid …
Discussion:
CNBC, The Information, Quartz, Marketplace, London Evening Standard, Project Liberty, PhoneArena, USA Today and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »
Business Insider:
Instagram ends a program that paid creators for ads placed between content on their profiles; Meta began testing the program in the US in 2022 — Instagram has ended a program that allowed creators to earn money from ads placed between content on their profiles, the company confirmed to Business Insider.
Discussion:
@simonowens.bsky.social
Max Tani / Semafor:
Memo: the deputy editor of The Root pressed writers to increase the number of stories they publish a day in part to “offset” a colleague's recent death — The Scoop — The staff of The Root spent the beginning of 2025 mourning the death of a colleague, Stephanie Holland …
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Disney says it has an estimated 157M global MAUs watching ad-supported content across its streaming services Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, including 112M US users — Disney said Wednesday it has an estimated 157 million global monthly active users watching ad-supported content across its streaming platforms — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+.
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon launches Amazon Retail Ad Service to let companies show ads in search results, product pages, and other areas of their site, initially in the US — Amazon has turned into an online ad juggernaut in recent years, with brands paying big bucks for premium placement on the retailer's websites.
Discussion:
Adweek, Ad Age and Retail Brew, more at Techmeme »
Tom Butts / TV Tech:
Hub Research: 66% of US TV consumers in December 2024 say they prefer to watch TV with ads in exchange for lower subscription costs, up from 58% in June 2021 — Annual survey finds two-thirds of viewers find advertising more tolerable than in on-demand programming
Discussion:
Next in Media
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Letterboxd, the cinephile social platform that has become an effective tool to promote independent films, hit 17M members in 2024, up from 11.4M in 2023 — Letterbox, the cinephile social platform that's become perhaps the most effective tool for independent film in a landscape where moviegoers …
Discussion:
Letterboxd and The Hollywood Reporter
Variety:
Los Angeles fires prompt cancellation of movie premieres and tapings of Jimmy Kimmel Live and After Midnight, and the Critics Choice Awards have been postponed — “Jimmy Kimmel Live” has been canceled Wednesday night, because of the fires that have been raging throughout Los Angeles since Tuesday, Variety has confirmed.
Discussion:
The Wrap, CNN, The Wrap, The Wrap, LateNighter, New York Daily News, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, Benzinga, Daily Mail, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Deadline, GoldDerby, Forbes, Just Jared and LateNighter
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Bauer Media Group subsidiary Bauer Radio agrees to acquire the northern European operations of American outdoor advertiser Clear Channel Outdoor for $625M — Bauer Radio Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Group, has agreed to acquire the northern European operations of American outdoor …
Discussion:
PR Newswire, RadioToday and The Media Leader
Ray Schultz / MediaPost:
Podcast publisher iHeartMedia and the NFL extend their partnership, with plans to debut new original podcasts and NFL Club shows each year as part of the deal — Podcast publisher iHeartMedia and the National Football League have extended their partnership, and are planning to create …
Discussion:
Deadline, RADIO ONLINE, Inside Radio and Radio & Television …
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