Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
CNN CEO Chris Licht confirms he plans to step down after 13 months, following a damning Atlantic profile last week and the Donald Trump town hall in May 2023 — Chris Licht, the embattled CEO of CNN, plans to step down, he confirmed to Axios on Wednesday. Licht has been on the job for 13 months.
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Semafor:
Chris Licht managed talent poorly and the push to shift CNN to the center politically failed, but the fundamental issue is that cable news is in secular decline — Chris Licht will be stepping down as the CEO and Chairman of CNN. His departure was first reported by Puck News early Wednesday.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @benjysarlin, @benjysarlin, Media Matters for America, @lucysonit, @buddaprotocol, @madge1428, @oneunderscore__, @richburroughs.dev, @mollyknight.bsky.social, @katie_robertson, @azi, @moorehn, @bryancurtis, @evanhandler, @darthbluesky.bsky.social, @amlwhere, @susanbordson and @jbillinson
Trisha Gopal / Insider:
Amy Entelis, CNN's interim CEO, joined in 2012, headed the original series and documentary unit, and served on the interim leadership team after Jeff Zucker — - Chris Licht is out as CNN's CEO. Longtime executive Amy Entelis is among those taking over in the interim.
Discussion:
Variety, Mediaite, Observer, New York Post, Al Jazeera, @raminsetoodeh and @bristei
Alex Griffing / Mediaite:
CNN has also let go Chris Licht's top lieutenants, including comms chief Kris Coratti, strategic comms head Matt Dornic, and chief of staff Devan Cayea — After news dropped on Wednesday morning that CNN's CEO Chris Licht had been fired from the ratings-beleaguered network …
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Internal memo: WBD CEO David Zaslav addressed Chris Licht's departure, saying “I take responsibility” and “things did not work out the way we had hoped”
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
WBD CEO David Zaslav has a history of tearing down and renovating what he considers to be underperforming cable assets, but this strategy might not work for CNN
Discussion:
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Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
The LA Times is cutting 74 newsroom jobs, representing 13% of total staff; layoffs will affect some editors, audio producers, and the audience engagement team — The Los Angeles Times is cutting its newsroom staff, becoming the latest news organization to contract amid economic pressures brought …
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New York Times, @katie_robertson, Variety, L.A. Times Guild, NPR, Poynter, The Wrap, Deadline, Associated Press, @jeffsharlet, The Daily Beast, @kimseverson, @lailalalami, @dabeard, @katie_robertson, @haleaziz, @jason, @chrismegerian, @jbflint, @jessicaperezla2, @loisbeckett, @niemanlab, @katekilla, @kenbensinger, @mackenziemays, @genepark and IndieWire
Casey Newton / Platformer:
How Twitter, YouTube, and Meta gave up on removing lies about the 2020 US presidential elections, after having briefly banded together to do the right thing — For a time, they fought the good fight — but not any more — I. — On tech platforms these days you can get away with just about anything …
Axios:
Letter: Fox News tells Tucker Carlson's lawyers he is in breach of his contract after he launched his Twitter show; Carlson's lawyers cite the First Amendment — Fox News Wednesday notified Tucker Carlson's lawyers that the former prime-time anchor violated his contract with the network …
Discussion:
Observer, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Media Matters for America and New York Times
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Jordan Valinsky / CNN:
Oregon's AG is investigating Fox's board of directors for “breach of fiduciary duty” over 2020 election lies; the state's retirement funds are invested in Fox
Discussion:
@paleofuture
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
Tucker Carlson posts the first episode of his new show, Tucker on Twitter; the episode is just over 10 minutes long and appears to be from his rural Maine home
Discussion:
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Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Amazon plans to launch an ad-supported Prime Video tier and is talking with WBD and Paramount about adding their ad-based tiers to Prime Video Channels — Discussions come as ad buyers have been pushing for more access to premium shows and movies — Amazon is planning to launch …
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Amrita Khalid / The Verge:
Spotify combining Gimlet and Parcast into a single unit signals a move from pricey originals to amateur podcasters and creator partnerships — When Spotify announced yesterday that it would lay off 200 employees from its podcast unit and combine Gimlet and Parcast into a single operation, it came as a shock to outside observers.
Discussion:
@intelinsider, New York Times, @askhalid, @askhalid, @tiagodf and TechCrunch
Financial Times:
Sources: Lloyds puts B.UK, a holding company that controls the Telegraph titles and The Spectator, into receivership over ~£1B debts owed by the Barclay family — UK bank to seek sale of media group over almost £1bn in debts owed by Barclay family
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The Guardian, @rasmus_kleis, Sky News, BBC, Bloomberg, @arusbridger, @ohgodwhatnowpod, The Guardian, @brexit_sham, @michaelwhite, @henrymance, @jamesrbuk and Press Gazette
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, which it acquired when going public in late 2021 for nearly $300M — BuzzFeed is exploring a potential sale of Complex Networks, a digital media firm it acquired when going public in late 2021 for nearly $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
The Wrap and @theinformation
The Athletic:
Sources: MLS and Apple discussed sharing new Season Pass subscriber revenue with Lionel Messi; on June 6, Apple unveiled a four-part Messi docuseries on TV+ — Major League Soccer and Inter Miami are solidifying details around the potential signing of Argentine superstar Lionel Messi.
Discussion:
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