Mediagazer: In an AMA, Steve Huffman says Reddit is planning to roll out paid subreddits in 2025 and is “laying the foundation” to monetize commerce within subreddits (Scharon Harding/Ars Technica)

7:10 PM ET, February 15, 2025

Top News:

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The White House says it will bar AP from events in the Oval Office and on Air Force One over AP's refusal to use “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico” — - “The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America.

Discussion: Washington Post, @taylor47, The Guardian, Press Watch, @kellyo, @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social, The Hill, Public Notice, Associated Press, Reason, CNBC, The Wrap, @stuartpstevens, @reuterspr, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social, @augieray@mastodon.social, @ron_fournier, @ron_fournier, @kevinmkruse.bsky.social, @axioscomms, @daralind.bsky.social, @lisafung.bsky.social, @sykescharlie, Michael D Pendleton on LinkedIn, @nealrubin_fp, Pravda EN, Daily Mail, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @clarajeffery.bsky.social, @evansutton.bsky.social, @jamellebouie.net, PoliticusUSA, @mcbridetd.bsky.social, @clarajeffery.bsky.social, @kutalik.bsky.social, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, @ron_fournier, @davelevitan.bsky.social, @helenkennedy.bsky.social, @peterbakernyt, @erikwemple, @sarafischer, @presssec, Mediaite, National Press Club, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Convulsions, Daily Kos, Politico, @dangillmor.bsky.social, Justin's Political Corner, Breitbart, People, Bloomberg, New York Times, One America News Network, CBS News, @matthewkeys.net, @eborian.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, Deadline, @brianstelter.bsky.social, New York Daily News, TVNewsCheck, The Post Millennial, CNN, @atrupar.com, Variety, Fox News, Tennessee Star, PEN America, New Republic, E&E News and r/Journalism

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:

James and Kathryn Murdoch detail the succession battle that has pitted James and Lachlan Murdoch against each other, leaving the family empire's future unclear — James Murdoch on mind games, sibling rivalry, and the war for the family media empire — James murdoch was seated …

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Paramount execs weigh risks of settling Trump's lawsuit against CBS News, concerned about potential shareholder litigation or criminal bribery charges — Media company executives fear liability from potential settlement paid before Skydance merger

Discussion: @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Yahoo Finance, Raw Story, @katiefallow.bsky.social, @annmlipton.bsky.social, @annmlipton.bsky.social, @davidenrich.bsky.social and Townhall

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Kadrey v. Meta: Meta paused some AI-related book licensing efforts in April 2023 after contacting publishers and seeing “slow uptake” and logistical setbacks — New court filings in an AI copyright case against Meta add credence to earlier reports that the company “paused” …

Discussion: @markriedl.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Henry Larson / 404 Media:

YouTube has taken down a “true crime” channel with millions of views for 150+ AI-created videos about fake, lurid crimes, for breaking community guidelines — Elizabeth Hernandez found out about the decade-old murder from a flurry of tips sent to her newsroom in August last year.

Discussion: @hemrylarson, @paul@oldfriends.live, @josephcox@infosec.exchange, @hemrylarson, Fast Company, Tubefilter, @pensadorlouco@kolektiva …, Gizmodo, @jalefkowit@vmst.io, @agasramirez@freeradical.zone, @ubiquity75.bsky.social, Android Authority, NPR, Food Processing and BBC

Scharon Harding / Ars Technica:

In an AMA, Steve Huffman says Reddit is planning to roll out paid subreddits in 2025 and is “laying the foundation” to monetize commerce within subreddits — Huffman previously showed interest in potentially introducing a new type of subreddit with “exclusive content or private areas” that Reddit users would pay to access.

Discussion: Business Insider, Tom's Guide, @glenngabe@mas.to, @paul@oldfriends.live, @bastardsheep.com, SFist, Gizmodo, Digital Trends, @flwwhtrbt@mastodon.social, Engadget, @redditff.bsky.social, @drahardja@sfba.social, @autumnwolff.bsky.social, @stefan@stefanbohacek.online, @karlbode.com, @JessTheUnstill@infosec …, @arstechnica@mastodon.social and r/RDDT

Haroon Siddique / The Guardian:

UK-based lawyers for Apple Daily founder and activist Jimmy Lai say they are being targeted by the Chinese state and its supporters in an intimidation campaign — Exclusive: Barristers at Doughty Street Chambers say they have been subject to surveillance, hacking and rape threats

Discussion: @icarszoey.bsky.social, @andyscollick.bsky.social, @mbrooker.bsky.social, @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social, @aoifenolan.bsky.social, @amfchina.bsky.social and @sensehofstede.nl

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Sources: Spotify hopes to launch a Music Pro tier in 2025, a $6/month add-on that will include higher-quality audio, early access to concert tickets, and more — - Spotify is hoping to roll out its new Music Pro this year — Customers may get early access to concert tickets, other perks

Discussion: Android Authority, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, Digital Trends, Reuters, @jordanhr.bsky.social and Financial Times, more at Techmeme »

Andrew Liszewski / The Verge:

Amazon will remove the ability to download ebooks to a computer and send them to a Kindle over USB on February 26; it enabled easy backups and file conversions — After February 26th, you can only download books from the Kindle store to your e-reader over Wi-Fi.

