Mediagazer: Bob Iger says Disney is “pretty dramatically” reducing its spending on traditional TV content and Disney+'s overinvestment “resulted in volume, not quality” (Todd Spangler/Variety)

12:00 PM ET, May 15, 2024

Top News:

Joe Biden proposes two debates with Trump, ditching the bipartisan commission that has conducted presidential debates since the late 1980s; Trump accepts — The agreement does not ensure that a debate will happen. — Having spent months avoiding direct engagement on when and where to debate …

CNN:

CNN plans to host the Joe Biden and Donald Trump presidential debate in Georgia on June 27, after both accepted CNN's invitation — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he's accepted an invitation from CNN to debate former President Donald Trump on June 27 - challenging the former president …

Washington Post:
Biden's debate proposal asks for broadcast networks that hosted GOP debates in 2016 and Democratic debates in 2020: CNN, ABC News, Telemundo, and CBS News

Discussion: Mediaite, @kaitlancollins, @brookesingman, The Wrap, CNN, Associated Press, @jmart, New York Post, The Hill, @brianstelter, @michaelscherer, @brianstelter, @brianstelter and Forbes

Casey Newton / Platformer:

The arrival of AI search bodes ill for everyone who relies on web search to have their business discovered, their blog post read, or their journalism funded — When Sundar Pichai took the stage at Google I/O on Tuesday morning, he said that the rise of generative artificial intelligence …

Discussion: Media Nation, @searchliaison, @samfbiddle, Engadget, @andrewgiambrone, @slightlyoff@toot.cafe, Beyond Search, @pranavdixit, Ezra Eeman on LinkedIn, @brucel, @crumbler@threads.net, @inthehands@hachyderm.io, @mike@flipboard.social, TechCrunch, Search Engine Land, Wired and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Google will roll out AI overviews in search to all US users, starting this week, and in more countries soon; they will be available to 1B+ users by end of year

Discussion: The Media Leader, Shelly Palmer, The Verge, @mishaalrahman, @sullyomarr, @bentossell, @kevinroose, @rowancheung, @reckless1280@threads.net and @joannastern@threads.net, more at Techmeme »

Umar Shakir / The Verge:
Google expands its SynthID watermark imprinting system to AI-generated video and text; the tool can already attempt to detect AI-generated images and audio

Discussion: Google DeepMind and Engadget

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Netflix strikes a three-year deal with the NFL to stream two new Christmas Day games this season, and “at least one game” in 2025 and in 2026 — The streaming giant lands the league's two new Christmas Day games, beginning this season. — Netflix will stream live NFL games, beginning this season.

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Bob Iger says Disney is “pretty dramatically” reducing its spending on traditional TV content and Disney+'s overinvestment “resulted in volume, not quality” — Company originally ‘invested too much’ in streaming content, which ‘resulted in volume, not quality,’

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter

Max Tani / Semafor:

NYT reporters are circulating a draft of an open letter to Joe Kahn, criticizing the editor over recent comments they said were dismissive of young reporters — The Scoop — New York Times reporters are circulating a draft of an open letter to Joe Kahn, criticizing the paper's top editor …

Discussion: @gregtsargent, @jayrosen_nyu, @emptywheel and @meyer_hm

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

The New Yorker published an article about convicted child serial killer Lucy Letby in its UK print edition, after blocking the story online due to a court order — A New Yorker story revisiting the conviction of Lucy Letby has been published in the title's print and mobile app editions despite …

Discussion: @jon_allsop, ITV News and @jon_allsop

New York Times:

Sources detail the tensions at NBC and its parent company Comcast over MSNBC's embrace of progressive politics, as NBC News strives to appeal to a mass audience — NBC's leaders have been forced to grapple with how to square its cable news network's embrace of progressive politics with the company's straight-news operation.

Discussion: @markhisted.org, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @mrhoward.bsky.social and @jeffjarvis

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Sources: Jimmy Finkelstein met with potential investors to drum up interest in a new venture, which is in the planning stages, after The Messenger's failure — MESSENGER, PT. DEUX — The 76-year-old media mogul is apparently looking to clear his name after The Messenger spectacularly flopped.

David Bauder / Associated Press:

An interview with veteran entertainment journalist Jed Rosenzweig about LateNighter, his news site and newsletter launched in February to follow late-night TV — At first glance, Jed Rosenzweig's new venture would seem like a fool's errand: launching a digital news site during brutal economic times …

Oliver Darcy / CNN:

Q&A with Nicholas Kristof on how security for foreign correspondents has changed, the need for more reporting and less punditry, protecting sources, and more — Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.

