Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Email: The Messenger shuts down, effective immediately, citing economic headwinds; Jimmy Finkelstein launched the outlet in May 2023 and hired about 300 people — By closing less than a year after it launched, The Messenger is now one of the biggest busts in the annals of online news.
Discussion:
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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Disney has reached a preliminary agreement to sell 60% of its Indian media business to Reliance-backed Viacom18 at a $3.9B valuation — Viacom18's purchase of 60% of Disney's India business reunites the company with two executives who built it — Disney has reached a preliminary agreement …
Discussion:
TechCrunch
Laura Wagner / Washington Post:
Journalists from Tribune publications, including the Chicago Tribune, plan a one-day strike on February 1 to protest cost-cutting by Alden Global Capital — To protest the cuts made by new owner Alden Global Capital, staffs plan walkouts Thursday at the Chicago Tribune …
Discussion:
WAVY-TV, @ctguild, The Wrap, @ctguild, @byjuliapoe, @greenhousenyt, @tvjedi, @chloehilles, @chitribkane, @royalpratt, Axios, @corbinbolies, Chicago Sun Times and @ctguild
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
A US judge dismisses Disney's suit against Gov. Ron DeSantis claiming retaliation after Disney criticized Florida's “Don't Say Gay” bill; Disney plans to appeal — - A judge dismissed a lawsuit Disney filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that alleged he retaliated against the company …
Discussion:
Variety, Politico, KNSD-TV, CBS News, @tedstew, Reuters, @tedstew, The Daily Beast, Reason, Washington Post, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, @tedstew, NPR, Kotaku, Deadline, Mediaite, The Hill, CNN, The A.V. Club, @eriqgardner, Semafor, United States District Court, Courthouse News Service, @tedstew, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Forbes and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Audacy plans to cut a number of positions in its Pineapple Street podcast division; a source says the layoff will affect 12 positions, or ~25% of the staff — Audacy Inc., a radio broadcaster reorganizing in US bankruptcy court, announced plans to cut a number of positions in its Pineapple Street podcast division.
Katie Campione / Deadline:
The Onion Union reaches a tentative agreement with G/O Media, with the negotiating committee making “important gains in wages and workplace protections” — The Onion Union employees have narrowly avoided a strike, reaching a tentative agreement with G/O Media just hours …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, @wgaeast and @onionincunion
Jordan Moreau / Variety:
VFX workers at a Disney subsidiary vote to unionize with the IATSE, becoming the first group of “vendor-side” artists to unionize via an official NLRB vote — A group of visual effects artists who work on Disney's CGI-heavy “Avatar” films have voted to unionize with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.
Discussion:
@iatse, The Wrap, @matthewloeb, @gkwillis6, Hollywood Reporter, @awesomington and @iatse
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Email to subscribers: Hulu changed its agreement to ban sharing accounts outside of the user's household “unless otherwise permitted by your Service Tier” — The Disney-owned streaming service changed its subscriber agreement to ban sharing of accounts outside of individual households.
Discussion:
The Verge, Deadline, @jbillinson@threads.net, The Wrap, TVLine, Cord Cutters News and UPROXX, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alex Cooper releases her hit Call Her Daddy interview podcast on all major audio platforms, after its three year, $60M deal with Spotify ended — Daddy Gang, rejoice! … Full episodes of “Call Her Daddy” have been available only on Spotify since July 2021, under a three-year deal worth more than $60 million.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
LA Times, WSJ, and others are cutting their DC bureaus in an election year, as they focus on their core competencies that are likely better sources of return — An emphasis on subscriptions and changing coverage landscapes help explain — Both the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal …
Discussion:
@markstenberg3, @brittany_geneva and Media Nation
RELATED:
Committee to Protect Journalists:
A Minsk court sentences photojournalist Aliaksandr Ziankou to three years on extremism charges; Belarus was the world's third-worst jailer of reporters in 2023 — New York, January 30, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Belarusian authorities to stop using extremism laws …
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount+ removes some international original content and will not debut some planned programming sourced outside the US as part of its goal to manage costs — Paramount Global's streamer will also not debut some planned programming, such as German anthology series 'Zeit Verbrechen …
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