Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, claiming it infringed on Disney's works to train its Seedance 2.0 video generation model without pay — The Walt Disney Company on Friday sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging the Chinese tech giant has been infringing …
Discussion:
Engadget, The Decoder, South China Morning Post, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Moneycontrol, Wall Street Journal, Rohan's Bytes, The A.V. Club, Variety, primetimer.com, Forbes, ZeroHedge News, CineD, The Asia Business Daily, Tech in Asia, @carnage4life@mas.to, The Wrap, Caixin Global and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
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Gene Maddaus / Variety:
The MPA urges ByteDance to curb its AI video model Seedance 2.0, after an AI-generated video of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt fighting on a rooftop went viral
Discussion:
New York Times, Futurism, Instapundit, The Guardian, CNBC, TVBEurope, TechRadar, Entertainment Weekly, Deseret News, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit, The Wrap, Blaze Media, Screen Rant, Los Angeles Times, @jonathanjarry.bsky.social, San Francisco Chronicle, Business Insider, Breitbart, South China Morning Post, Dexerto, Page Six, World of Reel, Screen, PiunikaWeb, The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap
Scott Shambaugh / The Shamblog:
A now-removed Ars Technica article, covering how an AI agent wrote a hit piece about an open source project maintainer, seems to have included AI hallucinations — Context: An AI agent of unknown ownership autonomously wrote and published a personalized hit piece about me after I rejected its code …
Discussion:
The Shamblog, Wall Street Journal, @elfsternberg.bsky.social, GitHub, @davidcrespo.bsky.social, @antisomniac.bsky.social, Paul Ford on LinkedIn, Scott Shambaugh on LinkedIn, Abhinaba Naskar on LinkedIn, Kautuk Pandey on LinkedIn, James Cuff on LinkedIn, Vijay Balasubramaniyan on LinkedIn, Scott Shambaugh on LinkedIn, @maoltuile.bsky.social, @kendraserra.bsky.social, @librarian.bsky.social, @librarian.bsky.social, @kendraserra.bsky.social, @kendraserra.bsky.social, @andybalaam@mastodon.social, @ironyuppie.com, @ciphergoth, @googleoss, @mordecwhy.bsky.social, @engineersneedart.com, @dancow.bsky.social, Matt Mullenweg, > nick, I Am Completely Serious, The Decoder, Ars Technica, @larsmb@mastodon.online, Fast Company, @harld@masto.ai, Decrypt, @enikofox.com, @alexhanna.bsky.social, @secretaboutbox.bsky.social, @clauswilke.com, The Register, The Decoder, WinBuzzer and Adweek, more at Techmeme »
CNN:
Don Lemon pleads not guilty to two federal charges stemming from his reporting at an anti-ICE protest in a Minnesota church — Don Lemon pleaded not guilty Friday to federal charges following his arrest last month in connection with a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Discussion:
Deadline, Straight Arrow News, JURISTnews, Democracy Forward, RedState, BizPac Review, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Washington Post, Alpha News MN, HotAir, NBC News, Mediaite, New York Daily News, New York Post, twitchy.com, KSTP-TV, Courthouse News Service, One America News Network, HuffPost, Chicago Tribune, The Hill, Newsbusters, The Guardian, Barrett Media, TV Insider, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Axios, CBS News, The Daily Signal, The Wrap, Fox News, Advocate, @froomkin.bsky.social, MS NOW, TMZ.com, NewsNation, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, @jackjenkins.me, Blaze Media, Just Jared, @washingtonpost.com, Scripps News, MPR News, FOX 10 Phoenix, Reuters and Joe.My.God.
Abbey White / The Hollywood Reporter:
A Q&A with PBS Kids' Sara DeWitt on the effect of cuts to the $112M Ready to Learn grant, including potentially partnering with ad tech companies — A leading exec at the public broadcasting institution breaks down the impact of recent government cuts and what to do about them
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News
Hollie Richardson / The Guardian:
A look at the growth of Belfast in Northern Ireland as a home for producing TV shows, following the success of the comedy Derry Girls — From Blue Lights gossip to How to Get to Heaven from Belfast cocktails, the city has become a small-screen hotspot - and is basking in its newfound fame
Discussion:
Financial Times, Metro.co.uk, Forbes and The Irish Times
Isma'il Kushkush / Nieman Reports:
A look at the dearth of media coverage of Sudan's civil war, started in 2023; report: 32 journalists have been killed and 90% of outlets damaged or destroyed — Sudan's journalists risk their lives to tell the story of their homeland as the world turns away
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Committee to Protect …
James Faris / Business Insider:
As Netflix, Disney, and Paramount add vertical clips to their streaming services, media analysts warn that short-form video isn't a cure-all — - Hollywood streamers are turning to short-form video as YouTube and TikTok take viewership time. — Netflix, Disney, and Paramount are adding …
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Memo: LA Olympics Chair Casey Wasserman is putting his talent agency up for sale after his ties to Epstein surfaced and high-profile talent departed the firm — Wasserman has said he ‘never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein’ and told staff he felt that he had ‘become a distraction’ to the firm's work
Discussion:
The Wrap, CBS News, NBC Bay Area, FOX 11 Los Angeles, New York Post, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, NBC News, HotAir, MS NOW, KVIA-TV, The Hill, Front Office Sports, The A.V. Club, Axios, Stereogum, Fortune, @wsj, Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Page Six, Variety, Reuters, Bloomberg, New York Times, The Athletic and Daily Mail
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
While announcing its sports buildup, Banner EIC Audrey Cooper noted the civic value: “At a time when so much pulls communities apart, sports bring us together” — The gutting of The Washington Post may prove to be an opportunity for The Baltimore Banner.
Discussion:
The Conversation, @postguild, Nieman Lab, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @dankennedy.net, Poynter and The Verge
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Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Source: New York Daily News is cutting six of 10 national desk staffers, one metro reporter, seven print production people, and two photo department staffers — The owner of the New York Daily News fired 16 people this week - a “Valentine's Day massacre” that leaves the paper with a skeleton staff …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Memo: Paramount names former Trump administration attorney Rene Augustine as its senior vice president of global public policy, amid a takeover battle for WBD — Rene Augustine worked with Makan Delrahim, Paramount's top lawyer, at the Justice Department and most recently served in advisory roles to the Kennedy Center
Discussion:
Deadline, TheDesk.net, @bselena.bsky.social, Reuters, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter
George Winslow / TV Tech:
Cineverse says it is acquiring IndiCue, a profitable CTV ad tech company, for $22M plus up to $18M in earnout as Cineverse focuses on streaming infrastructure — As a result of the deal, Cineverse expects to get a majority of its revenue from technology and streaming infrastructure solutions by 2027
Discussion:
Cineverse, TheDesk.net, Advanced Television, Deadline and Media Play News
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