Top News:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Bill Simmons says he has agreed to a new Spotify contract and will continue his show for at least two years; he'll also serve as Spotify's head of talk strategy — Bill Simmons is sticking around at Spotify. — The podcast host and media executive said in a statement Wednesday …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @maxwelltani, The Hollywood Reporter and Ars Technica
Ruth Marcus / New Yorker:
Ruth Marcus explains why she quit WaPo, not wanting to tell readers “what Jeff Bezos thinks I should think”, and publishes her spiked column in The New Yorker — Owner Jeff Bezos wants to transform the Opinions section of the paper, where I worked for forty years.
Discussion:
Media Nation, Nieman Lab, CNN, The Wrap, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @benjaminwittes.bsky.social, @giladedelman.bsky.social, @davidfolkenflik, @mffisher, @therockyfiles.bsky.social, @benmullin, @chaykak.bsky.social, @drewharwell.com, @mikebaker.bsky.social, The Independent, @dicktofel.bsky.social, @ruthmarcus.bsky.social, The Nation and Associated Press
Saleah Blancaflor / Adweek:
SiriusXM undergoes another round of layoffs after reportedly cutting about 100 jobs in January; source: cuts affect the product and technology group primarily — Layoffs primarily impact the product and technology group within the operations department, sources say.
Discussion:
Billboard, Cord Cutters News, WTKR-TV, The Desk, Radio Ink, Digital Music News, Inside Radio, The Ankler and Reuters
Katie Deighton / Wall Street Journal:
Food delivery startup Wonder acquires the media company Tastemade, sources say for around $90M, the latest step in its effort to create a mealtime “super app” — Wonder CEO Marc Lore hopes the company will one day offer AI-powered autonomous food ordering for all three meals of the day
Discussion:
Variety, The Information, Eater, Adam Schiff on LinkedIn, @pkafka, @joeguszkowski, Restaurant Business, @pkafka, @baincapvc and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Sources: the BBC plans to ask the UK government to take on the full costs of the World Service to counter Russia's and China's “aggressive” disinformation drive — Ministers must cover full costs of championing western values abroad, senior BBC figures to argue
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Hamish McKenzie says Substack now has 5M paid subs, up from 4M four months ago and 3M a year ago, with 82% of its top 250 creators posting audio and video often — Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie says that creators jumping ship from ‘mainstream media’ like Jim Acosta, Joy Reid and Mehdi Hasan are a big driver of the growth.
Discussion:
Christina Loff on LinkedIn, @erik_hayden, @valentinenews_, @jimacosta.bsky.social, The Hill and TVNewsCheck
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Blackstone rebrands Hipgnosis to Recognition, less than a year after buying the $3B group that owns the rights to Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, and more — Investment group with rights to songs by Shakira will be ‘fundamentally different’ under unified structure
Discussion:
Music Ally, Digital Music News, Music Business Worldwide, City A.M. and Billboard
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Sources: Sonos has abandoned plans to release a streaming video player, which was set to be the company's major hardware launch in 2025 — The device, codenamed Pinewood, was set to be the company's major hardware launch in 2025. … Sonos has abandoned plans to release a streaming video player …
Discussion:
Engadget, Streaming Better and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Jacob Gallagher / New York Times:
A profile of fashion magazine i-D, acquired by model Karlie Kloss in 2023; EIC Thom Bettridge aims to restore “the spirit of what it was but for right now” — The art and fashion worlds convened at Rick Owens's austere Left Bank house to celebrate the relaunch of Karlie Kloss's i-D Magazine.
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The Guardian agrees to pay Spectator Associate Editor Douglas Murray “substantial” damages for a column's claim Murray spoke in favor of far-right summer riots — An Observer writer inaccurately claimed comments made by Murray in 2023 had referred to the 2024 riots.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Post Millennial, The Daily Wire and Mediaite
Laura Wagner / Washington Post:
A profile of NPR reporter Anas Baba, who has spent 17 months in Gaza, one of the few journalists working full-time with a US news organization to remain in Gaza — The Palestinian journalist said it's his calling to stay in his native land and report on what happens.
Emanuel Maiberg / 404 Media:
Spotify appears to have removed Andrew Tate's “pimping hoes” class; internal communications show some Spotify employees complained about offering the course — Some Spotify employees are not happy that the audio streaming giant was, until this week, hosting and profiting from a course about …
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