Mediagazer: Sources: UFC parent Endeavor nears a deal to acquire WWE from Vince McMahon and form a new publicly traded company; a deal could be announced as soon as April 3 (Alex Sherman/CNBC)

12:15 AM ET, April 3, 2023

Top News:

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.

Discussion: Washington Post, Insider, Fox News, @drewharwell, Al Jazeera, @kalhanr, @brianstelter, @dancow, Variety, @kenjennings, IndieWire, The Hill, Gadgets 360, TechCrunch and Agence France-Presse, more at Techmeme »

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 — The White House will not pay to have its staff's official Twitter profiles continue to be verified, according to guidance issued to staffers via an email obtained by Axios.

BuzzFeed News:

The NYT, LAT, and WaPo won't buy Twitter Blue; NYT, LAT, BuzzFeed, and Politico won't reimburse reporters for Blue, but Semafor and other small outlets plan to — BuzzFeed isn't ponying up, but for other outlets, paying might make sense. — Pranav Dixit

Discussion: @robtornoe, The Independent, @elonmusk, @sarafischer, Bloomberg, @oliverdarcy, @huspsa, @paultassi, Insider, The Daily Dot, @oalexanderdk, Mashable, @brooklynmarie, @alex_panetta, @pkafka, @hansmahncke, @oliverdarcy, @spj_tweets, @jbenton, @maxwelltani, @oliverdarcy, @bdherzinger, @mattnavarra, @scalzi, @scottnover, @jessespector, @rmac18, @roslyntalusan, @thekidskoob, @ryangrim, @claire_goforth, @thomaschattwill, @timfullerton, @skooks, @paleofuture, @boydhilton, @davidclinchnews, @williamshatner, @stevelackmeyer, @ndrew_lawrence, @stevanzetti, @dancow, @moorehn, @andrewmarchand, @roslyntalusan, @katebevan, @studentactivism, @bobmoorenews, @johniadarola, @mikeisaac, @tinu, @helenkennedy, @kt_so_it_goes, @cfidd, @pkafka, @charles_gaba, @dellcam, @scottnover, @benjysarlin, @wfkars, @chrismessina, @kimmasters, @bruce_arthur, @ewong, @jacobrubashkin, @nicosgonzalez, @andybcampbell, @joshtpm, @themaxburns, @moorehn, @adrianweckler, @wtfis2bdone, @ryanhanrahan, @lxeagle17, Vox, New York Times, Boing Boing, The Wrap, @hammancheez@c.im and Awful Announcing, 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, @wsjpr, @nickkristof, The Moscow Times, Fox News, New York Post, @nickkristof, The Guardian, CBS News, CNN, @picardonhealth, @lindsayaellis, @emilyzfeng, @cgrantwsj, Al Jazeera, @tggrove, @fatmafaizi, @vmsalama, @maxseddon, @chrislhayes, @paulsonne, @biettetimmons, @cathyarnst, @mjluxmoore, @jrezaian, @w7voa, @piperk, @isabelcoles, @repmiketurner, The Guardian, @mtthwrose, @nytimes, @dreamgirls, @williamyang120, @benmullin, @stephenkalin, @antontroian, @jrezaian, @mollyjongfast, The Comeback, @cliffordlevy, @katie_robertson, @mjluxmoore, @_karenhao, @rohded, Insider, Reporters Without Borders, @biannagolodryga, @peterbakernyt, @nicktimiraos, @alecmacgillis, @mims, @srussolillo, @davidenrich, @drewhinshaw, @geraldfseib, @reevellp, @jmalsin, New Yorker, Washington Post, @austinramzy, @joewsj, @dinasrinivasan, @mjluxmoore, @georgikantchev, @pjotrsauer, @gtcost, @joshkraushaar, @_silversmith, @wsj, @bychunhan, @alanmillernlp, @mikevorkunov, @elizacollins1, @daiwaka, @aosipovich, @johnwest, @benpershing, @shalini, @nickkristof, @sgurman, @maxseddon, Associated Press, @laobserved, @joelsimonsays, @dabeard, NBC News, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Reuters

Alyssa Lukpat / Wall Street Journal:

Top editors at 38 outlets globally sign a letter condemning the detention of The Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich and calling for his immediate release — The editors condemned Mr. Gershkovich's detention in a letter to the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Sources: UFC parent Endeavor nears a deal to acquire WWE from Vince McMahon and form a new publicly traded company; a deal could be announced as soon as April 3 — - Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment is in advanced talks to be sold to Ari Emanuel's Endeavor Group, the parent of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

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 — A jury will decide whether Fox Corp (FOXA.O) defamed Dominion Voting Systems with false vote-rigging claims aired by Fox News …

