Top News:
Brian Stelter / New York Magazine:
Over 40 CNN staffers share their anger and fear after a brutal profile of Chris Licht and the announcement of David Leavy as COO; Licht vows to earn back trust — Staffers' confidence is shaken, but the CEO is vowing to “fight like hell to win back their trust.”
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @brianstelter, The Guardian, Politico, Semafor, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Fox News, New York Post, Mediaite, The Wrap, @brianstelter, Page Six, Forbes, Vanity Fair, @dylanbyers, @jamiestelter, @timalberta, The Hill, RADAR, The Messenger, @timalberta, The Big Lead, @brianstelter, @jeffreygoldberg, The Daily Beast, @timalberta, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @jmacnyc, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @katiecouric, @brianstelter, @mzhemingway, @gettingsome, @brianstelter, Insider, Axios and Newser
Discussion:
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Licht: “To those whose trust I've lost, I will fight like hell to win it back, because you deserve a leader who will be in the trenches, fighting to ensure CNN remains the world's most trusted name in news.” Staffers appreciated his humility. Q now: What do Zaslav & Leavy think?
Adam Gabbatt / The Guardian: CNN's Licht apologizes to staff for taking spotlight with Atlantic profile
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “I know these past few days have been very hard for this group. I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it overshadowed the incredible week of reporting that we just had, and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this org. And for that, I am sorry.”
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “As I read that article, I found myself thinking, CNN is not about me,” Licht continued. “I should not be in the news unless it's taking arrows for you. Your work is what should be written about.”
Fox News: CNN boss Chris Licht apologizes to staffers amid devastating reports about his leadership: ‘I am sorry’
Ariel Zilber / New York Post: CNN boss Chris Licht apologizes after damaging exposé: ‘I should not be in the news’
Jamie Frevele / Mediaite: ‘CNN is Not About Me’: Chris Licht Addresses Staff After Brutal Atlantic Profile, Apologizes for Having ‘Overshadowed’ Their Work
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap: Chris Licht Apologizes to CNN Staff After Devastating Atlantic Profile: ‘I Should Not Be in the News’
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Chris Licht began today's 9am editorial call by congratulating @JakeTapper and the town hall production team for last night's Nikki Haley town hall. Then he addressed @TheAtlantic article and signaled he is staying on as CNN CEO. Here is what he said...
Oli Coleman / Page Six: Gym ‘machine’ Chris Licht's 50-pound weight loss actually aided by Ozempic: sources
Mark Joyella / Forbes: Chris Licht Apologizes And Vows To ‘Fight Like Hell’ To Win Back Trust Inside CNN
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair: CNN's Christ Licht Apologizes For Being the Center of Attention. He May Have Bigger Problems
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: NEW @PuckNews: CNN's Chris Licht in 9 a.m. staff call says he should not be in the news unless he's taking arrows for staff, and to those whose trust he's lost, he will fight like hell to get it back. Licht says he will move office back to newsroom.
Jamie Stelter / @jamiestelter: When things are great at work — or even just okay — people don't call their friends and former colleagues to talk about it. But when they feel betrayed... HO BOY. @brianstelter's phone was ringing All Damn Weekend. https://nymag.com/...
Tim Alberta / @timalberta: Cannot overstate how shocked/shaken CNN staffers were at the time of this episode, and how irate others have been as the story spread. Justifiably so. If this decision was indeed made to appease the Trump team—to keep him from quitting the town hall—it is an absolute scandal. [image]
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill: CNN CEO Chris Licht apologizes to staff for ‘distracting’ headlines about himself
Connor Surmonte / RADAR: 'He's Done': CNN Staffers Believe Chris Licht is ‘Over’ at Struggling Network After ‘Devastating’ Atlantic Profile
Zachary Leeman / The Messenger: Chris Licht Promises CNN Staff to ‘Fight Like Hell’ to Earn Back Trust Following Explosive Profile
Tim Alberta / @timalberta: The most damning thing I discovered in all my reporting didn't involve Chris Licht. It was done by one of his lieutenants, without his knowledge, and it's continuing to fuel intense anger (and furious speculation) inside CNN. The “SEXUAL ABUSE” chyron... https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Stephen Douglas / The Big Lead: With Chris Licht in Hot Water, Is There a Countdown Clock on Charles Barkley's CNN Show?
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's view, according to two people who spoke with him, is that Licht “overcorrected” — that he tried so hard not to be Jeff Zucker that he became ineffective. [image]
Jeffrey Goldberg / @jeffreygoldberg: A fair-minded, insightful recounting of Chris Licht's various difficulties from @brianstelter: https://nymag.com/...
Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast: Chris Licht Begs Forgiveness From Angry Staff: ‘CNN Is Not About Me’
Tim Alberta / @timalberta: Other moves—stocking the auditorium with Trumpers; swapping MAGA pundits for normie Republicans on the panels—can be plausibly denied/explained. But what, exactly, is the explanation for frantically calling to remove the words “SEXUAL ABUSE” from the pregame chyron? Stay tuned.
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Chris Licht is expected to speak at 9am to a staff that's saying things like this: “I feel like a quarterback without a coach” “Incompetence and tone-deafness is what we've been dealing with for a year now” “Something has got to give” https://nymag.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Employees at all levels of CNN are startled, angry, sad, despondent. The Atlantic story was an unforced error by Chris Licht; an exposé of what some staffers already knew; a wake-up call to others. “How can he lead us now?”
