Top News:
Financial Times:
Sources: US DoJ tells AT&T it needs to sell CNN to get Time Warner merger approval; source says “It's all about CNN”; source says AT&T plans to sue DoJ — AT&T has been told by the US Department of Justice that it needs to sell CNN, Time Warner's cable news channel …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNNMoney, Washington Post, Media Matters for America, The Wrap, BuzzFeed, Fast Company, AT&T, Mediaite, @claireatki, @danprimack, @raju and @anthony
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Reuters:
Source: Department of Justice is pushing AT&T for “structural remedies”, which can involve selling assets, to satisfy antitrust concerns over Time Warner deal — (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is pushing AT&T Inc (T.N) for “structural remedies” …
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, Multichannel News, The Hill, TechCrunch, Home Media Magazine, @blakehounshell, CNBC and Recode
Tae Kim / CNBC:
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says company has “no intention” of selling CNN amid AT&T-TW merger and has not offered to sell it during process despite DoJ demand — - Sources tell CNBC the Justice Department is demanding that AT&T sell Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN …
Discussion:
@brianstelter, Quartz, The Hill, Multichannel News, Variety, Mediaite, TVNewser, @mattfwood, Deadline, @mattyglesias, NBC News, Variety and The Verge
Peter Kafka / Recode:
When Trump's DoJ threatens to scuttle AT&T-Time Warner deal unless CNN is sold, business leaders feel the chill as well as journalists — Chilling. — What would it look like if the President of the United States punished American businesses he didn't like, or news organizations that reported things he didn't like?
Discussion:
@brianschatz, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, AOL, @jrosenworcel, Light Reading, Politicus USA, @dylanbyers, Awful Announcing, @dellcam, @pkafka and @pkafka
Joe Mayes / Bloomberg:
UK document: Bill O'Reilly's earlier Fox contract shielded him from getting fired over harassment allegations not proven in court — Fox director Nasser reveals contract terms to U.K. regulators — Sexual-harassment handling is weighing on Fox's bid for Sky
Discussion:
Competition …, Washington Post, LawNewz, Mediaite and Jezebel
Matt Pressberg / The Wrap:
21st Century Fox beats Q1 estimates with $839M net income on revenue of $7B, up 8% YoY, led by affiliate revenue — Fox News continues to reel in the dough, as cable networks propelled 21st Century Fox to another strong quarter during a week when it was revealed that Rupert Murdoch's media giant held talks …
Discussion:
Broadcasting & Cable, Variety, Fortune, CNBC and Business Wire
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Jackie Strause / Hollywood Reporter:
Former Boston news anchor Heather Unruh says Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted her teenage son in a Nantucket restaurant in July 2016 — Heather Unruh says Spacey assaulted her “starstruck” and “straight ” 18-year-old son at a Nantucket restaurant in July 2016.
Discussion:
WCVB, Broadcasting & Cable, The A.V. Club, The Daily Caller and Variety
Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed:
BuzzSumo data shows InfoWars copied over 1K articles from Russia's RT without permission since May 2014 and also copied posts from CNN, Breitbart, BBC, others — The Kremlin-funded broadcaster told BuzzFeed News that InfoWars reprinted materials without permission.
Discussion:
UPROXX, @oliverdarcy and @craigsilverman
Peter Kafka / Recode:
Apple commits to at least two seasons of a show about the morning TV show industry, with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston as stars and executive producers — Friends stars, reunited! In 2019, probably. — Apple is already making a TV show with Steven Spielberg.
Discussion:
Ad Age, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, New York Times and Broadcasting & Cable
Lois Beckett / The Guardian:
Ex-TV anchor Chris Hurst, whose girlfriend and fellow reporter, Alison Parker, was shot dead live on TV, beats NRA-backed candidate in Virginia race — Democrat's victory, two days after Texas church massacre left 26 dead, is hailed by gun control advocates as proof progress on gun violence is possible
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Newsweek, www.wnyc.org, The New York Observer and @jmktv
Ernesto / TorrentFreak:
Court rules against Sci-Hub, which gives free access to academic papers, and says site should be blocked by ISPs, hosts, search engines, domain registries — Earlier this year the American Chemical Society (ACS), a leading source of academic publications in the field of chemistry …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Science, Nature, SlashGear, The Verge, Folio, Techdirt and Media Law Prof Blog
Peter Hamby / Vanity Fair:
Inside the White House press corps: a look at how reporters cover the White House and how Trump exploits the news cycle to distract them from serious stories — Trump and his team understand that for the political press, the only thing that matters is what's happening right now, not yesterday.