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Ozy built a TV interview show for CEO Carlos Watson based on false claims it was for A&E and that it would then be a YouTube Original, its ex-producer says — Producers say they were led to believe they were making a talk show for A&E, which said no to the program.
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Sharon Osbourne says Carlos Watson lied in a 2019 TV interview when he said Ozzy and Sharon invested in Ozy Media, after the Osbournes settled a trademark suit — - Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson boasted on CNBC in 2019 that Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne had invested in his company.


Some former Ozy employees say they were overworked to the point of exhaustion: “They brought in very talented, motivated, excited people and just used them up” — New York (CNN Business)Around midnight one Saturday late last year, Eva Rodriguez, 24, had trouble breathing.
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Ozy Media chairman Marc Lasry resigns and steps down from Ozy's board, saying he lacks expertise in crisis management and investigations; he remains an investor — Marc Lasry, the billionaire businessman and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, said in a statement provided that he has stepped down from Ozy Media's board.
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Axel Springer says it gave up its Ozy board seat after investing $300k in its Series C, but Ozy listed Axel's rep as an active director in a July 2021 filing — Good people quit good jobs to join Ozy Media. They believed in its mission, its leadership and its potential for wealth creation.
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@sarafischer, @tomgara, @sarafischer, Puck and The Wrap


Judge issues default judgments against Alex Jones in two Sandy Hook cases for routinely failing to comply with requests, making him liable for all damages — A judge issued default judgments — a rarity in the legal world — against Jones and Infowars after the conspiracy theorist failed to produce discovery records.
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CNN, Media Matters for America, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Hill, The Guardian, @sebastianmurdoc, UPROXX, @katiephang, @willsommer, Boing Boing and Rolling Stone


Scarlett Johansson and Disney settle the lawsuit over her pay for Black Widow, released on Disney+ at the same time as in theaters; source: deal is worth $40M+ — (Updated with more details) Just days after the first court hearing in Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow profits mega-bite lawsuit …
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An in-depth look at Google's News Showcase deals; sources: Australian outlets got better offers than outlets in other countries due to political pressure — It is one year this week since Google launched News Showcase, an aggregation service with a $1bn budget to spend with the global journalism industry.
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@risj_oxford, @heidilegg, @domponsford, @wturvill, What's New in Publishing, @pressgazette, @simonowens and @bmorrissey


TikTok launches Top Moments, an NFT collection featuring six “culturally significant TikTok videos” from creators including Lil Nas X — TikTok is launching a non-fungible token (NFT) collection that will see its top content creators partner with top NFT creators.
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South Korean ISP sues Netflix over costs for traffic surge from hit shows, after a court said Netflix should “reasonably” pay ISPs for network usage — South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband has sued Netflix (NFLX.O) to pay for costs from increased network traffic …
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Insider, @reuters and Light Reading, more at Techmeme »


HFPA adds 21 members, increasing its membership by 20%, of which 48% identify as women, 29% as Black, 24% as Asian, 29% as Latinx, and 19% as MENA — The Golden Globes have announced their new set of members to join their organization, marking the largest class in their history.
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The Wrap and Vanity Fair


Clubhouse announces several features, including Clips, letting listeners snip 30 seconds of audio, and Replay, which lets hosts record a room — Plus clips and a search feature — Clubhouse is getting a bunch of new features next month, including one many people have wanted: in-app recording.
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Waivly and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »