Top News:

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, Thurrott, The Information, The Register, @jeremymbarr, @altryne, @themacrosift, @ndiakopoulos, Financial Times, Stratechery, CNN, Futurism, @garymarcus, @acidflask, @selmarsmit, The Verge, @rohanposts, @froomkin, @fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe, CNBC, Bloomberg, @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, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @aimee_maree, @tomwarren, @saurabhsachan, CMU, @carnage4life, TechCrunch, @maxkannen, @karlauerbach@sfba.social, @jacquesthibs, The Hollywood Reporter and @thatadamguy@threads.net, more at Techmeme »

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.

Some Israeli journalists say Israeli media's uniformly patriotic vision of reality that omits the plight of Palestinians leaves viewers dangerously disconnected — Coverage that omits plight of Palestinians leaves Israeli public dangerously disconnected from the rest of the world, critical journalists say
Discussion:
Politico and Associated Press

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, Advanced Television and The Hollywood Reporter

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, ScreenRant, Billboard, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter and Digital Music 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:
Billboard, CMU, @markkleinmansky, @crefovi, Cory Brown on LinkedIn, RAIN News, Music Ally, @pivic@kolektiva.social and Digital Music News

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, more at Techmeme »

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

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

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.

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 »

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:
David Adeleke on LinkedIn and Poynter

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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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 — CBS can breathe a sigh of relief. — The Golden Globes appears to be on the up and up, with 9.4M live + same-day viewers tuning in to watch …
Discussion:
Billboard, New York Times, Variety, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Reuters, Bloomberg, TVLine, TVNewsCheck and The Hollywood Reporter
RELATED:
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 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
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, @appleinsider, The Verge, @ayotristan, The Streamable, SlashFilm, Deadline, AppleInsider, NBC News, Deadline, People, Engadget, Awardsdaily, Next TV and The Hollywood Reporter