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The “No TikTok on United States Devices Act,” which would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to block and prohibit transactions with TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, has been introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley. Hawley says the Chinese-based app poses national security risks including the ability of the Chinese government to use US user data for such purposes as surveillance, microtargeting, deepfakes or blackmail. TikTok denies the charges, with company spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter saying that the proposed ban “takes a piecemeal approach to national security.” Hawley also shepherded through a proposal to ban TikTok on government devices as part of a $1.7 trillion federal funding bill at the end of last year.
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| Victor Navasky |
Victor Navasky, who was editor of The Nation from 1978 to 1995, and subsequently served as publisher and editorial director until 2005, died on Jan. 23 at the age of 90. Navasky’s publishing career got its start at Yale Law School, where he co-founded and edited Monocle, a satirical magazine. He later wrote for the New York Times Magazine and was also campaign manager for former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark’s unsuccessful 1974 bid for a Senate seat. In addition to upholding The Nation’s left-wing bona fides, Navasky boosted its financial fortunes, more than tripling its circulation. Among other accolades, he won a National Book Award for 1980’s Naming Names, an account of ex-Communist writers, directors and producers who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee and informed on colleagues. After stepping down at The Nation, he chaired the Columbia Journalism Review. “Victor was a true believer in the power of independent media,” said Katrina vanden Heuvel, who succeeded Navasky as The Nation’s editor.
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Gannett’s job-slashing binge has extended to the FSView & Florida Flambeau, a Florida State University student newspaper that was bought by the Tallahassee Democrat, a Gannett paper, in 2006. According to a report on Poynter.org, FSView lost at least three paid positions and had its weekly print pages cut from 12 to eight. Until this semester, the paper had seven paid positions, with pay topping out at $11 an hour—Florida’s minimum wage—for up to 20 hours a week. “While these decisions are difficult, we are strategically aligning our resources to best serve our readers and advertisers to ensure the future of journalism,” said Gannett spokesperson Carlene Cox.
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
