Calling the ad-based business model for media “broken,” Medium CEO Ev Williams said the publishing platform is laying off a third of its staff and closing two offices as it looks for a better way to pay its writers. (Note that Williams is the co-founder and largest single shareholder of another ad-supported company with media ambitions — Twitter.) — [Kurt Wagner / Recode]
Recode Daily: Medium is cutting 50 jobs and looking for a business model that doesn’t depend on ads
Online ad-driven media is a “broken system,” says CEO Ev Williams.
Donald Trump continues to sow doubts about the U.S. intelligence community’s consensus on Russia’s election hacking, and his obfuscation will succeed unless Silicon Valley’s experts shoot down his dubious assertions and lend their expertise to congressional investigators. — [Kara Swisher / Recode]
At the request of Chinese authorities, Apple has removed the New York Times app from its China App Store, bowing to the realities of doing business in a country that is politically repressive but too big a market to ignore. — [Ina Fried / Recode]
Every Friday, Mark Zuckerberg holds a company-wide Q&A session, candidly discussing strategy and products and sharing opinions on competitors. And, thanks to peer pressure, almost nothing leaks to the press. As one ex-employee said: “You don’t betray the family.” — [Kurt Wagner / Recode]
Amazon is planning to add a line of activewear to its private-label clothing business, and, according to Reuters, is also weighing a bid to acquire bankrupt American Apparel. On the brick-and-mortar front, the company is opening a bookstore in Manhattan. — [Jason Del Rey / Recode]
Among the highlights from Day 2 of CES: Samsung’s Chromebooks and some other interesting PCs; TVs from Sony, Samsung and LG; and cars — Hyundai’s Ioniq, Toyota’s Concept-i and Nvidia’s BB8. Keep up with the latest on our liveblog. — [The Verge]
On the latest episode of Recode Media with Peter Kafka, Choose Yourself Media founder James Altucher says, “Every good thing comes from making a mistake,” and he should know, having succeeded after making and losing a multimillion dollar fortune — twice. — [Eric Johnson / Recode]
Top Stories From Recode
Big changes could be in store for tech, but details are scarce.
Turns out people like to shop with robots.
Researchers took complete control over two of the drones.
The company kicked off its CES keynote by looking back on a rough 2016.
As a father myself, I’d love to see that change.
The ride-hail company has also invested in Lyft, Grab and Ola.
The fund has pledged to invest $50 billion in U.S. tech companies.
This Is Cool
At the beginning of each year, Edge.org taps a couple hundred very smart people and asks them a big question. This year, it’s “What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known?”
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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