Top News:
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Semafor will be ad-supported for “six, 12, maybe 18 months” before adding a paywall and will hire talent agents to pair journalists with products and events — - Media executives are hopeful they've learned lessons and streamlined their businesses to weather a potential recession.
Discussion:
@taylorlorenz
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New York Times:
Justin Smith and Ben Smith's Semafor raised $25M from Jessica Lessin, crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, and others; debut is planned for fall with ~30 staff — The news start-up Semafor has raised $25 million from wealthy individuals, with a goal of cultivating direct relationships between its journalists and its audience.
Discussion:
@sherman4949, @hshaban, The Rebooting, American Press Institute, @ashleevance, @semafor, bookforum.com, @jayrosen_nyu, @jeremymbarr, Poynter, @emilybell, @marisakabas, @maxkennerly, @kairyssdal, @jeffjarvis, Digiday, @loganrhoades, @theferocity, @sivavaid, @damemagazine, @owillis, @semaforben, @_cingraham, @kimmasters, @kimmasters, @froomkin, @athenae, @jonvankin, @keitholbermann, @karlbode, @mattgertz, @juwanthewriter, @blackamazon, @green_footballs, @soledadobrien, @_cingraham, @davmicrot, @mattnegrin, @scclemons, @mobute, @parkermolloy, @dceiver, @letsgomathias, @goldengateblond, @oliverdarcy, @taylorlorenz, @tomgara, @froomkin, @owillis, @jason_kint, @mlcalderone, @ceciliakang, @elanazak, @dgisserious, @joshsternberg, @benmullin, @margarettalev, @kadiagoba, @oliverdarcy, @hbottemiller, @samro, @teddyschleifer, @benmullin, @semaforben, @semaforben, @benmullin, @grace_panetta, @haleaziz, @katie_robertson and Mediaite
Variety:
Netflix lays off roughly 300 people of its 11,000 global staffers, with the bulk of the jobs lost in the US, following initial job cuts of 150 in May — Layoffs have hit Netflix again, with the streamer letting go of roughly 300 staffers on Thursday, Variety has learned exclusively.
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Brian Stelter / CNN:
A look at the 20-year-old SCOTUSblog, founded by husband-and-wife team Tom Goldstein and Amy Howe, who see it as a public service and say it loses ~$400K/year — New York CNN Business — … Where will you be at 10am ET on Thursday? Like tens of thousands of other people …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @sarahscire and @brianstelter
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Traditional media companies, especially TV, as well as streamers, face a serious threat from TikTok, and seem to be doing little so far to counter or respond — Facebook knows it has a TikTok problem. TV and streamers do, too. — The people who bring you video entertainment …
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @mattnavarra, @alexweprin, @sportstvratings, @pkafka, @pkafka, @mattgertz, @joshuaogundu, @ryanlcooper and @rmc031
Deadline:
The documentary subpoenaed by the January 6 Committee has been acquired by Warner Bros. Discovery and will air on Discovery+ this summer — UPDATE: Discovery+ released a trailer for the documentary Unprecedented, featuring footage of Donald Trump and his family, as its filmmaker Alex Holder …
Discussion:
Variety, The Hill, TMZ.com, UPROXX, The A.V. Club, MediaPost, Mediaite, SlashFilm, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
RELATED:
Rolling Stone:
Filmmaker Alex Holder, who followed the Trump family for a documentary over the last six weeks of his 2020 campaign, gave the footage to the January 6 committee
Filmmaker Alex Holder, who followed the Trump family for a documentary over the last six weeks of his 2020 campaign, gave the footage to the January 6 committee
Discussion:
New York Times, @alexjholder, The Independent, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Insider, @markruffalo, Civil Discourse …, CNN, New York Times, Too Much TV Newsletter, @pbump, @maggienyt, SheKnows, Politico, @pbump, @eugenedaniels2, @katiephang, @zcohencnn, @davidpepper, @markhertling, Columbia Journalism Review, @gerryconway, @meridithmcgraw, @tribelaw, @rschooley and The Week
New York Times:
Sources: Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall are divorcing; the split, his fourth, is unlikely to alter the structure of his businesses, with family shares in a trust — The media mogul's fourth divorce is unlikely to change the ownership structure of Mr. Murdoch's empire, but it could reverberate …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Vanity Fair, @benmullin, Variety, Mirror, @originalspin, @yashar, Newser, @ronnisalt, @gulf_news, @jamesoliphant, @juddapatow, @ayocaesar, @jolyonrubs, @jamesdoleman, @ecareyo, @evanhandler, @pcd2009, @fakedansavage, @richsignorelli, @jyarow, @revrrlewis, @sarahkendzior, @davidfolkenflik, @nkulw, @lbyock, @clydehaberman, @rumaan, @kimmasters, @newsynick, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, The Wrap, TMZ.com, The Guardian, E! Online, The Daily Beast and Insider
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Pink Floyd is seeking $500M+ for their music catalog and merchandise rights, with Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and BMG among bidders — Members of the rock band Pink Floyd are seeking at least $500 million in a deal for their music catalog, according to people familiar …
Discussion:
@joshsternberg, @sportstvratings and @edsbs
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Barb: UK households with a streaming service subscription reached 19.57M in Q1 2022, up ~500,000 from Q4 2021; Apple TV+ grew 27% QoQ and Disney+ grew 19% QoQ — STREAMING … BARB's establishment survey for the first quarter of the year reports that the number of U.K. households with access …
Discussion:
AppleInsider
Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:
A look at efforts to reduce digital advertising's carbon footprint, which, according to a 2018 study, accounted for roughly 10% of the internet's energy usage — Digital ads require a lot of computing power, but the exact amount of electricity they consume is hard to pin down
Discussion:
@nalanpog, @openx, @ad_association and @raju
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
News UK's talkTV ratings remain far behind rivals, with Piers Morgan's show getting 64K viewers on Monday; Murdoch has become involved in reviving the channel — Effort to revive fortunes of Piers Morgan-fronted rightwing channel include appointing new boss and expected relaunch
Discussion:
@stopfundinghate, @stopfundinghate, @stopfundinghate, @generalboles, @aljwhite, @otto_english, @jimwaterson and Press Gazette
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Snapchat announces a one-year accelerator program for 25 Black Snapchat creators, offering a $10K/month stipend, a Google Pixel 7 Pro, and more — Participants will receive $10,000 a month in funding — Twenty-five Black Snapchat creators will receive funding, mentorship …
Discussion:
Adweek, TechCrunch and @blackamazon