Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
FCC Chair Brendan Carr releases the CBS Harris transcript and seeks comment on a complaint about a CBS station; commissioner Anna Gomez calls the moves reckless — The complete interview, which is at the center of a lawsuit filed by President Trump, shows that “60 Minutes” aired a concise version of Ms. Harris's answer on Israel.
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CBS News:
60 Minutes publishes transcripts and video from its interview with VP Kamala Harris that the FCC requested, as the agency reviews the Paramount-Skydance merger — We are posting the same transcripts and videos of our interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that we provided to the FCC.
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The New York Times Company:
The NYT reports Q4 revenue up 7.5% YoY to $726.6M, subscription revenue up 16% YoY to $334.9M, and operating profit up 13.6% YoY to $146.6M — NEW YORK, February 5, 2025 - The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today fourth- quarter and full-year 2024 results. Key Highlights
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Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
The NYT says it spent $10.8M on costs associated with generative AI litigation in 2024, one of the few outlets that can afford to engage in yearslong litigation
Discussion:
Plagiarism Today, @tvgrimreaper, TVNewsCheck and @proggrrl.bsky.social
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Bob Iger says an ESPN streaming service will have “some form of betting and fantasy and a high degree of customization” at its fall 2025 launch — Disney wants to make ESPN's content as accessible as possible. — Disney wants to make ESPN's content as accessible as possible.
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Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Disney reports Q1 revenue up 5% YoY to $24.7B, net income up 23% YoY to $2.64B, and entertainment division revenue up 9% YoY to $10.87B
Axios:
WH press secretary Karoline Leavitt, answering claims that USAID spent millions on Politico subscriptions, says DOGE will cancel $8M in Politico subscriptions — - Right-wing personalities are using USAspending.gov to dig up more payments from the government to media organizations …
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Burnie Burns, a co-founder of online video pioneer Rooster Teeth, says his company, Box Canyon Productions, acquired the Rooster Teeth brand and assets from WBD — “I am excited at the challenge of bringing Rooster Teeth back to its roots,” Burns said in a statement.
Discussion:
Deadline, Cord Cutters News, Polygon, Tubefilter and Comic Book
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sonos is laying off about 200 employees, or 12% of its staff, as it reorganizes to make its product teams “flatter, smaller, and more focused” — Sonos Inc. said it's cutting about 12% of its staff, or 200 workers, in a bid to make its product teams “flatter, smaller and more focused.”
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Verge, Engadget, MacRumors, Sonos, The Streamable, Digital Music News and Tom's Guide, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: OpenAI is expected to air its first TV ad during Sunday's Super Bowl; MediaRadar: AI companies spent $332M on ads in 2024, over double their 2023 spend — The TV spot marks the artificial-intelligence company's biggest foray into consumer advertising to date
Discussion:
Reuters, Adweek and The TV Answer Man!, more at Techmeme »
Ernie Smith / Tedium:
WBD has released more than 30 movies on YouTube for free across five channels over the past month, apparently without DRM; some are gems, some are stinkers — A major studio is apparently treating YouTube as a place to drop some of its archive films that have lost their cinematic luster.
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Lara Trump will begin hosting a weekend show on Fox News on Feb. 22; there is no precedent for a sitting president's relative to host a show on a major channel — There is no precedent for a sitting president's relative to host a show on a major television news channel.
Discussion:
Axios, HuffPost, Mother Jones, TVNewsCheck, New York Magazine, NBC News, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, Reuters, The US Sun, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, The Independent, @franklinleonard, @poniewozik.bsky.social, The Boston Globe, @mattgertz, @GottaLaff@mstdn.social, New York Post, @brianstelter, Adweek, Deadline, TVLine, @keitholbermann, Washington Examiner, So What, @yashar, Mediaite, @pkafka, The Wrap, Associated Press, Daily Kos, Daily Mail, NewscastStudio, The Daily Caller, Variety, NBC Bay Area, New York Daily News, Fox News, The Hollywood Reporter and Barrett Media
Kyle Buchanan / New York Times:
How online Oscar scandals have caught awards strategists who once influenced via whisper campaigns flat-footed, as Netflix struggles to deal with Emilia Pérez — As Karla Sofía Gascón's resurfaced social media posts upend the campaign for the year's most-nominated film, what happens now?
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Liam Reilly / CNN:
As Trump and Elon Musk remake the federal government, traffic surges at Government Executive and other small outlets that specialize in the federal workforce — As President Trump and Elon Musk remake the federal government through firings, orders and brute force, small news publishers …
Discussion:
Breitbart, @brianstelter, @simonowens.bsky.social, @brianstelter and Talking Biz News
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
The foreperson of the Florida jury that found CNN defamed a US Navy veteran says she would've awarded ~$100M, not $5M, and the “public is fed up with fake news” — In a Florida courtroom last month, a plaintiff's attorney asked jurors to “send a message” by holding CNN accountable …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
How Trump shutting down USAID, which boasted in recent years of supporting 6,000+ journalists and 700 newsrooms in 30+ countries, affects journalism globally — What the aid funding freeze means for independent journalism around the world. — Over the weekend, amid spiraling headlines …
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