Top News:
Roushni Nair / Reuters:
Australia's Nine Entertainment plans to sell its broadcast radio business to the Laundy family for AU$56M and buy digital outdoor ad firm QMS Media for AU$850M — Australia's Nine Entertainment (NEC.AX) on Friday deepened its pivot toward digital media, agreeing to buy outdoor advertising group QMS Media …
Discussion:
Australian Financial Review, Mediaweek, Mumbrella, TV Blackbox, 9News, Capital Brief and Reuters
Max Tani / Semafor:
To avert layoffs, WaPo's White House correspondents, not considered at risk, write a letter to Jeff Bezos highlighting collaborations among the paper's sections — The Scoop — The Washington Post's White House reporters are making an effort to avert what are expected to be large cuts impacting …
Discussion:
CNN, Barrett Media, @tomfitton, The Wrap, @chicoharlan, @mlcalderone, @chucktodd, @jarvis_best, @siobhan_ogrady, @bsoloway, @brianstelter, @ewong, @eugene_scott, @aaronwiener, @escarry, @mikesisak, @mediaevan, The Independent, @maxwelltani, @karyncaplan, @timmurtaugh, @ralph_grabowski, @_hudsonc, @kemettler, @danpfeiffer and Washington Post
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Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
Sources: WaPo CEO Will Lewis floated several plans to make the company profitable again; some efforts failed to pan out, part of a pattern of fits and starts
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CNN, The Philadelphia Inquirer, @nymag.com, Sports Business Journal, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @sallyjenki, @ellenenders.bsky.social, @niemanlab.org, @froomkin.bsky.social, Status, @samlitzinger.bsky.social, New York Post, @newnarrative.bsky.social, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @charlottetklein.bsky.social and Fox News
Nieman Lab:
The Guardian, FT, NYT, USA Today Co., and others are blocking or limiting the Internet Archive's crawlers to prevent AI crawlers from using IA as a backdoor — Outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times are scrutinizing digital archives as potential backdoors for AI crawlers.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Apple reports Q1 revenue from Services, which includes the App Store, Apple Pay, Apple TV, Apple Music, and iCloud, up 14% YoY to $30B, in line with estimates — Apple booked a record haul for the December 2025 quarter thanks to a spike in iPhone sales, while its services business continued to boom …
Discussion:
CNN, Business Wire, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, The Information, Constellation Research, Apple Inc., MacRumors, The Verge, 9to5Mac, Sherwood News and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
The Atlantic:
The Atlantic hires David Brooks as a staff writer and host of a new weekly video podcast, starting in February, after 22 years as an NYT opinion columnist — New home for his writing, and to launch a video podcast — The Atlantic is announcing that David Brooks, who for years …
Discussion:
@kungat108.bsky.social, @yale.edu, @theatlanticpr and The Wrap
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Atlas Obscura reports $18.3M in revenue in 2025 and a $2.6M profit, the first annual profit in its 16-year history, in the first year under CEO Louise Story — This story was originally published in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly newsletter that explores the key themes shaping the media industry.
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
WBD partners with X and TikTok to share Eurosport and TNT Sports coverage of the Winter Games in markets across Europe — WBD will share exclusive behind-the-scenes video content and certain highlights footage on X channels throughout the games, while X handles will include Eurosport, TNT Sports and HBO Max branded channels.
Ben Horney / Front Office Sports:
Source: the NFL won't allow prediction-market ads during Super Bowl LX on February 8, but sports betting ads are allowed, reportedly limited to six total ads — The rise of prediction markets over the last year has been impossible to ignore, with companies like Kalshi and Polymarket raising billions …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Us Weekly, Inc.com, CNBC, Bloomberg, Ad Age and The Portland Press Herald
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Indie film and anti-monopoly groups urge state attorneys general to block the Netflix-WBD deal and also object to any WBD acquisition by Paramount or Comcast — Documentary filmmakers, independent movie theaters and nonprofit groups are urging state attorneys general to block Netflix Inc.'s acquisition …
Discussion:
The Wrap, American Economic Liberties Project, PYMNTS.com, @lucas_shaw and Media Play News
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
A BBC-commissioned review of its content warns against “clunky” color-blind casting and “preachy” anti-colonial storylines that turn off viewers — The BBC has been urged to rethink color-blind casting “tokenism” and “preachy” storylines about the UK's colonial history …
Wall Street Journal:
Brett Ratner, director of Amazon's Melania documentary, filmed President Trump for a planned documentary-style project about the 2020 Abraham Accords — How a former Hollywood player, ‘Rush Hour’ director Brett Ratner, found himself in the epicenter of global power
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Boston Globe, Barron's Online, The Hollywood Gossip, Variety, Associated Press, Raw Story and Just Jared
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New York Times:
Amazon's $35M marketing campaign for Melania is ~10x the budget for similar documentaries like CNN's RBG; some suggest Amazon is currying favor with Trump
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Wired, The Boston Globe, New York Times, New York Daily News, Washington Times, The Hill, New Republic, Mock Paper Scissors, The 19th, Dexerto, National Enquirer, @patricia-ann.bsky.social, @pkafka, @roblevine82.bsky.social, @mikeisaac, New York Post, @therealjessecoffey …, NBC News, @owasow.bsky.social, Mirror, Los Angeles Times, @repjackkimble, @bruce_arthur, @jayblackisfunny, @bmeiselas, @travisakers, @oldfriend99, @tomsteyer, @ronfilipkowski, @glen_mcgregor, @covie_93, @nategilbert, @bmeiselas, @hearinladotcom, @sundaedivine, NPR, Nicki Swift, Raw Story, Daring Fireball, The Guardian, Gamereactor UK, The Wrap, @6thsense4u.bsky.social, @markfollman.bsky.social, @tweetfrankie.bsky.social, The Cut, The Hollywood Gossip, Entertainment Weekly, Danielle Charles on LinkedIn, Newsweek, @ericgoldman.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times, Consequence, @evansthecrime.bsky.social, @unrepentantpunk.bsky.social, Gizmodo, Variety, @pgkroegerbb.bsky.social, The Wrap, Florida's Voice, The Hollywood Reporter, MeidasTouch News, @alx-jxn.bsky.social, NewsMax.com, @johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz, Mercury News, Page Six, The Daily Beast, RADAR, The Hollywood Reporter, Mashable, Cele|bitchy and r/boxoffice, more at Techmeme »
Mike Fleming Jr / Deadline:
Former Lionsgate executive Nathan Kahane launches True North, with backing from Entertainment 360, to produce and finance films from emerging filmmakers — Launched with financial backing from Entertainment 360, True North will produce and finance audaciously artistic commercial movies built …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Joe Rogan says he declined to pay the $500 entry fee for the new Golden Globes podcast award, won by Amy Poehler, because “I don't want to be a part of that” — Rogan was among the list of top 25 most popular podcasts that were eligible to be nominated, based on listenership.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Mediaite, Raw Story and Barrett Media
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