Top News:
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Disney laid off Marvel Entertainment chairman Isaac Perlmutter as part of its 7,000 job cuts, after his unsuccessful effort to shake up Disney's board in 2022 — The move was part of a company cost-cutting campaign and came after Mr. Perlmutter was part of an unsuccessful attempt to shake up Disney's board.
Discussion:
Reuters, @brooksbarnesnyt, Bloomberg, Fortune, @acoyne, The A.V. Club, The Week, The Verge, Financial Times, Comic Book, Vanity Fair, SlashFilm, New York Post, The Information, @frankpallotta, @fabiannicieza, @parkermolloy, @profblacktruth, @mattgertz, @conroyforreal, @hopesloop, @samuelaadams, BGR, Collider, Los Angeles Times, @wandasattorney, @the_moviebob, @gregbaldwiniroh, @tomaxwell, @captmarvelnews, @abigaildisney, @scottgustin, @httweets, The Wrap, New York Daily News, Screen Rant, Gizmodo, IGN, Cord Cutters News and The Hollywood Reporter
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Adam B. Vary / Variety:
Disney absorbs Marvel Entertainment, which is separate from Marvel Studios, into other units; Dan Buckley, the division's president, now reports to Kevin Feige — Along with Perlmutter, Marvel Entertainment's co-president, Rob Steffens, and chief counsel, John Turitzin, were also dismissed.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Disney has laid off over 300 employees in Beijing who worked on its streaming services, as the company carries out the first wave of 7,000 job cuts — Entertainment company began this week to carry out the first wave of a plan to cut 7,000 jobs — Walt Disney Co. DIS 2.16%increase …
Discussion:
@jtoonkel, Deadline, New York Post and MediaPost
Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge:
Substack's fundraising email, absent of any real financial information, reads like a cynical ploy and is not a good omen for the platform's longevity — Substack is desperate, huh? That's what I understand from their fundraising email, anyway. They're now hitting up retail investors …
Discussion:
On Substack, @mslopatto, @seangriffey, @matthewbelcher, @theannagat, @golikehellmachi, @moryan, @labuzamovies, @blackamazon, @caseyjohnston, @jowens510, @sokane1, @mekosoff, @paulstollery, TechCrunch, Bloomberg and Axios
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
Inside The Messenger's acquisition of Grid News, which came as a surprise to some Grid staff, who say they were told the startup had a two- to three-year runway — Grid News, a one-year-old start-up, shuttered this week after getting acquired by The Messenger, which launches next month.
Discussion:
@charlottetklein, @bgrueskin, @grahamstarr, @haleaziz, @jayrosen_nyu, @harrisonxjacobs, @chrisgeidner, @scottnover, @sarayasin, @imillhiser, @niemanlab and @mediaevan
Amanda Terkel / NBC News:
Newly released Dominion court presentation slides show Fox News aired 2020 election conspiracies despite its fact-checking “Brain Room” deciding they were false — A presentation from Dominion Voting Systems show emails detailing the Fox News fact checks, which were released Wednesday …
Sewell Chan / The Texas Tribune:
The Texas Observer's publisher says the 68-year-old outlet will keep publishing after staff crowdfund $300K+ and the board votes unanimously to rescind layoffs — The crusading liberal magazine had planned to lay off its staff after its nonprofit board voted to shut down. But it reversed course on Wednesday.
Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Sources detail the tensions between Tucker Carlson and Suzanne Scott, as Carlson is unaccountable to leadership and operates in his own fiefdom at the network — As Fox News finds itself beset by an internal crisis fueled by Dominion's $1.6 billion defamation suit, long-simmering tensions …
Discussion:
New York Magazine, CNN, @oliverdarcy, @joeofthenorth, @aidnmclaughlin, @semaforben, @juliewestfall, @sulliview and The Wrap
Jay Peters / The Verge:
The YES Network, which airs New York Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, and New York Liberty games, launches a streaming service for $24.99/month in its regional territory — The Yankee Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network, a regional channel that broadcasts games from the New York Yankees …
Discussion:
CNBC, CNET, Sportico, The Desk, Next TV, Awful Announcing, @tvgrimreaper, @frankpallotta, The Streamable, Light Reading, New York Post and Cord Cutters News
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
The UK publishes its draft Media Bill that could see Netflix, Disney+, and other US streamers fined up to £250K for breaking harmful material rules under Ofcom — The UK government has published its long-awaited draft Media Bill to bring the U.S. streamers under its regulatory framework …
Discussion:
Financial Times, RadioInfo Australia, @deepbagchee, @sanjayjha, @perezhilton, Variety, Reuters, GOV.UK and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Justin Ling / Wired:
Docs: investments in 4chan include $800K from owner Hiroyuki Nishimura, $4.8M from his company, and $2.4M from Tokyo-based Good Smile, which makes Disney toys — Documents obtained by WIRED confirm that Good Smile, which licenses toy production for Disney, was an investor in the controversial image board.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @egavactip and @jtemperton, more at Techmeme »
Ryan Barwick / Marketing Brew:
Google launches an Ads Transparency Center, showing all the ads from verified advertisers on its platforms, in the formats, the regions, and the dates they ran — Users will be able to search all ads on the platform within 30 days of them running. … Get out your library cards and pay those late fees: Google is playing librarian.