Mediagazer: Vice News names its news director Michael Learmonth as new EIC, filling a role that has been vacant since 2019 (Lindsey Ellefson/The Wrap)

4:20 PM ET, May 17, 2021

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Brian Stelter / CNN:

AT&T to spin off WarnerMedia and combine it with Discovery in a $43B deal; the new company will be run by Discovery CEO David Zaslav — New York (CNN Business)The streaming TV race is about to get even more competitive. — On Monday morning AT&T (T) and Discovery, Inc. (DISCA) …

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Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Sources: Jason Kilar is negotiating his departure as CEO of WarnerMedia, after being kept in the dark about the deal with Discovery until recent days — Jason Kilar has hired a legal team to negotiate his departure as chief executive of WarnerMedia, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Hollywood Reporter:

John Stankey and David Zaslav discuss their vision for the WarnerMedia deal, saying the company will have a content spend that exceeds most competitors at $20B — AT&T chief John Stankey and Zaslav, who will lead the new venture, also addressed the status of WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar and the future of CNN.

Discussion: CNBC, Hollywood Reporter, CNBC, @loudmouthjulia, Observer, Awful Announcing, @jbflint, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @stevekovach, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia, @thejannissary, @felixsalmon, @alexweprin, The Playlist, @loudmouthjulia and @loudmouthjulia

Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap:

Vice News names its news director Michael Learmonth as new EIC, filling a role that has been vacant since 2019 — Michael Learmonth was named Vice News' new editor in chief Monday, filling a role that has been vacant since 2019. He was promoted from news director, a job he held since 2016.

Discussion: @katiedrumm, MediaPost, @mccarthyryanj, @kenli729 and @learmonth

Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:

Former Hollywood Reporter editor Matthew Belloni has become a founding member of a new media company that has raised $7M and aims to launch this summer — Matthew Belloni, former Editorial Director at The Hollywood Reporter, has joined as a founding partner for a new media company that will cover politics …

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, @jimmaiella, @benyt, @sonnybunch, @mattbelloni and Variety

Apple:

Apple says it will bring lossless audio to all Apple Music subscribers for free and will support Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, available from June — The next generation of sound on Apple Music is coming to subscribers June 2021 at no additional cost — CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today …

Micah Singleton / Billboard:
Amazon Music HD is now available to Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers for free, effectively cutting the Hi-Fi service's price from $14.99 to $9.99 per month

Discussion: @amazonmusic, @richontech, 9to5Mac, @c_davies, musically.com, The Verge, @richontech, @kintan, MacRumors, @richontech, @johnlmacfarlane, @ampressman, @micahsingleton and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Associated Press:

Israeli airstrike destroys a high-rise in Gaza City that housed offices of AP and Al-Jazeera, after the military warned people to evacuate the building — GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel slammed the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, in a dramatic escalation that included bombing the home …

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Reuters:

Axel Springer and Facebook strike a global deal, allowing content from Bild, Welt, Insider, and others to be distributed in Facebook News at its German launch — Axel Springer and Facebook said on Monday that they had agreed on a global cooperation deal under which content from the German publisher …

Discussion: Axel Springer SE, @fabiochiusi, @pressgazette, @gbrotman and @markscott82

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

British GQ editor Dylan Jones departs after 22 years in the role; GQ to be led globally by American GQ editor Will Welch, as Conde Nast merges editorial teams — British GQ editor Dylan Jones is leaving the men's lifestyle magazine after 22 years at the helm.

Discussion: MediaPost

Todd Spangler / Variety:

DVD rental and streaming company Redbox is going public via SPAC in a deal that values the combined company at $693M; Redbox had earnings of $114M in 2020 — Redbox, the DVD-rental kiosk and streaming company, is going back to the public markets. — On Monday, Redbox announced that it reached …

Discussion: The Wrap and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

NBCUniversal is acting as a power broker between stars and advertisers as part of its upfronts, hoping its pull with talent will help it strike bigger deals — Comcast unit is pitching broad partnerships with stars during this year's TV-ad-buying ritual, hoping its pull with talent helps it strike bigger deals

Discussion: @lindayacc, @deggans, @bixin29 and @cloonanj

Washington Post:

Researchers detail a sprawling disinformation network in the US, including media websites such as GTV, that's pushing falsehoods about COVID-19 and the election — Guo Wengui, living in self-exile in New York City, is at the center of a digital web pushing election and covid falsehoods, according to Graphika research

Discussion: @oliverdarcy and @scout_finch

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