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A former NPR editor says Uri Berliner's critique was inaccurate and ignored inconvenient facts, but the outlet has long been an overcautious, centrist mess — Yes, the broadcaster is a mess. But “wokeness” isn't the issue. — NPR, the great bastion of old-school audio journalism, is a mess.
Discussion:
Media Nation, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, @lewispants, @jessbravin, Beyond Search, Neil Lewis, Jr on LinkedIn, @jackjenkins@threads.net, @stevemullis, @profstevensmith, Brendan Sweeney on LinkedIn, @merulloboaz, Doug McLennan on LinkedIn, @glyph@mastodon.social, Jessica Hansen I Voice Work on LinkedIn, @biblioracle, Elaine Heinzman on LinkedIn, @jamesfallows, Mark McDonald on LinkedIn, @digiphile@mastodon.social, Twila Dang on LinkedIn, @ashtonpittman.ms@threads.net, @tylrfishr@social …, @jayrosen_nyc@threads.net, @acdha@thepit.social, @JMarkOckerbloom …, @tusk81@mastodon.social, MediaPost and @dave@social.masto.land
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NPR suspended Uri Berliner for five days without pay, starting on April 12, after he wrote an essay accusing NPR of losing the public's trust
Discussion:
Differ We Must, CBS News, Poynter, Columbia Journalism Review, Associated Press, Fox News, @elaheizadi, @ezraklein@threads.net, @shannonpareil@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, @elaheizadi, @lewispants, @nprinskeep, @jeffjarvis@threads.net, @jbouie@threads.net, @lewispants, @lewispants, Newser, @fritschner, The Desk, @esthercindc, @esthercindc, @brianstelter@threads.net, @bgrueskin, @emptywheel, @justinbaragona, @fritschner, @moorehn, @rubensteinadam, @aghamilton29, Inside Radio, Los Angeles Times, @keithpille.bsky.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, New York Times, @dankennedy_nu@threads.net, @katzish.bsky.social, Current, Houman Harouni on LinkedIn, @gretared@sfba.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, The Guardian, @ernie@writing.exchange, Deadline, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Mediaite, New York Post, Tom Renk on LinkedIn, The Hill, CNN, The Wrap and Media Nation


UK court documents: actor Hugh Grant settled a lawsuit against The Sun publisher News Group Newspapers over claims of using private investigators to phone tap — British actor Hugh Grant has settled a lawsuit against the publisher of The Sun tabloid newspaper over claims journalists used …
Discussion:
@hackedoffhugh, Press Gazette, Mediaite, The Guardian, Associated Press, @hackedoffhugh, @hackedoffhugh, @hackedoffhugh and @hackedoffhugh
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Hugh Grants says he settled with News Group to avoid up to £10M in costs and “Murdoch's settlement money has a stink and I refuse to let this be hush money” — As reported by the BBC, Grant reached a settlement on Wednesday regarding allegations of unlawful information gathering against NGN.


The News/Media Alliance asks the DOJ, the FTC, and California's AG for a probe into whether Google broke any laws when removing some links to CA news sites — An organization that represents more than 2,000 news publishers sent letters on Tuesday to federal agencies, urging them to launch …
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The US assures the UK that Julian Assange could seek US First Amendment protections and wouldn't face the death penalty or be persecuted for his nationality — American officials sought to reassure the U.K. about Julian Assange's treatment should the former WikiLeaks founder, who has been indicted by the U.S., be sent there.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Gizmodo, Fox News, The Guardian, The Independent, Sky News, Reuters and Bloomberg


Swedish streaming service Viaplay, which shut down its US app in February, launches a $5.99 per month subscription channel on Prime Video Channels — Viaplay shut its direct-to-consumer service in February, but the Scandi streamer is still active in the U.S.


Snap plans to add watermarks to AI-generated images on Snapchat; watermarks appear as a translucent version of the Snap logo with a sparkle emoji — Social media company Snap said Tuesday that it plans to add watermarks to AI-generated images on its platform.
Discussion:
Snapchat, more at Techmeme »


A profile of Uday Shankar, a former journalist who worked with the Murdoch family and is set to lead Viacom18, which is poised to dominate India's media market — - Uday Shankar will be vice chair of sports, entertainment giant — The $8.5 billion deal unites Disney's business with Reliance
Discussion:
Sohee Kim on LinkedIn


IAB and PwC report on US digital ad sales in 2023: total revenue grew 7.3% YoY to $225B, digital video grew 10.6% to $52.1B, and digital audio grew 18.9% to $7B — Nothing lasts forever. Ad revenue growth decelerated for the second year in a row after heady post-COVID ad revenue gains.
Discussion:
IAB, Radio Ink, Tv Technology, RAIN News, MarTech, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Adweek, Inside Radio and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »


An interview with CNN CEO Mark Thompson on having “plenty of things” to fix, how shifting to digital is an “existential question”, subscriptions, and more — Veteran media executive wants 24-hour cable news network to embark on digital overhaul
Discussion:
@danielthomasldn, @danielthomasldn, @astronomer_mark and @ft


The Daily Beast seeks a reporter to cover Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez, part of plans to become a “smart tabloid” and cover tech execs and their ecosystem — - The website also plans aggressive coverage of the royals, in an effort to show up ink-stained Brits.
Discussion:
New York Post and Page Six


PEN America: 4,349 books were removed from US schools across 23 states from July 2023 to December 2023, up from 3,362 books in the entire previous academic year — More books were removed during the first half of this academic year than in the entire previous one.
Discussion:
CNN, PEN America, The Hill and Publishers Weekly