Jim McCarthy / @jmacnyc: See that, PR kids? Every journalist knows that all-access profiles on the client are like juggling with dynamite. Don't do it! https://www.mediagazer.com/... [image]
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Employees don't know how Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav feels. My impression is that Zaslav is keeping his options open right now. His trusted lieutenant David Leavy is assessing the damage at CNN, and Zaslav is telling folks that Leavy is bringing adult supervision.
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: For @nymag's @intelligencer, I wrote about the questions everyone at CNN is asking right now: Can Chris Licht survive as head of the network? Should he? Here's a thread about my reporting >>> https://nymag.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: David Leavy, CNN's incoming COO, worked the phones all weekend, talking with anchors and reporters, some of whom have lost all confidence in Licht and want him removed. That's how bad it's become. https://nymag.com/...
Katie Couric / @katiecouric: Another question: why are media reporters obsessed with the word defenestration? 🥴 https://nymag.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: There IS sympathy for Licht inside CNN. Staffers feel like he's been carrying out someone else's orders. But in the words of one of his confidants, “he was dealt a bad hand, and then he played it badly.” That's the story @TimAlberta told in The Atlantic in devastating detail.
Mollie / @mzhemingway: I find it mildly funny how upset CNN employees reportedly are at the (very meager and completely insufficient!) attempts to help them regain any credibility as a news organization. https://twitter.com/...
@gettingsome: “It's tempting to say Licht is entangled in a proxy war between Zucker and Zaslav and shrug at all the rich white guys fighting over a declining asset. But that would be a mistake.” https://nymag.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Anti-Licht sentiment is widely shared among the CNN rank and file, and has existed to some extent for months, but @TimAlberta's article cemented it. In the words of three employees: “He's over.” “He's done.” “There's no coming back from that profile.” However...
Nicholas Carlson / Insider: Inside CNN's epic PR fail that made a mockery of CEO Chris Licht
Mike Allen / Axios: Devastating profile dogs CNN boss
Bob Cronin / Newser: CNN Boss Chris Licht Is Under Siege
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: in a staff call, Chris Licht responded to the The Atlantic piece, saying he will strive to regain trust, move his office back to the newsroom, and more — CNN chief Chris Licht told staffers Monday he wants to help them make the news rather than being a central figure in it.
Discussion:
Insider, @sarafischer, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Breitbart, Mediaite, Fox News, Newser, Deadline, @mitrakalita, @bristei, @masasoncap, @bristei, @jayrosen_nyu, @alexweprin, @sherman4949, @maxwelltani and Boing Boing
Discussion:
Taylor Berman / Insider: CNN CEO Chris Licht apologizes to staff over disastrous Atlantic magazine profile: 'I should not be in the news unless it's taking arrows for you'
Sara Fischer / @sarafischer: Chris Licht addressees Atlantic story on 9a call with staffers: “I have spent the weekend doing a lot of thinking” Said the news cycle and his role in it have been a distraction. “CNN is not about me” “I should not be in the news unless it's taking arrows for you”
Wall Street Journal: CNN CEO Chris Licht Apologizes to Staff, Saying He Overshadowed Network's Achievements
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post: Dumped CNN boss Jeff Zucker is ‘waging a proxy war’ against successor Chris Licht: ‘He should move on’
Joe DePaolo / Mediaite: 'He's Over': Brian Stelter Reports Numerous CNN Employees Think Chris Licht is ‘Done’ After Devastating Atlantic Profile
John Johnson / Newser: His Job Security Shaky, CNN's Boss Apologizes
S. Mitra Kalita / @mitrakalita: Interesting. Wish for more context in these stories like: - 2023 economics; tougher advertising climate; what's CNN strategic plan beyond cable $ - audience fatigue. Dropoff in news consumption across brands. Now what? - management hurdle. These guys get these jobs after running,... https://twitter.com/...
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: MORE: Licht is moving offices and will be closer to CNN's journalism team going forward, he informed staffers on a Monday editorial call... https://variety.com/...
@masasoncap: The reason that media coverage about *media companies* - especially news media! - is so juicy is because employees at the companies know how the game is played. Here the contents of an internal CNN call are already being leaked - thus already defeating Licht's objective https://twitter.com/...
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: CNN chief Chris Licht told staffers Monday he wants to help them make the news rather than being a central figure in it.... https://variety.com/... via @variety
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Chris Licht apologizes— for being in the news, being so visible. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Weprin / @alexweprin: Chris Licht's comments this AM ("I should not be in the news unless it's taking arrows for you") mirror something he said at a event in NY not long ago, saying his job is to “really to be the heat shield” of CNN. And yet the headlines keep coming. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: CNN CEO Chris Licht apologized to staff today during the company's internal 9 a.m. call. I'm told WBD CEO David Zaslav wasn't too pleased with Licht's The Atlantic profile. One person familiar w/ his thinking told me, “He thought what everyone else did.” https://www.cnbc.com/...
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Sources: Jeff Zucker's gripes about CNN and Chris Licht have become more frequent and Zucker is serving as a grievance switchboard for current and former staff — It's been more than a year since he was forced from the top job at the network. Since then, he has made no secret of his frustrations …
Discussion:
New York Post, New York Times, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, Insider, @benmullin, @khadastrophic, The Messenger, @page88, @rafat, @asharma, Poynter, @jackwaltimore, @davidclinchnews, @kimmasters, @mpdillon, @ericschultz, @alexthomp, The Wrap, @katierosman, @sherman4949, @semaforben, @bmorrissey, @davidjollyfl, RADAR, Mother Jones and Mediaite
Discussion:
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post: Jeff Zucker's new firm RedBird eyes media properties including Washington Post, Semafor, Puck: report
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times: Former CNN Chief Jeff Zucker Has a New Job at RedBird IMI. What Is It?
