Top News:
BuzzFeed News:
BuzzFeed News shuts down and archives its website; current and former staffers share their memories in the site's final post — BuzzFeed News has been described as a chaos agent, a pirate ship, a reputable news organization, and, most notably, a “failing pile of garbage” by former president Donald Trump.
Discussion:
@gavonl, @pranavdixit, @annabroges, @catesish, @tomgara, @markberman, @film_girl, @katherinemiller, @jarettsays, @aherman2006, @dylanmatt, @katenocera, @floorcharts, @nickriccardi, @tiagodf, @kalhanr, @migold, @claudiakoerner, @janelytv, @loopemma, @nidhisubs, @davidmackau, @alex, @mimms, @alexlaughs, @pocharaponn, @rmac18, @katienotopoulos and New Yorker
Alex Sujong Laughlin / Defector:
A look at the idea that the 2007 writers' strike caused the rise of reality TV and how workers on unscripted shows and cast members are chronically undervalued — As of Tuesday, the Writers Guild of America is on strike. Their proposals are aimed at making the work of writing TV …
Discussion:
Vanity Fair, The Present Age and The Guardian
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David Robb / Deadline:
The AMPTP pushes back on the WGA's demands, saying writers have “almost nothing in common” with gig jobs, commits to more discussion about AI material, and more
The AMPTP pushes back on the WGA's demands, saying writers have “almost nothing in common” with gig jobs, commits to more discussion about AI material, and more
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
Fox News sends Media Matters a cease-and-desist letter over a series of stories featuring leaked footage of Tucker Carlson, claiming the material is its IP — Fox News has sent a cease and desist letter to Media Matters and its president and CEO Angelo Carusone over a series of stories posted …
Discussion:
CNN, @maxwelltani, Yahoo News, The Wrap, The Hill, Insider, Gizmodo, Vanity Fair, Deadline, @catturd2, @bgrueskin, @megynkelly and @jeremymbarr
Cristina Criddle / Financial Times:
A journalist recounts discovering that ByteDance surveilled her in 2022 after reporting on TikTok's staff troubles in London and wonders why she was targeted — The FT's Cristina Criddle on discovering she'd been surveilled by the controversial social media company
Discussion:
Insider, Gizmodo, New York Post, Breitbart, @robertscammell, @henryjfoy, @jamesclayton5, @cristinacriddle, CNN, @_andyburrows, BBC and Verdict
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Vice Media is nearing a deal to get acquired out of bankruptcy by lenders including Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management for ~$400M — The media business is in talks to sell itself to top lenders Fortress Investment and Soros Fund Management through a reorganization that would wipe out other investors
Discussion:
Variety, The Guardian, @jbflint, The Information, @pressgazette, @tomlinsoncj, @aagave and Talking Biz News
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD Q1: revenue down 6% YoY to $10.7B, a $1.07B net loss, $2.46B streaming revenue and $50M profit, up from a $217M loss in Q4 2022, and 97.6M DTC subscribers — The company, led by CEO David Zaslav, reported negative free cash flow in the first quarter due to interest and sports rights payments …
Discussion:
Deadline, @io9, Adweek, Gizmodo, Tv Technology, MediaPost, IndieWire, The Wrap, @mannyhagopian, @jtoonkel, The Information, Wall Street Journal, @marinafang, Warner Bros. Discovery, @blackmajikman90, @robsforman, @labuzamovies, @thr, @sailorsctaustin, Variety, CNBC, @carlos_cisco, WORLD SCREEN, @pateduncan and Ad Age
John Ourand / Sports Business Journal:
Scripps signs a multiyear deal to carry the games of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, another team bypassing RSNs, two weeks after signing to carry WNBA games — For the second time in a week, a local broadcast channel picked up the rights to a professional sports team.
Discussion:
The Streamable, Next TV, Tv Technology, @just1nbruce, @506sports, @ourand_sbj, The Desk, Barrett Media, NHL.com, Front Office Sports, Sportico and Awful Announcing
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Nielsen: YouTube makes up more TV viewing than any network or streamer; sources: nearly 45% of US YouTube viewing is on TV and upfront ad sales could hit $7B+ — For years, Google's YouTube couldn't get any respect from the TV industry. TV marketers wouldn't go near it out of fear …
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @sub8u, @tarawlevy, @reidjjackson, @theinformation, FWIW and Fast Company
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Fox launches Fox Local, a free streaming app featuring local news, weather, and programming in Atlanta, DC, and Detroit, with plans to roll out to 14 more later — The Fox Local app offers live access to news feeds from three Fox-owned stations; the other 14 will be added at a later date.
Discussion:
Adweek, Next TV, Cord Cutters News, TVNewsCheck and Tv Technology, Thanks:@thedeskdotnet
Janko Roettgers / Lowpass:
Sources: Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin is working on Teevee, a startup building a free TV set, to be revealed in 2023, monetized via ads on a second screen — Free TVs, anyone? … Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin is giving ad-supported TV viewing another stab: Pozin has been quietly working …
Discussion:
The Verge, IGN, @davezatz, @tvgrimreaper, AdExchanger, Digital Trends and Cord Cutters News
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Eight CW stations owned by CBS plan to go independent in September 2023, carry Paramount content, and pursue sports deals akin to Scripps' and Gray TV's — CW stations in Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta, Detroit and other major markets will drop their affiliation and go independent.
Discussion:
The Desk, The Streamable, @tvgrimreaper, Next TV, Deadline, @snoodit and @alexweprin
Aisha Majid / Press Gazette:
Chartbeat data for 1,350 publishers: Facebook drove 27% of page views coming from external, search, and social in January 2018, falling to 11% in April 2023 — Data from Chartbeat and Similarweb shows how news publisher Facebook traffic has fallen. — Facebook referral traffic has plummeted …
Discussion:
@rasmus_kleis, @chrismsutcliffe, @otienoc and @rasmus_kleis