Top News:
Tim Baysinger / Axios:
Bob Bakish says Paramount is restarting the sales process for Simon & Schuster, after US regulators blocked a 2022 attempt to sell to Penguin Random House — - Tim Baysinger, author of Axios Pro: Media Deals — Paramount Global has restarted the sale process for book publisher Simon & Schuster …
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Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount's Bob Bakish says consumers won't notice the writer's strike impact “for a while”, citing unscripted content, a large library, and offshore production — The studio says it has a slate of new releases, a large library and offshore production to get through the strike.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, @coelasquid, @elplethora, @tinseltownpr, @tvgrimreaper, @merrillbarr, Deadline and IndieWire
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Paramount Q1: revenue down 1% YoY to $7.3B and a $1.23B loss; streaming revenue up 39% YoY to $1.5B and a $511M loss; Paramount+ added 4.1M subs for 60M total — The media giant slashed its dividend 79% as it posted adjusted earnings per share of 9 cents on revenue of $7.3 billion for the first quarter, missing Wall Street estimates
Discussion:
The Streamable, Adweek, MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter, CNBC, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, @sherman4949, Variety, @jyarow, @sherman4949, @bristei, IndieWire, @tvgrimreaper and Media Play News
Ross A. Lincoln / The Wrap:
In a show of solidarity, the WGA was joined by members of the DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, Teamsters, and six other guilds at a Los Angeles rally — Participants included SAG, DGA, IATSE, the Teamsters, and more — In a massive show of solidarity, on day 2 of the ongoing Writers' strike …
Discussion:
Breitbart, @wgangelinab, @wgangelinab, @samthielman, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Deadline
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Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Striking WGA writers have two main worries about AI: their work being used as training data and being tasked with just fixing AI-generated “sloppy first drafts”
Discussion:
The Nation, @variety, @iethics, @katiekilkenny7, Axios, Breitbart, Gizmodo, CBS News and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
If the Hollywood writers' strike drags on, Netflix, Apple, and HBO will be in a better position than others as they tend to make their content far in advance
Discussion:
@scottfconroy, Reuters, @jbflint, PinkNews, Breitbart, The Week, New York Times, KTLA, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Bloomberg, CBS News and TVNewsCheck
Jemima Kelly / Financial Times:
Twitter's Community Notes is changing fact-checking by avoiding the term and using a crowdsourced consensus, a model for a fairer and more transparent approach — The strength of the platform's Community Notes feature is that it works through consensus — I think I might have let out an audible groan …
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Hulu plans to roll out PBS, PBS Kids, and Magnolia Network on Hulu Live TV in the coming months — Hulu Live TV announced Thursday that it is adding new channels to its library, bringing the total to over 90 channels across live sports, news and entertainment.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Streamable, The Desk, Hulu, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter and Cord Cutters News
Troy Smith / Axios:
Convicting a Murderer, a docuseries hosted by right-wing commentator Candace Owens that rebuts Netflix's Making a Murderer, will premiere on DailyWire+ — “Convicting a Murderer,” the docuseries from Cleveland's Transition Studios that serves as a rebuttal to Netflix's “Making a Murderer,” has found a home.
Michelle Nichols / Reuters:
USAID head Samantha Power announces the launch of Reporters Shield, a program to defend journalists globally from legal threats aimed at silencing voices — The United States on Tuesday launched a program to defend journalists around the world from legal threats aimed at silencing critical voices …
Discussion:
New Yorker, U.S. Agency …, @natesibley, @b_judah, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera, Editor and Publisher and The Hill
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Oliver Holmes / The Guardian:
World Press Freedom Index 2023: 31 countries are in a “very serious situation”, the lowest ranking in the report, as more authoritarians silence the press
Discussion:
Breitbart, Poynter, Global Investigative …, @ebernsteinwsj, Washington Post, @dylan_housman, @courtneyr, @janebsinger, Voice of America, @mathewliz, @brianstelter, @briankarem, @mark_j_henry, @bbcstever, @arusbridger, @nobelprize, @politicoeurope, @kyivindependent, @zoo_bear, @dhruv_rathee, @ranaayyub, @jeremycorbyn, @guyverhofstadt, @mylovanov, @ranaayyub, Reporters Without Borders, Journalism.co.uk, Press Gazette, Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Semafor, Newslaundry, The Wire, Helsinki Times, The Hindu, Euractiv and Press Gazette
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with writers Daniel Lavery and Jo Livingstone, creators of The Stopgap blog, on starting a fun website, newsletters, using tip jars for writers, and more — “Not to brag, but if there was an obvious way to make money here I feel like I would know about it.”
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen and @niemanfdn
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Twitter announces it is expanding the scope of its partnership with NBCU for the 2024 Summer Olympics; Snap announced a similar initiative with NBCU on May 1 — Despite all of the upheaval at Twitter under new owner Elon Musk in recent months, the social media firm and NBCUniversal …
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Desk, Marketing Brew, Ad Age, Next TV and TVNewsCheck
Sam Jabri-Pickett / Reuters:
Google and Meta executives say their platforms would withdraw access to news articles in Canada if the lawmakers pass the Online News Act as currently drafted — Google and Meta would withdraw access to news articles in Canada if legislation compelling internet companies to pay news publishers is passed …
Discussion:
@jason_kint, Bloomberg, @glenngabe and The Canadian Press, more at Techmeme »
Max Tani / Semafor:
Court docs: the top HR exec at the publisher of Inc. and Fast Company allegedly stole $429K+ from the company; she was fired in April 2023 and arrested on May 1 — The Scoop — The top human resources executive at the publisher of Inc Magazine and Fast Company allegedly stole more than $429,000 …
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, @mattzeitlin, @w7voa and Adweek
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