Mike Allen / Axios: CNN drama, Act 2: Zucker's revenge
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: CNN Chief Tells Staff “I Should Not Be In the News” After ‘Meltdown’ Magazine Profile
Nicholas Carlson / Insider: 'It's like watching a snuff film': Media elites shocked by The Atlantic's surgical dismantling of CNN boss Chris Licht
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: Tidbit: Jeff Zucker has hired Rani Raad, formerly one of CNN's major rainmakers, to join him at RedBird IMI https://www.nytimes.com/...
Khadijah Costley White / @khadastrophic: 3 thoughts on the coverage of the Atlantic's article on Chris Licht: 1) the phrase “confidence of a mediocre white man” will always be relevant 2) all the wrong folks have imposter syndrome https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...
Richard Leiby / The Messenger: CNN Drama: Why CEO Chris Licht Could Be a Goner
Virginia Heffernan / @page88: Between @DylanByers and Tim Alberta and now Benjamin Mullin, people reporting on CNN have now spoken to 2.7 million people familiar with CNN, Jeff Zucker, Chris Licht, and all their parent companies [image]
@rafat: Zucker trying to pull a Chernin here. Someone should make a list of these former big time media execs who have launched rollup/investment shops, like TCG, WndrCo, Candle, Tornante. Others I am missing? https://twitter.com/...
Amol Sharma / @asharma: Since leaving CNN, @brianstelter hasn't reported much on his former employer. But here, he goes deep on the fallout from the Atlantic profile of Chris Licht and the state of affairs internally (after being on the receiving end of considerable staffer outreach.) https://twitter.com/...
Tom Jones / Poynter: In defense of Chuck Todd
Jack Walsh / @jackwaltimore: Coming from his job at Colbert, I used to believe Licht was a Louis DeJoy type—suspect because of who hired him, in the wrong place at the wrong time for the media narrative, but ultimately an honest and competent actor. The past month has obliterated that benefit of the doubt. https://twitter.com/...
David Clinch / @davidclinchnews: Jokes aside, there could easily be a retrospective look at Zucker's time at CNN that could frame his professional and personal behavior in a very unflattering way. He may think he could fix CNN, but he probably couldn't and, just like Iger at Disney, he created some of the issues https://twitter.com/...
Kim Masters / @kimmasters: “I gave them a gun, and they shot me with it.” “He also said that the punishment he received didn't fit the crime.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Patrick Dillon / @mpdillon: there's just gotta be more than only 2 guys who can run this thing (maybe even like, I dunno, a non-guy) https://www.nytimes.com/...
Eric Schultz / @ericschultz: underneath both the Zucker and Licht eras CNN seems confounded by how to handle Trump. but didn't Savannah and Jonathan Swan show the rest of media how it can be done? Tough questioning, no advocacy, but not ceding your platform to lies and disinformation. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Thompson / @alexthomp: Zucker twisting the knife. Through a spokesperson: “It is wholly unsurprising that Jeff Zucker, the architect of CNN's unprecedented success, would have deep misgivings about the direction the network has taken since he left” https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]
Rosemary Rossi / The Wrap: Jeff Zucker Says Relationship With Allison Gollust Was Pretext for CNN Ouster: ‘I Gave Them a Gun and They Shot Me With It’
Katie Rosman / @katierosman: Incredibly juicy story from @BenMullin. “I gave them a gun, and they shot me with it,” Mr. Zucker. “This is all very sad for Jeff,” said Kenneth Lerer, the co-founder of HuffPost. “He should move on with his life. It's disheartening to see.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: There are many parallels between what's happening at CNN and what happened at Disney w/ Bob Chapek and Bob Iger. It's hard to be a leader at a place when many remaining employees are loyal to the guy leaving if there's disagreement between old and new. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Smith / @semaforben: Rare on record Ken Lerer: “This is all very sad for Jeff.... He should move on with his life. It's disheartening to see.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Morrissey / @bmorrissey: Jeff Zucker's investment group is one of three “suitors” for a majority stake in Air Mail. I'm not in the target audience, but Air Mail baffles me. It's Monocle without the foreign affairs stuff. https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Jolly / @davidjollyfl: “Executives at Warner Bros. Discovery believe Mr. Zucker is waging a proxy war against Mr. Licht, undermining his leadership from afar, according to three people familiar with their thinking.” -NYT https://www.nytimes.com/...
New York Times:
Internal document: Twitter's US ad revenue from April 1 to the first week of May fell 59% YoY to $88M; sources say that performance is unlikely to improve soon — In internal forecasts, the company projected that ad sales would keep declining, handing a tough challenge to its new chief executive.
Discussion:
The Information, Bloomberg, Insider, TechCrunch, Mediaite, The Wrap, CNN, @justinhendrix, The Register, @oneunderscore__, Breitbart, New York Post, Ars Technica, @richarddeitsch, @rmac18, @nytimes, @chrisfralic, @jamesrbuk, @dicktofel, @ericswalwell, @nprinskeep, @rmac18, @ritholtz, @jeffjarvis, @rmac18, 9to5Mac, The Messenger, @nandoodles, @sergenyt, @adamkovac, @binarybits, @donmoyn, @benjysarlin, @thelincoln, @digiphile, @b52malmet, @brianstelter, Fortune, Boing Boing and Wall Street Journal, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Sylvia Varnham O'Regan / The Information: Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino to Start Monday
Matt Levine / Bloomberg: Elon Musk Had Fun With Dogecoin
Madeline Berg / Insider: An internal Twitter document reportedly shows ad revenue down 59%, casting doubt on Elon Musk's statement that ‘almost all advertisers have come back’
Alex Wilhelm / TechCrunch: How far have Twitter's advertising revenues fallen?
