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:
CNNMoney, AT&T, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Mediaite, TVNewser, Fast Company, TechCrunch, The Wrap, @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, Multichannel News, Light Reading, Home Media Magazine, Mediaite, BGR, @blakehounshell, CNBC and Recode
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, @brianstelter, The Guardian, Multichannel News, Mediaite, Deadline, Quartz, @dylanbyers, Awful Announcing, @dellcam, @pkafka and @pkafka
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
AT&T CFO John Stephens says the closing time for the company's $85.4B acquisition of Time Warner is now uncertain, as negotiations with DOJ continue — “I can't comment on those discussions,” John Stephens told a Wells Fargo investor conference in New York, but reiterated …
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:
Variety, CNBC and Business Wire
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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:
Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter and New York Times
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, The New York Observer, @jmktv and www.wnyc.org
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
Caitlyn Gribbin / ABC:
Facebook tests hashing to eliminate revenge porn in some countries; users send nude pics to themselves that Facebook will hash so they never appear on its sites — If you've had a nude photo taken, you might be nervous about where it could end up. — Your phone may be hacked …
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.
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:
CNNMoney, The A.V. Club, Variety and The Daily Caller
Jack Shafer / Politico:
Disney's boycott of the LA Times was one media company punishing another, and it showed how much power the press has lost — Journalists have become so powerless that they can now be safely ignored. — That's not my view, but the view of the Walt Disney Company, which last week banned …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Vanity Fair, Vox, New York Times and New York Times