Mediagazer: Shutterstock plans to acquire Giphy from Meta for $53M in cash, after the UK CMA ordered Meta to divest the deal in 2022; Meta reportedly paid $400M for Giphy (Yuvraj Malik/Reuters)

Top News:

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Daily Wire plans to put all of its podcasts on Twitter beginning May 30, after YouTube demonetized videos from Daily Wire host Matt Walsh in April 2023 — The Daily Wire, a conservative media and entertainment company, plans to put its entire slate of podcasts, which are almost all recorded as videos …

Discussion: Mediaite, @mattgertz, @mattgertz, @mattgertz, @gayest_tone, @dailywirenews, @oneunderscore__ and @bmorrissey

Zack Beauchamp / Vox:

The uproar after right-wing outlet Daily Signal accused Fox of being pro-trans due to state workplace rules signals ongoing backlash after Tucker Carlson's exit — A conservative outlet is attacking Fox for being too respectful of trans employees. It's a sign of the times on the right.

Discussion: @mattwalshblog, Mediaite, The Daily Signal, @brynntannehill, @noamchompers, @sulliview, @andreancaruso, @walshfreedom, @catturd2, @paleozoomer99, @kimmasters, @kf_crow, @jessicashortall, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone and Insider

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

BuzzFeed debuts Botatouille, a free chatbot that suggests recipes from its food brand Tasty, and plans to offer AI-personalized services to sell subscriptions — Jonah Peretti, the company's chief executive, has embraced artificial intelligence more than most publishers.

Discussion: @benmullin, @bmorrissey, @mccarthyryanj, @zachsilberberg, @buzzfeedpr and @benmullin, more at Techmeme »

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Google says it will use generative AI to boost Search ads' relevance based on query context and debuts a conversational experience for creating ad campaigns — Google is going to start using generative AI to boost Search ads relevance based on the context of a query, the company announced at its Google Marketing Live event today.

Discussion: Search Engine Land, AdExchanger and Wired, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google plans to start experimenting with Search and Shopping ads that are fully customized based on users' search terms within conversational AI Search

Discussion: Adweek, MediaPost, Ad Age, The Drum, Search Engine Land and The Keyword, more at Techmeme »

Bill Donahue / Billboard:

A US judge rules that a case claiming YouTube enables piracy by restricting access to copyright tools to record labels may not proceed as a class action — The case claimed that YouTube offers tools like Content ID to record labels but refuses to allow “ordinary” copyright owners to use them.

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, Complete Music Update, Music Ally and Cord Cutters News

Ann M. Simmons / Wall Street Journal:

A Russian court extends Evan Gershkovich's pre-trial detention until at least August 30, according to state news agency TASS — WSJ reporter is deemed by the U.S. to be wrongfully held — A Russian court extended until at least Aug. 30 the pretrial detention of Evan Gershkovich …

Discussion: Voice of America, The Hill, Talking Biz News, The Moscow Times, CBS News, Forbes, Politico, Fox News, NPR, Committee to Protect …, Kyiv Independent, @biettetimmons, @nat_vasilyeva, @biannagolodryga, Semafor and The Guardian

Yuvraj Malik / Reuters:

Shutterstock plans to acquire Giphy from Meta for $53M in cash, after the UK CMA ordered Meta to divest the deal in 2022; Meta reportedly paid $400M for Giphy — Stock photos repository Shutterstock Inc (SSTK.N) said on Tuesday it would buy animated-images platform Giphy Inc from Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) for $53 million in cash.

New York Times:

US Department of Education settles with a Georgia school district, which the agency says may have violated students' civil rights by removing some library books — The U.S. Department of Education reached a settlement with a Georgia school district after launching an investigation …

Discussion: Fox News, Reason, @paisleyrekdal, Washington Post and The Daily Signal

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Nielsen: from May 15 to May 19, CNN averaged 429K daily viewers, its lowest week since June 2015; Fox News had its worst key demo ratings since September 2001 — This reporting is featured in this week's edition of Confider, The Daily Beast's media newsletter. Subscribe here and send your questions, tips, and complaints here.

Discussion: Front Office Sports, @schotthappens, @stevenjcbuckley and UPROXX

Kristin Robinson / Billboard:

SoundCloud CEO sends staff an email announcing layoffs affecting 8% of staff in order to help the company turn a profit for the first time in its history — The layoffs were announced during an all hands meeting by CEO Eliah Seton. — SoundCloud leaders told staff on Tuesday (May 23) …

Discussion: Variety and Music Business Worldwide

The Nib:

The Nib, a 10-year-old political cartoon outlet, is shutting down in August, having published more than 6K comics and paid out over $2M to creators — I'm afraid I have some bad news. After ten years of publishing, The Nib is going to close down this summer. The new issue of our magazine, the Future issue, will be our last.

Discussion: @mattbors, @andycomics, @thenib, @lubchansky, Boing Boing and Graphic Policy

Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:

Comcast unveils plans for Now TV, a $20/month streaming package that includes 40+ live channels, 20 FAST channels, and a subscription to Peacock Premium — The NBCUniversal parent, led by CEO Brian Roberts, is building on technology developed for Sky's Now TV platform as part of its latest direct-to-consumer offering.

Discussion: The Wrap, MediaPost, Deadline, Variety, The Streamable, Light Reading, Media Play News and @michaelmiraflor