Mediagazer: In a now-deleted tweet, Elon Musk said Twitter would give verified accounts “a few weeks grace” but take away their checkmarks if “they tell they won't pay now” (Aaron McDade/Yahoo Finance)

5:50 PM ET, April 3, 2023

Top News:

Amy Thomson / Bloomberg:

Endeavor acquires the WWE in a deal that values Vince McMahon's company at $9.3B including debt; Endeavor CEO Ariel Emanuel will lead the combined $21B+ company — Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. has agreed to buy World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. in a deal that values the company at $9.3 billion including debt.

Discussion: Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Variety, CNBC, New York Times, Sportico, The Week, @sarafischer, Observer, Variety, Bloomberg, Investis Digital, Endeavor, Fox Business, Sportico, Fox Business, Financial Times, The A.V. Club, @jonalba, The Comeback, @sherman4949, Awful Announcing, @claytravis, Pro Wrestling Torch, @sherman4949, Reuters, @sherman4949, Reuters, @fightoracle, Media Play News, @benmullin, Yahoo Finance, @sherman4949, @alexweprin, Front Office Sports, @abrahamjoseph, Forbes, @lucas_shaw, The Information, @dennyburkholder, @lanceulanoff, Associated Press, Deadline, @jimpethokoukis, CNBC, Barrett Media, New York Post, New York Post, @brentsobleski, Front Office Sports, Variety, MediaPost, ClutchPoints, The Wrap, @chrisvannini, Gadgets 360, Wall Street Journal, Popverse Latest, New York Daily News, The FADER and IGN

Sara Fischer / Axios:

An interview with WWE President Nick Khan on the WWE and UFC pursuing separate linear TV rights negotiations, continuing the WWE's Saudi relationship, and more — WWE and UFC will pursue separate media rights negotiations for linear TV, but there could be an opportunity to pursue a combined streaming deal …

Discussion: Sportico, Front Office Sports, The Streamable, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, @brandonthurston, @sarafischer, @aaronbronsteter, @sarafischer, Barrett Media and Pro Wrestling Torch

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Twitter removed the verified badge from The New York Times' main account after Elon Musk responded to a meme taunting the outlet's decision not to pay for Blue — The Times and other news organizations say they won't pay for the icon, which is designed to protect against impersonation

Aaron McDade / Yahoo Finance:

In a now-deleted tweet, Elon Musk said Twitter would give verified accounts “a few weeks grace” but take away their checkmarks if “they tell they won't pay now” — - The first day of Twitter's previously announced axing of “legacy” verified checks nearly passed without incident.

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Email: The White House will not pay for Twitter Blue for its staff; the White House and top officials' accounts like POTUS will likely maintain gray checkmarks

Discussion: @kingjames, @nathanchubbard, @sarafischer, Vox, The Future, Now and Then, @karaswisher, CNN, @om, Variety, Engadget, Fox Business, Reuters, The Wrap, @nathanchubbard, @govmikehuckabee, @kyleynfl, @jemelehill, @bendreyfuss, @jayzawaski, @glen_mcgregor, @mikeisaac, @robl_l, @mollyjongfast, @bmkibler, @toluogunlesi, @elienyc, @itsborys, @derushaj, @niubi, @saskiapopescu, @clarajeffery, @noclador, @keithedwards, @nathanchubbard, @nathanchubbard, @nathanchubbard, @nathanchubbard, @doctoryasmin, @realrclark25, @estellecostanza, @mariedenee, @sahilkapur, @taylorrooks, @digiphile, @dan_bernstein, @lawrencehurley, @keithedwards, @edzitron, @mattdizwhitlock, @bobcesca_go, @ashleygjovik, @wutangkids, @iamsophianelson, @reichlinmelnick, @fordm, @broderick, @evanmcmurry, @danpfeiffer, @pkafka, @delpercios, @rory_johnston, @rob_sheridan, BuzzFeed News and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

A profile of Evan Gershkovich, the 31-year-old WSJ reporter detained by Russia whose parents fled the USSR for the US and who later made Moscow his second home — The Wall Street Journal correspondent, whose parents fled the Soviet Union, made Moscow a second home.

