Mediagazer: An ex-editor of The National Enquirer recalls the tabloid's notorious “catch and kill” campaign that is now at the heart of Donald Trump's first criminal trial (Lachlan Cartwright/New York Times)

Top News:

Sources: members of Paramount's board and Skydance Media have agreed to go into exclusive merger discussions; Paramount will pause talks with other bidders — Agreement paves the way for an exit by controlling shareholder Shari Redstone — A deal between Paramount and Skydance is potentially one step closer to happening.

Discussion: New York Times, New York Post, The Streamable, The Hill, Variety and The Wrap

CNBC:

Disney prevails in the proxy fight with Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners as shareholders vote to reelect its full board, a stamp of approval for Bob Iger's efforts — Bob Iger poses with Mickey Mouse attends Mickey's 90th Spectacular at The Shrine Auditorium on October 6, 2018 in Los Angeles.

Wall Street Journal:
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

Discussion: The Hill, Business Insider, Reuters, The Information, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, Media Play News, New York Post, New York Times, Deadline, @naterattner, CNN and Bloomberg

Bloomberg:

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

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Variety, Reuters, Billboard, BGR, Music Business Worldwide, Spotify, The Information, Engadget, Quartz, The Verge, 9to5Google, @lucas_shaw, 9to5Mac, Publishing Perspectives and Publishers Weekly, more at Techmeme »

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

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

Amrita Khalid / The Verge:

Facebook updates its mobile video player with a TikTok-like vertical look and new controls for Reels, Live, and longform videos, starting with the US and Canada — Facebook is launching an updated mobile video player that will bring the vertical look made ubiquitous by TikTok and Reels …

Discussion: TechCrunch, Meta, Search Engine Land and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

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.

Discussion: David Tokarz, PhD on LinkedIn, American Press Institute, @brianstorms@mastodon.social, Media Voices and @noondlyt@mastodon.social

Emilia David / The Verge:

Stability AI releases Stable Audio 2.0, which lets 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 …

Discussion: Engadget, Stability AI, Music Ally and Billboard, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

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, Erika Shaffer on LinkedIn, @truemediadotorg, @timfinin, GeekWire, TrueMedia.org and TrueMedia.org, more at Techmeme »

Mia Sato / The Verge:

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 …

more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

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, @tim_bays, @danprimack and The Hollywood Reporter

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

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: Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn and @markstenberg3

David Satin / The Streamable:

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.

Discussion: The Desk, Media Play News, Next TV and Cord Cutters News