Mediagazer: In a letter to management, 66 IGN staffers demand a post listing Palestinian charities be reinstated after its removal, saying editorial integrity was subverted (Zack Zwiezen/Kotaku)

10:55 PM ET, May 17, 2021

Top News:

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) …

Discussion: The Wrap, New York Times, Axios, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Variety, CNN, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, @sherman4949, @frankpallotta, @claireatki, Variety, MediaPost, The Information, Discovery, Inc., Insider, The Streamable, Mediaite, Forbes, @pkafka, Bloomberg, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @richlightshed, @sherman4949, Fast Company, Variety, @senblumenthal, @sherman4949, Den of Geek, @kerrymflynn, @nichcarlson, @benyt, @digitalshields, @sherman4949, Scrawler, @lucas_shaw, @karaswisher, Observer, @karlbode, @loudmouthjulia, @sherman4949, @brianstelter, @pkafka, @mbgelman, @dylanbyers, @erikdavis, CNBC, @brianstelter, ScreenRant, @ditzkoff, @lucas_shaw, @frankpallotta, Digiday, @cgasparino, @mattdraperyt, @edmundlee, IndieWire, @backlon, @sherman4949, @pkafka, @lucas_shaw, @jbarro, @jackmirkinson, @brazilbrian, FierceVideo, @thetruebrendanf, Light Reading, @zakiscorner, @cgasparino, @nycsouthpaw, @hblodget, Vanity Fair, @jeremymbarr, @loudmouthjulia, @cnbc, @loudmouthjulia, @carnage4life, @keithboykin, @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia, @alexweprin, @sadogre, Gizmodo, @panzer, I have some questions, @sivavaid, @gracerandolph, @mims, @jimwaterson, @jbflint, @kerrymflynn, @awallenstein, @sarafischer, @dylanbyers, @rakeshlobster, @richlightshed, @brianstelter, @magsvisaggs, @gadyepstein, @brianstelter, @w7voa, @thatjakepc, @andrearene, @lucas_shaw, @jasonlynch, @scottporch, @sherman4949, /Film, @oliverdarcy, ZDNet, The Week, MediaPost, Protocol, AppleInsider and Adweek, more at Techmeme »

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.

Lillian Rizzo / Wall Street Journal:

WarnerMedia-Discovery merger puts pressure on rivals without enough scale, like NBCUniversal, which sources say viewed WarnerMedia as a possible target — Deal to combine media businesses comes as competitors race to bulk up streaming content to lure viewers fleeing pay TV

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, @asharma, @rasmussen_poll, @mediumbuying and Insider

The Information:

Source: Amazon is in talks to acquire MGM for between $7B and $10B, in what would be its biggest move to expand into entertainment — Amazon is in discussions to acquire MGM, said a person familiar with the situation, in what would be the ecommerce giant's biggest move yet to expand in entertainment.

Tyler Falk / Current:

After an outside investigation, New York Public Radio has fired On the Media host Bob Garfield for violating its anti-bullying policy — New York Public Radio has fired On the Media host Bob Garfield for violating its anti-bullying policy, the organization said Monday.

Discussion: New York Times, @benyt, @bobosphere, The Wrap, Washington Post, @lyzl, @katie_robertson, @pareene, @themorrancave, @annehelen, @weareyourfek, @jbenton and New York Post

Zack Zwiezen / Kotaku:

In a letter to management, 66 IGN staffers demand a post listing Palestinian charities be reinstated after its removal, saying editorial integrity was subverted — Today, the IGN editorial staff published an open letter decrying Sunday's removal of an IGN article and its associated tweet …

Discussion: Medium, @satchelldrakes, @the_katbot, @tanumb_, @agentbizzle, @gameapologist, @adequateemily and A. Khaled's Blog

Zack Zwiezen / Kotaku:
After publishing and removing an article listing Palestinian charities, IGN says it didn't mean to make it seem “we were politically aligned with one side”

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, @delrey, @learmonth, @mccarthyryanj, @kenli729 and MediaPost

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

Apple:

Apple says it will bring lossless audio to all Apple Music subscribers at no added cost 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

