Top News:


NPR plans to lay off ~10% of its workforce, or at least 100 people, and eliminate most vacant positions, citing lower ad revenue, particularly for its podcasts — HEADLINE: NPR says it's cutting jobs by 10% as ad revenue drops — NPR's chief executive announced the network would lay off roughly 10% …
Discussion:
CNN, Fox News, @peterboghossian, Radio & Television …, @davidfolkenflik, New York Times, @leilafadel, @mikeisaac, @isabellamariags, New York Daily News, Deadline, @kevinferguson, @aliveness_ape, @stphnfwlr, @brianmannadk, @diaahadid, The Wrap, @jaycowit, The Daily Beast, @deggans, @leilafadel, @laurie_garrett, @nprkelly, @meredithshiner, The Hollywood Reporter, @eshaansarup, @clay_masters, @shanegoldmacher, @liamstack, @brandonetc, @sayssimonson, @audiecornish, @tabitha_mueller, @aspiegelnpr, Current, @kelseyproud, @nprinskeep, @haleaziz, @publicbill, @rebekahentralgo, RAIN News and Bloomberg


A profile of Casey Bloys, the CEO of content for HBO and HBO Max, as he oversees the programming on the service combining HBO Max and Discovery+ this spring — Casey Bloys was about four years into his tenure as a programming executive at HBO when he was driven to champion a project that was disliked by others at the network.
Discussion:
Screen Rant, @variety_cynthia, TVLine, The A.V. Club, @variety, @theinsneider, @lucas_shaw, The Wrap, The Playlist, @edmundlee, IndieWire and @variety


A look at Substack-hosted entertainment business publication Ankler Media, which claims profitability, with ~50% of revenue from subscriptions and ~50% from ads — Rushfield's sharp-tongued missives have earned him a bold-faced subscriber list. ("I read it the second I see it pop up," says Richard Plepler.)
Discussion:
@joepompeo, Talking Biz News, @bmorrissey, @felixgillette, @janicemin, @theinsneider, @joepompeo, @josephkapsch, @mlcalderone and @richardrushfield


Artifact, the personalized news reader created by Instagram's co-founders, opens to the public for Android and iOS, with new features and no sign-up required — Artifact, the personalized news reader built by Instagram's co-founders, is now open to the public, no sign-up required.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, The Verge, Engadget, Artifact News and @nicholasadeleon, more at Techmeme »


Spotify launches DJ, an AI-powered radio DJ feature that offers curated music and commentary about the tracks and artists in a “stunningly realistic voice” — Ahead of Spotify's upcoming Stream On event, where the company is expected to announce a redesigned home feed and other updates …
Discussion:
Spotify, Spotify on YouTube, Inside Radio, @gustavs, Variety, CNET, @drownedinsound, Radio & Television …, Neowin, RAIN News, @mirandareinert, @midimyers, @mignano, Music Ally, @chrismessina, @ocelma, @richontech, @patrick_oshag, @mountain_ghosts, 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, @elite_gz, Engadget, Music Business Worldwide and Billboard, more at Techmeme »
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The Information launches Pro, a subscription tier with expanded org charts, databases based on staff reporting, surveys, and a specialized weekly newsletter — I am delighted to share the launch of The Information Pro—a new tier of subscription that features our expanded org charts …
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, Talking Biz News, @boygenius, @jessicalessin, Axios and Carole's Newsletter


Letter: the US Copyright Office says AI-generated images in a graphic novel, created using Midjourney, should not have been granted copyright protection — Images in a graphic novel that were created using the artificial-intelligence system Midjourney should not have been granted copyright protection …
Discussion:
@connorwa and @paleofuture, more at Techmeme »


How “TikTok detectives” drove speculation and spread conspiracy theories after UK woman Nicola Bulley disappeared, showing the dark side of the true crime genre — The flurry of speculation and conspiracy theories which arose in response to Nicola Bulley's disappearance shows …
Discussion:
@hannahnthewolf, @thobbsjourno, @jamesdgreig, The Week and New Statesman


WARC projects global ad revenue for publishers will fall 7.7% in 2023 to $47.2B; Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta will take nearly $400B of the global $993B ad market — Amazon, Alphabet and Meta are estimated to take $4 in every $10 spent in the global ad market.


Sources: Insider CEO Henry Blodget met with Daily Beast execs earlier in February; management later told the Beast union no sale is in the works “at this time” — Insider CEO Henry Blodget was spotted earlier this month at the Daily Beast's offices, sparking rumors …


Dominion's filing details Fox News' post-election dysfunction and the channel's troubles for the 2024 election, particularly if Donald Trump wins the nomination — b — By most appearances, Fox News is a well-managed, tightly run outfit. It's America's most popular cable news channel …
Discussion:
San Antonio Express-News, @bgrueskin, @bgrueskin, @ddiamond, New York Daily News, Fox News and The Hill


Turkey's telecom watchdog BTK blocks Eksi Sozluk, one of the country's biggest social media websites, and fines three TV channels over their earthquake coverage — Turkey's media watchdog fined three TV channels over their coverage of this month's earthquakes, the latest move by the state …
Discussion:
@diegocupolo, @middleeast and Committee to Protect …, more at Techmeme »