Top News:
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:
Deadline, @jtoonkel, New York Post and MediaPost
RELATED:
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:
@brooksbarnesnyt, Reuters, Fortune, @frankpallotta, The Information, @acoyne, @fabiannicieza, Vanity Fair, The Week, @parkermolloy, Deadline, @profblacktruth, The A.V. Club, @mattgertz, @conroyforreal, SlashFilm, @hopesloop, @samuelaadams, BGR, The Verge, Collider, Los Angeles Times, @wandasattorney, @the_moviebob, @gregbaldwiniroh, @tomaxwell, Financial Times, @captmarvelnews, @abigaildisney, New York Post, @scottgustin, @httweets, Comic Book, The Wrap, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, Screen Rant, Gizmodo, IGN, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News
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.
Discussion:
@nash076
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.
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, @haleaziz, @grahamstarr, @jayrosen_nyu, @harrisonxjacobs, @chrisgeidner, @scottnover, @sarayasin, @imillhiser, @niemanlab and @mediaevan
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 …
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Post, NPR, @willsommer, The Daily Beast, Media Matters for America, Mediaite, CNN, Washington Post, @dcuthbert, @aterkel, @aterkel, @clarajeffery, @pamkeithfl, @mattgertz, Vanity Fair, @aterkel, @justinbaragona, @authorsjb, Rolling Stone, Mediaite, The Guardian, The Rural Blog and Bloomberg
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, @oliverdarcy, CNN, @joeofthenorth, @semaforben, @juliewestfall, @sulliview, @aidnmclaughlin 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, Light Reading, @frankpallotta, The Streamable, New York Post, @tvgrimreaper, Awful Announcing and Cord Cutters News
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 »
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Netflix's iOS app code suggests the company may expand its video game service to TV sets for the first time, using phones as controllers — Netflix Inc. is working to bring its nascent video-game service to television sets for the first time, moving beyond smartphones and tablets in a sign of its growing ambitions.
Discussion:
@stevemoser, more at Techmeme »
Santiago Pérez / Wall Street Journal:
How a New York couple, who used to host an RT show, became key advisers to El Salvador on its bitcoin adoption while making crypto investments in the country — Former Russia state TV hosts advise government and have crypto investments in the country — SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador …
Discussion:
@kaedotcom and @counternotions