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, @c_davies, @richontech, @kintan, Music Business Worldwide, @richontech, @johnlmacfarlane, @ampressman, @micahsingleton, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, The Verge, Engadget and musically.com, 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: Ad Age, @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: @bostonjoan, @farrukhkpitafi, Gizmodo, @nicpwall, @froomkin, @zachweinberg, @jorge_guajardo, @camillefrancois, @oliverdarcy, @joshuahol and @scout_finch

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

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 10:55 PM ET, May 17, 2021.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Deputy Ed. - Gen. Assignment Desk, DC — WaPo

EU Technology Reporter, Brussels — Bloomberg

Breaking News Reporter, NY — Guardian US

Harrisburg Reporter, PA — PCBC

Senior Editor - Styles, NY — NYT

Part-time Editor, Remote — Techmeme

Home & Travel Reporter, Ireland — Newsweek

Assistant Digital Editor, MA — Boston Globe

Senior Editor - Visuals (Temporary), DC — NPR

South Reporter, GA/Remote — ProPublica

Private Capital Reporter, London — FT

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Articles Editor, CA — SF Standard

Pharma Reporter, Remote US — Endpoints

Metro Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Higher Ed. Reporter, Remote CA — EdSource

Politics Reporter, Brussels — Politico

Investigations & Enterprise Ed., WI — Cap Times

Social Strategy Editor, NY — WSJ

Business Reporter, TX — Fort Worth Report

Senior Narrative Editor, CA — Cloud Chamber

News Correspondent, MS — Magnolia Tribune

Accountability Reporter, NC — Charlotte Observer

Editor-in-Chief, NY (flexible) — The 74

Housing Reporter, OK — The Frontier

Writer/AI Content Reviewer, CA — Outlier

Writer/Editor, Remote — Mediaite

Political Reporter, TX — Courier Newsroom

Afternoon/Night Editor, NH — Keene Sentinel

Education Lab Editor, WA — Seattle Times

Staff Writer, MA/Remote — Tech Advisor

State Worker Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Executive Editor, NM — Searchlight

Reporter, NC — NC Newsline

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

The Wrap:
Fox says it will launch an NFT company, Blockchain Creative Labs, which will create, sell, and manage NFTs in conjunction with new animated series Krapopolis

Discussion: Variety, The Verge and Hollywood Reporter

Peter White / Deadline:
Disney launches Onyx Collective, a new content brand for creators of color and underrepresented voices that will be found primarily on Hulu in the US

Discussion: Variety, Hollywood Reporter, thefutoncritic.com, Variety and Forbes

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

Discussion: MediaPost

Sarah Krouse / The Information:
Sources: Google's plans to match Apple's ATT changes have been delayed by internal concerns that such moves will diminish mobile ad revenues

Discussion: Insider, @amir, MacRumors, @carnage4life, @bysarahkrouse and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Twitch says it is switching to localized subscription prices in some non-US markets, which will often be lower, starting with Turkey and Mexico on May 20

Discussion: Twitch Blog, @paperstainedink, @aureylian, @iamtheatlas, @james_lrr, Kotaku, Engadget and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »

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

Discussion: The Wrap and The Verge

Variety:
Investors and analysts including Warren Buffett weigh in on “stupid” stock swings affecting ViacomCBS, Discovery, and AMC Entertainment, plus problematic SPACs

The Daily Beast:
Unlike many in the media, MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan and Ayman Mohyeldin are granting airtime to Palestinians instead of heavily relying on Israeli government accounts

Discussion: Associated Press, Associated Press, Jerusalem Post, @timobrien, @casmudde, Forbes, @joyannreid, @hotlinejosh and Financial Times

From Techmeme:

Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Cisco details a hacking campaign that penetrated multiple governments' networks using two zero-day flaws in its VPN and firewall Adaptive Security Appliances

Ben Glickman / Wall Street Journal:
IBM agrees to buy HashiCorp, which helps companies manage cloud infrastructure, in a deal valuing HashiCorp at $6.4B and expected to close by the end of 2024

Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
US prosecutors charge two founders of Samourai Wallet, saying the crypto mixing service facilitated more than $100M in money laundering transactions

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page