Top News:
OpenAI:
OpenAI responds to The New York Times' lawsuit: training is fair use and there is an opt-out, “regurgitation” is a rare bug, and NYT “manipulated” its models — We support journalism, partner with news organizations, and believe The New York Times lawsuit is without merit.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Puck, The Information, Thurrott, The Register, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, CNBC, TechCrunch, Financial Times, The Verge, Bloomberg, @jeremymbarr, @altryne, @themacrosift, @ndiakopoulos, Stratechery, CNN, Futurism, @garymarcus, @acidflask, @selmarsmit, @rohanposts, @froomkin, @fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe, @reporterzoe@threads.net, @verge, @gdb, @willoremus@mastodon.social, @techau, @giordanorogers, @drcolinwplewis, @isaiahporitz, @jamesrbuk, @martin@openedtech.social, @sai_prasanna, @andrewyng, @minimaxir, @obscure_jazz, @nicky_bonez, @quasarfortress, @nomadsvagabonds, @aimee_maree, @tomwarren, @saurabhsachan, CMU, @carnage4life, @maxkannen, @karlauerbach@sfba.social, @jacquesthibs, The Hollywood Reporter, @thatadamguy@threads.net and IEEE Spectrum, more at Techmeme »
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Substack plans to remove some Nazi publications, but its new policy interpretation won't include proactively removing neo-Nazi and far-right extremism content — Substack is removing some publications that express support for Nazis, the company said today.
Mark Kleinman / Sky News:
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:
CMU, @markkleinmansky, @crefovi, Cory Brown on LinkedIn, RAIN News, @pivic@kolektiva.social and Music Ally
Steven J. Horowitz / Variety:
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:
The Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, ScreenRant, Billboard, Rolling Stone and Digital Music News
Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Roxi, a voice-activated video music service backed by Simon Cowell and others, plans to expand from UK to the US in Q1 on most streaming devices and smart TVs — Backed by Simon Cowell, Kylie Minogue and Sheryl Crow, streaming service looks to supplant smart speakers
Discussion:
Music Ally, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter and Advanced Television
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
New York Post's Page Six launches a new studio in New York City to shoot its expanding array of celebrity-driven content, with media personality Astra as anchor — The tabloid's fabled gossip column has hired media personality Astra as anchor for the New York City facility in the headquarters of News Corp.
Discussion:
Observer
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
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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Alan Blinder / New York Times:
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:
@halsinger, @drb_85, @sheridanfinaid, @jselingo and Jonathan Henry on LinkedIn
Mia Sato / The Verge:
YouTube updates its cyberbullying policy to ban AI-generated content that “realistically simulates” deceased children or victims of crimes or deadly events — YouTube is updating its cyberbullying and harassment policies and will no longer allow content that “realistically simulates” …
Discussion:
TechCrunch
Max Tani / Semafor:
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
Emilia David / The Verge:
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 »
Nate Raymond / Reuters:
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:
MediaPost, The Daily Caller, The Hill, The Verge and @nothingsmonstrd.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:
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.
Erik Gruenwedel / Media Play News:
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:
Rolling Stone, @appleinsider, The Verge, @ayotristan, The Streamable, Engadget, SlashFilm, People, Deadline, NBC News, AppleInsider, Deadline, Awardsdaily, Next TV and The Hollywood Reporter
RELATED:
Katie Campione / Deadline:
Nielsen: the 81st Golden Globes had 9.4M live and same-day viewers, up 50% from 2023's show, making it the most-watched Golden Globes since 2020
Discussion:
Billboard, Variety, The Wrap, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Bloomberg, Reuters, TVLine, TVNewsCheck and The Hollywood Reporter
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