Discussion: New York Times, @facethenation, Insider, @nickkristof, The Atlantic, @wsjpr, The Moscow Times, @felix_light, @nickkristof, @yarotrof, Talking Biz News, New York Post, @chrislhayes, @w7voa, @repmiketurner, Fox News, @nytimes, @williamyang120, @tggrove, @mtthwrose, @katie_robertson, @picardonhealth, @dreamgirls, @_karenhao, CBS News, @benmullin, Al Jazeera, @vmsalama, The Comeback, @biettetimmons, @maxseddon, @lindsayaellis, CNN, @paulsonne, @isabelcoles, @tggrove, @mjluxmoore, @fatmafaizi, @cliffordlevy, @mjluxmoore, @cgrantwsj, @piperk, @antontroian, @stephenkalin, @emilyzfeng, @mollyjongfast, @jrezaian, @mtthwrose, The Guardian, @jrezaian, @cathyarnst, @rohded, @biannagolodryga, @peterbakernyt, @nicktimiraos, @alecmacgillis, @mims, @srussolillo, @davidenrich, Reporters Without Borders, @drewhinshaw, @geraldfseib, @reevellp, @jmalsin, @austinramzy, The Guardian, @joewsj, @dinasrinivasan, @mjluxmoore, @georgikantchev, @pjotrsauer, @gtcost, @joshkraushaar, @_silversmith, @wsj, @bychunhan, @alanmillernlp, @mikevorkunov, @elizacollins1, @daiwaka, @aosipovich, @johnwest, @benpershing, @shalini, @nickkristof, @sgurman, New Yorker, @maxseddon, @laobserved, @joelsimonsays, @dabeard, NBC News, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Wall Street Journal

Thomas E. Patterson / Nieman Lab:

A survey of 253 NPR member stations finds that 60% have 10 or fewer news staff and average just over one hour of locally produced news programming per day — “Local public radio has a staffing problem. Stations have considerable potential but aren't yet in a position to make it happen."

Discussion: Journalism.co.uk, @kennedy_school, @dhiott, @stphnfwlr, @johnupton, @stevenwaldman, @anelsona, @jimallthetime, @lauren_bavis, @niemanfdn, @spj_tweets and @stphnfwlr

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

A Meta-commissioned report argues Facebook is not a “must-have” for publishers, saying news links account for less than 3% of posts users see in their feed — News links account for less than 3% of posts people see in their Facebook feeds. — A report commissioned by Meta …

Discussion: Nieman Lab, @dkiesow@social.kiesow.net, @jamesrbuk and @jeffjarvis

Max Tani / Semafor:

A look at the fissures within The Guardian after years of infighting over its trans coverage, as the anti-trans wing is widely viewed internally as ascendant — The wars at The Guardian reached one of their periodic peaks in September of 2021, when the philosopher Judith Butler said in an interview …

Discussion: @maxwelltani, @paulduanefilm, @transscribe, @brokenbottleboy, @semaforben, @rswirling, @ginarush, @bigmeaninternet and @jbenton

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Post, a Twitter alternative that pays publishers via microtransactions, launches in public beta and says outlets get an average $25 CPM for a paywalled article — Post, a Twitter alternative of sorts that's rethinking how publishers should engage with social media — and how they should monetize …

Discussion: The Information and @devonheinen

Drew Taylor / The Wrap:

CBS' 60 Minutes faces a backlash for an interview with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, which aired on Sunday evening — The CBS news magazine profiles the congresswoman who questioned whether 9/11 happened and defended the events of Jan. 6 in an upcoming interview

