Top News:
Ruth La Ferla / New York Times:
Graydon Carter opens a physical store called Air Mail Newsstand in NYC, as an extension of his digital newsletter Air Mail, selling books, magazines, and more — Shoe horns, lampshades and CBD-infused elixirs are among the goods Graydon Carter is selling at a new newsstand-style shop in New York.
Discussion:
Showbiz411, Harrison Vail on LinkedIn and @nbj914
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Filing: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's 2023 compensation package was worth $49.7M, up 26.5% from the year prior, with $23.1M in stock awards — David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, had a 2023 pay package worth $49.7 million, up 26.5% from the year prior …
Discussion:
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street Journal, Joe Flint on LinkedIn, Dan Price on LinkedIn, Hollywood Reporter, The Information, The Daily Beast, Deadline, Reuters, IndieWire, The Desk, @2xaught7.bsky.social, Gizmodo, @buccocapital, Bloomberg, The Wrap, @lucas_shaw, @dylanbyers, New York Times, @brucebartlett, @youdoingtoomuch and Next TV
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Post.News, the news-focused social platform launched in 2022 that offered micropayments to publishers, is shutting down after failing to grow “fast enough” — Post News, a Twitter alternative that emerged in the wake of Elon Musk's takeover, is shutting down.
Andrew Beaujon / Washingtonian:
Interviews with over a dozen current and former WAMU staffers and contractors show management's contradictory, unclear messaging about its closure of DCist — The star-crossed marriage of Washington's NPR member station and a feisty digital news publication came to an abrupt end in February.
Discussion:
@combs@mastodon.art, @srepetsk@dmv.community and @wesleylowery
Sharon Knolle / The Wrap:
Sesame Workshop writers reach a tentative deal with management, narrowly avoiding a strike; the 35 WGA members will vote to ratify the deal in the coming days — Once ratified, the writers will win protections against artificial intelligence and improvements to new media residuals
Discussion:
Variety, NPR, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, @wgaeast, Writers Guild of America …, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
At a town hall, GB News CEO announced job cuts affecting 40 roles, its first major round of cuts after its 2021 launch; GB News had 295 staffers in May 2023 — It is the first major redundancy exercise since the broadcaster launched. — GB News chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos …
Discussion:
@smartin and The i Paper
Lola Fadulu / New York Times:
Nicholas Welker, leader of a white supremacist group who admitted to posting a death threat against a Brooklyn journalist, is sentenced to 44 months in prison — Nicholas Welker admitted posting the death threat, which was meant to to silence coverage of the extremist group he led, prosecutors said.
Discussion:
Brooklyn Eagle, @pressfreedom, US Department of Justice and @egavactip
Nathan Grayson / Aftermath:
The New York Times' thriving games business prompts others to try to replicate its success, such as with Hearst's acquisition of Puzzmo, but games coverage lags — “The ad market is terrible. There's very real news fatigue. There's tons of alternative sources for news that aren't even news agencies."
Discussion:
@jason_koebler, @jasonkoebler@mastodon.social, @vahn16, @chaykak, @vahn16, @vahn16, @slhamlet, @vahn16, Digiday and The Daily Beast
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Inside the turmoil at UK-based nonprofit newsroom Open Democracy, whose leadership team says it could have been insolvent by June without 40% cost cuts — Turmoil at the top of Open Democracy has led to legal letters being sent. — Open Democracy could have gone into liquidation by June …
Discussion:
@martinjdocherty, @adamramsay, @pressgazette, @pressgazette and @jdowsea
New York Times:
Sources: Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo discussed a joint all-cash offer for Paramount, which is still in an exclusive negotiation window with Skydance — The company and Apollo Global Management are discussing a joint effort, even as Paramount conducts exclusive merger negotiations with Skydance.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Deadline, @mediaevan, @tvgrimreaper, The Desk, Metro.co.uk, Advanced Television, Tv Technology, @davidclinchnews, The Wrap, @phillipsrelic, The Streamable, IndieWire, Broadband TV News, Reuters, Fortune, IGN, @benmullin, Financial Times, Screen Rant, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, Forbes, Benjamin Mullin on LinkedIn and Variety
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix plans to stop reporting subscriber numbers and Average Revenue per Membership from Q1 2025, as time spent is its “best proxy for customer satisfaction” — Netflix will no longer report subscriber numbers — a key metric for streaming services for years — beginning with the first quarter of 2025.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, @parismarx, Mike K. Tatum on LinkedIn, Cory Parker on LinkedIn, Media Play News, @lucas_shaw, @loudmouthjulia, WORLD SCREEN, @loudmouthjulia, 9to5Mac, @pkafka@threads.net, @ianbetteridge@writing …, @tvgrimreaper, Forbes, @lucas_shaw, Fast Company, Fortune, Emil Protalinski on LinkedIn, @carnage4life, Broadband TV News, @sherman4949, @tvmojoe, @sherman4949, CBS News, @tvmojoe, The A.V. Club, CNBC, Business Insider, Business Insider, ComingSoon.net, The Streamable, Deadline and Advanced Television
RELATED:
Liam Scott / Voice of America:
The USAGM names former Washington Post journalist Michael Abramowitz as the director of VOA, overseeing 48 language services reaching ~354M people weekly — The U.S. Agency for Global Media on Friday named Michael Abramowitz as the new permanent director of Voice of America.
Discussion:
USAGM, New York Times, Freedom House and @VOANews@mastodon.social
Jay Allred / @jayallred651:
[Thread] The California Journalism Protection Act is good for big media and hedge funds like Alden, but not for indie local outlets like the Richland Source — Can we talk about Google and the California Journalism Protection Act for a minute? 1/
Discussion:
@jayallred651, @jayallred651, @jayallred651, @jayallred651, @jayallred651, @jayallred651, @jayallred651, @jayallred651 and @jayallred651