Mediagazer: TikTok, Amazon, and others struggle to adopt China's livestream ecommerce model in the US, as experts point to differences in US and Chinese consumer behavior (Tracy Wen Liu/Wired)

7:10 PM ET, March 29, 2023

Top News:

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Disney laid off Marvel Entertainment chairman Isaac Perlmutter as part of its 7,000 job cuts, after his unsuccessful effort to shake up Disney's board in 2022 — The move was part of a company cost-cutting campaign and came after Mr. Perlmutter was part of an unsuccessful attempt to shake up Disney's board.

Adam B. Vary / Variety:

Disney absorbs Marvel Entertainment, which is separate from Marvel Studios, into other units; Dan Buckley, the division's president, now reports to Kevin Feige — Along with Perlmutter, Marvel Entertainment's co-president, Rob Steffens, and chief counsel, John Turitzin, were also dismissed.

Discussion: Deadline and @nash076

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Disney has laid off over 300 employees in Beijing who worked on its streaming services, as the company carries out the first wave of 7,000 job cuts — Entertainment company began this week to carry out the first wave of a plan to cut 7,000 jobs — Walt Disney Co. DIS 2.16%increase …

Discussion: @jtoonkel, Deadline, New York Post and MediaPost

Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge:

Substack's fundraising email, absent of any real financial information, reads like a cynical ploy and is not a good omen for the platform's longevity — Substack is desperate, huh? That's what I understand from their fundraising email, anyway. They're now hitting up retail investors …

Discussion: On Substack, @mslopatto, @seangriffey, @matthewbelcher, @theannagat, @golikehellmachi, @moryan, @labuzamovies, @blackamazon, @caseyjohnston, @jowens510, @sokane1, @mekosoff, @paulstollery, TechCrunch, Bloomberg and Axios

Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:

Inside The Messenger's acquisition of Grid News, which came as a surprise to some Grid staff, who say they were told the startup had a two- to three-year runway — Grid News, a one-year-old start-up, shuttered this week after getting acquired by The Messenger, which launches next month.

Discussion: @charlottetklein, @bgrueskin, @grahamstarr, @haleaziz, @jayrosen_nyu, @harrisonxjacobs, @chrisgeidner, @scottnover, @sarayasin, @imillhiser, @niemanlab and @mediaevan

Amanda Terkel / NBC News:

Newly released Dominion court presentation slides show Fox News aired 2020 election conspiracies despite its fact-checking “Brain Room” deciding they were false — A presentation from Dominion Voting Systems show emails detailing the Fox News fact checks, which were released Wednesday …

Sewell Chan / The Texas Tribune:

The Texas Observer's publisher says the 68-year-old outlet will keep publishing after staff crowdfund $300K+ and the board votes unanimously to rescind layoffs — The crusading liberal magazine had planned to lay off its staff after its nonprofit board voted to shut down. But it reversed course on Wednesday.

Discussion: The Guardian, The Texas Observer, New York Times, @TexasObserver …, @megankimble, @patrickmichels, @stevanzetti, @jasonisbell, @joshua_peck_, @sewellchan, @andreagrimes and The Hill

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:

Sources detail the tensions between Tucker Carlson and Suzanne Scott, as Carlson is unaccountable to leadership and operates in his own fiefdom at the network — As Fox News finds itself beset by an internal crisis fueled by Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation suit, long-simmering tensions …

Discussion: New York Magazine, CNN, @oliverdarcy, @joeofthenorth, @aidnmclaughlin, @semaforben, @juliewestfall, @sulliview and The Wrap

Jay Peters / The Verge:

The YES Network, which airs New York Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Liberty games, launches a streaming service for $24.99/month in its regional territory — The Yankee Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network, a regional channel that broadcasts games from the New York Yankees …

Discussion: CNBC, CNET, Sportico, The Desk, Next TV, Awful Announcing, @tvgrimreaper, @frankpallotta, The Streamable, Light Reading, New York Post and Cord Cutters News

Max Goldbart / Deadline:

