Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles take minority stakes in The Daily Beast; Sherwood will be CEO and publisher, and Coles will be chief creative and content officer — The former Disney executive Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles, the former Hearst content chief, are being given a minority stake in the digital tabloid.
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Variety, The Wrap, Axios, Deadline, @digitalshields, The Hollywood Reporter, @chaykak, @benmullin, @dylanbyers and Puck
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Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers:
Sources: ex-Disney TV chief Ben Sherwood and ex-Hearst Magazines executive Joanna Coles have a combined 49% stake in The Daily Beast; Barry Diller retains 51% — SCOOP Pt. 2 @PuckNews: Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles will buy 49% stake of The Daily Beast, I'm told... Barry Diller will retain majority 51% stake... Sherwood & Coles giving interview to @nytimes this weekend ahead of formal announcement
Discussion:
@semaforben
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Disney plans old-style TV channels within Disney+, with a continuous, scheduled stream of shows that are focused on certain genres like Star Wars — In television, what's old is new again. After more than a decade of growth in streaming services that make viewers click on shows they want to watch …
Max Tani / Semafor:
The Intercept is losing ~$300K/month and could run out of cash by May 2025, according to data from March; its CEO says the projection was a worst case scenario — The Scoop — The Intercept, the left-wing U.S. newsroom that's been a thorn in Joe Biden's side and a hub for pro-Palestinian coverage …
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
A look at the negotiations to provide media access to Trump's trial; the state court system hired ex-journalist Al Baker to prepare for the historic trial — For months, reporters, lawyers, and court officials have been negotiating media access to the camera-free proceedings.
Discussion:
Deadline, @benkochman, Reuters Institute, @maggienyt, @charlottetklein, @mlcalderone and @edcauchi
Bloomberg:
Taylor Swift's music returning to TikTok highlights her power over UMG and its CEO Lucian Grainge, who must now hope other music groups join his TikTok fight — Shari Redstone believes she's found the right buyer for Paramount. Her fellow shareholders aren't convinced.
Discussion:
Music Ally and Lefsetz Letter
Aaron Fritschner / @fritschner:
[Thread] Uri Berliner's essay on NPR bias has significant problems, including verifiable falsehoods, flawed arguments, and questionable voter registration data — Finally read the Uri Berliner piece on NPR biasand I'm baffled by how little the enormous media controversy it spawned has resulted in scrutiny of its claims for factual accuracy. There are significant problems with the piece including obvious, verifiable falsehoods
Discussion:
@elizspiers@threads.net, @peiferlabunc, @miscellarny, @porcdalmatian, @defrog, @exsibilation, @lindytx21, @susanbordson, @raleighreporter, @audiosand, @listenup_5s, @antiparasocial, @zaack23, @anthony_toth, @shimmersoft, @theoddpost, @ngrossman81, @jessecharleslee, @newsjennifer, @drvolts, @catchatweetdown, @fpwellman and @charlesarthur
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Katherine Maher / NPR:
Memo: NPR's Katherine Maher says questioning whether NPR is living up to its mission is fair, but questioning staff integrity based on identity is disrespectful
Discussion:
@elisewho@threads.net, Fox News, @ericdchenoweth, @serps, @mad_democracy, @rjhintz, @rottenindenmark, @will_bunch, @renee.diresta@threads.net, @farhip, @emptywheel, @yasminamer, @amandabecker, The Hill, @jayrosen_nyu, @fritschner, @fritschner, @fritschner, @stphnfwlr, @stphnfwlr, @isalara, @benmullin, Isabel Lara on LinkedIn, The Daily Beast, @leilafadelnpr@threads.net, NPR, @scottdetrow_npr@threads.net, The Wrap, @jbouie.bsky.social, @briankrebs@infosec.exchange and @edeggans.bsky.social
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
As Netflix's new film chief Dan Lin takes charge, the company aims to shift its film strategy to focus on audience appeal and cost efficiency — Dan Lin, the streaming service's new film chief, wants to produce a more varied slate of movies to better appeal to the array of interests among subscribers.
Discussion:
@vortiwife.neocities.org, Business Insider, @simonm223.bsky.social and Forbes, more at Techmeme »
Mike Shields / Next in Media:
Streaming TV companies' reluctance to share their data with third-party audience measurement firms is making it difficult for brands to buy ads across platforms — The TV industry has been on a multi-year quest to make it possible to better measure the audience it delivers for advertisers.
Richard Brooks / The Guardian:
Ofcom Chair Michael Grade says TV has become more “exploitative and cruel”, which makes him “mad”, and worries that the UK public are now used as performers — The boss of the broadcast regulator has expressed concern about how the chase for audience ratings is harming the industry
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis
Sam Roberts / New York Times:
Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Don Wright, who drew cartoons for The Miami News and The Palm Beach Post, died on March 24 at age 90 — He won two Pulitzers for Florida newspapers, commenting wryly on war, segregation, church scandals and more while reaching readers nationwide through syndication.
Discussion:
@jamesrosentv
Josef Adalian / Vulture:
Q&A with Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, on determining what shows air where, from Hulu to ABC, the continued importance of ABC, and more — This story first ran in Buffering, Vulture's newsletter about the streaming industry. Head to vulture.com/buffering and subscribe today!
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
The AP, ABC, Fox, and other news orgs issue a joint statement urging President Biden and former President Trump to do televised debates ahead of the election — In an unusual statement, the news organizations said “there is simply no substitute” for a face-to-face debate, a campaign staple since 1976.
Discussion:
CBS News, CNN, @cspan, Associated Press, @cnnpr, @jayrosen_nyu, @brianstelter, Reuters, @brianstelter, Vanity Fair, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, TVLine, The Hill, NewsNation and Columbia Journalism Review
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