Top News:


Spotify plans to lay off ~6% of its workforce, or ~600 jobs, says content and ad head Dawn Ostroff is leaving, and reorganizes its engineering and product units — Music streaming firm Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) plans to cut 6% of its workforce, the company said on Monday …
Discussion:
Spotify, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Complete Music Update, @sarafischer, @richlightshed, @carnage4life, @staronline, @jillkrajewski, @aagave, @mitsuhiko, @according2_taz, Quartz, UPROXX, @carlquintanilla, @livemint, @kiruti, The Hill, @lisaabramowicz1, UPI, The Guardian, CNN, The Wrap, MediaPost, CNET, The Information, RAIN News, @chrismessina, New York Times, Financial Times, Insider, TechCrunch, Variety, Deadline, Billboard, Music Ally, CNBC, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Observer, Ad Age, AppleInsider and CBS News, more at Techmeme »


An investigation finds extensive evidence that AI used by CNET appears to have plagiarized the work of competitors and human writers at Bankrate and even CNET — CNET's AI-written articles aren't just riddled with errors. They also appear to be substantially plagiarized.
Discussion:
Axios, The Desk, @davidmacredmond, @wolven, @randfish, @firepile, @carnage4life, @futurism, @coracarmack, @davidclinchnews, @aaronwall, @automaticzen, @bypatrickgeorge, @kantrowitz, @parismarx, @nickjcal, @melmitchell1, @jezcorden, @vikkie, Gizmodo, Talking Biz News and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »


An interview with Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution CTO Aaron LaBerge on the Disney Ad Server, which shows ~500M Hulu and Disney+ ad impressions per day — Aaron LaBerge, chief technology officer of the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED) division …
Discussion:
Digiday, AdExchanger, Gizmodo, @myles_younger and @petersontee


A look at Informed, an app that bundles curated articles from FT, NYT, WSJ, WaPo, and other partners, raised a €5M seed, and costs £51.99/year or £6.99/month — Paywalled publishers such as the Financial Times, Economist, Bloomberg and NYT are on board.
Discussion:
@janebsinger, @johnmcm1 and @informed_app


The UK Commissioner for Public Appointments William Shawcross plans to review the hiring of Richard Sharp as BBC Chair, in addition to the BBC board's review — The process of hiring BBC chairman Richard Sharp is to be reviewed by the Commissioner of Public Appointments William Shawcross.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Guardian, Metro.co.uk, London Evening Standard and Mirror.co.uk
RELATED:

BBC chair Richard Sharp says he's asked the BBC board to review any potential conflicts of interest over his reported role in securing a loan for Boris Johnson
Discussion:
The Guardian, @jake_kanter, @gabriel_pogrund, @alliehbnews, @tomlarkinsky, @harryyorke1, @peterwalker99, Broadband TV News, Sky News, The Guardian, Variety, BBC, BBC, Daily Express and Deadline


Friends and colleagues of Deadline founder Nikki Finke, who died in October 2022, recall her last years and try to make sense of Hollywood's brashest chronicler — Was Nikki Finke a genius or a monster? Friends and colleagues try to make sense of the entertainment industry's brashest chronicler.


The unprofitable Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Atlantic, and Time rely on their billionaire owners' goodwill to survive while trying new business models — Starting a decade ago, a generation of new-money billionaires rode to the rescue of American journalism:
Discussion:
Media Voices, What's New in Publishing, @nkulw, @richard_florida, @arimelber, CNN, @jayrosen_nyu, Media Nation, @tvgrimreaper and @davidsirota


Hacked emails: the UK Treasury issued special licenses in 2021 to let Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, sanctioned in 2020, sue Bellingcat's Eliot Higgins — UK Treasury, then under Rishi Sunak's control, let Yevgeny Prigozhin circumvent sanctions to target Eliot Higgins
Discussion:
@billbrowder, @kadhim, Financial Times, @liambyrnemp, @writesbright, @michaeldweiss, @peterkgeoghegan and @janelytv


A look at Miami-based Americano Media, launched in March 2022 and called “Fox News in Spanish” by its CEO, and its plans to grow and cover the 2024 US election — Ahead of the campaign, Americano Media wants to sway Hispanic opinion toward the GOP.
Discussion:
@reedgalen, @praxishabitus, @michaelrcaputo, @joelweingart_, @brianstelter and @albertomiguelf5


Sources: Samsung is considering launching its free TV Plus streaming service on third-party smart TVs and is approaching some rival manufacturers about the idea — Move FAST and make money … To grow the audience of its free TV Plus streaming service, Samsung is considering a move …
Discussion:
@matthewkeyslive, The Desk, @astaniscia86, The Streamable, @jank0@sfba.social and The Verge


A look at the challenge of moderating livestreams for children and vulnerable users, even if age verification can be improved and privacy concerns addressed — Abby Rayner was 13 when she first watched livestreams on Instagram that demonstrated self-harm techniques and encouraged viewers to participate.
Discussion:
@cristinacriddle, @jimpethokoukis, @aadilbrar, @emarketer and @mattnavarra


Schools tell teachers in Manatee County, Florida to make their classroom libraries unavailable until they are “vetted” by librarians, or risk felony prosecution — Teachers in Manatee County, Florida, are being told to make their classroom libraries — and any other “unvetted” …
Discussion:
@juddlegum, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, @flickreynolds, @penamerica, @rweingarten, @mdbell79, @adam_morfeld, @votegloriaj, @richardlnewby, @juddlegum, @steveschmidtses, @adamsessler, @ashtonpittman, @farmgeek, @mariskreizman, @sifill_, @joycewhitevance, @wendykloiber, @lifesafeast, Mediaite and BOOK RIOT


Magna study: 41%, 49%, and 36% of surveyed US, UK, and Australian consumers believe a brand's video ad is supporting the content simply by being adjacent to it — The brand safety of advertising content adjacencies is far from a new issue for the ad industry, but a new study …
Discussion:
Next TV