Mediagazer: The Dominion lawsuit judge plans to appoint a special master to investigate whether Fox lied by saying Rupert Murdoch was a Fox Corp officer and not at Fox News (Marshall Cohen/CNN)

11:35 PM ET, April 12, 2023

Top News:

NPR decides to “no longer be active on Twitter” after the platform took “actions that undermine our credibility” by implying NPR is not editorially independent — The broadcaster said that the label undermined its credibility “by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.”

Discussion: @npr, @kevincollier, @davidfolkenflik, @gbrumfiel, The Guardian, @nprpolitics, Variety, The Present Age, Ars Technica, @mikeisaac, @itswolfgangruth, @jbf1755, @oliverdarcy, ABC7, @laist, @elonmusk, @benswasey, @benswasey, TheBlaze, @timfullerton, @clarajeffery, @dfisman, @schmittnyc, Fox News, @scottwalker, @jennifernuzzo, The Verge, @ngrossman81, @howelloneill, @georgetakei@universeodon.com, @helenkennedy, @randyebarnett, RAIN News, @rudygiuliani, @joshgerstein, @maxwelltani, @lawrencehurley, @adamweinstein, @keithboykin, @mimsical@mastodon.social, New York Post, @stevesilberman, @piersmorgan, @electproject, Gizmodo, @davidmackau, @nprinskeep, @realdeancain, TechCrunch, @shoq@mastodon.social, @shoq@mastodon.social, @scottdetrow, Financial Times, @leilafadel, @timkmak@journa.host, @hayskali, WBUR, @davidsirota, @bobbyallyn, @digiphile, Current, @_cingraham, @dada_drummer, @nc5philwilliams, Newser, @tweetsbyparker, @21wire, @phil_lewis_, @loracorkelley, CBS News, @pitdesi, @w7voa, TheBlaze, @sifill_, @edmundlee, @rvawonk, @drewharwell@mastodon.social, Mashable, @blackamazon, @phil_lewis_, @seanspicer, @jbenton, @fpwellman, @chrisgorham, @thrasherxy, @digiphile, @sbbaicker, @campster, @miafarrow, @jennaellisesq, @clarajeffery, @micsolana, @justinbaragona, BBC, @seth_hettena, @asmamk, @deggans, @esqueer_, NPR, CNN, HuffPost, Associated Press, The Hill and WEKU, more at Techmeme »

Paul Glynn / BBC:

Twitter changes its label on the main BBC account from “Government Funded Media” to “Publicly funded media”, after the broadcaster called the label inaccurate — Twitter has changed a label on the main BBC account, saying it is “publicly-funded” instead of …

Discussion: Reuters, New York Times, @abridgen, @jamesclayton5, @nachristakis, @stphnfwlr, @nspector4, @b_hq, Voice of America, @kerrymflynn, @bruce_arthur, @tkatsumi06j, Axios, Broadband TV News, The Guardian, CBS News and The Desk, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:
PBS has not tweeted from its main Twitter handle since April 8, after Twitter labeled it “Government-funded Media”, and says it has no plans to resume tweeting

Discussion: The Desk, Bloomberg, We Explain L.A., Insider, @axios and Rolling Stone, more at Techmeme »

Jody Serrano / Gizmodo:
Twitter considers outlets to be “Government-funded Media” when “the government provides some or all” of their funding and “may” be involved in editorial content

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

A look at Rupert Murdoch's mounting problems; sources blame the 92-year-old's erratic behavior for throwing his personal life and media empire into disarray — With the $1.6 billion Dominion lawsuit threatening to hobble Fox News, the ink on his divorce to Jerry Hall still wet …

Marshall Cohen / CNN:

The Dominion lawsuit judge plans to appoint a special master to investigate whether Fox lied by saying Rupert Murdoch was a Fox Corp officer and not at Fox News — The judge overseeing Dominion Voting Systems' massive defamation case against Fox News said Wednesday that he plans to appoint …

Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look back at the UK tabloid phone-hacking case, ahead of the Dominion-Fox case: Rupert Murdoch and Fox survived the scandal and UK press rules didn't change

Discussion: Washington Post, CNN, @bgrueskin, New York Times, @kyleclark, @davidlaz, @oliverdarcy, Gizmodo, @svdate, @erikwemple, @erikwemple and @jon_allsop

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Warner Bros. Discovery officially announces Max as the new name of its flagship streaming service, launching in the US on May 23 with HBO and Discovery+ content — It's not HBO Max — soon it's just going to be Max. … The company announced the name change at a press event Wednesday …

