Top News:
Brendan Ruberry / Semafor:
A man named Bill DeBlasio, quoted in a Times story as ex-NYC mayor de Blasio, says he just played along in response to Times' email and used ChatGPT to respond — The Scoop — The man at the heart of a high-stakes mix-up that rippled through global political journalism in the final days …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mediaite, The Hill, CNN, The Bulwark, @bengoggin.bsky.social, @semafor, @brigidbergin, @mattlech, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @willmenaker, @semafor, @emilyngo, @armanddoma, @pablotorre, @jbillinson, @_vectorist, @semaforben, @armanddoma, @arifcrafiq, @alex_shephard, @mannyfidel, @astromikemerri.bsky.social, @semaforben, @semafor, @sturgeons_law, @jbarro, @adamjohnsonchi, @joshuaholland.bsky.social, @caitlingilbert.bsky.social, @semafor.com and The New World
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Zachary Leeman / Mediaite:
The Times of London says its “reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be” Bill de Blasio; it took down its story after two hours
The Times of London says its “reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be” Bill de Blasio; it took down its story after two hours
Discussion:
Semafor, The New World, @maxwelltani, Washington Post, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @bencjacobs, @daveweigel, @petertwinklage, @atherton.bsky.social, The Nation, The Cut, Associated Press, NBC News, The Guardian, The Hill, The Wrap, New York Magazine, New York Sun, IJR, New York Times, HuffPost and RedState
Kendra Barnett / Adweek:
Alphabet passed $100B in quarterly revenue for the first time, in Q3; Sundar Pichai says “AI Overviews drive meaningful query growth” and AI Mode has 75M DAUs — Google surged past Wall Street's Q3 estimates, with shares up over 6% in after-hours trading Wednesday. — The numbers
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet reports YouTube's Q3 ad revenue rose 15% YoY to $10.26B, vs. $10.01B est., and Google's ad revenue reached $74.18B, up from $65.85B in Q3 2024 — YouTube, the internet's biggest video streaming platform, continues to flex its muscles as an advertising powerhouse …
Alex Heath / Sources:
Sources: YouTube reorganizes its leadership team, with three product teams reporting to CEO Neal Mohan, and announces a “voluntary exit program” for US staff — Neal Mohan's internal memo about YouTube's “next frontier” and opt-in layoffs. — ∙ Paid
Katherine Sayre / Wall Street Journal:
Audiochuck signs a deal, a source says worth $150M, with Fox to put the Crime Junkie video podcast on Tubi; Fox One and Tubi will distribute Audiochuck podcasts — The true-crime podcast maker Audiochuck has signed a deal with Fox Corp.'s FOXA 4.57%increase; green up pointing triangle Tubi Media Group …
Discussion:
Adweek, The Wrap, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and The Streamable
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Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Lachlan Murdoch says Tubi hit profitability for the first time during the past quarter, its revenue grew 27% YoY, and viewing time rose 18% YoY — Fox Corp. has been touting Tubi's growth for months and so CEO Lachlan Murdoch sounded overjoyed as he revealed the AVoD platform hit profitability …
Discussion:
Reuters and Cord Cutters News
Connor Hart / Wall Street Journal:
Fox reports Q1 revenue up 4.9% YoY to $3.74B and profit of $599M, down from $827M in Q1 2025; TV unit ad revenue rose 6% YoY to $1.07B, driven by Tubi — The broadcaster said fiscal first quarter revenue improved to $3.74 billion — Fox logged higher revenue in its fiscal first quarter …
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, TradingView and Deadline
Liam Scott / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with Isaac Chotiner, who has been called the “interview assassin”, on why he likes Q&A's, how he structures them, why he points out contradictions, and more — If Isaac Chotiner comes calling for an interview, is it best to just hang up?
Discussion:
New Yorker, @ichotiner, @bendreyfuss, @alexthomp, @davidafrench, @joshuaeaton.bsky.social, @joemurph.bsky.social, @eric-reinhart.com, @mitchellepner.bsky.social, @reckless.bsky.social, @joshuaeaton.bsky.social, @ldlewiswrites.blacksky.app, New York Times, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, @deniseschipani.bsky.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @annabower.bsky.social, @alaintolhurst.bsky.social, @smilner.bsky.social and @zandywithaz.bsky.social
Marc Schneider / Billboard:
UMG and Stability AI announce a partnership to develop music creation tools powered by “responsibly” trained AI — Following its Udio pact, the label group says it will team up with Stability AI to build AI tools that are “trained responsibly” and with proper licensing.
Discussion:
WinBuzzer, Stability AI, Music Business Worldwide and Dow Jones Newswires, more at Techmeme »
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Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads has 150M DAUs, up from 100M+ in December 2024, and Meta has rolled out ads globally in the Threads feed with plans to add video ads — Ads in the Threads feed have rolled out globally and video ads are on the way. — Threads has grown to 150 million daily active users.
Discussion:
Android Headlines, 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, Social Media Today and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
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Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Meta reports Q3 revenue up 26% YoY to $51.2B, vs. $49.4B est., net income down 83% YoY to $2.7B, and family DAP up 8% to 3.54B for September; META drops 8%+
Discussion:
Forbes, Bloomberg, Fast Company, TVNewsCheck, Blockonomi, Proactive, Yahoo Finance, Meta and Sherwood News
Jaspreet Singh / Reuters:
Meta recorded a $15.93B one-time income tax charge related to Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, and expects 2025 capex of $70B-$72B, up from its $66B-$72B forecast
Meta recorded a $15.93B one-time income tax charge related to Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, and expects 2025 capex of $70B-$72B, up from its $66B-$72B forecast
Discussion:
NDTV Profit, The Western Journal, Yahoo Finance, COINOTAG NEWS, DigiTimes, Gizmodo, B&T, Reuters, Axios, Livemint, Agence France-Presse, The Economic Times, The Information, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Investor's Business Daily, Variety, The Wrap, Capital Brief and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Pooja Rajkumari / TheStreet:
Crypto media company Blockworks is closing its newsroom, launched in 2021, and will focus on software and data, continuing its main newsletters and podcasts — Founded in 2017, the crypto media outlet says the move marks the next phase of its growth. — Blockworks, a leading crypto media company …
Discussion:
@duru_tobe, @imtovak, @zguz, @whosknave, @strack_ben, @eking0x, @gdkairos, Blockhead, @0xjonnydee, @mollyjzuckerman, @jasonyanowitz, Talking Biz News and NFTgators
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
OpenAI's Sora app adds new features, including “character cameos” to create AI deepfakes of pets, illustrations, and more, clip stitching, and leaderboards — Users can now create character cameos and combine clips together to make longer multi-scene videos.
Discussion:
Tom's Guide, MacRumors, Engadget, WinBuzzer, BGR, AI News, MediaNama, Tech in Asia, dailyjournal.com, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Business Journal, Digital Music News, CNET, International Business Times, Financial Express, Business Insider, Reuters, Bloomberg Law and Courthouse News Service, more at Techmeme »
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Comcast reports NBCU Q3 revenue down 20% YoY to $6.6B, EBITDA up 28% to $832M, 41M Peacock subscribers, and a $217M Peacock loss, down from a $436M loss YoY — Comcast topped Wall Street earnings and revenue estimates for the third quarter on Thursday, despite once again reporting a loss in broadband customers.
Discussion:
Adweek, Reuters, The Wrap, Benzinga, Deadline, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News
