Mediagazer: Instagram and Facebook, which blocked news links in Canada, are hosting hundreds of scam ads pretending to be from news outlets ahead of Canadian elections (Thomas Seal/Bloomberg)

1:55 PM ET, January 31, 2025

Top News:

Sources: Paramount is in talks with Donald Trump to settle his $10B 60 Minutes lawsuit, believing a deal would persuade Trump to not block its planned merger — A settlement, if reached, would be an extraordinary concession by a major U.S. media company to a sitting president.

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:

WBD and UK-based Cutting Edge Group strike a $1B+ deal to create a joint venture that will own and manage almost 100 years of film and television music — US company creates joint venture to own and manage almost 100 years of film and television music — Warner Bros Discovery has struck …

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter and Cutting Edge Group

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News after joining in 2007; in a memo, Chuck Todd said his podcast Chuck Toddcast would be “coming with me” — Chuck Todd, the former “Meet the Press” moderator, is leaving NBC News, he told colleagues in a memo issued Friday, a move he's making in order …

Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:

WhatsApp says it disrupted a campaign in which 90 journalists and other members of civil society were targeted using spyware from Israel-based Paragon — Messaging app said it had ‘high confidence’ some users were targeted and ‘possibly compromised’ by Paragon Solutions spyware

Discussion: Reuters, TechCrunch, Al Jazeera, Engadget, Bloomberg, @bing_chris, @natynettle, @malonebarry, @steffanwatkins, @taliajane.bsky.social, @fightforthefuture.org and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

The conservative news outlet The Dispatch is staffing up and expanding its ad business; the outlet has ~50K subs and generated between $5M-$10M in 2024 revenue — With a subscriber base of nearly 50,000, the center-right title is now taking a measured approach to building its ads business

Discussion: @simonowens and @markstenberg3

Alexander Lee / Digiday:

LinkedIn says short-form video is its fastest-growing content category, and total video viewership grew 36% YoY between October 30, 2024 and January 29, 2025 — LinkedIn's ongoing efforts to woo video creators paid off in the past few months, according to new figures shared by the company.

Discussion: Miranda Head on LinkedIn, Haley Deming on LinkedIn, @alexleewastaken and @trevorjd.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Adobe Chief Strategy Officer Scott Belsky leaves the company to join A24 film studio as a partner; he co-founded Behance, which Adobe acquired for $150M in 2012 — Belsky is an entrepreneur, author and creator who in 2006 founded Behance, an online platform that is used by more than 50 million professionals …

Discussion: The Adobe Blog, @scottbelsky, @dobata, @kayvz, @mignano, @om, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Bloomberg

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:

Instagram and Facebook, which blocked news links in Canada, are hosting hundreds of scam ads pretending to be from news outlets ahead of Canadian elections — - Images of public figures and billionaire used in fake ads — Bogus ads fuel foreign interference fear before election

Discussion: MobileSyrup

Tess Patton / The Wrap:

Over 25 streaming partners including Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix, and Prime Video simulcasted the FireAid fundraiser for Los Angeles, bypassing linear TV — Over 25 streaming partners will simulcast a mammoth five-and-a-half-hour FireAid benefit concert on Thursday to fundraise …

Paul Sonne / New York Times:

Experts say the Kremlin's throttling of YouTube is driving Russians to state-controlled platforms; Google data shows Russian traffic to YouTube is down ~66% YoY — The Kremlin is trying to cripple YouTube in Russia, internet experts say, pushing some people to state-controlled domestic alternatives.

Chase McCleary / Reposting vs. reporting:

How resident-run Facebook groups in Colorado are filling the void left by shuttered local newsrooms; in three counties, Facebook groups are the only news source — TRINIDAD, Colo. — “Trinidad is a Facebook town,” said Karen Jo (KJ) Agnello, the founder and moderator of The Voice of Trinidad …

Discussion: Sarah Stonbely, PhD on LinkedIn

Chris Stokel-Walker / Sherwood News:

How Robert Kennedy Jr. implementing his proposal to ban pharmaceutical ads on TV, if he is confirmed as HHS secretary, could reshape the advertising landscape — Pharmaceutical ads account for a huge chunk of TV ad revenue. If Kennedy is confirmed, he wants to ban them. — 2H

