Top News:
Cheyenne Roundtree / Rolling Stone:
Filing: text messages show HBO execs used fake Twitter accounts to troll TV critics and drop comments on trade outlet stories between June 2020 and April 2021 — Casey Bloys ordered staffers to create fake accounts to fire back at critics, according to text conversations reviewed by Rolling Stone as part of a new lawsuit
Liam Scott / Voice of America:
A deepfake video used the likeness of VOA Russian Service anchor Ksenia Turkova to pitch crypto software, after similar fakes of BBC, CNN, and CBS journalists — Like so many others, the video looks real at first glance. — Ksenia Turkova, a journalist with VOA's Russian Service, is seated at a desk looking directly at the camera.
Discussion:
IndieWire, Associated Press, Variety, Forbes, PolitiFact, Bloomberg and Ad Age
Financial Times:
Sources: Hunterbrook, founded by investor Nathaniel Brooks Horwitz and writer Sam Koppelman, plans a $100M fund to trade on stories unearthed by its news arm — Fund would get exclusive access to market-moving stories before they are published — A group of veteran US financial journalists …
Discussion:
Tech in Asia, @nkulw, @eamonjavers, @pressgazette, Columbia Journalism Review, @talkingbiznews, @jfk_america, @pkafka, @cjgillick, @semaforben, @twallack, @benrawk, @gruber, @twallack, @jfk_america, @advisercounsel, @myurow, Katherine Tarbox on LinkedIn, Omar Salem on LinkedIn, Dr Alex Connock on LinkedIn and Talking Biz News
Gerry Shih / Washington Post:
Apple told some Indian journalists that they had been targeted in state-backed iPhone cyberattacks, without attributing “any specific state-sponsored attacker” — NEW DELHI — Apple has warned at least 20 prominent Indians, including opposition politicians and journalists …
Discussion:
9to5Mac, The Wire, @priyankac19, @samirsaran, @svaradarajan, @mkvenu1, The Wire, Financial Times, BGR and TechCrunch
New York Times:
Condé Nast plans to cut ~5% of its workforce, or ~270 staff, citing digital ad pressures, a decline in social media traffic, and shifting audience behaviors — Roger Lynch, the chief executive, said the company was grappling with digital advertising pressures, a decline in social media traffic and shifting audience behaviors.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, @pkafka, @katie_robertson and @benmullin
Ng Hong Siang / Channel NewsAsia:
SPH Media, Singapore's largest news publisher, plans to acquire Tech in Asia, which has ~90 employees across the region, and does not anticipate any layoffs — Sorry, the audio is unavailable right now. Please try again later. — SINGAPORE: SPH Media has entered into an agreement …
Discussion:
Tech in Asia, @bernardleong, @kenjeyaretnam, @rafat and Tech in Asia
Howard Koplowitz / al.com:
Alabama's Atmore News says its publisher and one of its reporters were arrested on October 25 for allegedly revealing grand jury secrets in a COVID funds report — A press freedom group on Tuesday called for charges to be dropped against the Alabama newspaper publisher and a reporter arrested Friday …
Discussion:
Committee to Protect … and WEAR-TV
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Vespa.ai, which recently spun out from Yahoo and drives searches and related-article recommendations on Yahoo-owned sites, raised $31M led by Blossom Capital — Vespa.ai, the big data serving engine that just a few weeks ago spun out from Yahoo (full disclosure: TechCrunch's parent company) …
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
Australia's media authority fines The Seven Network AU$13K over breaching a ban on gambling ads during live sports; SBS now lets viewers block gambling ads — Media regulator cracks down while federal government considers recommendation to ban online gambling ads within three years
Discussion:
@luciedigitalni@aus.social, Mumbrella and Sydney Morning Herald
Helen Coster / Reuters:
Thomson Reuters reports Q3 revenue up 1% YoY to $1.59B, News revenue up 6% YoY to $180M, operating profit up 11% YoY to $441M, and announces a $1B stock buyback — Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) on Wednesday reported higher-than-expected third-quarter profit as its biggest divisions serving legal …
Discussion:
@pressgazette and Thomson Reuters
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Shareholder letter: Netflix says its ad tier has 15M+ MAUs globally, accounting for ~30% of new sign-ups where it's available, and plans new ad formats for 2024 — Netflix is ready to use “The Crown,” “Squid Game” and other signature series to take ad dollars from rival streamers.
Discussion:
The Verge, Adweek, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, 9to5Mac, Media Play News and @lmoses, more at Techmeme »
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
In a US Copyright Office filing, the MPA says there is “no need” for new copyright legislation or special rules for AI and warns against “inflexible” guidelines — - MPA Sees “No Need” For New AI Copyright Legislation Or Special Rules, Warns Of “Inflexible” Guidelines
Discussion:
@ladykatebond and CMU
Max Tani / Semafor:
Forbes journalists say some sources are refusing to give them sensitive information due to Forbes' new reported ownership by Russian businessman Magomed Musaev — The Scoop — Forbes journalists have told the publication's management that some sources are refusing to share sensitive information …
Discussion:
@maxwelltani
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