Top News:
Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
Disney discloses a $353M writedown on its ownership stake in Vice Media, following its $157M writedown in November — The entertainment giant previously recorded a $157 million impairment charge on its Vice stake. — Disney has taken another write-down on its investment in Vice Media.
Discussion:
Vox, Bloomberg, Variety, @cramersshirt, @jasonabbruzzese, @pkafka, @lgbtqfc, @natjarv, @thrmattbelloni, @felixsalmon, Yahoo and Business Insider
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Natalie Jarvey / Hollywood Reporter:
In earnings call, Bob Iger confirms that Disney has had talks with Comcast about buying the latter's 30% stake in Hulu — The executive says that Comcast-owned NBCUniversal would likely still continue to license programming to Hulu. — Disney has held talks with Comcast about buying …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Disney beats Q2 estimates with $14.92B revenue, up 3% YoY, vs. $14.36B est.; revenue from media networks was $5.53B, down from $5.92B the previous quarter — - Disney has made strides in its direct-to-consumer business through its unveiling of Disney+ and a 60% stake in Hulu.
Discussion:
The Walt Disney Company, Variety, BGR, @eriqgardner, TechCrunch, Fast Company, Broadcasting & Cable, FierceVideo and The Verge
Anousha Sakoui / Bloomberg:
Apps backed by old-guard financial firms help consumers trim rising recurring payments for media subscriptions — - Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo among the players using new twist — Applications target forgotten monthly bills' recurring costs — Old-guard financial firms …
Discussion:
@richbtig
Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
The White House has set a difficult-to-meet standard for media “hard pass” credentials but granted exceptions; it refused an exception for WaPo's Dana Milbank — For the past 21 years, I have had the high privilege of holding a White House press pass, a magical ticket that gives the bearer a front-row seat to history.
Discussion:
@milbank, Talking Points Memo, @senatorleahy, @senjeffmerkley, @joycewhitevance, @walshfreedom, @djlavoie, @mollyjongfast, @olganyc1211, @oliverdarcy, @reaganbattalion, @pgourevitch, @patrickesque, @brianstelter, @thegarance, @glennkesslerwp, @evan_rosenfeld, @davidfolkenflik, Splinter, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Fox to invest $236M in Canadian gambling company The Stars Group for ~5% equity, marking the first time a big media company puts its name behind sports betting — - Fox is investing $236 million in The Stars Group, part of a partnership to launch Fox Bet, a new online sports betting service.
Discussion:
The Drum, The Big Lead and Engadget
Rani Molla / Vox:
Experts say apps like Nextdoor and Ring's Neighbors give people a false sense that the US crime rate is worsening even as violent crime reaches record lows — Why people are socializing more about crime even as it becomes rarer. — Violent crime in the US is at its lowest rate in decades.
Discussion:
@ranimolla, @tvcolincampbell, @mattzollerseitz, @melissakxly4, @jayohday, @edasante77, New York Post and @dangillmor
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Former government intelligence analyst Daniel Hale is charged with five crimes for leaking information on drone warfare to an Intercept reporter — A former government intelligence analyst has been charged in Alexandria federal court with leaking classified information on drone warfare to a reporter.
Discussion:
@trevortimm
Tessa Wong / BBC:
Singapore passes a controversial anti-fake news law that gives the government sweeping powers to fine and police online platforms including private chat groups — Singapore has passed a controversial anti-fake news law that gives authorities sweeping powers to police online platforms and even private chat groups.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Reuters, Fox News, Committee to Protect … and Al Jazeera, more at Techmeme »
Media Matters for America:
Media Matters study: only three of 26 prime-time news shows aired on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox on May 6 covered the UN's biodiversity assessment — Only three of 26 prime-time news programs on major networks covered the report … Major U.N. report warns of extinction crisis that will have major impacts on humanity
Discussion:
@rgatess, @markhertsgaard and @bernstein
Justin Ray / Columbia Journalism Review:
Almost two years ago, an Austin TV reporter obtained Sandra Bland's video of a police traffic stop via an open records request; his station didn't publish it — In June 2017, Brian Collister was a lead investigative reporter for KXAN, a Nexstar-owned NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas.
Discussion:
@daviduberti, News One, @pamelacolloff, @brooklynmarie, @chrisgeidner, @goldietaylor, @jray05, @rolandsmartin, @bilbocroft and Columbia Journalism Review
Business Wire:
NYT Q1: net income up 37.6% YoY to $30.1M on revenue of $439M with 223K new digital-only subscriptions, for a total of 4.5M subscribers — NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)— The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) announced today first-quarter 2019 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters, CNN and Wall Street Journal