Ken Meyer / Mediaite: Twitter Ad Sales Reportedly Plummet More Than 50% Despite Company Now Allowing Ads for Gambling and Weed
Robert Carnevale / The Wrap: Twitter US Ad Revenue Down 59% From April 2022 (Report)
Clare Duffy / CNN: Former NBCU exec Linda Yaccarino prepares to take over Twitter CEO role from Elon Musk
Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix: Elon Musk recently said Twitter's ad business was on the upswing. But Twitter's US ad revenue for the five weeks from April 1 to the first week of May was $88 million, down 59% YOY, according to an internal presentation obtained by The NY Times. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brandon Vigliarolo / The Register: Yaccarino takes wheel at Twitter early as advertising woes become public
Ben Collins / @oneunderscore__: Elon in the RFK Jr. Spaces finally admitting financial problems at Twitter: “Half of our advertising disappeared overnight because we're insisting on free speech... they're literally trying to drive Twitter bankrupt.”
Alana Mastrangelo / Breitbart: Report: Twitter's Ad Sales Drop 59% Year over Year
Shannon Thaler / New York Post: Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino taps NBCUniversal executive as ad revenue reportedly drops 59%
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica: Twitter US ad sales plunged 59% and internal forecasts are grim, NYT reports
Richard Deitsch / @richarddeitsch: Twitter's new CEO obviously has long ties with NBC Universal's properties. Something to watch would be how much NBC Sports' major properties have formal advertising positions on Twitter during those events. https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18: Also regarding advertising concerns, Musk is set to host a Twitter Space for a leading antivax activist in less than two hours. https://twitter.com/...
@nytimes: Elon Musk recently said Twitter's ad business was on the upswing. But its U.S. ad revenue from April 1 to the first week of May is down, documents obtained by The New York Times show, and that performance is unlikely to improve anytime soon. https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]
Chris Fralic / @chrisfralic: The price of “free speech” https://twitter.com/...
James Ball / @jamesrbuk: These aren't strictly contradictory: Twitter is almost certainly having better Q2 sales than Q1, for example - because everyone does. The question is whether Musk knows the ad market well enough to know why it's the y-o-ys these track. https://twitter.com/...
Richard Tofel / @dicktofel: Most interesting part of this devastating story is that, after all the layoffs, there are still people on staff willing to leak stuff to expose the boss's lies. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Eric Swalwell / @ericswalwell: Seems like a good place to launch a presidential campaign from https://www.nytimes.com/...
Steve Inskeep / @nprinskeep: “Twitter's ad sales staff is concerned that advertisers may be spooked by a rise in hate speech and pornography on the social network, as well as more ads featuring online gambling and marijuana products.” https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Mac / @rmac18: Musk has been aware of advertiser concerns, so Twitter rolled out ad adjacency controls for brands to better control which accounts and tweets their ads showed up next to. Some are specifically saying they do not want their ads next to Musk's tweets. https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]
Barry Ritholtz / @ritholtz: Wile. E. Coyote, Super Genius! https://www.nytimes.com/...
@jeffjarvis: Which is to imply that NBCU has been infested with right-wingers in the corporation https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18: Back in April, Elon Musk said said “almost all advertisers have come back” to Twitter. So we decided to report and see how the business was doing. Internal docs and interviews show the picture isn't as rosy as he suggests. US ad revenue is down 59%. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Nandini Jammi / @nandoodles: TWO WEEKS AGO: @GroupMWorldwide announces Twitter is no longer a “high risk” media environment. TODAY: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Serge Kovaleski / @sergenyt: In internal forecasts, Twitter projected that ad sales would keep declining, handing a tough challenge to its new chief executive. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Adam Kovacevich / @adamkovac: I'm sure Elon thinks Twitter's ad woes are just an “ineffective sales team” problem, and that Yaccarino's Rolodex will fix it. They left because of Elon's own policies and tweets. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Timothy B. Lee / @binarybits: Lol this is what happens when you try to sign up to buy ads on Twitter. [image]
Don Moynihan / @donmoyn: *Ads historically make up 90% of Twitter revenue *Ad revenue is down 59% from last year according to twitters own numbers *Musk continues to lie about this, claiming most advertisers have returned https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Howard / @digiphile: Per @nytimes, @twitter as revenue is now down 59% year over year, contradicting @elonmusk's public claims https://www.nytimes.com/... Advertisers appear concerned about the rise of hate speech, pornography, conspiracy theories, misinformation, & lies. Musk's speech is costing him $. [image]
Barbara Malmet / @b52malmet: via @NYTimes and the ads that do pop up here remind me of late night tv huckster products. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: NYT: Musk has promoted new tools “so advertisers can keep their ads away from tweets containing specific keywords or posts by certain users. Some advertisers are using the tools to keep their content away from Mr. Musk's tweets” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Prarthana Prakash / Fortune: Twitter is hiring ad executives to bolster its business
Carla Sinclair / Boing Boing: Twitter tanks with U.S. ad sales dropping 59% since April
Sahar Elhabashi / Spotify:
Spotify cuts ~200 jobs, or 2% of its staff, at its podcast unit, combines Parcast and Gimlet into a renewed Spotify Studios, and reports 100M+ podcast listeners — Below is an adaptation of an internal update on Spotify's Podcast Business from Sahar Elhabashi, VP, Head of Podcast Business.
