Mediagazer: Sony Pictures reports Q3 operating income down 86% YoY to ~$179M and leaves its full-year forecast unchanged at ~$894M; Music revenue rose 23% YoY to ~$2.83B (Nancy Tartaglione/Deadline)

3:30 PM ET, February 2, 2023

Top News:

Twitter plans to discontinue free access to its API starting on February 9, ending support for both v1.1 and v2, and launch a “paid basic tier” instead — Twitter will discontinue offering free access to the Twitter API starting February 9 and will launch a paid version …

Mia Sato / The Verge:

Some former CNET employees describe Red Ventures breaking down traditional barriers between editorial and advertising and pressuring them to change stories — CNET built a trusted brand for tech reporting over two decades. After being acquired by Red Ventures, staff say editorial firewalls have been repeatedly breached.

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

The White House Correspondents' Association announces The Daily Show's Roy Wood Jr. will host its annual dinner on April 29, saying he has “a journalistic eye” — Roy Wood Jr. will be this year's featured entertainer at the White House Correspondents' Association's annual dinner on April 29.

Discussion: Vanity Fair, White House Correspondents …, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill, CNN, @randallwoodfin, @bevysmith, The Wrap, @tamarakeithnpr, @warondumb, @tiareports and New York Daily News

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

Q&A with Holden Foreman, The Washington Post's first accessibility engineer, on his role, improving access for people with disabilities, challenges, and more — “It is definitely stressful to be the first in this new role. I feel deep down like I need to justify its creation with every step that I take."

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, Ad Age, @niemanlab and @johnycassidy

Samantha Cole / VICE:

Netflix Japan used AI art in its The Dog & The Boy short, citing a “labor shortage” in the anime industry, which has long faced labor abuses and poor wages — A new short film called ‘The Dog & The Boy’ uses AI-generated art for its backgrounds. — Samantha Cole

Discussion: @grady_booch, Engadget, Fortune, @joshanimator, @janusrose, Mashable, Ars Technica and Polygon, more at Techmeme »

Miami Herald:

McClatchy names Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald executive editor Monica Richardson as VP of news for large markets; Alex Mena replaces her on an interim basis — Monica Richardson, executive editor of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, has been named vice president of news for large markets for parent company McClatchy.

Discussion: @jimrosicafl, @marcosbreton and @rana_cash

Karissa Bell / Engadget:

TikTok revamps its account enforcement system, including a new strike system meant to address “repeat offenders”, bringing its policy in line with its peers' — TikTok is trying to make it easier for creators and others to navigate its rules, and understand what's happening to their accounts.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Social Media Today and TikTok

Emily Bary / MarketWatch:

SEC filing: Comcast sold 5,726,385 BuzzFeed shares from January 30 to February 1 as BuzzFeed's stock surged, leaving the company with 19.97% of BuzzFeed's stock — Buzzfeed stock has rocketed in recent days amid enthusiasm over its use of AI — Comcast Corp. has sold part of its stake in Buzzfeed Inc. …

Discussion: The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter and @matthewkeyslive

Ben Thompson / Stratechery:

Q&A with ad expert Eric Seufert on Meta's Q4 earnings, rising ad load, ATT, Reels, the Google-Meta duopoly, Amazon, EU regulations, Google's DOJ case, and more — An interview with Eric Seufert about Meta's earnings, the ATT recession, new European regulations, and the DOJ-Google antitrust case.

Discussion: @roe__men, @eric_seufert and Mobile Dev Memo, more at Techmeme »

Mizanur Rahman / Houston Landing:

Houston Landing, a free, independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit, digital-only news outlet, which raised a $20M seed in 2022, announces a spring website launch — More than a year ago, researchers studying local news in the Houston metro area learned something critical to the launch of the Houston Landing.

Discussion: @journalismproj, @john_tedesco, @nicdawes, @mizanur_tx, @mariedennise, @marklisheron, @lmcgaughy and @jcarpenter219

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Netflix has yet to set its US password sharing rules and takes down info from its US help page that said users must connect to a “primary Wi-Fi” every 31 days — Based on info sourced from Netflix's support pages, The Streamable reported on Tuesday details about its upcoming anti-password sharing efforts.

Nancy Tartaglione / Deadline:

Sony Pictures reports Q3 operating income down 86% YoY to ~$179M and leaves its full-year forecast unchanged at ~$894M; Music revenue rose 23% YoY to ~$2.83B — Sony Pictures Entertainment recorded $179 million in operating income for the third quarter ended December 31, 2022.

Discussion: The Wrap, Bloomberg, The Verge, Financial Times, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

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