Top News:
John Paczkowski / BuzzFeed:
Sources: Apple to debut Amazon Prime Video app on Apple TV at WWDC; one source says the app may launch this summer — And Apple TV — which has been banned from Amazon since late 2015 — is returning to the retailer's virtual shelves. — Managing Editor, BuzzFeed San Francisco
Discussion:
Business Insider and @johnpaczkowski, more at Techmeme »
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Sony Pictures Entertainment names Tony Vinciquerra, formerly of Fox Networks Group, its CEO, as the company shifts toward TV — LOS ANGELES — Hollywood has a new mogul. — Sony Pictures Entertainment, bedeviled in recent years by movie misfires, a devastating cyberattack and executive ejections …
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Variety and Los Angeles Times
Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / WWD:
The NYT will publish a print-only, stand-alone kids' section aimed at nine to 12-year-olds this Sunday, the latest installment in a new print initiative — Sunday's New York Times will include a special print section for kids. — The New York Times for Kids
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The New York Times Company, Adweek, Quartz, @jackmarshall, @mathewi, @kbsmoke, @willystaley, @loganhill33, @benharnett and @billwasik
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
BuzzFeed Motion Pictures' Jessica Chambers docuseries, based on a BuzzFeed investigation, will air on the Oxygen channel, the studio's first TV show pickup — ‘What Happened to...Jessica Chambers’ will examine the death of a Mississippi teen, whose story was first told in an investigative piece …
Discussion:
@maxstrasser, @katiejmbaker, @natjarv and @gerryfsmith
Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:
A 2015 Gawker post based on Michael Lynton's emails from Sony Pictures hack is deleted from Gawker archive; Denton says takedown was confidential by court order — The deleted article on Gawker, which is no longer in operation, published leaked emails from Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton.
Discussion:
@johnjcook, @arthomason, @nkulw, @esouthard, Gawker, @noahmccormack, @barry, @jcfrancisco, @mattzeitlin, @athertonkd and @tomscocca
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter announces a new deal for year-round NFL content that includes a 30-minute live digital show that will air five nights per week — Twitter lost the deal to stream the NFL's Thursday Night Football games this year to Amazon, but today the company is announcing a new multi-year agreement …
Discussion:
PR Newswire, Adweek, The Verge, Variety, GeekWire and iLounge, more at Techmeme »
Rishika Sadam / Reuters:
Verizon to buy 5G spectrum holder Straight Path Communications for $3.1B — Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), the No.1 U.S. wireless carrier, is buying wireless spectrum holder Straight Path Communications Inc (STRP.A) for an enterprise value of about $3.1 billion, ending a bidding war with rival AT&T (T.N).
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, The Verge, @felixsalmon, CNBC, ZDNet, Engadget, Investor's Business Daily and Seeking Alpha, more at Techmeme »
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Google acquires Owlchemy Labs, the VR-focused game studio behind Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, for an undisclosed sum — Google announced today that it's acquiring Owlchemy Labs, the VR-focused studio that created Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality.
Discussion:
Owlchemy Labs, Forbes, ValueWalk, The Next Web, Mashable, Engadget, Android Police, TechCrunch, SlashGear, VentureBeat, Google, Polygon, Business Insider, 9to5Google, Seeking Alpha and ZDNet, more at Techmeme »
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
Cannes Film Festival allows two Netflix movies into competition this year but will require future films to screen in French theaters — PARIS - A week before its opening ceremony, the Cannes Film Festival said Wednesday that the Netflix movies “Okja” and “The Meyerowitz Stories” …
Discussion:
Deadline, IndieWire, Vanity Fair, Hollywood Reporter, Reed Hastings, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch, The Verge, New York Times, Reuters, Engadget, Bleeding Cool Comic Book …, Forbes and The Wrap
Zack Whittaker / ZDNet:
FCC's website has been flooded with 128K+ identical fake anti-net neutrality comments via its public comment system API — Several people we spoke to denied they had posted comments to the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) feedback pages. — A bot is thought to be behind the posting …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Verge, BGR, Washington Free Beacon, Recode, Naked Security, @mmasnick, @zackwhittaker, @digiphile, @dangillmor, Mashable, Cyberscoop, The Hill, New York Magazine, Engadget, Fortune, The Daily Caller, DSLreports, Consumerist, Axios, Fast Company, Techdirt, Business Insider, Multichannel News and Boing Boing
Pew Research Center:
Pew: 89% of Democrats say media criticism keeps leaders in line, while 42% of Republicans say the same, the largest gap since Pew began asking question in 1985 — Democrats are 47 points more likely than Republicans to support news media's watchdog role — Democrats and Republicans …
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Rural Blog, Media Law Prof Blog, NBC News, Washington Post, Broadcasting & Cable, Fox News and New York Times
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
IJR hires Shareblue's Tommy Christopher to diversify its political coverage; he starts in a a few weeks and will launch a new vertical called The Response — Independent Journal Review is often described as a conservative viral news upstart. While it grew an audience of nearly 28 million uniques …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, @hadas_gold, @jason_kint, @moelleithee, @lmoses, @newsceo, @brucebartlett, @digiday and @jason_howerton