Discussion:
Variety, TechCrunch, Los Angeles Times, CNN, @michellemanafy, Music Business Worldwide, @elite_gz, The Hollywood Reporter, The Information, The Verge, Bloomberg, @marypcbuk, @zachthemack, @kerrymflynn, @danprimack, @beanzgotgamez, @sirenabergman, Deadline, @askhalid, @ashleyrcarman, @pt, Billboard, The Hill, NBC 7 San Diego, Fortune, NBC Bay Area and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Todd Spangler / Variety: Spotify Laying Off 200 Employees in Its Podcast Division
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch: Spotify will cut 200 jobs in its podcast unit
Wendy Lee / Los Angeles Times: Spotify cuts 200 more jobs in podcast division amid industry struggles
Jordan Valinsky / CNN: Spotify cuts 200 jobs within its podcasting unit
Michelle Manafy / @michellemanafy: Spotify says it is now the most-used audio podcast platform in most corners of the world and the #1 podcast publisher in the US. It also says it will reduce its global podcast vertical and other functions by approximately 200 people or 2% of its workforce https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ...
Daniel Tencer / Music Business Worldwide: Spotify cuts 200 jobs as it restructures its podcast division
Jaime Brooks / @elite_gz: spotify is unprofitable. their biggest expense is the cost of licensing music from the major labels. podcasts are cheaper and were supposed to lure listeners away from music. this is the second round of layoffs to hit spotify's podcast division this year https://variety.com/...
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: Spotify to Slash Podcast Workforce, Combine Parcast and Gimlet Studios in New Round of Cuts
Isabelle Sarraf / The Information: Spotify Lays Off 2% of Staff, Merges Gimlet and Parcast
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge: Spotify cuts 200 roles from its podcast division
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg: Spotify to Lay Off 2% of Workforce, Primarily in Podcast Groups
Mary Branscombe / @marypcbuk: Maybe the Joe Rogan podcast wasn't that good for the company https://twitter.com/...
Zach Mack / @zachthemack: When Spotify dove into podcasts I thought they could supercharge the industry. Many of the problems holding the industry back (discovery, bad data etc.) were tech problems and so I thought, “hey, a tech company can do this.” https://variety.com/...
Kerry Flynn / @kerrymflynn: Spotify's podcast biz updates: - Laying off about 200 people, or 2% of Spotify's workforce - Combining Parcast and Gimlet into Spotify Studios - Expanding “partnership efforts ... with a tailored approach optimized for each show and creator” $SPOT https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ...
Dan Primack / @danprimack: Podcast apocalypse continues, as Spotify cutting 200 jobs... https://techcrunch.com/...
Sirena Bergman / @sirenabergman: millennial journalists graduated into a deserted job market and spent 15 years struggling to actually get paid by this industry, to have it all come crashing down just as we got old enough to have serious bills to pay :) https://variety.com/...
Dade Hayes / Deadline: Spotify Cutting 200 Jobs, Combining Gimlet And Parcast In “Fundamental Pivot” Of Podcast Operations
Amrita Khalid / @askhalid: Spotify lays off 200, combines Gimlet and Parcast into new studio focused on Spotify Originals. Here's the memo from the head of its podcast business Sahar Elhabashi https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ... [image]
Ashley Carman / @ashleyrcarman: spotify is laying off 2% of its workforce, or 200 people, the company announced today. we reported on employees' concerns last week here https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Parker / @pt: Spotify is not a tech company. They're an IP licensing company (that desperately wants to be a podcast ad company), and that turns out to be a very bad business. Margins matter, people. https://twitter.com/... [image]
Marc Schneider / Billboard: Spotify Trims Podcast Workforce By 2%, Merges Gimlet and Parcast
Chris Morris / Fortune: Spotify lays off 200 as it reworks podcast division
NBC Bay Area: Stock Futures Are Little Changed After the S&P 500's Best Week Since March: Live Updates
Kayla Wassell / Cord Cutters News: Spotify Lays Off 200 People
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
NBC's Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd says he is stepping down after nine years and would be succeeded by NBC White House Correspondent Kristen Welker — He will be succeeded by Kristen Welker, NBC's chief White House correspondent and the co-anchor of “Weekend Today.”
Discussion:
@meetthepress, Washington Post, Variety, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, The Hill, Poynter, Forbes, @jayrosen_nyu, @danproft, Plain Dealer, Politico, @semaforben, @halliejackson, @capehartj, @halcyon270, @frankthorp, @jbflint, @bristei, @scarylawyerguy, @brianstelter, @alyssafarah, @brianstelter, @nkulw, The Week, Newser, The Messenger, The Guardian, Breitbart, The Desk, TVLine, Rolling Stone, The Wrap, NewsNation, National Review, Axios, The Daily Beast, Fox News, Vanity Fair, Insider, Mediaite, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Bloomberg and NPR
Discussion:
@meetthepress: Today we close our show with an announcement from @chucktodd: “While today is not my final show, this will be my final summer here at Meet the Press. ... I am really proud of what this team and I have built over the last decade.” [video]
Brian Steinberg / Variety: Chuck Todd Will Hand NBC's ‘Meet The Press’ Reins to Kristen Welker
Daniel Arkin / NBC News: Chuck Todd will depart NBC's ‘Meet the Press’; Kristen Welker to become host
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times: Kristen Welker will succeed Chuck Todd on NBC's ‘Meet the Press’ in September
Ted Johnson / Deadline: Chuck Todd To Step Down As ‘Meet The Press’ Moderator, Kristen Welker To Succeed Him
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill: Chuck Todd stepping down from NBC's ‘Meet The Press’
Mark Joyella / Forbes: Chuck Todd Is Leaving NBC's ‘Meet The Press’
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: The great challenge given to Chuck Todd as host of Meet the Press was to recognize that with a ‘both sides’ orthodoxy his show could not meet the moment— and to set out on a different path. He never got there. https://pressthink.org/... As Norm Ornstein and Tom Mann wrote in 2012... [image]
Dan Proft / @danproft: Inconsequential, unimaginative, thoughtless lightweight who will be as quickly forgotten as David Gregory as the next off-the-shelf Leftist wind-up doll is screwed into that seat. https://twitter.com/...
