Top News:

Snap says its TikTok competitor Spotlight had 100M MAUs in January, two months after its launch, and receives an average of 175K video submissions per day — A surprisingly successful debut — Snap says its TikTok competitor, Spotlight, had 100 million users in January 2021, just two months after it launched.
Discussion:
CNN, @karissabe, @verge, @mattrosoff, @megancgraham, Investor's Business Daily, CNBC, Business Wire and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
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Snap beats with Q4 revenue of $911M, up 62% YoY, vs $857.4M est., DAUs were up 22% YoY to 265M; stock down 7%+ after hours on weak Q1 forecast — - Snap's stock fell in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported its fourth-quarter earnings despite beating Wall Street's expectations on earnings, revenue and user growth.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @ashkan, @charliebilello, @ashleyrcarman, @tgpharding, Fast Company, Ad Age, Financial Times, Axios and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Google rolls out an initial version of Google News Showcase in Australia, with participation by and financial support for The Canberra Times, Crikey, and others — With the news moving faster than ever, it's clear that journalism is an essential way to keep people informed.

Election tech company Smartmatic files $2.7B defamation lawsuit against the Fox Corporation, Fox News, and hosts Lou Dobbs, Maria Bartiromo, and Jeanine Pirro — Smartmatic accused Rupert Murdoch's network of promoting a false narrative about the 2020 election that damaged the company.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Variety, CNN, The Week, Wall Street Journal, Slate, @jamessurowiecki, @darickr, @markszaidesq, National Review, @jonathanwpeters, @hassankanu, @alanhuntermtv, @zoetillman, @richsignorelli, @markruffalo, @frankpallotta, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, The Verge, Bloomberg, Axios, The Wrap, Media Matters for America and CNBC

Editor & Publisher gave permission to Internet Archive to digitize its full archives, making them easily searchable, a step that other newspapers should take — My two intellectual loves are history and journalism — alternately, history and its first draft — and I'm always happy to see the two overlap.
Discussion:
@internetarchive, @jbenton and @media2070

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty names Jamie Fly as president and CEO, who will resume leadership after being dismissed by Michael Pack in June — WASHINGTON — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Board of Directors has named Jamie Fly as the company's President and CEO, effective February 16, 2021.
Discussion:
@jamiemfly, @karenkornbluh, @john_hudson and @christopherjm
News Corp:
News Corp reported Q2 net income of $261M on revenue of $2.41B; WSJ subs were up 19% YoY to 3.22M, and NY Post reported its first profit in modern times — FISCAL 2021 SECOND QUARTER KEY FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS • Revenues were $2.41 billion, a 3% decline compared to $2.48 billion in the prior year …
Discussion:
New York Post, @joepompeo, Press Gazette, @pressgazette, @pressgazette, @mirandadevine, New York Times and Talking Biz News

In NLRB filings, WGAE says G/O Media management broke law by telling staff it fired Gizmodo's Alex Cranz to retaliate for her discussion of working conditions — Online publisher G/O Media Inc. told employees of its tech-news website Gizmodo that it fired a co-worker because of her union activism …
Discussion:
@wgaeast, @josheidelson, @mattdpearce, @josheidelson and Talking Biz News, more at Techmeme »

Supply-side platform Magnite, formerly Rubicon Project, to acquire sell-side video platform SpotX for $1.17B — Supply-side platform Magnite announced this morning it has agreed a deal to acquire sell-side video platform SpotX from European media group RTL for $1.17 billion in stock and cash, subject to regulatory approval.
Discussion:
Variety, MediaPost, Magnite, @davemorgannyc, Beet.TV and Digital TV Europe

TikTok's launch on Android TVs in France, Germany, and the UK yesterday is part of its push to diversify its audience and bring its stars into the mainstream — The app's arrival on smart TVs is part of a plan to diversify its audience - and bring its stars further into the mainstream

Source: in the past year, the UK has expelled three Chinese spies posing as journalists who purported to work for three different Chinese media agencies — The revelation comes amid concerns in Government about Chinese economic espionage and intellectual property theft from UK institutions
Discussion:
@shashj, @los_fisher, @shashj, @niubi, @yatescomms, Al Jazeera and Reuters

The case of John Sullivan, who's participated in and recorded riots, including the Capitol assault, raises questions on how to delineate journalists from others — John Sullivan claims that he was at the Capitol insurrection as a neutral journalist. Others say he was a riot chaser who urged the mob to “burn this shit down.”
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @mdvancleave, @utahmads, @ryanjreilly, @mathewi and @michaelluo