Mediagazer: YouTuber Markiplier's self-funded horror film Iron Lung debuted at No. 2 at the US box office with $22M after a fan campaign helped land it on 2,500 screens (Megan Farokhmanesh/New York Times)

Tina Brown / FRESH HELL Tina Brown's Diary:

The Jeff Bezos who bought WaPo in 2013 is not the same one allowing its destruction now, and he has ended the myth that a tech billionaire could save journalism — The whole debacle of the Washington Post brand hara-kiri last week dispatched the myth that a tech billionaire could save serious journalism.

Discussion: @samlitzinger.bsky.social, Anup Kaphle on LinkedIn, @Brad_Rosenheim …, @kristin-wilson.bsky.social, Washington Examiner, @postguild, @anarchoterran.bsky.social, @tinabrownlm, @sallyjenki and @paulasz24.bsky.social

The Washington Post's February 10 print edition featured two full pages of AP stories in the A section and a total of eight stories from the wire service — An entire page of wire stories in @murraymatt's @washingtonpost today, three of eight AP stories in the A section. [image]

Discussion: @kennysmith.org, @adamliptak and @arik.org

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:

Paramount sweetens its WBD bid with a “ticking fee” worth ~$650M/quarter if the deal isn't closed by year-end and offers to fund WBD's $2.8B Netflix breakup fee — Paramount Skydance said Tuesday it has sweetened its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery, adding a so-called “ticking fee” …

Michael Savage / The Guardian:

Tim Davie says the UK Foreign Office's deal with the BBC World Service ends in seven weeks; the office contributed £137M to the service's £400M funding in 2025 — As trust in Russia and China's state broadcasters grows, director general warns of the dangers of cutting back the service

Discussion: Advanced Television, @kaedotcom.bsky.social, @andrewrait.bsky.social, @davidhendy.bsky.social, @michaelsavage.bsky.social and @writesbright.bsky.social

The Information:

Sources: Amazon is planning a marketplace where publishers can sell content to companies offering AI products; Microsoft has rolled out a similar service — Amazon has indicated to publishing industry executives that it is planning to launch a marketplace where publishers can sell their content …

Discussion: Reuters, Catherine Perloff on LinkedIn, Fortune, Blockonomi, PYMNTS.com, BMI, WinBuzzer, @pressgazette.co.uk, Publishers Weekly, The Stack and Crypto Briefing

TMZ.com:

Sources: Britney Spears sold her music catalog and other rights to Primary Wave, in a deal estimated to be “in the ballpark” of $200M — BRITNEY SPEARS I SOLD A PIECE OF ME ... AND THE WHOLE DAMN CATALOG!!! … Britney Spears just signed a massive new music deal …

Discussion: Variety, Los Angeles Times, Us Weekly, Daily Mail, New York Daily News, NBC News, Deadline, Star Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, OMG.BLOG, Oh No They Didn't! and Just Jared

Megan Farokhmanesh / New York Times:

YouTuber Markiplier's self-funded horror film Iron Lung debuted at No. 2 at the US box office with $22M after a fan campaign helped land it on 2,500 screens — “Iron Lung,” a horror movie directed and funded by the video creator known as Markiplier, pulled in $22 million in its first weekend …

Discussion: Slate, The A.V. Club, Dexerto and Forbes

New York Times:

In opening statements in a social media addiction trial in Los Angeles, YouTube argues it is an entertainment service like Netflix rather than a social network — The app said in opening statements that it was more of an entertainment platform. The lawsuit claims social media companies design products that cause personal injury.

Discussion: Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, @dannygroner.bsky.social, @johnkerrison.me, @caseynewton.bsky.social, Sky News, Washington Examiner, Tech in Asia, BBC, The Indian Express, UPI, City A.M., CNN and Reuters

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

UK's Reach plans to close two of its three remaining printing plants to focus on digital, even as £194.1M out of its H1 2025 revenue of £256M came from print — Glasgow and Watford sites to close and outsource most of their work. — Reach has proposed to close two of its three remaining print sites across the UK.

Discussion: HoldtheFrontPage and thenational.scot

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

The European Publishers Council files an EU antitrust complaint against Google over AI Overviews, for “using its market power” to take content without consent — Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google was hit with an EU antitrust complaint by the European Publishers Council on Tuesday …

Discussion: Irish Examiner and WinBuzzer

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 13% YoY to €4.5B, MAUs up 11% to 751M, above estimates, and Premium users up 10% to 290M; SPOT closes up 14.75% — Spotify Technology SA, the Swedish music streaming giant, signed up significantly more users than analysts expected, setting a corporate record for most users added in a single quarter.

Kyle Tharp / @kylewilsontharp:

Turning Point USA added 900K followers on YouTube between February 2 and February 9, the day after it hosted an “alternate” Super Bowl halftime show — 📈 FYI, about that half-time show... Turning Point USA has added nearly 1 million new YouTube subscribers in the past *week*, far more than any other political channel on the platform. [image]

Discussion: Media Play News and The Wrap