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.
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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.
Max Tani / Semafor:
Mark Halperin's media startup 2WAY, which hosts panel videos and does live events built around political pundits like Sean Spicer, raised a $4M seed in December — THE SCOOP — Mark Halperin's media startup is staffing up. — 2WAY is bringing aboard Meghan McCain and Michael Moynihan …
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, @athenae.bsky.social, Wide World of News, @davidsirota, The Independent and Mediaite
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The co-founder of digital media outlet The London Economic, Jack Peat, steps down after 12 years as editor, citing “punishing algorithms and scarce resources” — Jack Peat said running the site “requires huge personal sacrifices”. — The co-founder of digital media outlet …
Discussion:
@pressgazette.co.uk
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Internal message: 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:
@pressgazette and @alexanderrusso
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 …
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:
Variety, @lucas_shaw, Screen Rant, The Wrap and Oh No They Didn't!
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
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:
New York Post, Beyond Search, Enrico Bonadio on LinkedIn, Music Ally, @newsfromcity and @alicelrobb
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, Daily Progress, Press of Atlantic City, TechCrunch, The Register, Omaha World-Herald, Buffalo News, News & Advance, @kennysmith.bsky.social, @dicktofel.bsky.social, Ravalli Republic, Kenosha News, WISC-TV, The Beatrice Daily Sun, La Crosse Tribune and MediaPost
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:
Washington Post, @lucas_shaw, Breitbart and TVNewsCheck
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:
Bethany Boles on LinkedIn and 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:
The Wrap, @bristei, Variety, Adweek, WORLD SCREEN, TVNewsCheck and Deadline
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