Mediagazer: Three media lawyers weigh in on Drake's lawsuit against UMG on claims of defamation and deceptive business practices; they doubt the suit will ever go to trial (Justin Curto/Vulture)

4:35 AM ET, January 18, 2025

Top News:

Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:

SCOTUS upholds the TikTok divest-or-ban law, says free speech rights must yield to concerns that Chinese control of the app creates a national-security risk — The Supreme Court upheld a law that threatens to shut down the wildly popular TikTok social media platform in the US as soon as Sunday …

Discussion: Supreme Court of the United States, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, CNBC, @realDonaldTrump …, The Guardian, The Verge, New York Daily News, Benzinga, US Department of Justice, Forbes, Washington Post, @brianstelter, Mediaite, @binarybits, Seth Berenzweig on LinkedIn, @danprimack, @fromedome, @scottnover, @jason_kint, @committeeonccp, @sarafischer, Tim Estes on LinkedIn, @kenklippenstein, Dan Cotter on LinkedIn, @pkafka, @mikesacksesq, @adamkovac, @mikesacksesq, @jason_kint, 9to5Mac, @sentomcotton, @pkafka, @danprimack, Associated Press, @maxschrems, @danielahanley, @kevinbankston, @saraeisen, @appcensorship, @matthewstoller, @mikesacksesq, @geiger_capital, @timsweeneyepic, @gzf.bsky.social, @tiktokpolicy, @adrianweckler, @mgsiegler, Social Media Today, Sky News, @mikesacksesq, @pitdesi, @rakeshsfnyc, @daveweigel, @adamkovac, Deseret News, @geoffreyfowler, Liviu Zidaru on LinkedIn, Rolling Stone, @mmasnick.bsky.social, New Republic, The Wrap, Daily Kos, @mattdpearce.com, Frank Poe on LinkedIn, @keithedwards@threads.net, @mattdpearce.com, @carnage4life.bsky.social, The Information, The Hill, NBC News, @jbillinson@threads.net, Mark Lemley on LinkedIn, Metro.co.uk, @paulgowder.bsky.social, @chancehmiller@threads.net, Adweek, @lucas.meyerperin.org, Fox Business, Pocket-lint, The Post Millennial, @trevor.bsky.social, Reuters, The Mirror, @caseynewton.bsky.social, @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social, 9to5Mac, The Wrap, Nikkei Asia, @ebakerwhite.bsky.social, The Independent, @willoremus.com, Newser, BBC, @atherton.bsky.social, @willoremus.com, NBC News, Financial Times, @mjsdc.bsky.social, @mjsdc.bsky.social, @mjsdc.bsky.social, Axios, Ad Age, RedState, CBS News, Just Jared and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

CNN:

Trump says he will “be making the decision” about TikTok and confirms he had a conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the app — The Supreme Court ruled Friday that a controversial ban on TikTok may take effect this weekend, rejecting an appeal from the popular app's owners …

The Hollywood Reporter:

A look at efforts by Meta, YouTube, Snap, X, and Substack to attract TikTok's 170M US creators and users; Substack is offering a $25K “TikTok Liberation Prize” — Tech giants like Meta and YouTube want to poach TikTokers, with Snapchat, X, Substack and others also planning efforts to coax them to their platforms.

Discussion: The Guardian, Forbes, Fast Company, Adweek, Advocate, Tubefilter, Glamour, The Verge, TVNewsCheck and Passionfruit, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Paramount execs held internal talks about settling a Trump lawsuit over a CBS interview with Kamala Harris, to avoid Paramount/Skydance merger hurdles — Paramount, owner of CBS, its namesake studio and several cable channels, has a major piece of business in front of the new administration …

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:

A Florida jury finds that CNN defamed a US Navy veteran in a 2021 report portraying him as illegally exploiting Afghans, awards the veteran $5M — Zachary Young alleged CNN defamed him in a report by chief security correspondent Alex Marquardt that said he operated in a “black market.”

Isaac Schorr / Mediaite:

Court documents show CNN's revenue dropped about $400M, or 18%, from 2021 to 2023; net income was $600M in 2021, $300M in 2022, and $400M in 2023 — Shortly after a Florida jury found that CNN had defamed Navy veteran Zachary Young and awarded Young $5 million in damages on Friday …

Discussion: New York Post, @josephwulfsohn, @josephwulfsohn, @thevaluesvoter.bsky.social, The Wrap, Reuters, Fox News and The Gateway Pundit

Matthew Belloni / Puck:

Netflix agrees to release Greta Gerwig's Narnia film in about 1,000 Imax theaters on Thanksgiving Day 2026 and to not stream it on Netflix until Christmas — Netflix has finally conceded to put the big-budget film on about 1,000 Imax screens over Thanksgiving as a streaming-theatrical hybrid …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Bluesky 2024 moderation report: Bluesky gained 23M+ users, its moderation team grew to ~100, and its moderation service received 6.48M reports, up 17x from 2023 — Bluesky on Friday published its moderation report for the past year, noting the sizable growth the social network experienced …

Discussion: Bluesky, MediaPost, @tslwhidbey.bsky.social and @sarahp.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Tyler Katzenberger / Politico:

UC Berkeley backs out of hosting a $125M partnership between CA lawmakers and Google to support local news, as its j-school wouldn't have power over the money — The university's journalism school will not host a proposed $125 million fund for California newsrooms, POLITICO has learned.