Discussion: Poynter

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Politico rolls out its first consumer registration wall, as part of Axel Springer's plans to gather more reader data to use for ad and product strategies — The publisher will use the data to inform its advertising and product strategies — The politics publisher Politico began the rollout …

Discussion: @politicopress

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More News:

Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon made its debut Upfronts pitch on May 14, competing with major media networks and highlighting its push beyond digital ads and into traditional media

Discussion: AdExchanger and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »

Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Lineup Publishing says Deadspin will include “betting content” but insists the outlet won't become an SEO clickfarm, and restores deleted posts

Michael Schneider / Variety:
Streamers are ordering linear-esque content, like procedurals and sitcoms, with 15- or 16-episode seasons, as they seek to avoid churn and emulate broadcasters

Discussion: H Schuster on LinkedIn

Clara Aberneithie / Press Gazette:
Interviews with journalists from BBC Russia, BBC Persia, and BBC Arabic about BBC World Service's 310 exiled journalists, fighting censorship, and more

Discussion: @bluechalkmedia

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Adam Mosseri says Threads “recently rolled out” its own fact-checking program after piggybacking on Instagram and Facebook's network for a few months

Discussion: Engadget and @mosseri@threads.net, more at Techmeme »

Nidhi Subbaraman / Wall Street Journal:
Fake studies have flooded publishers of scientific journals, resulting in retractions and millions of dollars in lost revenue; Wiley plans to close 19 journals

Discussion: STAT, The Overspill, @ianrosewrites@scicomm.xyz, @Wolven@ourislandgeorgia.net and @cbecker@hci.social

Anthony DePalma / New York Times:
Canadian author Alice Munro, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 and was referred to as “a master of the contemporary short story”, dies at 92

Washington Post:
Eight TikTok creators sue the US government over the law forcing a sale or ban of TikTok, arguing the move violates their First Amendment rights

Discussion: New York Times, CMU, Associated Press, MediaNama, The Hill, @yoda, @artofangles, @taylorlorenz, @taliacadet, CNBC, NBC News, Reuters, The Verge, CBS News, The Information, The Daily Beast, Bloomberg, NPR and Techdirt, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Ty Pendlebury / CNET:
Google unveils Music AI Sandbox, a suite of music tools that include the ability to create loops via text, without disclosing when it will be publicly available

Discussion: Music Ally, Google DeepMind, @facesofhaiti_, @reach_vb, @googledeepmind, @googledeepmind, @aggualaqisaaq@mastodon …, BGR and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Jeffrey Dastin / Reuters:
YouTube says it will comply with a Hong Kong court order to block 32 video links, after the government sought to ban the Glory to Hong Kong protest anthem

Discussion: Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, Music Ally, Voice of America, New York Times, Financial Times, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN and Bloomberg

Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with NPR's David Folkenflik and Floodlight's Miranda Green on uncovering how The Richmond Standard, a local newspaper, was set up as Chevron's mouthpiece

Discussion: American Press Institute, @davidfolkenflik, @sarahscire, @dabeard, @twrling@sfba.social and @michellemanafy@journa.host

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
Reddit launches new tools for its Ask Me Anything Q&A feature, including a dedicated AMA tab, support for up to five guest hosts, and promotional options

Discussion: Reddit Upvoted

Ashley Capoot / CNBC:
Reddit's stock closed up 7.13% on May 14, as posts on r/WallStreetBets drive a meme stocks rally; GameStop closed up 60.10% and AMC up 31.98%

Discussion: Axios, Quartz, CBS News, Fox Business, Rolling Stone, Fast Company, CityNews Toronto, New York Post, Know Your Meme, New York Times, USA Today, IGN and Financial Times

Kayla Cobb / The Wrap:
Nielsen launches The Media Distributor Gauge, showing TV usage ranked by company: Disney accounted for 11.5% of TV viewing in April, YouTube accounted for 9.6%

Discussion: Nielsen, MediaPost, Adweek, Radio & Television …, Amit Ghorawat on LinkedIn, Brian Fuhrer on LinkedIn, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Wall Street Journal and Forbes

Dade Hayes / Deadline:
TelevisaUnivision says Vix now has 50M MAUs, up 70% YoY, and plans to launch the previously announced ad-supported tier of Vix on May 15

Discussion: StreamTV Insider, WORLD SCREEN and Forbes

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: some conservative operatives have raised $1M+ to launch Washington Reporter, a conservative-leaning outlet aiming to rival Punchbowl and Politico

Discussion: @Jonathanglick@mstdn.social

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
Sources: the US FTC plans to investigate allegations that Microsoft is abusing its market power in productivity software to prevent customers from leaving Azure

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
OpenAI says the ChatGPT desktop app for macOS can now read code from some developer-focused apps, including VS Code, Xcode, TextEdit, Terminal, and iTerm2

Decrypt:
Eighteen US states, led by Kentucky, sue the SEC and its commissioners, including Chairman Gary Gensler, over its crackdown on the crypto industry

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