Kelly Garrity / Politico: Chuck Todd to leave ‘Meet the Press’
Ben Smith / @semaforben: End of a Sunday Show era: Chuck Todd handing Meet the Press off to Kristen Welker. The only blogger ever to host a Sunday show? (I mean that as a pure positive, obviously.)
Hallie Jackson / @halliejackson: What a run for @chucktodd and what a moment for @kwelkernbc - reams will be written about her journalistic chops, but she also happens to be one of the kindest and most generous people on the planet. https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Capehart / @capehartj: Congratulations @chucktodd on an incredible run at @MeetThePress. I could not be more thrilled for my friend @kwelkernbc to take on this new role in September. 👏🏾🙌🏾 ✊🏾 https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Hal Corley / @halcyon270: Not a minute too soon, but arguably years too late. https://twitter.com/...
Frank Thorp V / @frankthorp: Congrats to @chucktodd on an amazing run helming @MeetThePress during an incredible time in political history, and I'm so excited to watch @kwelkernbc take this show into the future. https://twitter.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: Chuck Todd is stepping down as anchor of NBC's Sunday program ‘Meet the Press’ in September, and will be replaced by network veteran Kristen Welker. Welker is only second female moderator in show's history. https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: MORE: Todd to serve as NBC News' chief political analyst and work on varied projects. Welker will become first female moderator of ‘Meet The Press’ since Martha Rountree, who presided over the show's debut in 1947 https://variety.com/...
@scarylawyerguy: Todd turned MTP into a joke. Typically unprepared, credulous at bad faith arguments, obsessed with horse race analysis. Welker will be no better. She came up through the same politics-as-reality-show pipeline. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Here's the full memo. “Please join us in congratulating Chuck on an extraordinary run and wishing him the best in his new role, and in welcoming Kristen to the moderator chair of television's longest-running program.” [image]
Alyssa Farah Griffin / @alyssafarah: Congrats to @chucktodd on an incredible run. So excited for the fearless @kwelkernbc to take the helm. Kristen is a brilliant journalist & wonderful human. https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: >> @ChuckTodd says he recognizes that many leaders “overstay their welcome” and that he'd rather leave “a little bit too soon than stay a tad too long.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Noah Kulwin / @nkulw: Probably one of the worst anchors on television in the last decade and a half. Not that Russert (or Gregory, lol) were that good, but you could have replaced Todd with a cardboard MJ like from Home Alone and it would have been fine https://twitter.com/...
Bob Cronin / Newser: Chuck Todd Out, Kristen Welker In at Meet the Press
Kelly Rissman / The Messenger: Chuck Todd Stepping Down from ‘Meet the Press’
Matthew Keys / The Desk: Chuck Todd leaving NBC's “Meet the Press”
Claire Franken / TVLine: Chuck Todd Exiting Meet the Press; Kristen Welker Named New Host
Jeremy Fuster / The Wrap: Chuck Todd to Leave ‘Meet the Press’ at End of Summer, Kristen Welker to Take Over (Video)
Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast: Sunday Shakeup: Chuck Todd Out, Kristen Welker in at ‘Meet The Press’
Fox News: NBC's Chuck Todd reveals it's his ‘final summer’ at ‘Meet the Press’: ‘Important time for me personally’
Jack McCordick / Vanity Fair: Chuck Todd Announces Departure From NBC's ‘Meet the Press’ After Nearly a Decade
Jason Ma / Insider: Chuck Todd is leaving NBC's ‘Meet the Press’ and will be replaced by Kristen Welker
Joe DePaolo / Mediaite: BREAKING: Chuck Todd to Step Down as Host of Meet the Press, Kristen Welker to Take Over
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter: Kristen Welker Named New Moderator of NBC's ‘Meet the Press’ as Chuck Todd Set to Exit the Program
Ramishah Maruf / CNN: Chuck Todd is leaving ‘Meet the Press’
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Showtime quietly pulled an episode about Ron DeSantis' time as a US Navy lawyer at Guantanamo Bay from Vice's fourth season; the episode was planned for May 28 — An installment delving into the Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate's time as a U.S. Navy JAG officer …
Discussion:
The Wrap, New Republic, Deadline, The A.V. Club, @erikthemovieman, @kimmasters and @phil_lewis_
Discussion:
Kayla Cobb / The Wrap: ‘Vice’ Episode Pulled by Showtime Contained the Full Exchange of Ron DeSantis' Explosive Guantanamo Bay Interview
Prem Thakker / New Republic: Showtime Mysteriously Pulls Documentary on Ron DeSantis's Role in Guantánamo
Denise Petski / Deadline: Showtime Pulls ‘Vice’ Episode About Ron DeSantis
Mary Kate Carr / The A.V. Club: Showtime quietly shelves Louis C.K. and Ron DeSantis content
Erik Childress / @erikthemovieman: Who got to them? https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Journalists at the NYT and other outlets covering Russia's invasion have had their credentials threatened, revoked, or denied by Ukraine over breaking its rules — The News — Journalists covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine are engaged in a running, low-grade conflict with the Ukrainian government …
Discussion:
@shelbytalcott, @emmamashford, @skoknic, @semafor, @kyle_rempfer, @markmackinnon, @semafor, @carrasquillo, @marquardta, @justintlogan and @jbillinson
Discussion:
Shelby Talcott / @shelbytalcott: “Articles and broadcasts from outlets ... have led to journalists having their credentials threatened, revoked, or denied over charges they've broken rules imposed by Ukrainian minders.” via @semaforben https://www.semafor.com/...