Discussion: @stokel.bsky.social and Mediaite

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More News:

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
The estate of Superman co-creator Joseph Shuster files a lawsuit alleging DC Comics' rights to Superman expired in 2017 and 2021 in UK, Canada, other markets

Discussion: Deadline

Zach Vallese / CNBC:
Cloudflare Radar: TikTok has nearly bounced back to its original traffic levels after usage fell 85% when the app temporarily shut down on January 19

Discussion: PR Daily, Sherwood News, ICYMI, The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Charter lost 123,000 video subscribers in Q4 vs. a decline of 257,000 in Q4 2023, ending 2024 with 12.9M total video customers, down ~9% from the end of 2023

Discussion: Light Reading, Benzinga, Bloomberg, TVNewsCheck, Charter Communications, Media Play News, @waltlightshed, @tvgrimreaper and The Hollywood Reporter

CNBC:
Apple Services revenue reached an all-time high of $26.34B in Q1, up 14% YoY, beating estimates and helping lift the company's gross margin to a record 46.9%

Kelsey Warner / Semafor:
Abu Dhabi's English-language newspaper The National laid off 28 journalists; sources: cuts included employees on the multimedia, digital, and foreign desks

Discussion: @msergie

Earlier Picks:

Reuters:
Sources: ITV has been holding early talks with Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI about a potential merger of their production businesses, ITV Studios and All3Media

Discussion: The Times, Variety, Yahoo Finance and Deadline

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Amazon is ramping up ad spending on X, as companies re-evaluate their stances in a changing political climate; source: Apple considers a return to X

Dade Hayes / Deadline:
SiriusXM reports Q4 revenue down 4% YoY to $2.19B, vs. $2.17B est., FY 2024 self-pay subscribers down by 296K, and 33M total subscribers at the end of 2024

Discussion: Billboard, Radio Ink, Music Ally, Inside Radio, Digital Music News, The Desk, Reuters, Benzinga, Advanced Television and Barrett Media

New York Times:
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr told CEOs of NPR and PBS that he had ordered a probe into whether member stations are airing commercial ads when they air sponsorships

Discussion: TV Tech, NPR, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Variety, @agomezfcc, NPR, Jay Ahuja on LinkedIn, RedState, ZeroHedge News, Inside Radio, @jordaneckerling.bsky.social, @thrasherxy.bsky.social, @stgael.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, New York Post, Newsbusters, @evangreer.bsky.social, @olivierrupert.bsky.social, Salon, The Bulwark, @Skepticat@mstdn.social, The Wrap, The Gateway Pundit, @fbajak.bsky.social, Ars Technica, Justin's Political Corner, RadioInsight, @seth-stern.bsky.social, New Republic, The Desk, Current, Mediaite, The Boston Globe, USA Today, Fox News, CNN, Cord Cutters News, @victorpickard.bsky.social, @thebradking@mastodon.social, The Verge, @markey.senate.gov, @plopseven.bsky.social, Engadget, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, Deadline, Federal Communications Commission, @monscience.bsky.social, @ryanjhaas.bsky.social, @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social, @jetjocko.bsky.social, freebeacon.com, @pamspaulding.bsky.social, @hallijayne.bsky.social, @bee990.bsky.social, @ndhapple.bsky.social, @mediaevan.bsky.social, @timbays.bsky.social, @onthemedia.bsky.social, The Hill, @ppopiel.bsky.social, @joesonka.lpm.org, @brendannyhan.bsky.social, @mattdpearce.com, @benmullin.bsky.social, Free Press and Radio & Television …

From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
The Trump administration exempts smartphones, laptops, hard drives, processors, memory chips, and machines used to make semiconductors from reciprocal tariffs

Washington Post:
Arguments start Monday in the FTC's antitrust suit targeting Meta's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, amid reports Zuckerberg asked Trump to intervene

James O'Donnell / MIT Technology Review:
How the Pentagon uses AI tools from Vannevar Labs, which got a DOD deal worth up to $99M, to scan open-source intelligence, write intelligence reports, and more

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