Top News:
Ian Youngs / BBC:
Huw Edwards, the BBC news anchor who has been off air since July 2023 after reports that he paid a young person for explicit images, resigns on “medical advice” — Huw Edwards has presented major national events for the BBC including general elections and the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
Discussion:
The Desk, The Guardian, @scottygb, Mediaite, Hollywood Reporter, Press Gazette, Variety, The Guardian, Telegraph, Sky News, @andrewiconnell, @jake_kanter, @leahboleto, The Daily Beast, @kevin_maguire, @nickszczepanik, @katierazz, @vicderbyshire, @kelvmackenzie, @vicderbyshire, @ianlloydroyal, @johnrivers, GB News, HuffPost and Deadline
Steve Pond / The Wrap:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts institutes stricter rules for the 97th Oscars in March 2025, including requiring a film to have a one-week run in six cities — The rules are particularly restrictive for films that wish to compete in the Best Picture category
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Memo: Aaron LaBerge, the CTO of Disney Entertainment and ESPN, will leave the company after June for personal reasons, to become the CTO of Penn Entertainment — The Walt Disney company logo is displayed on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on Dec. 1, 2023.
Discussion:
Variety, Wall Street Journal, @sherman4949 and The Hollywood Reporter
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Sources: Axel Springer sees the WSJ as a “top acquisition target”; CEO Mathias Döpfner pushed to fire BI's Nic Carlson after Bill Ackman's pushback on coverage — The WELT-Wirtschaftsgipfel is a major moment in the German business calendar — and in particular for its host, the media giant Axel Springer.
Discussion:
@maxwelltani, @jonathan_miller, @tomaxwell, @pauldemko, @nkulw, @shakeelhashim, @froomkin, @semaforben, @froomkin, @parismartineau and @corbinhiar
Washington Post:
Analysis: the 25 most-cited US news organizations lost 75% of their Facebook user engagement and 58% of their Instagram interactions between Q1 2022 and Q1 2024 — Waves of layoffs and policy shifts are forcing campaigns to change tactics, potentially transforming the 2024 election
Discussion:
@mishasal22, @csmap_nyu, @rpark1013, @blackamazon and @beneltham, more at Techmeme »
Cuyler Dunn / The Lawrence Times:
How high school student journalists convinced a district in Kansas to remove their files from an AI surveillance system, saying it violated their press rights — Journalism students at Lawrence High School have convinced the school district to remove their files from the purview …
Discussion:
Kansas Reflector, @daveleebbg@threads.net and @ctdunn7
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
ITV News hires Newsnight deputy editor Becky Emmett as head of its streaming service ITVX for ITV News, replacing Chris Achilleos, who left last month — Newsnight deputy editor Becky Emmett is joining ITV News amid an overhaul of the BBC programme. — Emmett, who was Newsnight's acting editor …
Matt Burgess / Wired:
Researchers: files on a misconfigured North Korean server hint local animators worked on upcoming Prime Video and HBO Max TV shows, possibly via a Chinese front — Thousands of exposed files on a misconfigured North Korean server hint at one way the reclusive country may evade international sanctions.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
The hangover from the Hollywood strikes has lasted longer than anyone anticipated, as studios, networks, and streaming services simply aren't buying as much — Everyone was supposed to get back to work once two strikes concluded last year, but the hangover has been longer than anyone anticipated.
Discussion:
@empirecitybo, @back_the_bbc, @ashkan and @lucas_shaw
Tariq Panja / New York Times:
Sources: FIFA is close to giving Apple the global rights for its 2025 World Cup-style soccer competition in the US, likely for ~25% of FIFA's first $4B estimate — The agreement would give the tech company worldwide rights for a monthlong World Cup-style competition between top teams set to take place next year.
Discussion:
Reuters, AppleInsider, The Verge, @andrewdasnyt and 9to5Mac
Alexandra Topping / The Guardian:
The BBC plans to invest £6M in AI to make its educational offering BBC Bitesize more personalized and interactive, hoping to attract future licence fee payers — Hopes investment to make Bitesize more personalised and interactive will attract future licence-fee payers
John Koblin / New York Times:
Antenna: ~25% of US paying streaming video subscribers, or 29M+ users, have canceled three or more services over the past two years — Many more people are jumping from one streaming subscription to another, a behavior that could have big implications for the entertainment industry.