Top News:
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska is suing the Associated Press for libel over its reporting on his relationship with Trump's former campaign chairman Manafort — A Russian aluminum magnate with ties to President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is suing The Associated Press …
Rick Kogan / Chicago Tribune:
Chicago Tribune parent tronc enters into nonbinding letter of intent to acquire Wrapports Holdings, owner of rival Sun-Times; Sun-Times to operate independently — Tronc, owner of the Chicago Tribune, has entered into a nonbinding letter of intent to buy the Chicago Sun-Times.
Discussion:
Chicagoist, Robert Feder, HuffPost, tronc, inc., Chicago Business, @ourmaninchicago, @walldo, Los Angeles Times, @walldo, @michaelroston, @andrewhayespr, @annecw, @mdoukmas, @jeffcercone and @felixsalmon
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Pamela McClintock / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Disney CEO Bob Iger says hackers claiming to have access to an upcoming movie have demanded a ransom; the company is refusing to pay it — He says the hackers are demanding a ransom, which the company won't pay. — Have real-life pirates taken aim at Disney?
Discussion:
Deadline, Featured Articles, Fortune, The Guardian, Business Insider, Softpedia News, Daily Mail, Mashable, The Verge, The Next Web, Engadget, Fast Company, The Wrap, TechCrunch and @kfile
Vulture:
During the 2016-17 season, 27 returning TV shows suffered a 25% or larger decline in ratings, as viewers switch to streaming services — Almost every year since 2013, Vulture has published a chart illustrating the performance of veteran TV shows during the most recent season.
Discussion:
Fortune, @dkthomp, @civiily, @vulture and @alexsburton
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Shalini Ramachandran / Wall Street Journal:
As cord-cutting picks up pace, media companies are competing to make it into skinny bundles, with channels like Nickelodeon and TNT finding themselves left out — The record pace of cord-cutting has set off a race among media companies to be included in new “skinny” streaming bundles …
Discussion:
Light Reading and Fortune
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
ESPN says it's ready to strike deals with advertisers based on live viewing figures across TV, mobile, and digital screens — ESPN hopes to score a touchdown in a growing competition: measuring audiences who are watching TV programming in ways other than using a TV.
Shane Goldmacher / Politico:
Sources: WH aides are sharing a mix of fake and real news stories with Trump in an attempt to influence policy and bolster their standing within the Oval Office — The president rarely surfs the web on his own, but his staff have made a habit of slipping news stories on to his desk—including the occasional internet hoax.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, mikeallen, Mother Jones, Politicus USA, Vox, Vanity Fair, The Wrap, Business Insider, Newser, Rare, @maggiejordanacn, bookforum.com, Mashable, Media Matters for America, @shanegoldmacher, Fast Company, New York Magazine, IJR, AOL, Washington Post, @braddjaffy, @liberaljaxx, @gabrielsherman, @andrewwrites and Real Stories
Ricardo Bilton / Nieman Lab:
Profile of Crinkling News, an Australian weekly paper that aims to improve kids' news literacy, says its readership is ~30K, and is raising funds to stay afloat — Creating a newspaper for kids means “allaying fears while at the same time explaining in the most basic terms what's going on.”
Discussion:
@crinklingnewsau, @niemanlab and @niemanreports
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Mexican journalist and CPJ awardee Javier Valdez Cárdenas murdered — The Mexican prosecutor for crimes against freedom of expression in Mexico should swiftly investigate the murder of Javier Valdez Cárdenas and bring all those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Discussion:
Snopes.com, Xinhua News Agency, The Daily Caller, Mexico News Daily, insightcrime.org, Globe and Mail and HuffPost
Corey Hutchins / Columbia Journalism Review:
Colorado passes law making independent voters' voting records during primaries public, which some fear could be used to discredit journalists for political bias — A NEW COLORADO LAW, passed by legislators at the end of the 2017 session, will allow the state's politically unaffiliated voters …
Discussion:
@cjr and @coreyhutchins
Mike Fleming / Deadline:
Brad Grey, the former CEO and Chairman of Paramount Pictures, has died of cancer at age 59 — In a shocking development, it saddens me to report that Brad Grey has died at age 59. His death, from cancer, comes months after his exit as chairman/CEO of Paramount Pictures, a job he held for 12 years.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, EW.com, Vanity Fair, Variety, HuffPost, IndieWire, The Wrap, Rare and TVWeek.com
Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Snap pilots ads for world lenses, its AR filters for the rear-facing camera, which sources say cost 30% more than the $300K-$700K promotional lenses — Snapchat's user growth is slowing. Prepare for the deluxe ads. — Subscribe Reprints — On Cinco de Mayo, millions …
Discussion:
@caseynewton, @sarahfrier, TechCrunch, @alexeheath, Adweek, Recode, @larakiara and Digiday, more at Techmeme »
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