Top News:
New York Times:
The NYT sues OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, alleging they used millions of its articles to train AI, the first major US media outlet to sue — Millions of articles from The New York Times were used to train chatbots that now compete with it, the lawsuit said.
Discussion:
United States District Court Southern District of New York, Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Desk, Associated Press, Engadget, @garymarcus, TweakTown, @jason_kint, @mathewi, @afinetheorem, @benwansell, @garymarcus, @jason_kint, @ceciliazin, Mashable, Newser, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, @MattHodges@mastodon.social, @loudmouthjulia, Fast Company, The Information, The Wrap, CNBC, The Verge, @nexusben, Washington Post, @ceciliazin, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, @asharma, @jeffjarvis@threads.net, @alexbruell, Boing Boing, @bdsams, Deadline, David L. Simons on LinkedIn, Agence France-Presse, @eriqgardner, Semafor, @jeffjarvis, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @martinsfp@threads.net, @rogoswami, Associated Press, Bloomberg, @reckless1280@threads.net, Irish Examiner, @jason_kint, WHYY, Alex Smith on LinkedIn, Neowin, Plagiarism Today, GeekWire, @jeffjarvis@threads.net, @happicamp@threads.net, Financial Times, @jason_kint, BGR, Axios, Ars Technica, Shelly Palmer, @semafor, @jeffjarvis@threads.net, New York Post, @blackamazon.bsky.social, The Hill, @ivanthek, @kalihays1@threads.net, @ErikJonker@mastodon.social, Jason Calacanis on Startups, @davidclinchnews, MediaPost, @jeffjarvis@threads.net, The Guardian, New York Daily News, Publishers Weekly, Reuters, Mother Jones, Variety, The New York Times Company, The Messenger, News/Media Alliance and Publishers Lunch, more at Techmeme »
Al Tompkins / Poynter:
The FCC rejects radio and TV broadcasters' call for deregulation, reaffirming limits on the number of TV or radio stations that owners can control in a market — The owners had argued for looser ownership restrictions given the growth of social media, podcasts and other online services.
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Lionsgate closes its acquisition of Hasbro's eOne for $375M plus assuming some production financing loans; Lionsgate's library grows by 6,500 film and TV titles — Lionsgate said today its acquisition of global entertainment platform eOne from Hasbro is done.
Discussion:
Variety, The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, ComingSoon.net, The Wrap and Media Play News
Washington Post:
Sources: India pressed Apple to come up with alternative explanations for warning Indian journalists and opposition politicians of state-sponsored iPhone hacks — NEW DELHI — A day after Apple warned independent Indian journalists and opposition party politicians in October that government hackers …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Engadget, The Hindu, @drewoccrp, Amnesty International …, @aroondeep, @sanjanahattotuwa@threads.net, @reaproy, @rajekanodia, @pranavdixit, @carnage4life@threads.net, @josephmenn, @josephmenn, @josephmenn, @cachiporra.bsky.social, @evacide, Joseph Menn on LinkedIn, @carnage4life@mas.to and @gerryshih, more at Techmeme »
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Amazon plans to start showing ads in movies and shows on Prime Video from January 29, with an option for customers to pay an extra $2.99 per month to avoid them — Earlier this year, Amazon announced plans to start incorporating ads into movies and TV shows streamed from its Prime Video service …
Discussion:
Engadget, ComingSoon.net, MediaPost, @jbillinson@threads.net, @emerson_b_rose, Mashable, @dwiskus, @sixfootcandy, CBS News, The Guardian, The Information, Broadband TV News, Fast Company, BGR, @malikhaelstrom, IndieWire, @austin_rief, @eric_seufert, ScreenRant, The Hill, @tomwarren, @petersterne, Benzinga, 9to5Mac, New York Daily News, Associated Press, @tvgrimreaper, @driskal, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, CBR, BGR, PhoneArena, PCMag, TweakTown, Neowin, @parismarx@mastodon.online, Cord Cutters News, Gizmodo, GeekWire, @brianstorms@mastodon.social, @janerationx@mas.to and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »
Associated Press:
Study: social media companies collectively made nearly $11B in US ad revenue from minors in 2022; YouTube derived the most from users 12 and under, at $959.1M — Social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year …
Discussion:
Benzinga, PLOS, Harvard T.H. Chan School … and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Box office trends in 2023: audiences sought comfort, flocking to see Barbie, Taylor Swift, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and mostly skipped superhero movies — Movie audiences flocked to Taylor Swift, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” but were cooler toward returning superheroes like the Flash, Captain Marvel and Aquaman.
Discussion:
New York Times and ThePrint
Wall Street Journal:
A look at ReelShort, a Chinese-backed app featuring dramas with one-minute episodes; its CEO says ReelShort has generated $22M+ in revenue since its 2022 launch — ReelShort aims to succeed where Quibi failed—with cheesy plots and supernatural elements packed into one-minute episodes
Olivia Prentzel / The Colorado Sun:
The Colorado Springs Independent, an alternative weekly outlet that has served Colorado Springs for 30+ years, indefinitely ceases publication on December 27 — For three decades, the progressive weekly provided residents in Colorado's second-largest city with an alternate source of news …
Discussion:
Inside the News in Colorado, @ryanmlowery, @corey_hutchins@threads.net and Talking Biz News
Financial Times:
Insider Intelligence: LinkedIn's annual advertising revenue, which rose 10.1% YoY to nearly $4B in 2023, is expected to grow 14.1% YoY in 2024 — Microsoft-owned professional networking site has increased revenues as big brands boycott rival platform — Professional social networking site LinkedIn …
Financial Times:
Disney, WBD, Comcast, and Paramount face a year of reckoning in 2024 after losing $5B+ in 2023 from the streaming services they built to compete with Netflix — Tie-ups and cuts on menu as Disney, Warner, Comcast and Paramount seek new ways to keep up — The world's largest traditional …
Andrew Jack / Financial Times:
Sorbonne University plans to use OpenAlex, a nonprofit academic data provider, from January 1, boosting a growing movement to make research available for free — Paris university's ‘radical decision’ to join OpenAlex challenges for-profit providers — A leading French university has cancelled …
Discussion:
Alexandre Zagoskin on LinkedIn, @drmarcduffy, @openalex_org and @petersuber@fediscience.org