Top News:


Sources: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis criticized Sally Buzbee's judgment in publishing a May 2024 article about a UK phone-hacking lawsuit that involved him — Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Washington Post, objected to coverage of a legal development involving him in a phone hacking case.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @farhip, @davidbeard@threads.net, @geisler_jill@threads.net, @davidbeard@threads.net, @jswatz_tx@threads.net, @kennysmith@mstdn.social, @edmundlee@threads.net, Puck, @mattdpearce@threads.net, @rcmacleod, @harrymccracken, @peterjukes, @fredvultee, @nick_field90, @janecoaston, @paulvieira, @benmullin, @katie_robertson, @nick_field90, @sulliview, @tvhilton, @farnazfassihi, @edmundlee, @eisingerj, @rogerford.org, @ChrisBoese@newsie.social, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @eisingerj, @silvermanjacob, @kevinmdraper, Talking Points Memo, Press Watch, Vanity Fair, The Guardian and Poynter


Sources: the NBA is closing in on deals with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon that would bring in ~$76B in media revenue over 11 years; the deals will include WNBA rights — The National Basketball Association entered its first TV negotiations in a decade with a problem: Its main business partners seemed to be on shaky footing.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, @morningbrew, @asharma, @benfritz, Amol Sharma on LinkedIn, @jbflint, @jbflint, Front Office Sports, The Desk, Business Insider, @patrick1kennedy, Robert Dee on LinkedIn, Adweek, @webbarr, Christian Grece on LinkedIn, @asharma, ESPN Press Room U.S., @jbflint, @benfritz, The Wrap, Sports Media Watch, Barrett Media, Next TV, Chris Pfaff on LinkedIn, Media Play News, Cord Cutters News, New York Post and Awful Announcing


Founder Shane Smith returns to Vice as Vice News EIC, but with no management responsibilities, and will host a series of shows and create social media content — Shane Smith is sorry, but not sorry. The 54-year-old co-founder of Vice Media said he has few regrets as he embarks on a new role …


CEO Nicholas Thompson shares why The Atlantic partnered with OpenAI: publishers can benefit from tech platforms, as long as they avoid becoming wholly dependent — Shortly before The Atlantic announced “a product and content” partnership with OpenAI, the magazine published a piece …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, LinkedIn, @sarahscire, @jessicalessin, Business Insider and MIT Technology Review


China-linked app NewsBreak used AI to write 40+ inaccurate local US stories since 2021 and in March added a note that its content “may not always be error-free” — Last Christmas Eve, NewsBreak, a free app with roots in China that is the most downloaded news app in the United States …
Discussion:
The Information, @wexler, @niubi, @nastyoldwomyn, @reuters, @reuters, @robdecola, @pearswick, @reuters, @magneticcrow@catcatnya.com and @nanditab1, more at Techmeme »


Five former colleagues of exiled Uyghur journalist Kasim Kashgar have been imprisoned in China's Xinjiang region, seemingly over their ties to the VOA reporter — Former colleagues of exiled Uyghur journalist Kasim Kashgar have been imprisoned in China's Xinjiang region …


Stability AI releases Stable Audio Open, a text-to-audio model for generating up to 47 seconds of samples and sound effects, prohibited for commercial use — Stability AI, the startup behind the AI-powered art generator Stable Diffusion, has released an open AI model for generating sounds …
Discussion:
@stabilityai, @hugovntr, @Tamasg@mindly.social, @benjedwards, @andymac3d, @iscienceluvr, Stability AI, @minimaxir, @simonw and @nickadobos, more at Techmeme »


Bloomberg Media unveils product updates, including more deep-dive long reads on Businessweek, set to become a monthly in July, and reports 540K subscribers — Bloomberg Media is betting on increased website functionality and deeper reporting to keep it ahead of generative AI-based information providers.
Discussion:
Dominic Ponsford on LinkedIn and Talking Biz News


An interview with Netflix VP of External Games Leanne Loombe about the popularity of interactive fiction games on the service, reality TV shows, and more — And while the “serious gamer” might be enticed by the pending arrival of The Case of the Golden Idol or Don't Starve Together …


Four educational publishers sue Google, accusing it of promoting pirated copies of their textbooks and ignoring copyright infringement notices — Google (GOOGL.O) was hit with a lawsuit on Wednesday by educational publishers Cengage, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill and Elsevier accusing …
Discussion:
Publishing Perspectives and Search Engine Land


Sources: Costco plans to stop selling books regularly at US stores year-round from January 2025, and will instead sell them during the holiday shopping period — The decision, which will be implemented in January 2025, could significantly impact publishers.
Discussion:
@jeffjarvis@threads.net, @johnbranchnyt@threads.net and @billineastala


YouTube plans to restrict some content pertaining to the real use of guns from viewers under 18 starting on June 18, a year after a watchdog group report — Last year, a nonprofit flagged gun-related videos recommended to children's accounts. — YouTube quietly snuck in a policy change …
Discussion:
WKYC-TV and The Hill, more at Techmeme »