Top News:
April Rubin / Axios:
Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were arrested by federal agents on Thursday and today, respectively, for their coverage of a Minnesota church protest — Journalist Don Lemon was arrested by federal agents on Thursday night following backlash over his coverage of an anti-ICE protest …
Discussion:
CNN, KARE-TV, Associated Press, Poynter, @agpambondi, Committee to Protect …, Fox News, Arizona Republic, The Guardian, Washington Post, Financial Times, New York Times, Politico, Facebook, Free Press Action Fund Feed, The Hill, CBS News, NPR, Mediaite, Media Nation, The Wrap, Press Watch, Asian American Journalists …, The Contrarian, The Guardian, Democracy Docket, Lev Remembers, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, Freedom of the Press …, The Hollywood Reporter, The Bulwark, TheGrio, International Business Times, Wonkette, @froomkin.bsky.social, @theletterhack.bsky.social, Baller Alert, HuffPost, Investigative Reporters …, The Verge, New York Post, All Rise News, New York Magazine, USA Today, MS NOW, Page Six, Twin Cities, Boston.com, Daily Caller News Foundation, @acnewsitics, Reuters, Advocate, @jaketapper, @timodc, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social, @jamellebouie.net, @mlcalderone, Raw Story, The Independent, @irhottakes.bsky.social, Florida's Voice, @jemelehill, @joshuaerlich.bsky.social, @emma-briant.co.uk, @jamellebouie.net, @repjeffries, @darnell@one.darnell.one, @emptywheel.bsky.social, @juliannemcshane, Bossip, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, @divscotty.bsky.social, @rusty.todayintabs.com, @mikehixenbaugh.com, The Cut, @donlemonofficial.bsky.social, @jeremymbarr, @jaredhardd.bsky.social, @brianstelter, Hollywood Life, @pattymo.com, @timodc, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, @daveweigel.bsky.social, @kathleenclark.bsky.social, @crankyoldcrackpot.bsky.social, @atrupar.com, Meidas+, @adamserwer.bsky.social, @chucktodd, Gay City News, Washington Blade, Bloomberg, The Federalist, NewsMax.com, People, URL Media, Variety, Just Jared, New Republic, New York Times and Representative Crockett
Bloomberg:
Sources: BMG, a division of Bertelsmann, is weighing a bid for music rights investor Concord in a deal that could value Concord as high as $7B — German record label BMG Rights Management is weighing a bid for Concord in a deal that could value the US music company as high as $7 billion …
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide, Billboard, CMU and Music Ally
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Ahead of contract talks between SAG-AFTRA and studios beginning February 9, negotiators consider ideas such as an AI “tax” on studios that use synthetic actors — Call it the Tilly tax. — In the future, studios that use synthetic actors in place of humans might have to pay a royalty into a union fund.
Discussion:
@xpangler, Oh No They Didn't! and Deadline
New York Times:
Sources: WaPo's layoffs may narrow its scope to topics of expertise and reader interest based on digital traffic, with politics and video becoming more central — The changes are expected to include significant layoffs in areas like sports and international coverage. — Fewer reporters are being sent to the Super Bowl.
RELATED:
Max Tani / Semafor:
To avert layoffs, WaPo's White House correspondents, not considered at risk, write a letter to Jeff Bezos highlighting collaborations among the paper's sections
Discussion:
New York Post, @maxwelltani, CNN, CNN, Poynter, @aaronwiener, @_hudsonc, @karyncaplan, @timmurtaugh, @tomfitton, @eugene_scott, @danpfeiffer, @ralph_grabowski, @jarvis_best, @escarry, @mlcalderone, @mediaevan, @mikesisak, @chucktodd, @siobhan_ogrady, @brianstelter, @chicoharlan, @ewong, The Independent, @kemettler, @bsoloway, Grabien and The Wrap
New York Times:
Peter Chernin sells North Road to France's Mediawan; sources: the agreement, paid mostly in stock, values the independent film and TV studio at ~$900M — Peter Chernin, an industry veteran who founded North Road in 2022, said his deal with Mediawan met a need to get bigger in an era of consolidation.
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Sports Business Journal, Screen, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap
Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Authorities led by Italian investigators seized three illegal IPTV services in Europe; the US DOJ also said it dismantled three pirate services in Bulgaria — The latest phase of the global law enforcement action resulted in seizing three industrial-scale illegal IPTV services.
Discussion:
CyberScoop, The Record, US Department of Justice, The Sun, Advanced Television and Broadband TV News
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
A look at Chicago alt-weekly The Chicago Reader as it scales back to a monthly publication under new EIC Sarah Conway and reverts to a for-profit business model — The Chicago Reader, the groundbreaking alternative weekly which has been on the brink of dissolution for years …
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Analysis of Apple News in the UK: Apple News+ has 1.7M subscribers generating ~$136M for outlets; national papers account for 55% of time spent on Apple News — Apple News shares revenue with news publishers and — as a preinstalled app on Apple products — reaches an astounding number of users.
Discussion:
MacTech.com and Simon Owens's Media Newsletter
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Current and ex-VOA staff say a recent VOA interview by Kari Lake, who is calling herself USAGM deputy CEO, tramples on the firewall between the two agencies — Kari Lake, who oversees the parent agency of the Voice of America, has hit legal and political roadblocks in her drive to dismantle the government-funded broadcaster.
Discussion:
@maxboot.bsky.social, @newsguyusa and @kaedotcom
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
A BBC internal review found a “noticeable” gender mismatch among older presenters, with older women required to look younger or develop “idiosyncratic personas” — Older men seen as ‘gaining wisdom’ but women must keep looking younger or be ‘idiosyncratic’, review hears
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky releases its first transparency report: users rose 60% in 2025 to 41.2M, including AT Protocol accounts; moderation reports from users grew 54% to 9.97M — Bluesky released its first transparency report this week documenting the actions taken by its Trust & Safety team and the results …
Roushni Nair / Reuters:
Australia's Nine Entertainment plans to sell its broadcast radio business to the Laundy family for AU$56M and buy digital outdoor ad firm QMS Media for AU$850M — Australia's Nine Entertainment (NEC.AX) on Friday deepened its pivot toward digital media, agreeing to buy outdoor advertising group QMS Media …
Discussion:
Australian Financial Review, Australian Financial Review, ABC, The Guardian, Mumbrella, TV Blackbox, Mediaweek, 9News, TV Central, Capital Brief and Reuters
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