Discussion: Semafor, CBS News, Fox News, CNN, @60minutes, Vanity Fair, New York Post, The Guardian, @iampoliticsgirl, The Daily Dot, The Hill, The Daily Beast, @chriscuomo, Variety, @wcruz73, al.com, @stphnfwlr, @sddphoto, @jeffjarvis, @cornellwbrooks, @bradleywhitford, @jbendery, @zaleskiluke, @briankarem, Jezebel, Poynter, @joeneguse, @mattgertz, @alexandrachalup, @marcoafrieri, @ynb, @stevepasquale, @owillis, @akjakalope, Decider, @adamkinzinger, WGN-TV, @mtgreenee, @mollyjongfast, @fawfulfan, @briannawu, @zigmanfreud, @andrewkimmel, Forbes, @marston4ca42, @neontaster, @realdeancain, @katiehill4ca, @lindyli, @7veritas4, @elienyc, @vabvox, @kaivanshroff, @sawyerhackett, @anandwrites, @blackamazon, @petestrzok, @david_hemond, @gloriacampos, @professajay, @sifill_, @repriggleman, @victorshi2020, @markjacob16, @bryanbehar, @jemelehill, @thewrap, @davidcorndc, @mehdirhasan, @meidastouch and Decider

Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:

Spotify shuts down its Clubhouse-style audio app Spotify Live, previously called Locker Room, acquired as part of its €57M Betty Labs acquisition in March 2021 — Spotify is shutting down its live-audio app Spotify Live, but says it will continue experimenting with live features in its main service.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Engadget, Gizmodo, @glenngabe, 9to5Mac, @andysternberg and @pjbrown_iii, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

The Financial Times acquires a majority stake in Kansas-based medical news publication Endpoints News, which launched in 2014 and has over 163,000 subscribers — UK's Financial Times said on Monday it had acquired a majority stake in medical news publication Endpoints News.

Discussion: Financial Times, Talking Biz News, @markstenberg3, ENDPOINTS NEWS, @armstrongdrew and @armstrongdrew

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Peter White / Deadline:
Vice Media signs a deal with Fox-owned Tubi to make eight documentaries for the ad-supported streamer, starting with The Cult of Elon, set to debut on April 24

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Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Cineworld announces a restructuring agreement with lenders, reducing its debt by ~$4.53B, and expects to emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in H1 2023

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Karl Rasmussen / Sports Illustrated:
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Associated Press:
The Taliban close Sadai Banowan, Afghanistan's only women-run radio station, for playing music during Ramadan; the station launched in 2013 and has eight staff

Discussion: Fox News, @marielamensch84, @declarationon, @salmma1997, @open_spectrum, @pressfreedom, @behlihyi, @pressfreedom, @news_pug, Newser, Voice of America and Committee to Protect …

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Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Sources: NPR has held multiple, tense all-hands meetings in which impacted employees grilled executives about layoffs and the four canceled seasonal podcasts

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Perry Michael Simon / AllAccess.com:
Senators Klobuchar and Kennedy reintroduce The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act to let news orgs negotiate pay with tech firms like Meta and Google

Discussion: @ben@werd.social, CLP Blog, Public Knowledge and News/Media Alliance

Tom Hals / Reuters:
The judge in the $1.6B Fox-Dominion case denies Fox's summary judgment motions and partially grants Dominion's motions ahead of the trial scheduled for April 17

Mike Hume / Washington Post:
The Washington Post vows to continue covering gaming after its gaming vertical Launcher, which debuted on October 15, 2019, officially closes on March 31, 2023

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New York Times:
After months of keeping some distance, Fox News hosts back Donald Trump, denouncing his indictment as “politically motivated persecution” and a cause for unrest

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Gina Raimondo says holding back China in the chips race is a “fool's errand”, and investment, more than export controls, will keep US ahead of Beijing

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Reuters:
Albania bans TikTok for a year from January 2025, part of a broader plan to make schools safer following the killing of a 14-year-old near a school in November

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