Top News:

Donald Trump denies talking to Oracle about a TikTok deal, saying he has spoken to “many people” and that he expects to decide “probably over the next 30 days” — ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Jan 25 (Reuters) - (This Jan. 25 story has been refiled to add the missing words ‘some of’ in paragraph 9)
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HuffPost, Passionfruit, NPR, BGR, CNBC, Music Ally, Associated Press, @danprimack, Music Business Worldwide, Digital Music News, @turnernovak, @bobbyallyn, TechCrunch, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, Fortune, @bobbyallyn.bsky.social, Engadget, Forbes, @carnage4life@mas.to, @mmasnick.bsky.social, The Information, Reuters, The Verge and Adweek, more at Techmeme »

Spotify and UMG announce a new multiyear deal, establishing a direct license between Spotify and Universal Music Publishing Group in the US and other countries — It's official: as MBW reported earlier, Spotify and Universal Music Group have inked a new multi-year licensing agreement.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, UMG, Fortune, Music Ally, Billboard, The Wrap, Music Week and Deadline
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Sources: the new Spotify-UMG deal reduces, but does not fully ameliorate, the payment cuts from Spotify music-audiobooks bundling deal from last year — Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, and Spotify, the world's largest paid streaming service, announced on Sunday new …
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The Verge, Music Business Worldwide, Benzinga, Agence France-Presse, Digital Music News, Reuters, The Japan Times, Bloomberg and Consequence

Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV's chair and TV head resign after criticism over their handling of a sexual misconduct investigation into an ex-entertainment star — Japanese media company has not gone far enough to resolve governance issues, say shareholders — The chair and head of television …
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Associated Press, The Wrap, Deadline, Reuters, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, @transitions0101, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, @mrjeffu, @mrjeffu, Bloomberg, The Japan Times and New York Times
The Associated Press:
The AP disputes allegations made in The Stringer's documentary, which questions if AP photographer Nick Ut took the famous Vietnam War photo “The Terror of War” — The Associated Press issued this statement after a representative was able to view the film “The Stringer” …
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Associated Press, The Wrap, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Poynter, The Independent, @newsguy.bsky.social, @maxwelltani, @sharonwaxman, @benmullin, @picornell.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, Amantha Perera on LinkedIn, @christogrozev, Raw Story, Vanity Fair and Le Monde, more at Techmeme »

Despite assurances, advertisers worry Meta's tools may not prevent ads from appearing near offensive content as the new content moderation approach takes effect — Social-media giant's loosening of speech restrictions is unsettling advertisers, who say a decade of efforts to protect their reputations is at risk
Max Tani / Semafor:
The Guardian says fundraising last week rose 250% YoY to $4M; Substack says the week of Jan. 13 was its biggest ever for new paid subs and app DAUs are spiking — In today's edition: The future of the LA Times.

NYT says IDF assaulted reporter Aaron Boxerman, who was conducting interviews, and pointed a rifle at another, during a raid on the home of a freed Hamas member — Soldiers disrupted a Jerusalem gathering to mark the early release of an imprisoned Palestinian, arresting his brother and roughing up his father.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @farnazfassihi, @farnazfassihi, @dropsitenews and @diplomatofnight.com

Source: LAT's Patrick Soon-Shiong enlisted Eric Beach, a Republican who ran a pro-Trump PAC, to recruit members for the editorial board and a new opinion forum — THE SCOOP — The owner of the Los Angeles Times has been leaning on a veteran Republican who ran a pro-Trump PAC to shape …

A profile of and an interview with Christiane Amanpour on Donald Trump's second term, Mark Zuckerberg removing fact-checking, threats to women, and more — Christiane Amanpour has spent four decades as a celebrated journalist and war reporter. With disinformation rampaging through the media …
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@rationaldoge@hachyderm.io, @chrishendel.bsky.social, @cnnipr and Raw Story

An interview with Kyaw Min Swe, a newspaper editor from Myanmar who faced torture and imprisonment under the military junta before escaping to Germany in June — Index travels to Germany to meet exiled newspaper editor Kyaw Min Swe, who faced torture and imprisonment at the hands of the military junta
Discussion:
@ianwylie.bsky.social, New York Times and Global Voices

Dark Horse Comics cancels Neil Gaiman's upcoming work after sexual misconduct allegations were made against him — A publisher of Neil Gaiman's graphic novels and comic books has cancelled his upcoming work after sexual misconduct allegations were made against him.
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@darkhorsecomics, The Guardian, New York Times, @conversecomics, Deadline, NME, The Hollywood Reporter, WFAA-TV, Variety, Oregonian, AV Club, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, @darkhorse.com, Screen Rant and Gizmodo