Mediagazer: 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 (Jay Peters/The Verge)

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

Discussion: American Press Institute and Richard Beckman on LinkedIn

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 …

Discussion: Reuters, IndieWire, Radio & Television …, Next TV, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, UPI, Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Walt Disney Company, The Information, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Reuters and Financial Times

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