Top News:


A deep dive into The New York Times' big bet on its Games team, which grew from ~15 people in 2015 to ~100, about the same size as the newspaper's Business desk — Wordle. Connections. Spelling Bee. Ye olde Crossword. The Times is home to beloved brainteasers that are helping boost the paper's bottom line.


NowThis hires Sharon Mussalli as its CEO, its first since spinning off from Vox Media in April 2023; nonprofit Accelerate Change owns the social media outlet — The publisher is now owned by the nonprofit Accelerate Change — The social publisher NowThis, whose trending news …
Discussion:
Sharon Mussalli on LinkedIn


An interview with The Guardian Deputy Editor Owen Gibson on the newspaper's voluntary contributions model, global ambitions, audience relationship, and more — Deputy editor Owen Gibson on the title's global ambitions and relationship with its audience. — The Guardian aims to continue growing the …
Discussion:
@pressgazette


The MacArthur Foundation announces $48M in grants to support Press Forward; $32.5M goes to a national pooled fund for local news, housed at The Miami Foundation — - Strengthening local newsrooms that have the trust of local communities; — Improving infrastructure for local news production and dissemination;

Microsoft Copilot can now compose songs, including lyrics, instruments, and voices, from a sentence, due to a new integration with generative AI music app Suno — Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft's AI-powered chatbot, can now compose songs thanks to an integration with gen AI music app Suno.
Discussion:
The Verge, Bing Blogs, Neowin, Thurrott, Engadget and @riedernews, more at Techmeme »


The New York Times' The Athletic is now available to Apple News+ subscribers, and Apple says Wirecutter will be free for all Apple News users in early 2024 — NYT's Wirecutter reviews will be available free in Apple News app in 2024 — The New York Times Co. inked a deal with Apple to add …


Washington Post interim CEO Patty Stonesifer tells staff that the newspaper has met its headcount reduction goal of eliminating 240 jobs via voluntary buyouts — The Washington Post has met its headcount reduction goal through voluntary buyouts, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer said in a note to staff on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Washingtonian, @postguild, @postguild, Pastebin, @benmullin and @benmullin


The Baltimore Banner names Bob Cohn as its CEO, following Imtiaz Patel's departure in July 2023; Cohn was the president of The Atlantic and now The Economist — The Montgomery County resident has helped drive digital transformation and revenue growth at The Atlantic and The Economist

The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem files a petition with the Israeli Supreme Court to give international media immediate access to the Gaza Strip — The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem filed a petition on Tuesday with the Israeli Supreme Court requesting immediate access for international media to the Gaza Strip.
Discussion:
FPA


Hipgnosis delays its half-year results, as its valuation by its independent valuer was “materially higher” than that implied by proposed and recent transactions — Company says songs have been assessed as worth more by independent valuer than recent transactions in the sector
Discussion:
Hipgnosis Song Management Limited, City A.M., CMU, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited, Billboard, London Evening Standard, Investment Week, Reuters, @bondhack, Proactiveinvestors NA, Sharecast, Digital Music News, @dominicoc, @rhomboid1mf, Financial Times, Variety, Dow Jones Newswires and The Times


A postmortem of The Washington Post's Launcher gaming vertical: 20 staff laid off, a lack of resources, media executives not personally enjoying games, and more — Why did The Washington Post kill its video game vertical? … November would have marked my four-year anniversary at Launcher …
Discussion:
@leadergrev, @leadergrev, @leadergrev, @leadergrev, @rcmacleod, @jacobwolf, @leadergrev, @alykkat and @paytherow


How incarcerated journalists inside San Quentin prison are making podcasts about life behind bars and winning awards, despite facing retaliation and censorship — Inside San Quentin, residents are drawing mainstream audiences and shifting narratives about life behind bars
Discussion:
William Drummond on LinkedIn and Nieman Lab