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
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
