Mediagazer: FT CEO John Ridding says news publishers “have leverage and should insist on payment” from AI companies and disintermediation is the industry's “biggest threat” (Charlotte Tobitt/Press Gazette)

Letter: Vivek Ramaswamy calls for BuzzFeed to axe staff, focus on video, and hire new voices, like Tucker Carlson, after raising his stake in BuzzFeed to 8.3% — Former US Republican presidential candidate urges media group to hire from ‘across the political spectrum’

Discussion: The Guardian, Axios, The Wrap, Vivek Ramaswamy, @chrisgeidner, The Information, The Hollywood Reporter, @mattzeitlin, @tomgara, @mattgertz, Bloomberg, @benmullin, Fox Business, @briannachesser, @james.tartarus.org and @rafat

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

FT CEO John Ridding says news publishers “have leverage and should insist on payment” from AI companies and disintermediation is the industry's “biggest threat” — Financial Times chief executive John Ridding has told other news publishers they “have leverage and should insist on payment” from AI companies.

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @mitalilive, @olifranklin and @ftpressoffice

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Daily Wire says it finished 2023 with a profit and more than $200M in revenue, with more than $22M from commerce, most from its line of shaving products — - “We launched Jeremy's Razors for the same reason we launched a general and kids entertainment business and a news …

Discussion: @sarafischer

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Associated Press has inked new deals with five local nonprofit newsrooms to share and distribute content ahead of the 2024 election — - And it continues to add more statehouse reporters through an ongoing collaboration with Report for America. … - Those newsrooms were selected based …

Discussion: @jeffjarvis

Evan Osnos / New Yorker:

How a struggling actor duped friends and investors in a $690M+ Hollywood Ponzi scheme, claiming to buy cheap movie rights and sell them to major streamers — A struggling actor struck it rich in Hollywood—then the F.B.I. showed up. — Anyone who visited Zach and Mallory Horwitz in 2019 …

Discussion: @xenocryptsite, @franklinleonard, @ewong, @eosnos, @newyorker, @dancow and @eosnos

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Push alerts from the BBC News app have become hugely influential in the UK; the app has an estimated 12M installs, with ~60% of its users getting notifications — With BBC news app alerts reaching as many as 7m Britons, parties are desperately trying to influence what gets pushed out

Discussion: @_esther, @shashj, The Overspill, @mikeholden42, @carlbaker, Sasha Scott on LinkedIn, @janebsinger, Gordon MacMillan on LinkedIn, @stephenkb and @phil_tinline

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Meta adds safety features to CrowdTangle for use during the EU elections, in a bid to address EU concerns over Meta's plan to shut down the tool in August 2024 — Meta Platforms (META.O) has added safety features to its misinformation tracking tool CrowdTangle for use during European Parliament elections …

Discussion: @clothildegouj, @orestepollicino, @bravebosom, @mathver and @rajiinio, more at Techmeme »

John Koblin / New York Times:

A look at the growing importance of ads for video streaming services, as Antenna says that 56% of new subscribers chose the cheaper ad-supported tier in Q1 2024 — Ads are here, there — almost everywhere — on streaming services now. — Not long ago, streaming TV came with a promise …

Discussion: Adweek, Cord Cutters News, Arlan Smith on LinkedIn, Bonnie Barclay on LinkedIn, @antennadata, Christian Grece on LinkedIn, @janthonylong and Kyle Walker on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »

Caitlin Cassidy / The Guardian:

Australia's Nine commissions an independent review after complaints against former TV news boss Darren Wick and acknowledges “cultural issues” in its newsrooms — Chief executive Mike Sneesby acknowledges ‘very tough time’ for staff and ‘distress and frustration’ reports on allegations had caused

Discussion: Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, The Australian, Mumbrella, @sharrimarkson, Sydney Morning Herald, @sophieelsworth, Crikey and @daanysaeed

Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:

Comscore: Memorial Day weekend box office grossed an estimated $128.3M, a 29-year low, excluding 2020 and 2021, and down ~37% YoY; Furiosa led with just $32M — Overall revenue for the four-day holiday also hits a 29-year low as the early summer calendar suffers from an unprecedented absence …

Caroline Frost / Deadline:

Martine Croxall, one of the four female BBC journalists who brought a tribunal claim against the BBC, returns to screen after being off-air for more than a year — BBC news presenter Martine Croxall has returned to screen after being off-air for more than a year, while her legal battle with her employer still plays out.

Discussion: Metro.co.uk, London Evening Standard, The i Paper, @trevjrho, @martinebbc, Daily Express, The Times and The Guardian

Lulu Garcia-Navarro / New York Times:

Q&A with Netflix's Ted Sarandos on the state of Hollywood, shifting US tastes, programming strategy, ads, corporate activism, YouTube, live events, AI, and more — Devin Oktar Yalkin for The New York Times — If you're anything like me, you probably spent some large portion of this week sitting on your couch watching Netflix.

Discussion: Variety, The Verge, @pmathew814, Aymar Jean Christian on LinkedIn, @tvaziri@mastodon.social, @enigmamfilms, @nick_field90, World of Reel, The Hill, Business Insider, Deadline, IndieWire, The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »