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Princess Photo Confession, Reddit's Mega IPO, Oscars Ratings Surge
Just reporting the facts.
Centrist Chronicle
March 13, 2024
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Yesterday, Catherine, the Princess of Wales, extended an apology following criticism regarding a digitally altered photograph posted online in celebration of the UK's Mother's Day. Notable media entities challenged the photo's authenticity, prompting its retraction. While minor adjustments such as cropping are typically permissible, photo distribution services maintain stringent rules against significant alterations.
This incident involved the first official portrait of the princess unveiled since the festive season, coinciding with her recent public absence, which was ascribed to her scheduled abdominal surgery this past January. Amidst ongoing public speculation concerning her health, despite assurances of her convalescence and postponed public engagements until post-Easter, she was seen departing Windsor Castle with Prince William.
The royal household, which customarily refrains from public comment on such matters, opted not to disclose the original photo or clarify the nature of the modifications. This episode adds to prior instances where the royal couple faced scrutiny over possible image enhancements, notably concerning their 2023 holiday greeting card.
Reddit announced its intention to secure up to $748 million during its impending initial public offering (IPO) next week, targeting a valuation near $6.5 billion. This event is set to be the inaugural IPO for a U.S. social media platform since Pinterest's $10 billion launch in 2019.
As a hub for various online communities, Reddit ranks as the 15th most frequented website globally, with a weekly active user base of 267 million. Originating in 2005 and headquartered in San Francisco, Reddit has yet to achieve profitability, with its financials primarily fueled by ad revenues. The platform reported $803 million in revenue last year, alongside a $91 million loss, which marks an improvement from the $159 million loss reported in 2022.
Reddit intends to offer 22 million shares, each priced between $31 and $34, allocating 8% of these shares to its workforce, their acquaintances, and select users and moderators. Notably, participants of the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, known for championing meme stocks, have voiced plans to short-sell Reddit's shares, citing concerns over the company's financial performance.
This IPO initiative follows Reddit's recent disclosure of a $60 million agreement with Google, which permits the tech giant to harness Reddit data for AI model training purposes.
The Oscars ceremony in 2024 enjoyed its highest viewership in four years.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and broadcast on ABC, the event attracted an average viewership of 19.5 million, based on time zone-adjusted fast national figures from Nielsen, marking a 4 percent increase compared to the previous year. This year's 96th Academy Awards garnered the largest audience any awards show has seen since 2020. Back then, the Oscars, which took place a month before the United States entered a lockdown due to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, attracted 23.64 million viewers.
The prior year's Oscars had 18.76 million viewers. Since hitting a low with just 10.4 million viewers during the 2021 pandemic-impacted ceremony, which was also unusually scheduled in late April instead of March, the Oscar broadcasts have gradually regained their audience.