Top News:
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Vinco Ventures and Icon Publishing acquire The National Enquirer from A360 Media for “a little less” than $100M, an April 2019 price that included other outlets — The publication has come under scrutiny in recent years over its suppression of stories about Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.
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New York Times:
Penske Media acquires a majority ownership stake in Vox Media; sources: Penske acquired a 20% stake for $100M — The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions and investments made by Penske Media, the owner of a swath of entertainment and trade publications including Rolling Stone and Variety.
Carrie Blazina / Online News Association:
The Online News Association appoints LaSharah S. Bunting as its CEO and Executive Director, effective March 13; Bunting was most recently a Simon & Schuster VP — Journalist, transformational leader, equity advocate will lead organization — The Online News Association …
Discussion:
@lasharah, @jeffjarvis, @ashleyalvarado, @irvwashington3, @ona, @avqueenbenet, @iiwrites, @cande313, @kelseyproud, @bylarrygraham, @jkealing and @carrieblazina
James Vincent / The Verge:
Getty Images sues Stability AI in the US for allegedly copying 12M+ images without permission or compensation for training data used to create Stable Diffusion — Getty Images has filed a lawsuit in the US against Stability AI, creators of open-source AI art generator Stable Diffusion, escalating its legal battle against the firm.
James Rainey / Los Angeles Times:
Ken Doctor says his local digital outlet Lookout Santa Cruz is on track to make a profit in 2023 and hopes to expand, probably within California, by early 2024 — Over many years as a leading media analyst, Ken Doctor spoke out repeatedly about the disintegrating American newspaper business.
Discussion:
@raineytime, @raineytime, @david_sommers, @jbenton and @sammy_roth
Jason Koebler / VICE:
Twitch suspends an AI version of Seinfeld for 14 days after Larry Feinberg, a Jerry Seinfeld clone, made transphobic and homophobic statements in a standup bit — “Nothing, Forever,” has been banned for at least 14 days. — Jason Koebler — “Nothing, Forever,” the infinitely-generating AI version …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
After Twitter said free API access would end on February 9, Elon Musk promises “a light, write-only API for bots providing good content that is free” — Last week, Twitter said it is shutting down free access to its APIs starting February 9. Now, days before the deadline …
Amudalat Ajasa / Washington Post:
A look at the Black women fighting for years to claim top TV meteorologists roles in the US, some of whom face waves of backlash and hate from viewers — For decades, broadcast meteorology has been dominated by White men — leaving out women, and particularly women of color.
Discussion:
@tevinwooten, @drshepherd2013, @brynnecraig, @bhensonweather and @stellakafka
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
GB News presenter Mark Steyn quits after the channel told him he has to pay Ofcom fines for breaches of the broadcasting code over his COVID-19 vaccine comments — Mark Steyn could face sanction by media regulator after he cast doubt on safety of Covid vaccines
Discussion:
@juwanthewriter, @rj_abel, @eddierobson and @davideledingue
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Chan Ho-him / Financial Times:
Disney removes an October 2022 episode of The Simpsons that referred to “forced labor camps” in China from Disney+ in Hong Kong, after a similar removal in 2021 — Missing programme on streaming platform mentions ‘camps where children make smartphones’
Discussion:
Fox News, Reuters, Forbes, @byron_wan, Fortune, @sariarhohavren, @yaling_jiang, @uyghurproject, CBR, @rachel_cheung1, @tripperhead, @therealjoshye, @therealjoshye, CNN, @thomashhchan, Insider and Politico, more at Techmeme »
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
DirecTV says the satellite broadcaster dropped Newsmax since the channel demanded tens of millions in licensing fees, not for “political or ideological” reasons — Satellite broadcaster DirecTV said money, not politics or social ideology, was the element that provoked …
Discussion:
Next TV and The Streamable, Thanks:@matthewkeyslive
The Daily Beast:
Sources: ex-The Hill owner Jimmy Finkelstein plans to name former People EIC Dan Wakeford as the editor of The Messenger, a “Washington Post-Daily Mail hybrid” — This reporting is one of several scoops featured in this week's edition of Confider, the newsletter pulling back the curtain on the media.
Discussion:
@justinbaragona, @scottnover and @lachcartwright
Ed Meza / Variety:
Israeli filmmakers criticize the new government's plan to reserve state funding for films that don't allegedly tarnish the reputation of Israel or its military — The Israeli government's efforts to reserve state funding only for films that uphold the regime's far-right agenda is causing growing alarm among local filmmakers.
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