Emma Ashford / @emmamashford: “One particular target of official Ukrainian ire has been the NYT reporter Thomas Gibbons-Neff... who covers the Ukrainian military closely, and who drew particular anger when he reported that the Ukrainians were using banned cluster munitions...” https://www.semafor.com/...
Francisca Skoknic / @skoknic: “The government has asked journalists seeking accreditation to take lie detector tests to prove they aren't Russian agents” https://www.semafor.com/...
@semafor: The heated clashes have remained largely behind the scenes because the credentials are vital to report from the country, and journalists worry that a public conflict might further threaten their access. https://www.semafor.com/...
Kyle Rempfer / @kyle_rempfer: Work from outlets “including NBC News, The New York Times, CNN, The New Yorker, and the Ukrainian digital broadcaster Hromadske have led to journalists having their credentials threatened, revoked, or denied” by Ukrainian minders. https://www.semafor.com/... [image]
Mark MacKinnon / @markmackinnon: A very worrying trend - given that this is supposed to be a war to defend democratic values... https://twitter.com/...
@semafor: Coverage from outlets including NBC News, The New York Times, CNN, The New Yorker, and the Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske has led to journalists having credentials threatened, revoked, or denied over charges they've broken rules from Ukrainian minders. https://www.semafor.com/...
Adrian Carrasquillo / @carrasquillo: Interesting @semaforben on Western media running afoul of Ukraine: “If they want to go to Crimea to report, they can go to Crimea through Ukraine,” he said, acknowledging that because of the hostilities, “unfortunately it is currently impossible.” https://www.semafor.com/...
Alex Marquardt / @marquardta: As Ukraine has received overwhelmingly positive coverage since Russia invaded, officials have also become increasingly sensitive and controlling. https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Grimes / Financial Times:
SAG-AFTRA, which plans to meet studio executives on Wednesday to negotiate a new three-year contract, seeks a deal that covers the use of AI “digital doubles” — Unions fear artificial intelligence could cause artists to lose control of their image while making writers obsolete
Discussion:
Nathan McAlone / Insider: Hollywood's next big fight is over how actors will get paid for work by their AI ‘digital doubles’
Rachel Shin / Fortune: Hollywood writers are having a steampunk moment, Barclays says. A.I. really will change everything—a few decades from now
Sharon K. Gilbert / @sharonkgilbert: Hollywood actors seek new deal over use of AI ‘digital doubles’. Unions fear artificial intelligence could cause artists to lose control of their image while making writers obsolete. https://www.ft.com/...
David Robb / Deadline: SAG-AFTRA Says Its Bargaining Strategy For New Contract Remains Unchanged In Wake Of New DGA Deal
Will Douglas Heaven / MIT Technology Review:
A look at The Frost, a 12-minute movie created by Waymark using DALL-E 2, as startups like Waymark and Runway make AI tools for fast and cheap video production — Exclusive: Watch the world premiere of the AI-generated short film The Frost. — The Frost nails its uncanny, disconcerting vibe in its first few shots.
Discussion:
@sciencetracker2: Welcome to the new surreal. How AI-generated video is changing film.. https://www.technologyreview.com/ ...
Roope Rainisto / @rainisto: 12 minute AI-generated short film: “The Frost.” (MIT Technology Review) Your response (it looks a bit stilted vs incredible work - I can see where we will be in a year or two) is a good tell as to “do you get” what's happening right now. https://www.technologyreview.com/ ...
Gaurav Dalmia / @gdalmiathinks: Artificial intelligence has made a short film. It's called “The Frost,” and fittingly, it's dystopic. Very interesting! https://www.technologyreview.com/ ...
Stephen Loggins Parker / @stephen_parker: Thank you 🙏 and sorry for the hiatus, we've been busy with this. Planning on getting into it with lots of detail and BTS this week. https://twitter.com/...
Nathan Labenz / @labenz: Today @waymark's amazing creative team, @Stephen_Parker & @bigkickcreative at the helm, debuted The Frost, a short film produced with DALLE2 It's said to be “the first generative AI film ... where the style feels consistent” Watch on MIT Tech Review https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... [image]
@d_id_: Extremely proud that @D_ID_'s text-to-video solution was chosen for such an ambitious and visually stunning project. Kudos to @waymark for producing next level #GenerativeAI content and showcasing it to the world ! https://twitter.com/...
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: “The immediate future of generative video is being shaped by the advertising industry. ... A slick minute-long commercial can be generated in seconds.” https://www.technologyreview.com/ ...
@tariqkrim: The Frost is a 12-minute movie in which every shot is generated by an image-making AI. It's one of the most impressive—and bizarre—examples yet of this strange new genre. https://www.technologyreview.com/ ...