Discussion: @tylerkatzen and @davidclinchnews

Justin Curto / Vulture:

Three media lawyers weigh in on Drake's lawsuit against UMG on claims of defamation and deceptive business practices; they doubt the suit will ever go to trial — Rap fans weren't the only ones shocked by Drake's decision to sue Universal Music Group for releasing Kendrick Lamar's diss track “Not Like Us.”

Discussion: Bossip, Bloomberg, NPR, Above the Law, UPROXX, Billboard, The Daily Dot, Passionfruit, The Root, Oh No They Didn't!, Digital Music News, Lawyer Monthly, New Jersey Online and Vibe

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

The UK government unveils a £60M package to support creative sectors, and announces a new Soft Power Council to promote UK culture abroad and drive investment — The British government has unveiled a £60 million ($73 million) package to support growth across the creative sectors …

Discussion: The Guardian, Advanced Television, Broadband TV News, The Hollywood Reporter, GOV.UK and r/ukpolitics

New York Times:

Report: a Russian org linked to Kremlin's influence campaigns placed Facebook ads worth ~$338K over 15 months ending in October, despite EU and US restrictions — A new report details how a covert influence operation linked to the Kremlin continued to place ads on Facebook despite U.S …

Discussion: Raw Story, @SuffolkLITLab@esq.social, @erosalie@infosec.exchange and @paulbouchaud.com

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More News:

Edith Hancock / Wall Street Journal:
A group of 18 former European heads of state call on the EC to break up Google's advertising tech business, claiming it erodes Europe's media landscape

Discussion: TechRadar, more at Techmeme »

Katie Robertson / @katie_robertson:
Email: NYT Opinion chief Katie Kingsbury says columnists Pamela Paul and Charles Blow, writer Peter Coy, and Op-Docs editor Christine Kecher are leaving

Discussion: New York Magazine, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @charlotteclymer.bsky.social, @coreypein.bsky.social, @theferocity.bsky.social, @rajandelman.bsky.social, @ducksfortheduckgod …, @mcopelov.bsky.social, @svershbow.bsky.social and @esqueer.net

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Coldplay's biggest-ever Indian concert on January 26 will be streamed exclusively on Disney+ Hotstar, as the platform makes a move into live music content

Discussion: Reuters, @coldplay, Passionate In Marketing, Times of India, Indian Television Dot Com, Business Standard, The Indian Express, Business Today, Billboard and Advanced Television

Mohammed Taoheed / Global Investigative …:
Q&A with Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu, managing editor of HumAngle, a Nigerian investigative nonprofit founded in 2020, on the challenges of reporting in the region, more

Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost:
IAB: advertisers to cut media spending in 2025 vs. 2024 with no major events like the Olympics; 80% of buyers use generative AI for media planning or activation

Discussion: Adweek, Inside Radio, IAB, MarTech and TV Tech

Chris Roush / Talking Biz News:
Fortune tech correspondent Kali Hays has resigned; she previously worked at Business Insider, WWD, Law360, and more

Discussion: @kalihays1 and @cdylanparks@threads.net

Earlier Picks:

Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Prime Video says Beast Games, MrBeast's competition series, has attracted 50M viewers globally in its first 25 days; about half the viewing is outside the US

Discussion: Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @simonowens, Variety, Benzinga, PC Gamer, CBC News, Tubefilter, CBR, Forbes, The Wrap, Deadline and Variety

Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Meta's Community Notes won't apply to paid ads, but will be enabled for organic content, which includes brands' and influencers' unpromoted posts

Discussion: @patrickcoffee, @mediaevan, PR Daily, ICYMI, @liahaberman@threads.net, @liahaberman@threads.net, @sanjanah.bsky.social, Benzinga, Reuters and Florida Politics

ABA Journal:
The co-founder and publisher of SCOTUSblog, Tom Goldstein, faces tax evasion charges after an indictment filed in Maryland, citing events between 2016 and 2022

Discussion: Reuters, Above the Law, Associated Press, The Desk, Mediaite, CNBC, freebeacon.com, Election Law Blog, Law360, @joshuajfriedman.com, @joshuajfriedman.com and Reason

Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
JustWatch: Amazon Prime Video had 22% of US streaming market share in Q4 2024; Netflix, 21%; Max, 13%; Disney+, 12%; Hulu, 11%; Paramount+, 9%; Apple TV+, 7%

Discussion: @coulgirl.bsky.social and @neureka.bsky.social

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Trump plans to nominate Olivia Trusty, policy director for a US Senate committee, as the third Republican member of the FCC's five-person commission

Discussion: @realDonaldTrump …, @jdgrossman, @sayreevan, @mcdowelltweet, @tommjohnsonjr, @brendancarrfcc, TV Tech, RADIO ONLINE, TVNewsCheck, Fox Business, Inside Radio, Variety, Radio & Television …, @matthewkeys.net, Reuters, Deadline, Axios and MediaPost

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple disables notification summaries for News & Entertainment apps in iOS 18.3 beta and makes other changes to summaries, including using italicized text

From Techmeme:

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Tech stocks fall in late trading after President Trump announced new tariffs: Amazon drops as much as ~6%, Meta ~5%, Nvidia ~6%, Alphabet ~3%, and Microsoft ~3%

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Nintendo shares Switch 2 details: a 7.9", 120fps, 1080p display, 4K at 60fps when docked, a custom Nvidia processor, 256GB of storage, and a new Pro Controller

New York Times:
Sources: Amazon has put in a bid to acquire all of TikTok, but various parties involved do not appear to be taking it seriously, ahead of the April 5 deadline

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