Top News:
Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy releases new rules for the 98th Oscars in 2026, including making it tougher to vote in a category without watching all the nominees in the category — Additionally, the organization's board of governors has left the door open to again replacing its Oscar Nominees Luncheon with an Oscar Nominees Dinner or some other event.
Discussion:
The Wrap, IndieWire, Entertainment Weekly, Deadline, The Playlist, Just Jared, @dannygroner.bsky.social and GoldDerby
Max Tani / Semafor:
Source: Truth Social dropped Nexstar from a defamation lawsuit after Nexstar agreed to fire a breaking news reporter at The Hill; Nexstar denies the accusation — The Scoop — For the last year and a half, Truth Social has relentlessly pursued a defamation case against 19 media companies …
Discussion:
Politico, @maxtani.bsky.social, @thestefansmith, @maxwelltani, @timkarr.bsky.social, @jakewilkns and @madelinegmonroe
New York Times:
Sources: as labor costs rose after two strikes, producers of reality shows, indie films, and blockbusters increasingly shot overseas, hurting Hollywood workers — Movies and TV productions are rapidly leaving California to film outside the United States, where labor costs are lower and tax incentives greater.
Discussion:
@editorialiste, Sam Pepper on LinkedIn, Jason Fisher on LinkedIn, Breitbart, The Hill, HOLA! and New York Post
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
A profile of Acyn Torabi, or @Acyn, who joined MeidasTouch in 2023 and is shaping the US liberal media with his fast-cut, viral video posts of political gaffes — Acyn Torabi dominates the internet with fast-cut clips of political mayhem. Are they news, or something else?
Discussion:
@mehdirhasan.bsky.social, @davebrady72.bsky.social, @acyn, @drewharwell, @ahatcher54, @brianstelter, @michaelkruse.bsky.social, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social, @briandonlon.bsky.social, @ericdharvey.com, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, @mspopok.bsky.social and @digiphile.bsky.social
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Meta is testing using AI tools in the US to detect teen Instagram users, even if they've lied about their birthday, and place them under Teen Account settings — On Instagram, AI tools will detect underage users and automatically change their account settings.
Discussion:
Meta, Entrepreneur, The Hill, Engadget, TechCrunch, Mashable, @metanewsroom, Associated Press, Fast Company, @jos1264.social …, @pinemikey.bsky.social and Quartz, more at Techmeme »
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Ryan Lizza has departed Politico, where he was Playbook co-author and chief Washington correspondent, and has launched a Substack publication called Telos — We have a special announcement: Status is launching a limited-edition First Amendment tee—and opening our very own store.
Max Tani / Semafor:
Bloomberg, CPJ, and others advise journalists to take extra precautions when traveling to the US, including guidance on dealing with immigration authorities — THE SCOOP — Some media organizations are advising their employees to take extra precautions when traveling to the US.
Discussion:
@maxwelltani
Max Tani / Semafor:
Source: WaPo has begun speaking with several candidates to become the editor of its rebooted opinion section, including Reason EIC Katherine Mangu-Ward — THE SCOOP — The Washington Post is inching closer to finding an editor for its rebooted opinion section.
Discussion:
@taylorlorenz
Michael Idov / New York Times:
A look at Votvot, a streamer that provides uncensored content to counter Kremlin propaganda, as its ~$2M annual budget is cut as part of Trump's RFE/RL cuts — The Trump administration's decision to take a hammer to the funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty might be legally dubious …
Discussion:
@dlepeska, @kaedotcom and CBS News
Julie Bort / TechCrunch:
a16z acquires Erik Torenberg's Turpentine podcast, which focuses mostly on interviewing VCs; Torenberg will join the VC firm as a general partner — Andreessen Horowitz's hiring spree continues. On Monday, Erik Torenberg announced that the giant VC firm had acquired his Turpentine podcast, with him joining as a general partner.
Discussion:
@eriktorenberg, @a16z and Andreessen Horowitz
Christopher Grimes / Financial Times:
The success of A Minecraft Movie, set to hit $700M in ticket sales globally this weekend, signals Hollywood's breakthrough in adapting video games into films — While superhero franchises flag, ‘A Minecraft Movie’ shows the industry has finally cracked the formula for translating popular games into films
Discussion:
New York Post, Daily Mail, TechCrunch, Christopher Grimes on LinkedIn, Media Play News, Deadline, Variety, @grimes_ce, RTÉ and The Sun, more at Techmeme »
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Bluesky starts rolling out blue check verification, initially limiting verification to select organizations and its moderation team — Bluesky announced on Monday that it is rolling out blue check verification, confirming previous rumors that this feature was on its way to the platform.
New York Times:
Sources: Sewell Chan's departure from CJR comes as the magazine has been running under tight budgetary constraints and was beginning a fundraising campaign — Sewell Chan, who started as executive editor of the publication in September, said his firing after several staff complaints was “baffling.”
Discussion:
Jewish Insider, Poynter, Mediaite, PR Daily, TVNewsCheck, Breaker, Media Nation, @ryangrim, The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap
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