Fabian Mosele / @fabianmosele: A short film created with DALLE 2 by Waymark (an AI company). While the compositing required a lot of work, I'm still not convinced at this after-effects style of animating generated images... visually it's not so appealing and it lacks expressions. https://www.technologyreview.com/ ...
Roland Meyer / @bildoperationen: AI may or may not change film, but to me this little video seems as generic as any mediocre video game cutscene. There's nothing »weird« or »surreal« here, only visual clichés that can be found in every Netflix show, boring dialogues and stiff animations https://www.technologyreview.com/ ...
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Hundreds of journalists at Gannett newspapers walked off the job on Monday to protest budget cuts, in the biggest labor action in the company's history — The union representing the company's newsroom employees has urged a vote of no-confidence against the C.E.O. at a shareholder meeting on Monday.
Discussion:
Poynter, Talking Biz News, @gaufre, @newsfallon, @brizzyc, @stucknation, @schadjoe, TheGrio, @aggancarski, @anneliserussell, @chinewsguild, @nancyrockland, @johnbridges, @davidbauerlein, CNN, Press Gazette, @alexanderrusso, @katikokal, @tomdangelo44, @tydunne, @bethreesecravey, @peter_bukowski and @sarahokeson
Discussion:
Mariam Ahmed / Talking Biz News: Gannett journalists go on strike
@gaufre: I was just in Gannett's shareholder meeting and it was a complete farce. I personally submitted questions directly related to the agenda and yet Mike Reed said there were no questions. Others also submitted questions. #GannettGreed
Scott Fallon / @newsfallon: Beautiful day in New Jersey for a strike. My unionized colleagues and I are walking off the job today along with hundreds of Gannett journalists nationwide to protest company leadership continually gutting local newsrooms. @nyguild @therecordguild [image]
Carrie Brown / @brizzyc: The union said the CEO's compensation — $7.7 million in 2021 and $3.4 million in 2022 — was far too high for a company shedding jobs and paying what the letter said was “depressed wages” to the remaining journalists. https://twitter.com/...
Bob Hennelly / @stucknation: 7 a.m. 99.5 FM WBAI @stucknation with @newsguild @PeterKramer on how @Gannett paid it's CEO Mike Reed $7.74 million l, 160 times the median pay of the media company's workforce which put itself at risk to cover Main Street during a pandemic that killed over 1.1 million.
Joe Schad / @schadjoe: “Hundreds of journalists for the country's largest newspaper chain walked off the job on Monday, accusing the company's chief executive of decimating its local newsrooms, and demanding a change at the top.” This includes The Palm Beach Post. https://www.nytimes.com/...
AG Gancarski / @aggancarski: The failure of @Gannett to properly compensate its staff has real consequences during transition in Jax City Hall. In 2015, there were more reporters covering the change in mayors than today. The parent company gutted resources, won't pay the people who are still there. https://twitter.com/...
Annelise Russell / @anneliserussell: If you want to understand the loss of local news, pay attention what is happening at Gannett. I watched it happen from within for more than 10 years. It's not just about jobs but also how we get information, where we get it, and who gets that info. https://twitter.com/...
@chinewsguild: @SBNewsGuild journalists are fighting for better pay and working conditions! That means more newsroom staff and wages that allow workers to stay in their jobs and become part of our community! Fight with us! Tell @Gannett you want a better @SBTribune! https://actionnetwork.org/...
Nancy Cutler / @nancyrockland: Today we walk out! We have watched #GannettGreed decimate our newsrooms and we say no more! Today, News Guild shops at Gannett outlets across the nation stand up for the communities we serve! @hvnewsguild [image]
John Bridges / @johnbridges: During my three decades at @statesman and @CoxEnterprises, corporate leaders understood that taking care of journalists was critical to both the business and the mission. Today, Gannett journalists, my former colleagues, are having to fight a company that doesn't get that. https://twitter.com/...
David Bauerlein / @davidbauerlein: Today at noon, I'll be standing up with my colleagues and standing against the damaging cuts @Gannett has leveled on its own newspapers in the communities it is supposed to serve. We would love to have everyone join us in sending a message loud and clear. #GannettGreed [image]
Oliver Darcy / CNN: Journalists at the nation's largest newspaper chain are walking off the job in a showdown with its CEO
João Santos / Press Gazette: How regional newsrooms can use AI to protect the ‘lifeblood of local journalism’
Alexander Russo / @alexanderrusso: This includes a bunch of education journalists. https://twitter.com/...
Kati Kokal / @katikokal: A reminder for tomorrow: Clicking on @Gannett links and reading stories on Monday is crossing a picket line !! Stand in solidarity with two dozen striking newsrooms by getting news somewhere else 📰 📝✊🪧 #GannettWalkout #GannettStrike p.s. same goes for @BusinessInsider
Tom D'Angelo / @tomdangelo44: Today, as @Gannett's shareholders meet we are walking out in protest of a company that has little regard for its journalists and a CEO only interested in lining his pockets https://twitter.com/...
Tyler Dunne / @tydunne: The business is changing. https://twitter.com/...
@bethreesecravey: Don't click on @gannett links today! And don't click on @@jaxdotcom links tomorrow, when @TimesUnionGuild walks out! https://twitter.com/...
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Survey of 44 Ukrainian outlets: 64% have more staff than before the invasion, ~50% say grant funding increased by 50%+, 44% receive financial help from readers — Research suggests Ukraine's local newsrooms are on firmer financial footing this year. — The past year has seen an increase …
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