Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Source: The Messenger is expected to lay off roughly two dozen out of ~300 employees this week; the company says it is “in the midst of a second-round raise” — The company, an aggressive entrant to the digital news space, is expected to cut roughly two-dozen employees later this week.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Talking Biz News, @carlmacgowan, @carloseats, @stufalk, @tomaxwell, The Wrap, @lmoses, @theloniusly, @evolambert, @benjaminopowers, @benmullin, @benmullin, New York Post and The Information
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Ray Schultz / MediaPost:
Quebec City's Le Soleil newspaper, founded in 1896, ends its print edition, going fully digital; the newspaper started printing on Saturdays only in March 2020 — Le Soleil, a newspaper based in Quebec City, has published its last print edition and is now going entirely digital.
Discussion:
CBC News
Jay Peters / The Verge:
X launches a Verified Organizations Basic tier for $200/month or $2,000/year, in addition to Full Access for $1,000/month and $50/month for each US affiliate — X (formerly Twitter) now has a “basic” tier for Verified Organizations, which gets you a gold checkmark badge (and a few other benefits) …
Discussion:
@adrianpcarbone, @verified and X, more at Techmeme »
Christopher Williams / Telegraph:
Sources: The Telegraph delays its restructuring until January 31, after UK officials asked to wait until Ofcom reviews RedBird IMI's takeover — ‘Hive down’ delayed until after Ofcom delivers review of Abu Dhabi-backed takeover — A corporate restructuring of The Telegraph viewed …
Discussion:
@pressgazette
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Casey Newton says Platformer will meet with Substack, hoping Substack will remove pro-Nazi content, and Platformer plans to leave if Substack fails to do so — A New York Times lawsuit won't be the last challenge to LLMs' free-riding. PLUS: A note on Substack and Nazis — ∙ Paid
Discussion:
The Guardian, Adweek, @marisakabas@threads.net, @nopipbutcpip.bsky.social, @mmasnick.bsky.social, @marisakabas@threads.net, @marc.e.elias@threads.net, @reporterzoe@threads.net, @brianforrester8@threads.net, @johnbattelle@threads.net, @jacaranda7@threads.net, @marisakabas.bsky.social and @crumbler@threads.net
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
T-Mobile plans to bundle Hulu's ad-supported tier with its Go5G Next plan from January 24; Netflix and Apple TV+ are already free on the Go5G Next plan — The mobile carrier already offers complimentary Netflix and Apple TV+ on its Go5G Next plan. … The telecom giant says that it is …
Discussion:
The Streamable, MediaPost, Variety, 9to5Mac and Cord Cutters News
Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:
BPI: UK consumers streamed 179.6B audio tracks in 2023, up 12.8% YoY; women artists topped the UK's official singles chart for a record 31 of the 52 chart-weeks — British labels body the BPI has published its annual report on music consumption in the UK. — That means figures covering …
Discussion:
BPI, CMU, The Guardian, BPI, Music Week, Financial Times and Music Ally
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Roku plans to launch its first high-end TVs in spring 2024, including the 55-inch, 65-inch, and 75-inch Pro Series for up to $1,500 — Roku Inc., the maker of TV streaming boxes and software, is debuting its first high-end televisions in a bid to continue sales momentum for the company's devices.
Discussion:
The Streamable, TechCrunch, BGR, The Verge, 9to5Google, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Athan Stephanopoulos plans to leave as CNN's chief digital officer at the end of January, the second turnover of digital executives at CNN since WBD took over — Athan Stephanopoulos will leave his role as chief digital officer of CNN as the news outlet's new chief starts to implement …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, @bristei, @pressgazette, @dylanbyers, The Hollywood Reporter and @dylanbyers
Ben Scent / Bloomberg:
Disney signs a confidentiality agreement to share information with shareholder ValueAct, which will support Disney's board nominees, and consult with the firm — ValueAct Chief Investment Officer Mason Morfit said in the statement that Disney has the best intellectual property …
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The UK Editors' Code of Practice Committee rejects calls to extend the discrimination clause in the code to cover Jews, Muslims, those with ADHD, and others — Leading editors have rejected new calls to extend the discrimination clause of the Editors' Code of Practice to cover groups.
Aleks Chan / The Guardian:
The Guardian US raised $2.2M in its 2023 year-end fundraiser, up 25% from the previous record and the most successful raise since its first appeal six years ago — The Guardian US had its most successful end of year fundraiser ever, raising more than $2m to support our journalism in 2024
Adam Chitwood / The Wrap:
USC study: women directed 12.1% of 2023's top films, up from 2022's 9%; Universal led with four top films directed by women, followed by Lionsgate and Disney — A USC Annenberg report finds that only 12.1% of the year's top films were directed by women — While Greta Gerwig's “Barbie” …
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, @Lilith111@mastodon.social, ScreenRant and Variety