Top News:
Eva Mathews / Reuters:
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:
Bloomberg, Spotify, The Hill, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Wrap, UPROXX, @sarafischer, MediaPost, CNET, Ad Age, Observer, UPI, NME, Gizmodo, Fast Company, The Information, @richlightshed, @carnage4life, Variety, CNBC, @carlquintanilla, RAIN News, @chrismessina, Wall Street Journal, @staronline, The Verge, Financial Times, @jillkrajewski, Deadline, TechCrunch, Music Ally, Insider, @aagave, @mitsuhiko, @according2_taz, @lisaabramowicz1, New York Times, @livemint, @kiruti, Billboard, AppleInsider and CBS News, more at Techmeme »
Ben Smith / Semafor:
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:
CNN, Media Nation, @davidsirota, @nkulw, @richard_florida, @arimelber, @jayrosen_nyu and @tvgrimreaper
BBC:
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 and London Evening Standard
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Max Goldbart / Deadline:
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, @gabriel_pogrund, @harryyorke1, @tomlarkinsky, @jake_kanter, Broadband TV News, @alliehbnews, Deadline, Daily Express, BBC, @peterwalker99, Variety, BBC and Sky News
Hamish Morrison / The National:
Report: BBC chairman Richard Sharp helped Boris Johnson secure an £800,000 loan in 2020, just weeks before the then-prime minister recommended Sharp for the job
Discussion:
The Sunday Times, @gabriel_pogrund, @campbellclaret, Sputnik News, @gabriel_pogrund, BBC, @gabriel_pogrund, @gabriel_pogrund, @marcusjball, @samcoatessky, @albagubrath1966, @adamrutherford, @charliebeckett, @kevin_maguire, @rorystewartuk, The Guardian, Broadband TV News, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, @snellarthur, @gabriel_pogrund, @simonmccoytv, @shonamurray_, @gabriel_pogrund, @sangitamyska, @pickardje, @anna_soubry, Deadline, @mikegalsworthy, @peterjukes, @greenrupertread, @annettedittert, @brucemcd23, @evansthecrime, @peterjukes, @campbellclaret, @martinsfp, @arusbridger, @pippacrerar, @mrjamesob, @maitlis, @dianecoyle1859 and @harryyorke1
Janko Roettgers / Lowpass:
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:
The Streamable, @astaniscia86, @jank0@sfba.social and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Jacob Bernstein / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
@mdc, @tomgara, @imjasondiamond, @nbj914, @davidlaz, @maggienyt, @jdawsey1, @tanzinavega, @froomkin, @mediaevan and @margotroosevelt
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
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:
@informed_app, @janebsinger and @johnmcm1
Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:
How artists Kelly McKernan, Karla Ortiz, and Sarah Andersen found each other due to their AI concerns and sued Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and DeviantArt — “This [tech] effectively destroys an entire career path.” — Last year, Kelly McKernan, a 36-year-old artist from Nashville …
Discussion:
Futurism, Boing Boing, @markyarm, @libshipwreck, @pranavdixit, The Register and How to “Keep Pace” …, more at Techmeme »
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Netflix is well-positioned due to low debt load, its investments, and first mover advantage; long-term success still requires making compelling content at scale — Netflix's moment of greatest peril is, in retrospect, barely visible in the company's stock chart:
Discussion:
@stratechery, @gibsonbiddle, @dhmontgomery and @thecompoundnews
RELATED:
Reuters:
Prominent Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo's mutilated body was found on January 22, five days after being abducted, showing reporting perils in the country — The mutilated body of a prominent Cameroonian journalist was found on Sunday near the capital Yaounde five days after he was abducted …
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
SCOTUS asks the Biden administration for its views on the constitutionality of Florida's and Texas' social media laws, likely putting off a decision until 2024 — The laws, enacted by Florida and Texas in response to conservative complaints about censorship, have been challenged under the First Amendment.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Fox News, Reuters and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Jim Fitzpatrick / openDemocracy:
Hacked emails: 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
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Meta expands its partnership with the NBA to offer 52 games in VR, including five immersive 180-degree monoscopic VR games, as well as some WNBA games and more — Meta is expanding its partnership with the NBA and WNBA to offer more than 50 live games in VR on Meta Quest, the company announced on Monday.
Discussion:
Adweek, The Drum, Oculus Blog, Meta and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »
Emily Gould / The Cut:
An interview with fitness writer Casey Johnston on amassing 21,000 subscribers for her She's a Beast newsletter, her book, rejecting Substack's deal, and more — In a TikTok video she made to promote Liftoff, her beginners' step-by-step weight-lifting manual, fitness writer Casey Johnston demonstrates …
Discussion:
@choire, @thecut, @libbycwatson and @caseyjohnston
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