Mediagazer: Eric Bolling, formerly of Sinclair and Fox News and host of Newsmax's 8pm show The Balance, is leaving the network after three years (Diana Falzone/Mediaite)

Sources: Disney and Comcast's NBCUniversal hit an impasse in Disney's buyout plans for NBCU's 33% Hulu stake, with a significant disagreement over valuation — Companies are discussing a Disney buyout of Comcast's stake in streaming service; with a big valuation gap, the prospect of a court battle looms

Discussion: The Streamable, The Media Leader, The Information and @tvgrimreaper

Diana Falzone / Mediaite:

Eric Bolling, formerly of Sinclair and Fox News and host of Newsmax's 8pm show The Balance, is leaving the network after three years — Eric Bolling has parted ways with Newsmax. — The veteran television host, who helmed the conservative network's 8 p.m. hour with The Balance …

Discussion: The Wrap, Deadline, @ericbolling, The Daily Beast and Media Matters for America

Nieman Lab:

A look at the term “fact-based journalism”: its rise coincided with “fake news” in 2016, but the term is redundant as all journalism is fact-based — “To describe one form of journalism as ‘fact-based’ is to tacitly acknowledge that there is also such a thing as ‘non-fact-based journalism.’ And there isn't."

Discussion: @nw@ioc.exchange, Josh M. on LinkedIn and @davidpwhelan@mastodon.world

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:

A look at Robert Allbritton's NOTUS, a nonprofit national politics outlet that employs 10 full-time fellows and is intended to act as a journalist incubator — When he was the owner of Politico, Robert Allbritton sat atop a farm system that hired scores of young reporters to work alongside veteran editors …

Discussion: @kbode@threads.net, @kbode@threads.net, Brad Bosserman on LinkedIn, @herbscribner, @structstories, @kylewilsontharp, @kenvogel, @evanmcs, @ron_fournier and @tchingarande

Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:

Startup Fable Studio announces Showrunner, a streaming service that lets users watch AI-generated series and create their own series by writing prompts — Fable, the studio behind the viral AI-generated ‘South Park’ clips, has announced a streaming platform that allows users to create their own content.

Discussion: Tubefilter, The Guardian, Gizmodo, VentureBeat and IndieWire, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Moonbug Entertainment names Courtney Holt, previously Spotify's head of studios and video, as managing director for the Americas, taking over from Andy Yeatman — Holt takes over the position from Andy Yeatman, who is departing Moonbug for an unspecified new gig.

Discussion: The Wrap, Courtney Holt on LinkedIn, Deadline and Advanced Television

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

Rest of World retracts an article on WhatsApp misinformation “tip lines” in India after several fact-checking orgs detail how it was “riddled with inaccuracies” — Last week, the technology site Rest of World published a story on the apparent failings of WhatsApp misinformation “tip lines” in India.

Discussion: @dau_mca and @india_mca, more at Techmeme »

Reuters Institute:

Rasmus Nielsen, director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, plans to step down at the end of September; he assumed the role in December 2018 — Mitali Mukherjee will take over as Acting Director from 1 October — The Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism …

Discussion: Claes de Vreese on LinkedIn, @arusbridger, @rasmus_kleis, @jeffjarvis, Mitali Mukherjee on LinkedIn, Federica Cherubini on LinkedIn and @rasmus_kleis

Kristin Robinson / Billboard:

Sampling of King Willonius' AI-generated “BBL Drizzy” creates a new precedent; the recording is public domain but Willonius' lyrics give him publishing rights — After “BBL Drizzy” was sampled in Sexyy Red and Drake's new single “U My Everything,” it required a lawyer to create a procedure for clearing AI samples.

Discussion: Willonius Hatcher on LinkedIn and Daniel Rowland on LinkedIn

Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:

Researchers claim that 2,107 US voters, mostly older, white Republican women, accounted for spreading 80% of the fake news on Twitter during the 2020 election — A pair of studies published Thursday in the journal Science offers evidence not only that misinformation on social media changes minds …

Discussion: The Hill, @mediaevan, @GreenFire@mstdn.social, Pablo Breuer, Ph.D. on LinkedIn, @dsilverman@mastodon.social and Science, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

WSJ posts emails between its contributor Ira Stoll and ProPublica, after ProPublica said that Stoll's op-ed about ProPublica having his tax returns was false — Ira Stoll asked the organization if it had his tax return. It stonewalled. — Editor's note: Our contributor Ira Stoll received …

Discussion: Americans for Tax Reform, Wall Street Journal and @propublica@threads.net

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Sources: CNN plans to run ads during its June 27 debate between Biden and Trump, a break from tradition; networks using CNN's feed can also sell their own ads — But they will also be cut off by something else. — CNN plans to run commercials during the event, according to two people familiar …

Discussion: New York Post, Reuters, Poynter, CBS News, Adweek, Fox News and Newser