Top News:
Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:
Biden's FCC nominee Gigi Sohn tells the White House she is dropping out after her nomination stalled for 16 months amid industry opposition and personal attacks — Gigi Sohn notified the White House she would drop out after her nomination stalled for 16 months, amid industry opposition
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, The Hill, Engadget, CNN, Deadline, @karlbode, @karlbode, @karlbode, @karlbode, @karlbode, Reuters, @berinszoka, @normative, @vwpickard, @cruickshank, @lindseyboylan, Free Press, @brooklynmarie, @publicknowledge, @karlbode, @cat_zakrzewski, @notaaroncraig, @seungminkim, @mayawiley, @heritage_action, CBS News and @joshsternberg@mstdn.social, more at Techmeme »
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Reach CEO says the company published its first three AI-written articles last week and that AI may be reliable enough to take on content based on data and lists — Chief executive says journalists should not fear it means being replaced by machines — The owner of the Daily Mirror …
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Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The UK's Reach reports revenue fell 2.3% YoY to £601.4M in 2022 and operating profit fell 27.4% YoY to £106.1M; digital revenue made up £149.8M of total revenue — Growing online audience for Reach was accompanied by plunging revenue in Q4 2022.
Discussion:
@pressgazette
Christianna Silva / Mashable:
TikTok launches Series, letting select creators sell Collections of up to 80 paywalled videos, each up to 20 minutes; creators initially keep 100% of earnings — Series puts premium content behind a paywall, which means more money for creators. … TikTok is introducing new ways for creators to get paid.
Discussion:
TikTok, CNET, The Wrap, Variety, TechCrunch, ZDNet, Digital Music News, The Verge, Tubefilter and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Masha Gessen / New Yorker:
How TV Rain and dozens of other exiled Russian media outlets flocked to Latvia's capital of Riga, only to encounter a distrustful public and strict regulations — Dozens of media outlets have fled to the capital of Latvia, only to encounter a distrustful public and a set of strictly enforced laws and regulations.
Discussion:
Reuters Institute, @newyorker, @ilvestoomas, Columbia Journalism Review, @sevslv and @brianstelter
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Benedict Evans:
Analysis: Amazon had $38B in 2022 ad revenue, more than the entire global newspaper industry and likely more than the revenue Prime generated from subscriptions — I first started paying attention to Amazon's ad business a couple of years ago, when a line called ‘other’ in the back of the accounts started to grow really fast.
Discussion:
Substack, @aparanjape, @minethatdata, @vilile, @btsavage, @riolongacre, @benedictevans and Cord Cutters News
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Former The Week executives launch Heatmap News, a subscription-based climate media outlet, with eight staff and a $4M Series A at an $11.5M post-money valuation — The former executives in charge of The Week magazine are launching a new subscription-based climate media company on Wednesday called Heatmap News, its founders told Axios.
Discussion:
@raju
Damien Wilde / 9to5Google:
Google plans to retire overlay ads on YouTube videos starting on April 6 to “improve the viewer experience and shift engagement to higher performing ad formats” — YouTube is changing the way some ads are shown on videos very soon with the removal of “Overlay ads” from content starting April 6.
Discussion:
Thurrott, Ars Technica, Tubefilter and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
David Pierce / The Verge:
All TV streaming boxes suck in 2023, as the ever-cheaper, ad-supported commodity items fail to improve on smart TVs, most of which are slow and riddled with ads — There are no good streaming boxes, and I blame everybody. — Streaming boxes had so much potential.
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @pierce@mas.to, @angelostzelepis, SPY, @matthewkeyslive, @despair, @steven_aquino and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
Filing: Gannett had 11,200 employees as of December 31, down from 21,255 after its 2019 merger with GateHouse and just 562 more than in 2018 — A major leadership shakeup at Gannett, along with drastic cost-cutting and strategy shifts, underscores just how much pressure …
Discussion:
Corporate Profile, USA Today, @tvgrimreaper, Talking Biz News, @anthony, @domdifurio, @mdixon55, @jamesebriggs, @kerrymflynn, @lerdody, @gaufre and @johnbohnenkamp
J. Clara Chan / The Hollywood Reporter:
An interview with YouTube's Global Head of Gaming Leo Olebe on the appeal of YouTube's exclusivity model and the growth of Gaming, which has 500M+ daily viewers — The video giant said it hit more than 120 billion hours of watch time for gaming-related content on the platform in 2022.
Discussion:
Tubefilter
Sam Buckingham-Jones / Australian Financial Review:
In an email, News Corp Australia's executive chair urges staff to try ChatGPT and tasks an AI Working Group to explore how AI can add “high-value opportunities” — Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has asked its Australian employees to give ChatGPT a go, tasking an AI Working Group …
Discussion:
@thetowncrier
Wall Street Journal:
Dominion lawsuit documents show how Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott deals with the Murdochs, Rupert's involvement in editorial, the influence of top hosts, and more — Court documents show how CEO deals with Murdochs on editorial strategy, influence of top hosts
Discussion:
@jbflint, @dicktofel, @maynereport, @noahcrothman, @phil_rosenthal, @jtoonkel, Media Matters for America and Insider
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David Folkenflik / NPR:
Legal experts say the $1.6B Dominion lawsuit puts Fox News in real jeopardy as the amount and weight of evidence surpasses other major, recent defamation cases
Legal experts say the $1.6B Dominion lawsuit puts Fox News in real jeopardy as the amount and weight of evidence surpasses other major, recent defamation cases
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Post, Associated Press, @joanespositochi, @paulcshipley, @deggans, @stengel, @aaronblake, @jackshafer, @oliverdarcy, @joeconason, @wajahatali, @davidsacks, @dbauder, @badfoxgraphics, @kimmasters, @casmudde, @unrealdmgold, @thekenbarnett, @mattgertz, @sharonwaxman, @davidfolkenflik, @davidamoyal, @juliusgoat, Florida Politics, The Wrap, @darnell@one.darnell.one and @GreenFire@climatejustice …