Discussion: @goangelo, @goangelo, New York Times, @elizlanders, @sarahellison, MediaPost, @nytimes, @johnjharwood, @stengel, @wjcarter, @tinaissa, @johnlegere, CNN, @normornstein, @gabrielsterling, @jrubinblogger, @jayrosen_nyu, Mediaite, The Week, Washington Post, Associated Press, NPR, @gtconway3d, @jefftimmer, @katrinanation, @mattgertz, @badfoxgraphics, @kiminsley, @nytimesbusiness, @tristansnell, @keitholbermann, @karaswisher, @peterjukes, @bendreyfuss, @nycsouthpaw, @crookedknight, @existentialfish, @klasfeldreports, @farhip, @jamesrbuk, @jaketapper, @therickwilson, @mariashriver, @pamkeithfl, @tempdiaries, @jswatz, @edmundlee, @reddit_ama, TVNewser, @awzurcher, @oliverdarcy, @themaxburns, @demfromct, @rl_miller, @goangelo, @reuterslegal, @chancery_daily, Financial Times, @jeremymbarr, Wall Street Journal, @JillWineBanks@ohai.social and The Wrap

Karl Rasmussen / Sports Illustrated:

Nielsen: the NCAA women's basketball tournament semifinals averaged 4.5M viewers on ESPN's platforms, the highest average on record for the Women's Final Four — The Women's Final Four captivated millions across the country on Friday evening, and the viewership numbers back it up.

Discussion: Sports Media Watch, New York Times, Sports Media Watch, @espnpr, Front Office Sports, The Ringer, @coachcoriclose, @codyworsham, ClutchPoints, @paulsen_smw, @drlindseydarvin, @hassel_chris, @uvahoopsriffs and Awful Announcing

Drew Taylor / The Wrap:

CBS' 60 Minutes faces a backlash after promoting Lesley Stahl's interview of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, scheduled to be broadcast on April 2 — The CBS news magazine profiles the congresswoman who questioned whether 9/11 happened and defended the events of Jan. 6 in an upcoming interview

Maurice Oniang'o / Reuters Institute:

An interview with Kenyan data journalists Eunice Magwambo, Purity Mukami, and Juliet Atellah on data journalism's impact, training reporters, and key challenges — Eunice Magwambo, Purity Mukami and Juliet Atellah discuss their work and the challenges faced by data journalists in their country

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 — Despite recent criticism, the network's star personalities joined other leading conservatives in denouncing …

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More News:

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

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

Discussion: @global_occupant, @andrewtwalk and @noahcrothman

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

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

Discussion: @pithyalyse, @mikehumepost, @mikehumepost, @mikehumepost, @walldo, @rcmacleod, @rcmacleod, @rcmacleod, @genepark, @diegoarguello66, @teddyamen and @launcherwp

Luke Winkie / Slate:
Interviews with writers who publish daily Wordle hints, published by Digital Trends, Mashable, NME, and others since they reliably generate substantial traffic

Discussion: Mashable, @jbenton, @luke_winkie and @iethics

Jeffrey Rousseau / GamesIndustry.biz:
Roblox plans to hide advertisements from users 13 and younger, after nonprofit Truth in Advertising filed an FTC complaint in April 2022 against the company

Earlier Picks:

Alan Jones / AOL:
BBC journalists in England plan to stage a 24-hour strike on May 5 to coincide with the reporting of local election results, after a first walkout on March 15

Discussion: HoldtheFrontPage

Safi Bugel / The Guardian:
Gal-Dem, an outlet for women and non-binary POC, shuts down after eight years, citing the difficulty of sustaining growth via brand partnerships and memberships

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: crypto outlet The Block laid off roughly one-third of its staff, including interim CEO Bobby Moran, and promoted head of research Larry Cermak to CEO

Discussion: @rafat, @raph_bloch, @kylesgibson, @timccopeland and @pressgazette

Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap:
UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report finds that among 2022's top 100 original streaming films, 64% had casts with at least 30% POC vs. 57% for theatrical films

Discussion: @ucla, @tedhope, @joaquincastrotx, @jamesthetang, @indiewire, @dranachristina, @beingjanine and @thewrap

BBC:
The BBC asks ex-ITN CEO John Hardie to lead an independent review of its social media guidelines for freelance, non-news presenters after the Gary Lineker furor

Discussion: @lucympowell, Reuters, Yahoo News, The Irish News, Sky News, Deadline and Variety

From Techmeme:

OpenAI:
OpenAI says its board of directors is evaluating its corporate structure, including a plan to turn its for-profit arm into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation

Stephanie Palazzolo / The Information:
An undisclosed 2023 agreement between Microsoft and OpenAI defines achieving AGI as the point when OpenAI develops AI systems that generate $100B+ in profits

Bloomberg:
Montenegro says Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the US, potentially ending a standoff over competing demands by the US and South Korea

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