The UK publishes its draft Media Bill that could see Netflix, Disney+, and other US streamers fined up to £250K for breaking harmful material rules under Ofcom — The UK government has published its long-awaited draft Media Bill to bring the U.S. streamers under its regulatory framework …

Discussion: Financial Times, RadioInfo Australia, @deepbagchee, @sanjayjha, @perezhilton, Variety, Reuters, GOV.UK and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

Justin Ling / Wired:

Docs: investments in 4chan include $800K from owner Hiroyuki Nishimura, $4.8M from his company, and $2.4M from Tokyo-based Good Smile, which makes Disney toys — Documents obtained by WIRED confirm that Good Smile, which licenses toy production for Disney, was an investor in the controversial image board.

Discussion: Gizmodo, @egavactip and @jtemperton, more at Techmeme »

Ryan Barwick / Marketing Brew:

Google launches an Ads Transparency Center, showing all the ads from verified advertisers on its platforms, in the formats, the regions, and the dates they ran — Users will be able to search all ads on the platform within 30 days of them running. … Get out your library cards and pay those late fees: Google is playing librarian.

Discussion: Fast Company, MediaPost, @ryanbarwick, Ad Age, Reuters, Social Media Today, The Verge, @jason_kint, 9to5Google, Search Engine Land, TechCrunch, @jason_kint, @killedbygoogle, The Keyword, AdExchanger, Gizmodo and Washington Post, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Santiago Pérez / Wall Street Journal:
How a New York couple, who used to host an RT show, became key advisers to El Salvador on its bitcoin adoption while making crypto investments in the country

Discussion: @kaedotcom and @counternotions, more at Techmeme »

Jem Aswad / Variety:
Email: Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl plans to cut 270 positions, or ~4% of the company's global staff, as part of “some hard choices in order to evolve”

Discussion: @downwithtyranny, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Digital Music News, Music Business Worldwide, Billboard and Los Angeles Times

The Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Marvel producer Victoria Alonso refused to censor gay Pride references in the latest Ant-Man film for the Kuwait market, before Disney fired her

Discussion: Variety, @borys_kit, @mattbelloni and The Week

Jeff Stone / Bloomberg:
Mandiant: suspected North Korean hackers posed as New York Times and Voice of America staff to gather strategic intelligence from US and South Korean officials

Discussion: @jeffstone500, Insider, CoinDesk and Wired, more at Techmeme »

Elias Leight / Billboard:
A Billboard charts analysis: it's a bit harder to get a top 40 hit than 20 years ago, but artists that do have similar odds of building a catalog of big tracks

Earlier Picks:

Tracy Wen Liu / Wired:
TikTok, Amazon, and others struggle to adopt China's livestream ecommerce model in the US, as experts point to differences in US and Chinese consumer behavior

Discussion: @carnage4life, @juokaz and PYMNTS.com, more at Techmeme »

Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
The NFL and RedBird Capital create EverPass Media to stream NFL games and eventually other events to commercial establishments, starting with the 2023-24 season

Discussion: The Desk, Next TV, The Streamable, @jbflint, nflcommunications.com, Radio & Television …, The Hollywood Reporter, Awful Announcing, Sportico and Cord Cutters News

@nytimesguild:
[Thread] The New York Times CEO and top five executives made millions more in 2022, as NewsGuild members, who are negotiating a new contract, didn't get raises

Reuters:
A report claims Amazon is considering acquiring theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings, whose stock initially jumped 18% and closed up 13.19% on March 28

Discussion: The Intersect, The Streamable, Fast Company, @royprice, Forbes, The Wrap, Media Play News, Insider and Bloomberg

From Techmeme:

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Apple removes WhatsApp, Threads, Signal, and Telegram from its App Store in China, after orders from the country's regulators citing national security concerns

Ryan Morrison / Tom's Guide:
Microsoft researchers introduce VASA-1, an AI model that can create a realistic talking face video from a portrait photo and an audio file, in research preview

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: EU may accept Apple's proposal to open its NFC payments tech to rivals, and may close its antitrust probe in May, letting Apple avoid hefty fines

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