Top News:
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Fox Corp. acquires Red Seat Ventures, which helped Tucker Carlson, Nancy Grace, Megyn Kelly, Piers Morgan, and others set up their podcast businesses — Tucker Carlson, Nancy Grace, Megyn Kelly and Piers Morgan are among the clients of Red Seat Ventures, which now joins Rupert Murdoch's empire.
RELATED:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Red Seat, one of the most influential companies in the news and talk creator economy, will be in Fox's Tubi division, putting it at a remove from Fox News — Red Seat Ventures counts former Fox News stars Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson as clients, as well as Piers Morgan and Nancy Grace.
Amanda Holpuch / New York Times:
Lee Enterprises says a “cybersecurity event” has disrupted operations at its newspapers since at least February 3, forcing some to not print at all — The media company Lee Enterprises said a “cybersecurity event” had created havoc at dozens of its newspapers, prompting some to publish shorter editions or not print at all.
Discussion:
Augusta Free Press, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MediaPost, Daily Progress, Press of Atlantic City, Omaha World-Herald, Buffalo News, News & Advance, The Register, @kennysmith.bsky.social, TechCrunch, @dicktofel.bsky.social, Ravalli Republic, Kenosha News, WISC-TV, The Beatrice Daily Sun and La Crosse Tribune
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Slack messages: WaPo had 15M unique visitors on its platforms and 76.9M off-platform in the week of January 27 as traffic recovers amid US government chaos — In this edition: Steve Bannon's “Days of Thunder.”
Discussion:
Wide World of News
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
Animated feature Ne Zha 2 grossed a record $1B+ in China over its first 10 days in cinemas, marking a rebound after the Chinese box office fell 23% in 2024 — Ne Zha 2 grossed more than $1 billion in China over its first 10 days in cinemas, setting the country's new box office high mark.
Discussion:
Screen Rant, Variety, @lucas_shaw, The Wrap and Oh No They Didn't!
Alice Robb / Bloomberg:
A look at the debate about how much authors should get paid to license books for AI; Microsoft offered HarperCollins $5,000 per title, of which authors get 50% — Most experts agree that tech companies should pay creators whose work is used to train artificial intelligence.
Discussion:
Music Ally, New York Post, Beyond Search, Enrico Bonadio on LinkedIn, @newsfromcity and @alicelrobb, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
Sources: the UK's ITV has held early talks with RedBird IMI about a deal for ITV Studios; CVC and Blackstone are also interested in ITV's production arm — London-listed company could put broadcasting arm into a joint venture or sell it — Major shareholders in ITV support management efforts …
Discussion:
Ian Whittaker on LinkedIn
Bloomberg:
While traditional TV viewership has plummeted, the NFL's share of TV viewing has doubled over the past two decades, despite a brief dip around 2016 — While viewership of everything else on traditional TV plummeted, the NFL somehow got bigger. — Good afternoon from Chicago and happy Super Bowl Sunday.
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, Breitbart, Washington Post and TVNewsCheck
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
A look at WikiTok, a site that lets users vertically swipe through an endless stream of random Wikipedia article stubs without algorithmically tracking the user — On Wednesday, a New York-based app developer named Isaac Gemal debuted a new site called WikiTok, where users can vertically swipe through …
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Edison: despite Spotify's video push, only two of the top 10 US podcasts post videos on Spotify; 37 of the top 50 US podcasts regularly post videos on YouTube — Popular programs like New Heights and Club Shay Shay have yet to put their videos on the streaming service
Discussion:
Edison Research and Barrett Media
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Cricket Media, the 50-year-old children's media company known for its namesake print magazine, acquires Sensical, a kids streaming outlet launched in 2021 — The streaming service launched in 2021 under Common Sense Networks, the for-profit affiliate of Common Sense Media.
Discussion:
Sharon Cohen on LinkedIn
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Fox Corp. names John Nallen as president and COO, promoting one of Lachlan Murdoch's top deputies, in a deal that will keep him at Fox through June 2028 — The owner of the Fox network and Fox News says that Nallen has signed a new long-term deal with the company.
Discussion:
Adweek, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Variety, @bristei, WORLD SCREEN and Deadline
Thomas Germain / BBC:
An Adalytics report shows how ad systems run by Google, Amazon, Microsoft and others inadvertently placed ads on a website that hosts CSAM — Some of the biggest tech companies in the world served ads on a website featuring images of child abuse, helping to fund its operations.
RELATED:
Energy & Commodities Editor, Tokyo — 
Politics Reporter, TX — 
Consumer Brands Reporter, GA — 
Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — 
Product Editor, CA — 
Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sydney — 
China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — 
Bangor Reporter, ME — 
Commerce Editor - Health, Remote US — 
Sports Editor, MI — 
Deputy Politics Editor, CA — 
Alphaville Reporter, London — 
Trending News Reporter, NY — 
Weekend Editor, CA — 
Part-Time Reporter, AZ — 
Political Correspondent, NV — 
Sr. Reporter, Singapore — 
Evening Dep. Breaking News Ed., CA — 
Copy Editor - Miami HQ, FL — 
Police & Courts Reporter, OH — 
Senior Reporter, NM — 
Senior Editor - Ideas, Remote US — 
Morning News Producer, WA — 
Tech Correspondent, CA — 
Enterprise Journalist, WA — 
City Government Reporter, OR — 
TV & Pop Culture Critic, MA — 
Washington Correspondent, DC — 
Local Editor - Morris County, NJ — 
Service Journalism Reporter, PA — 
Senior Editor - NBA, Remote US — 
Immigration Reporter, CA — 
Senior IP Reporter, Remote TX — 
Reporter - National, Remote NY — 
