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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: a consortium of PE firms, including Elliott Management, is in advanced talks to buy TV-ratings company Nielsen for about $15B including debt — Deal could value Nielsen at around $15 billion including debt — A consortium of private-equity firms including Elliott Management Corp …
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:
Fox News says cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was killed on Monday in Ukraine during the incident that also left correspondent Benjamin Hall hospitalized — “Pierre was killed in Horenka, outside of Kyiv,” as a result of incoming fire, the network's CEO announced in a memo.
Discussion:
@johnrobertsfox, Fox News, The Guardian, Washington Post, Axios, @davidfolkenflik, @alyssafarah, @drewmckevitt, @evanlamberttv, @maxboot, @oliverdarcy, @grynbaum, Deadline and Barrett Media
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott says the network's correspondent Benjamin Hall has been injured and hospitalized while reporting outside Kyiv — “We have a minimal level of details right now,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott wrote to staff Monday, adding that Hall had been hospitalized.
Discussion:
Fox News, TVNewser, Mediaite, @oliverdarcy, Mediaite, @brianstelter, @ericfoltz, @w7voa, @dankeberhart, @nycsouthpaw, The Sun, Insider, TVNewser and Deadline
Danika Fears / The Daily Beast:
Marina Ovsyannikova, editor of Russian state TV network Channel One, interrupted its evening broadcast with an anti-war sign and was subsequently arrested — She rushed into the Channel One Studio with a sign proclaiming, “Don't believe propaganda. They're lying to you."
Discussion:
@juliadavisnews, @maryilyushina, @kevinrothrock, The Guardian, @maxseddon, New York Times, @maxseddon, @maxseddon, The National, Faridaily, @juliaioffe, TMZ.com, @kevinrothrock, Metro.co.uk, Al Jazeera, @nycjim, @benwessel, @mandoline_blue, @nycsouthpaw, @leonidragozin, @nathanjrobinson, @ostapyarysh, @john_cotter, The Guardian, @davidallengreen, @maej43, @thedailybeast, @stevecrawshaw, @manmademoon, @kevinrothrock, @elbeardsley, @kai_newkirk, @jamesaalongman, @telegraph, @pjotrsauer, @juliaioffe, @eilishhart, @igorpianist, @profkeithdevlin, @rachelabramsny, @valerieinnyt, @cliffordlevy, @david_hewson, @gsoh31, @ian_fraser, @billroggio, @ianblackford_mp, @ian_fraser, @chrizap, @billkristol, @amonck, @otto_english, The Wrap, Rolling Stone, Financial Times, Deadline, WGN-TV and European Federation …
The Hollywood Reporter:
Discovery's CFO says HBO Max and Discovery+ will be bundled early in the Discovery and WarnerMedia merger and will eventually be combined into one service — The streamers will be bundled early on as part of the merged media giant, before both services become a single direct-to-consumer platform.
Discussion:
Variety, Adweek, Reuters, Protocol, SlashFilm, Axios, @walthickey, @alsboringtweets, Transistori, @yaronweitzman, @bradybrendan1, @legsfrank, @alirichthem, @chrismessina, @henrytcasey, @nickandmore, @mgsiegler, @sherman4949, @sepinwall, @loudmouthjulia, Broadband TV News, Decider, CNET, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, Android Police, Media Play News, Tom's Guide, Deadline and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Analysis: TV shows make up ~75% of Netflix's top 10 lists, the average hit fades after two weeks or less, and Asian hits overlap the least with other markets — Nobody in Hollywood knows for sure what works on Netflix. — The company releases statistics like “26 million people watched this show in the first 28 days.”
Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Discovery CEO David Zaslav's 2021 compensation package topped $246M, driven by stock options, vs $37.7M in 2020, making him one of the highest paid CEOs — The company disclosed latest annual compensation details for its top executives, with the calculation for Zaslav getting …
Discussion:
@carolmassar, Los Angeles Times, Variety, @davidgura, @edmundlee, @lucas_shaw, @pashulman, The Wrap, @alexweprin, Next TV, @jasonabbruzzese, @mattbelloni, Deadline and Wall Street Journal
Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:
Some First Amendment experts hope some libel suits against right-wing outlets will succeed, showing the value of “actual malice” or “reckless disregard” rules — Some legal experts say it is time to draw a sharp line between protected speech and harmful disinformation.
Discussion:
Reason, @zachdespart, @tomscocca, @jkosseff, @daphnehk, @sarafischer, @tribelaw, @davidfolkenflik, @davidfolkenflik, @jkosseff, @rweingarten and @peterjblack
Tarpley Hitt / Gawker:
Sources: Insider's global managing editor told its departing staff to stop sending goodbye emails as many high-ranking employees left over the past few months — In early 2021, the Wall Street Journal ran a story titled: “Business Insider Did Nothing When the Pandemic Hit. It Worked."
Discussion:
@stevekovach, @colombochar, @alex, @film_girl, @tomaxwell, @benkesslen, @jamesfdennin, @film_girl, @gawker, @leahfinnegan and @yoda
Elsa Keslassy / Variety:
TikTok becomes an official partner of the Cannes Film Festival, which will give users exclusive content and launch #TikTokShortFilm, a global in-app competition — While it banned selfies on the red carpet several years ago, Cannes is looking to draw global eyeballs and will provide TikTok users …
Discussion:
@variety and @thedragonfeeder
Rachel Leingang / Arizona Agenda:
Six months in to their year of Substack funding, the two founders of politics outlet Arizona Agenda say growth has plateaued and they were naïve about marketing — But just barely. Here's our second installment about our adventures as a very small local journalism outlet.
Discussion:
@jenafifield, @rachelleingang, @rachelleingang and Cholla Express
Los Angeles Times:
Los Angeles Times names Sara Yasin as a managing editor, beginning April 18; Yasin is currently managing editor of BuzzFeed News — Sara Yasin has been named a managing editor for the Los Angeles Times. Yasin will oversee the daily news operation as part of The Times leadership team beginning April 18.
Discussion:
American Press Institute, @meridak, @latimesfreshink, @therwees, @craigsilverman, @vmsalama, @mat, @emilyctamkin, @lailaalarian, @yelmjouie, @jmbooyah, @jmalsin, @seldeeb, @sarayasin, @anushayhossain, @monachalabi, @walldo, @msrmichaelson, @dahliabazzaz, @annehelen, @andreamsahouri, @lisatozzi, @benyt, @elamin88 and @sarayasin