Mediagazer: Surj, the sporting arm of Saudi Arabia's PIF, plans to invest $1B in DAZN and a new joint venture with the sports streamer; source: Surj will take a <5% stake (Financial Times)

8:55 AM ET, February 18, 2025

Top News:

Marc Caputo / Axios:

Sources: Trump is targeting AP to amplify GOP and conservative criticisms that the AP Stylebook shapes political dialogue by favoring liberal words and phrases — - “This isn't just about the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Axios.

Jim Acosta / The Jim Acosta Show:

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta calls on news outlets to unite in opposition to the Trump administration's treatment of journalists and news organizations like AP — It was only a matter of time. — The Trump White House placed unconstitutional restrictions on the Associated Press last week …

Discussion: The Hill, Columbia Journalism Review, @kennysmith.bsky.social, The Daily Beast, @farhip, Daily Kos, @arrrg@kolektiva.social, Associated Press, The Independent, Mediaite, @craigcrawford.com, Raw Story and CNBC

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

The WaPo rejected a print ad from Common Cause that said “Fire Elon Musk”, designed to wrap around the DC edition, after the group said it signed a $115K deal — The Washington Post this week backed out of a “Fire Elon Musk” advertising order that was to run as a wrap …

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, New York Times, Media Nation, Mock Paper Scissors, Musk Watch, CNN, Gizmodo, Business Insider, Status, Australian Financial Review, @heidilifeldman@mastodon …, @marklemley.bsky.social, @trashpandabee.bsky.social, @ericsmom2006.bsky.social, @PeterRu@climatejustice.social, @numb.comfortab.ly, The Wrap, Raw Story, @ProjectFearlessness …, @jonzoidberg.bsky.social, @jtischauser.bsky.social, @cindyweinstein@mastodon.world, @gtconway.bsky.social, The Fucking News, @pulsa8.bsky.social, @jameskanter.bsky.social, No Pressure, John., @bgrueskin.bsky.social, New Republic, @commoncause, @commoncause, The Independent, @jackofallwaze.bsky.social, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Nelson Davis on LinkedIn, @rethinkplaces.bsky.social, @leftcoastbabe.bsky.social, @lr-detherage.bsky.social, @amysiskind.bsky.social, Benzinga, @matthewcort.land, @robpegoraro.com, @SteveRogers@progressivecafe …, @dangillmor@mastodon.social and @samlitzinger.bsky.social

Max Tani / Semafor:

Documents: the NYT greenlights using select internal and external AI tools for editorial and product staff, including from OpenAI, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft — The Scoop — The New York Times is greenlighting the use of AI for its product and editorial staff, saying that internal tools …

Financial Times:

Surj, the sporting arm of Saudi Arabia's PIF, plans to invest $1B in DAZN and a new joint venture with the sports streamer; source: Surj will take a <5% stake — Surj Sports Investment will take stake in DAZN and help fund a Middle East broadcasting joint venture

Discussion: Broadband TV News, Advanced Television, Globe and Mail, @martingrantross, Australian Financial Review, New York Times and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

The New York Times wins three 2024 Polk Awards, the most of any publication; The New Yorker, ProPublica, Vanity Fair, and The Baltimore Banner also won — The Times was honored for an investigation into extremism in Israel, coverage of the civil war in Sudan and a narrative about a Russian soldier who defected from the war in Ukraine.

Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:

HBO restores next-day YouTube posts for Last Week Tonight clips after imposing a few days delay in February 2024; sources say Max viewership saw little increase — HBO reverses a decision to keep John Oliver's show off of the platform for several days.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, LateNighter, @rickporter.bsky.social, TVLine, @latenightercom, Deadline and ME

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Source: Spotify struck deals with Universal and Warner for its Music Pro plan launch, which includes concert tickets, but doesn't yet have rights from Sony — Spotify is developing a more expensive version of its service that will offer high-quality audio, early access to concert tickets and remixing tools.

Discussion: Tech Advisor, The Indian Express, The Verge, @lucas_shaw, MacRumors, Digital Music News, 9to5Google, CMU, 9to5Mac, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

RELX, formerly known as Reed Elsevier, says AI and face-to-face events helped grow 2024 revenue by 7% YoY to £9.4B and adjusted operating profit by 10% to £3.2B — Business information giant is UK's largest media company by revenue. — Artificial intelligence and face …

Discussion: Investing.com, The Times, Reuters, Substack, Law360, RELX and City A.M.

The Age:

Sources: Australia's plans to threaten US companies like Meta with large fines for not paying local media outlets have been paused amid tariff talks with the US — Plans to threaten US tech giants such as Meta with hundreds of millions of dollars in Australian charges have been paused …

Discussion: Australian Financial Review, Crikey, @johnquiggin.bsky.social and @brucerguthrie.bsky.social

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

MPA: South Koreans streamed 131B minutes of premium VOD in 2024, up 18% YoY, as sector revenue reached $2B; Netflix held 35% viewership share, as Tving hit 34% — The report reveals that Korean viewers streamed a whopping 131 billion minutes of premium VOD content last year, marking an 18% jump from 2023.

Tommy Walker / Deutsche Welle:

Journalists raise concerns over press freedom in Cambodia after reports of a crackdown against local and foreign journalists reporting on sensitive issues — Concerns over press freedom in Cambodia are growing after reports of a recent crackdown against local and foreign journalists.

Discussion: @nathanpsouthern, @tommywalkerco and @neiloughlin

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