Top News:
Micah Sifry:
The Knight Foundation's support for Semafor's event with Tucker Carlson betrays its mission; the event frames media as a game of access and audience-building — By sponsoring a journalism event featuring Tucker Carlson, the philanthropy is mistaking openness for strengthening democracy.
Discussion:
Knight Foundation, @karlbode, @karlbode, @karlbode, @mollydeaguiar, @karlbode, @nandoodles, @justinhendrix, @karlbode, @bostonjoan, @froomkin, @daveleeft, @coreypein, @nandoodles, @daveleeft, @joanespositochi, @jon_gluck, @mlsif, @jeffjarvis, @dannagal, @karaswisher, @bostonjoan, @semaforben, @mlsif, @daveleeft, @karlbode, @froomkin, @karlbode, @meredithshiner and Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Group Black, which aims to invest in and develop Black-owned media, is in talks to buy a large stake in BDG Media and is exploring acquiring Vice Media — Group Black is in talks to buy stake in Bustle parent and has been eyeing a deal for Vice Media
Discussion:
@juwanthewriter, @jbflint and PRWeek
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
NBCUniversal: Peacock snagged $1B in upfront ad revenue, double 2021's, part of a “record-breaking” 2022 upfront; in 2021, NBCU saw $7B+ in upfront commitments — NBCUniversal says 2022 was the “highest grossing upfront since Comcast's acquisition” of the company more than a decade ago.
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
A group of 68 journalists writes to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre asking to reopen large events to all and end an opaque pre-screening process — A group of 66 journalists sent a rare protest letter to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Thursday asking …
Wall Street Journal:
Julian Assange filed two appeals on Thursday to the UK high court to contest his extradition to the US; the court now decides whether the appeals can be heard — The WikiLeaks founder has appealed his extradition from the U.K., prolonging a yearslong fight against being sent to the U.S. to face spying charges
Discussion:
BBC, CNET, @maximcolch, @aviswanatha and Boing Boing
New York Times:
Netflix executives say they don't plan to change programming; two bank analysts say a cheaper ad-supported tier could cannibalize the higher-paying subscribers — Long Hollywood's leading innovator, the streaming service is staying the course, despite serious challenges to its business and questions about its content.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @richlightshed, @benmullin, @kennethturan, @benmullin, @brooksbarnesnyt, The Streamable and Vox, more at Techmeme »
Julian Clover / Broadband TV News:
Amazon secures UK rights to 17 Tuesday Champions League soccer games per season from 2024 to 2027; BT Sport retains most live UEFA rights for £305M per season — About Julian Clover — Julian Clover is a Media and Technology journalist based in Cambridge, UK. He works in online and printed media.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Reuters, @pompey__ and Hollywood Reporter
Craig Silverman / ProPublica:
Google gave user data to Russian ad company RuTarget, including potentially sensitive info about users in Ukraine, four months after the US sanctioned RuTarget — The internet giant may have provided Sberbank-owned RuTarget with unique mobile phone IDs, IP addresses, location information …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBCU is shutting down its Olympic Channel, launched in 2017 with a focus on content about US Olympic athletes, on September 30 — A second NBCUniversal sports cable outlet is getting ready to finish its game. — NBCUniversal has notified cable and satellite operators that it intends …
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap and Hollywood Reporter
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen: Stranger Things amassed 7.2B minutes of viewing time for May 30-June 5, the highest weekly total for any title since rankings began about two years ago — The Netflix series surpasses 7 billion minutes of viewing time in the United States for the week of May 30-June 5.
Discussion:
SlashFilm, Variety and Hollywood Reporter
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
News outlets should stop running puff pieces about Supreme Court justices written by lawyers with ties to the court; a review shows their incorrect predictions — Lisa Blatt, an attorney who has argued more than 40 cases before the Supreme Court, wrote an opinion piece for Politico Magazine …
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, @erikwemple, @pomeranian99, @mollyjongfast, @jayrosen_nyu, @nberlat, @clairehoworth, @davidminpdx, @taniel, @xor, @ronhogan, @keitholbermann, @gadyepstein, @gadyepstein, @gadyepstein, @bgrueskin, @donmoyn, @cwarzel, @soledadobrien, @dceiver, @lschmeiser, @dangillmor, @rachellarris, Boing Boing and Mediaite
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
Refinitiv: media and entertainment M&A activity halved from $215.5B in H1 2021 to $105.1B in H1 2022, and the number of deals fell from 1,710 to 1,546 — Exit Content Preview — The deal value for global M&A activity in media and entertainment shrunk in half for H1 2022 compared to H2 2021.