Discussion: @jasondashbailey.bsky.social, @mariabustillos.bsky.social, Android Authority, @leokitty.bsky.social, @jenreadsromance.bsky.social, Android Police, @tkristinwilson@mas.to, Trusted Reviews, @papapishu.bsky.social, Gizmodo and Pocket-lint

Sanjai P R / Bloomberg:

Tata Communications says it now broadcasts 80% of global sporting events after acquiring live production and video transmission firm Switch Enterprises in 2022 — The acquisition of Switch Enterprises LLC three years ago has contributed to Tata generating content for events such as Formula 1 …

Amanda Meade / The Guardian:

Australia's ABC Chair Kim Williams calls News Corp's claims that the public broadcaster costs taxpayers more than Netflix “unbalanced and agenda-driven” — In strongly worded statement, Kim Williams says allegations in Murdoch-owned tabloids ‘do not stand up to scrutiny’

Discussion: @franksting@theblower.au, ABC, ABC, TV Blackbox and @simonrosenberg.bsky.social

Jordan Novet / CNBC:

Filing: Trump Media reports 2024 revenue down 12% YoY to $3.6M and a $400M net loss, up from $58.2M in 2023; the company has a $6.6B market cap — Trump Media & Technology Group shares were down about 1% in extended trading on Friday after the operator of Truth Social released its 2024 results.

Discussion: Forbes, Associated Press, The Independent, @j12t@j12t.social, US Securities and Exchange Commission, The Wrap, Axios and Bloomberg

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More News:

Joe Castaldo / Globe and Mail:
Canada's Torstar sues Meta, claiming Meta breached a three-year, $6.75M contract to pay the Toronto Star for distributing content on Meta's social media sites

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A look at the rapid rise and fall of Talk Tuah, a podcast by “hawk tuah girl” Haliey Welch, showing how podcasting lets people cash in on viral internet fame

Discussion: Futurism and Barrett Media

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Instagram is testing a dislike button for comments; Instagram will not show a dislike count and dislikes may eventually count toward ranking comments

Discussion: The Indian Express, The Hill, @mosseri@threads.net, Digital Trends, Trusted Reviews, Engadget, MacRumors, The Verge, @heaney_555@threads.net, Pocket-lint and New York Post

Sean Burch / The Wrap:
The Washington Post's national politics reporter Ben Terris is leaving to join New York Magazine as its Washington correspondent, replacing Olivia Nuzzi

Discussion: @chaykak, @henryporters, @bterris and New York Magazine

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The Guardian signs a licensing deal with OpenAI, a day after becoming a part of a lawsuit filed against AI startup Cohere for alleged copyright infringement

Discussion: @kimmonismus, @brandyljensen, Engadget, MediaPost, OpenAI, Deadline, Axios, CityNews Toronto, TechCrunch, Talking Biz News, Plagiarism Today, BetaKit, Canadian Press, The Logic and The Information

Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
AMC Networks posts Q4 revenue down 12% YoY to $599M, a $254M operating loss, subscription revenue down 4% to $314M, and 12.4M streaming subscribers by year-end

Discussion: Advanced Television, Insider Monkey, The Desk, Bloomberg, Media Play News, Streaming Better, The Wrap, AMC Networks, Variety, Cord Cutters News, Yahoo Finance, Deadline and TVNewsCheck

Earlier Picks:

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
The Paramount-Skydance merger receives approval from the US SEC, following the EU's nod earlier this week; the FCC's approval is still pending

Discussion: The Streamable, Associated Press and The Wrap

Kendra Barnett / Adweek:
Reddit says content licensing deals with Google and OpenAI account for ~10% of its revenue but it's focused on its ad revenue business, which grew 60% YoY in Q4

Discussion: Bloomberg, @kendrabarnett.bsky.social and Kiplinger

Jon Lewis / Sports Media Watch:
Report: ESPN chose not to renew its US F1 media rights package expiring in 2025; F1 executives met with Netflix and NBC during Super Bowl week in New Orleans

Discussion: Barrett Media and Awful Announcing

Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube TV says it has “reached a short term extension” to keep Paramount's content, including CBS and Nickelodeon, “as we work toward a deal”

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Melania Trump's cut of her $40M documentary licensing deal with Amazon is 70%+, and her agents are selling “sponsorships” for the film starting at $10M

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple and Google restore TikTok to their US app stores after its January 18 removal, following Trump admin assurances that a ban won't immediately be enforced

Discussion: Android Central, @jason_kint, @selinawangtv, Baltimore Sun, @timsweeneyepic, @trungtphan, @michaelsobolik, @theapplehub, Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner, Forbes, Reuters, Breitbart, Passionfruit, Hollywood Life, iPhone in Canada Blog, BBC, Entrepreneur, Tennessee Star, @markgurman, @markgurman, @alexeheath, Pocket-lint, 9to5Google, Retail TouchPoints, Sherwood News, New York Times, MacDailyNews, Fast Company, UPI, Tom's Guide, MEDIANAMA, MediaPost, TechNode, Mashable, Al Jazeera, The US Sun, Axios, CBS News, Associated Press, TechCrunch, Cult of Mac, Times of India, Variety, ABC7, Politico, Comic Book, Digital Music News, Wired, The Boston Globe, Financial Times, Reclaim The Net, Adweek, BGR, KTVU-TV, NPR, The Verge, The Indian Express, Digital Trends, Engadget, CNBC, AppleInsider, @redrd.bsky.social, @aricohn.com, The Wrap, The Information, iClarified, Forbes, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Business Insider and Just Jared

From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
Ubisoft carves out a unit, which includes Assassin's Creed, into a ~€4B subsidiary; Tencent will invest €1.16B to acquire a 25% stake in the new entity

Andrew Goudsward / Reuters:
A US federal judge orders agencies whose leaders participated in the Signal chat on the Houthi attacks to preserve all messages sent from March 11 to March 15

Bloomberg:
Source: CoreWeave's IPO raised $1.5B, selling ~37.5M shares at $40 each, down from an initial plan of 49M shares at $47-$55; Nvidia anchored with a ~$250M order

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