Top 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.


Scripps signs a multiyear deal to carry the games of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, another team bypassing RSNs — For the second time in a week, a local broadcast channel picked up the rights to a professional sports team. Scripps has signed a multiyear deal to carry all Golden Knights games …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Next TV, Tv Technology, @just1nbruce, @506sports, The Desk, @ourand_sbj, Barrett Media, NHL.com, Sports Media Watch, Front Office Sports, Sportico and Awful Announcing
RELATED:


Eight CW stations plan to go independent in September, carry Paramount content, and pursue sports deals akin to Scripps — CW stations in Philadelphia, Seattle, Atlanta, Detroit and other major markets will drop their affiliation and go independent.
Discussion:
Variety, The Desk, The Streamable, @tvgrimreaper, Next TV, Deadline, @snoodit and @alexweprin


A look at the fallacy that the last writers' strike fueled reality TV's growth, 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:
The Present Age, Vanity Fair and The Guardian
RELATED:


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

In a show of solidarity, members of six guilds including the DGA, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, and Teamsters joined the Writers Guild of America at a Los Angeles rally
Discussion:
Variety, @teamsters_399, Variety, Breitbart, New York Times, @johncusack, @mattgoldich, @theferocity, @chasemit, @caityweaver, @mattbelloni, @mediumsizemeech, Deadline, @wgangelinab, @wgangelinab, @samthielman, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter


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, CNN, @robertscammell, @henryjfoy, @jamesclayton5, @cristinacriddle, @_andyburrows, BBC and Verdict


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, @aagave, @pressgazette, @tomlinsoncj, The Information and Talking Biz News


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, Adweek, Gizmodo, @io9, 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


Nielsen: YouTube makes up more TV viewing than any network or streamer; sources: ~45% of US YouTube viewing is on TV, and upfront ad sales will likely 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


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


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


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


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:
Yahoo News, CNN, The Hill, The Wrap, @maxwelltani, Insider, Deadline, @bgrueskin and @jeremymbarr