Discussion: @andylevy, New York Times, CNBC, The Verge, The Verge, The Verge, The Wrap, New York Times, SlashFilm, Engadget, The Daily Beast, @wario64, MediaPost, Deadline, Insider, @mikeisaac, The Information, Collider, Los Angeles Times, Vulture, @itsdansheehan, @bilgeebiri, IndieWire, @deggans, @film_girl, Light Reading, The Streamable, @mattdpearce, The Desk, @film_girl, @modeledbehavior, @golikehellmachi, @variety, 9to5Mac, @marklewismd, @drewmcweeny, Reuters, GameSpot, @xpangler, @sherman4949, @davewiner, @capybaroness, @majorphilebrity, @karlbode, @travon, @jonrosenberg, @k_trendacosta, @kateaurthur, @paulswhtn, Nerds and Beyond, The A.V. Club, @zoescaman, @sonnybunch, @variety, Media Play News, Ars Technica, @lucas_shaw, TVLine, Next TV, @tvscarlkinsella, Mashable, @chrisvannini, @helenkennedy, The Hollywood Reporter, Gizmodo, @corbinbolies, Quartz, @nothnghppens, @oliverdarcy, Forbes, @nina_metz, CNBC, The Wrap, Bleeding Cool, @film_girl, AppleInsider and Comic Book, more at Techmeme »

Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Warner Bros. Discovery's stock fell 5.83% on April 12 after announcing HBO Max would become Max; Disney fell 2.47%, Paramount fell 3.28%, and Netflix fell 2.12%

Discussion: Deadline and @juwanthewriter

Bloomberg:

Sources: Putin approved Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's arrest; the Kremlin says the action was the “total prerogative of the special services” — Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved the arrest of a US reporter on espionage charges for the first time since …

Discussion: @mtthwrose, Columbia Journalism Review, @yashar, New York Daily News, @waltmossberg, @pressfreedom, @scribblercat, @paulwsj, @polinaivanovva, @albertomiguelf5, @jason_kint, The Hill and Slate

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

Vox Media spins off NowThis as an independent company, over a year after acquiring the outlet, takes a minority stake, and plans to keep selling ads for NowThis — Known for its viral videos of politicians and other newsmakers, NowThis is preparing to cover the 2024 election as an independent company.

Discussion: @benmullin, @teddyschleifer, The Information, @benwessel, Variety, @mattzeitlin, The Wrap, @voxmedia, @snmrrw and @voxmedia

Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:

Emails: UMG asked Spotify, Apple Music, and other services to block developers training AI bots from scraping melodies and lyrics from their copyrighted songs — Universal Music Group says new technology relies on unauthorised use of copyrighted material — Universal Music Group …

Discussion: Billboard, Music Business Worldwide, Fortune, Gizmodo, @gavinsblog, @annaknicolaou, The Guardian, @pgeuder, @rasmus_kleis, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Boing Boing and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Max Greenwood / The Hill:

Fox News plans to host the first 2024 Republican presidential primary, set to be held in Milwaukee in August 2023; the RNC will live stream the debate on Rumble — Fox News will host the first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee later this year, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel announced on Wednesday.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post, Adweek, Media Matters for America, Politico, @gop, @thecjpearson, @cortessteve, @jackposobiec, @froomkin, @jayrosen_nyu, @rubinreport, @daveweigel, Deadline, New York Times and Reclaim The Net

Erin Ailworth / Wall Street Journal:

Russian reporters, scholars, programmers, and database specialists launch the Russian Independent Media Archive, which features 13 outlets and is aiming for 70+ — Partnership between PEN America, Bard College comes as WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich remains imprisoned in Russia

Discussion: Library Journal infoDOCKET, @penamerica and Talking Biz News

Megan Graham / Wall Street Journal:

IAC and PwC: US digital ad revenue rose 10.8% YoY to $209.7B in 2022, down from 35% YoY in 2021; social media ad revenue rose 3.6% YoY in 2022, down from 39.3% — Headwinds from the economy and privacy protections were offset by growth in areas such as retail ad networks and streaming TV, executives and analysts say

Discussion: Radio & Television …, Inside Radio and MediaPost

Kate Knibbs / Wired:

A profile of Andy Hunter and his e-commerce platform Bookshop.org, which helps indie booksellers set up a digital storefront instead of selling through Amazon — Andy Hunter's ecommerce platform was a pandemic hit. Now he's on a mission to prove that small businesses can scale up without selling out.