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OpenAI responds to the NYT lawsuit, says training is fair use and there is an opt-out, “regurgitation” is a rare bug, and NYT is not telling the full story — We support journalism, partner with news organizations, and believe The New York Times lawsuit is without merit. — Authors
Discussion:
CNN, Stratechery, @fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe, @quasarfortress, @nomadsvagabonds, @themacrosift, @selmarsmit, @drcolinwplewis, @obscure_jazz, @aimee_maree, @maxkannen, @acidflask, @rohanposts, @sai_prasanna, @nicky_bonez, @gdb, @garymarcus, @jacquesthibs, @techau, @altryne, @willoremus@mastodon.social, Media Makers Meet and CMU, more at Techmeme »

Internal memo: Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon says the broadcaster needs to “accelerate” its digital shift and confirms “an impact on jobs”, citing an ad slump — Exclusive: Broadcaster looks to hasten shake-up amid TV advertising slump with most job losses likely to affect London-based workers
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How US News & World Report licenses “badges” that US colleges use to promote their rankings, as critics say the payments incentivize a harmful ranking system — U.S. News sells “badges” to colleges, so they can promote their rankings — whether they are 1st, 10th or much, much lower.
Discussion:
Jonathan Henry on LinkedIn, @halsinger and @jselingo

Sources: SoundCloud owners Raine Group and Temasek Holdings are preparing for a sale of the music streaming service that could fetch $1B+ — Backed by Raine Group and Temasek Holdings, SoundCloud is to be put up for sale later this year as its owners anticipate a substantial payday, Sky News learns.
Discussion:
RAIN News, Music Ally, CMU, @pivic@kolektiva.social and Cory Brown on LinkedIn

Netflix, Max, and Hulu won a combined 12 awards at the 81st Golden Globes; HBO's final Succession season won four awards and Netflix's Beef won three awards — Netflix, Max and Hulu led all streamers with 12 combined key category trophies at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards held Jan. 7 in Los Angeles.
Discussion:
The Streamable, SlashFilm, The Verge, @ayotristan, @appleinsider, Engadget, Awardsdaily, The Hollywood Reporter, People, Deadline, NBC News, AppleInsider, Deadline and Next TV
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Wall Street Journal:
A look at the ambitious bid to turn around the Golden Globes, as a source say CBS is paying a significantly lower licensing fee than the ~$60M NBC used to pay
A look at the ambitious bid to turn around the Golden Globes, as a source say CBS is paying a significantly lower licensing fee than the ~$60M NBC used to pay
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Ringer, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Slate, Variety, Associated Press, New York Times, Billboard, CBS News, TMZ.com, abc7NY, @albertfong98, Vox and KTFT

Axel Springer launches a review of the editorial processes at BI, after a BI story claimed many instances of plagiarism by MIT's Neri Oxman, Bill Ackman's wife — The Scoop — Business Insider's parent company is divided over the publication's recent article about plagiarism allegations …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Washington Post, New York Post, @benmullin, @mjnblack, @karaswisher@threads.net, @niallstanage, @alex.stamos@threads.net, @hshaban, @karaswisher@threads.net, @lorakolodny@threads.net, @billackman, @carnage4life, @billackman, Why Evolution Is True, @esqueer_@threads.net, @jamesrbuk, @chancerydaily@threads.net, @lpolgreen@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, @alexheath@threads.net, @benmullin, @maxwelltani, Talking Biz News, The Wrap, CNN, The Daily Beast and Boing Boing

Sources: Will and Jada Smith's Westbrook struggled to land deals after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock and its 2023 revenue dropped to $100M, forcing steep cuts — The Scoop — The fall of 2021 was the perfect time for Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith to sell their media company, Westbrook.
Discussion:
Poynter and David Adeleke on LinkedIn

SCOTUS declines to hear a case filed by Twitter in 2014, in which Twitter argued that disclosing data requests in national security probes was protected by 1A — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by Elon Musk's X Corp to consider whether the social media company …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller, @nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour becomes the highest-grossing concert film of all time, earning $261.6M+ globally, surpassing Michael Jackson's This Is It from 2009 — Taylor Swift is starting off 2024 with yet another historic milestone under her belt. — Following the release of “Taylor Swift …
Discussion:
Forbes, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, ScreenRant and Rolling Stone

MBC Group, the Middle East's biggest broadcaster, rises 20% on its first day of trading on the Saudi exchange, after raising $222M by selling a 10% stake — - MBC has raised $222 million selling a 10% stake in IPO — Company was founded by Waleed Al Ibrahim in London in 1991

TikTok restricts Creative Center, used by advertisers to track hashtags, after it was used by critics to scrutinize content on the Israel-Hamas war and more — People and groups had harnessed the tool to scrutinize content on the site related to the Israel-Hamas war and other topics.

Getty Images and Nvidia launch Generative AI by iStock, a text-to-image service that generates stock photos and is aimed at SMBs — Getty Images and Nvidia are deepening their AI partnership with the launch of Generative AI by iStock, a text-to-image platform specifically designed to make stock photos.
Discussion:
NVIDIA, more at Techmeme »

Radio network Audacy reaches a deal with a supermajority of its debt holders that allows Audacy to reduce its total debt load by 80% to ~$350M — - Deal announced Sunday will reduce total debt load by 80% — Radio, podcast company also files for Chapter 11 protection