Top News:
Michael Hardy / Texas Monthly:
Houston Landing journalists write to the board to reverse CEO Peter Bhatia firing EIC Mizanur Rahman and an investigative reporter; Bhatia cited a “reset” — Seven months after its official debut, a billionaire-funded media start-up just fired its editor and top investigative reporter.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Nieman Lab, @gusbova, @mkerrhardy, @juliaguilbeau, @amandabecker, @michaelgreshko, @jbenton, @robertdownen_, @brizzyc, @mattdpearce, @brookekushwaha, @jlbuch, Media Nation, Poynter and @hou_landing
Charisma Madarang / Rolling Stone:
Dudesy, an AI-driven podcast curated by humans, releases an hour-long comedy special featuring an AI-generated recreation of George Carlin, who died in 2008 — The hour-long special arrived from Dudesy, a podcast run by artificial intelligence … Following the special's release …
Deadline:
Memo: Amazon Studios Head Jennifer Salke says recent layoffs were part of its plan to consolidate the Amazon Studios and MGM theatrical distribution teams — EXCLUSIVE: Earlier this morning, Amazon revealed that it was laying off several hundred employees across Prime Video and Amazon Studios as part of a review of its business.
Discussion:
The Wrap
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Memo: Amazon Studios SVP Mike Hopkins says the company would cut “several hundred roles” in its Prime Video and MGM Studios units; both had cuts in early 2023
Discussion:
Variety, Broadband TV News, The Desk, @tim_bays, @davidclinchnews, @lmoses, Mumbrella, @jessicalessin, @lucas_shaw, @carnage4life@threads.net, The Information, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Engadget, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, TechCrunch, Media Play News, IndieWire, The Information, MediaPost, Cord Cutters News and Bloomberg
The Verge:
Twitch CEO Dan Clancy confirms plans to cut 500+ jobs, or ~35% of its staff, and says its workforce was oversized for its business' size, after March 2023 cuts
Discussion:
Twitch, WHDH 7News, GeekWire, Associated Press, @tomwarren, The Hill, Observer, Next TV, Decrypt, Tubefilter, Game Rant, New York Daily News, @carterfornow, @dannyodwyer, @lucas_shaw, @zacharydiaz, @carnage4life, @richlightshed, @tunguz, Justin Gerrard on LinkedIn, CNN, Deadline, Dan Rayburn on LinkedIn, Metro, @ianbetteridge@writing …, Gizmodo, The Wrap, Adweek, MediaPost, Music Ally, gamedeveloper, Digital Music News, GamesIndustry.biz, Engadget, Spencer Soper on LinkedIn, TechCrunch, The Information, GamesHub, Cord Cutters News, Shacknews, Jalyssa Eliasen on LinkedIn and Bloomberg
Moneycontrol:
ByteDance plans to shut down music streaming service Resso in India on January 31, after removing the App Store and Google Play apps in mid-December 2023 — ByteDance said all existing users of Resso in India will be offered a full refund for the remainder of their subscription fees
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Music Ally and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »
Los Angeles Times:
California public radio station KCRW cuts about 16 jobs by offering buyouts and ends its Greater LA podcast, in a bid to reduce a projected $3M budget deficit — Santa Monica public radio station KCRW will part ways with more than a dozen staffers and end the popular podcast “Greater LA.”
Discussion:
@radiochio, Digital Music News, @bigdanimals, @radiochio, The Wrap and Axios
Glossy:
Digiday Media appoints COO David Amrani as its new CEO, replacing Nick Friese, who has served has CEO since the company's founding in 2008 — Digiday Media, the global media company behind Digiday, Glossy, Modern Retail and Worklife, today announced the appointment of its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Discussion:
Digiday
Lynette Rice / Deadline:
Sources: Hallmark Media lays off CMO Lara Richardson, Chief People Officer Pamela Wolfe, EVP Research Strategy Robin Thomas, and Head of Distribution Judi Lopez — Senior TV Writer/TV Editor, Awards — EXCLUSIVE: It's Hallmark Media's turn now: Deadline has learned that the premier home …
Discussion:
The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Amazon Prime Video's move to make the ad tier its default could unravel how advertisers deal with TV broadcasters and scare off rivals with its massive scale — On Jan. 29, Prime Video will make its ad tier the default for its tens of millions of subscribers, a move that could unravel …
Discussion:
Adweek, Observer, MediaPost and Insider Intelligence
Allison Quinn / The Daily Beast:
Russia hit a Kharkiv hotel known to house foreign journalists and injured two reporters on January 10, part of a pattern of targeting reporter gathering spots — A Turkish reporter covering the Kremlin's indiscriminate assaults on Ukraine and an elderly woman were among those injured.
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …
Andre Gee / Rolling Stone:
Mixtape platform DatPiff uploads its 50TB cache of 366,420 mixtapes and free albums to the Internet Archive, after experiencing a server crash in March 2023 — DatPiff uploaded its extensive free mixtape catalog to the Internet Archive to protect it for the foreseeable future
Discussion:
Mixmag
Kevin Draper / New York Times:
ESPN deciding not to punish Pat McAfee for publicly calling an executive a “rat” highlights a power shift as the network transitions from cable to streaming — For decades, the biggest star at ESPN was ESPN. That's changing as it transitions from cable dominance to a much less certain streaming future.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix says its ad tier has 23M+ MAUs globally, up from 15M+ in November 2023, and 85% of subscribers on the ad tier are streaming for over 2 hours per day — Netflix is seeing strong growth of its advertising-based plan, having recently eclipsed 23 million global monthly active users, president of advertising Amy Reinhard said.
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, The Information, Reuters and Media Play News, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Skydance backers are discussing an all-cash bid for National Amusements; if successful, they would pursue a second deal to merge Paramount and Skydance — CEO Ellison, his father, Larry, and other investors are in talks to buy Redstone's stake in National Amusements, Paramount's parent
Discussion:
Reuters, The Desk, Broadband TV News, @cgasparino, @tvgrimreaper, @cgasparino, @asharma, @jtoonkel, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, Cord Cutters News and Bloomberg
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