Top News:


Sources: Disney secures enough shareholder votes to defeat Trian Partners' attempt to put Nelson Peltz and ex-Disney CFO Jay Rasulo on Disney's board — Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) has secured enough shareholder votes to defeat a challenge against its board mounted by Nelson Peltz's hedge fund …
Discussion:
Variety, Forbes, @tvgrimreaper, Fox Business, Fortune, @josie.zone, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @blackamazon.bsky.social, Quartz, Deadline, @alishagrauso.bsky.social, @mousterpiece.bsky.social, @thielman.bsky.social, @vossbrink.bsky.social, @billackman, @elonmusk, @sinboy.bsky.social, Business Insider, New York Post, CNN, CNBC and Los Angeles Times
RELATED:


How Disney repeatedly extending Bob Iger's contract, including five extensions between 2011 and 2017, became a key criticism of Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners — Trian Partners, pushing for board seats, has criticized Disney's past handling of Iger's tenure and succession
Discussion:
CNN, Financial Times, Deadline, @naterattner and Bloomberg


NewsGuard: 1,197 partisan news websites in the US masquerade as local news outlets as of April 1, compared to ~1,200 genuine local newspaper websites — Dark money-funded outlets that mimic regional news sites are becoming more sophisticated ahead of November election
Discussion:
MIT Technology Review


Sources: Spotify plans to raise prices by $1 to $2 per month in the UK, Australia, Pakistan, and two other markets by the end of April, and the US later in 2024 — - The audio service will raise prices in a few major markets — Spotify will create new plan that doesn't include audiobooks


Roku partners with the NBA to launch the first-ever NBA-branded FAST channel, and a NBA Zone content hub with access to basketball content — Fans will be able to watch classic games, see highlights, originals, documentaries and more on the first-ever NBA FAST channel.


Filing: Endeavor's Patrick Whitesell plans to launch a media company with a $250M investment from Silver Lake, as part of the deal to take Endeavor private — Patrick Whitesell, executive chairman of WME parent Endeavor, is launching a new media company backed by Silver Lake as part …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, @danprimack, @tim_bays and The Hollywood Reporter


US-based hedge fund Hunterbrook launches its newsroom, Hunterbrook Media, after raising $100M to make trades based on scoops uncovered by its reporters — Target of Hunterbrook's first story questions ethics of it taking a short position in its stock — A US hedge fund has raised $100mn …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Talking Biz News, @zachcrenshaw, @readdanwrite, @danielmcglynn, @geraldbourguet, @bondhack, @pablofindsout, @sammykoppelman, @bondhack, @osinttechnical, @archiehall, @hntrbrkmedia, @matt_termine, @hntrbrkmedia, @hntrbrkmedia, @baileycarlin, @eisingerj, @hntrbrkmedia, @zachcrenshaw, @jsphctrl, @arashmassoudi, @lawindsor, @hntrbrkmedia, @hntrbrkmedia, @osinttechnical, @hntrbrkmedia, @hntrbrkmedia, @matt_levine, Hunterbrook, Hunterbrook and Hacker News


The NYT plans to make most of its articles available as narrations read via an automated voice, rolling out to 10% of website, app, and audio app users — - The company published 2,300 audio recordings, including podcasts, in 2023 with more than 600 Times reporters contributing.


An interview with Oren Etzioni, the founder of nonprofit TrueMedia.org, which has released free AI tools for reporters and fact checkers to identify deepfakes — Oren Etzioni worries A.I.-generated fakes could overwhelm upcoming elections.Kyle Johnson for The New York Times
Discussion:
The Information, @toddbishop, @truemediadotorg, TrueMedia.org, TrueMedia.org, @truemediadotorg, GeekWire and @timfinin, more at Techmeme »


Patreon rolls out a Reddit-like community moderation feature that lets podcasters, artists, writers, and other creators assign community members as moderators — Patreon is taking a page out of Reddit's book. Now, podcasters, artists, writers, and other creators on the subscription-focused creator platform …


Spotify unveils Live Experiences, letting brands sponsor Spotify events for the first time, and plans five to 20 free Live Experiences in the first year — Spotify's latest advertising product, Live Experiences, lets brands integrate with and sponsor its events for the first time.
Discussion:
@markstenberg3


Stability AI releases Stable Audio 2.0, letting users create three minute sound clips from copyright-free audio samples, available for free via its website — Stable Audio 2., an audio generation model for Stability AI, now lets users upload their own audio samples which they can then transform using prompts …
Discussion:
Billboard, Music Ally and Stability AI, more at Techmeme »