Top News:
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: National Amusements ends talks with Skydance; Shari Redstone will likely seek a sale of just National Amusements, without including Paramount directly — Shari Redstone's NAI decided to stop discussions with Skydance, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Fast Company, New York Times, Deadline, The Guardian, Reuters, Variety, New York Post, IndieWire, The Wrap, CNBC, Bloomberg, Next TV, CBS News, TrekMovie.com, Los Angeles Times, The Information, Quartz, The Hollywood Reporter, @megjameslat, @loudmouthjulia, @richlightshed, @mattbelloni, @tim_bays, @philthepill.wtf, @jbflint and Media Play News
Laura Wagner / Washington Post:
The Baltimore Sun's union says the paper's new ownership has “tossed aside” ethical standards, reusing a below-standard Sinclair Broadcast Group story and more — “Ethical standards,” the Sun's union says, “have been tossed aside under new ownership.”
Discussion:
Popular Information, Washington-Baltimore …, @strannik_reb45, @jamieson, @jamieson, @tvnuggetfinder, @healthcarerenew and CNN
Washington Post:
Sources: Jeff Bezos has been closely engaged with Will Lewis, as the WaPo's new publisher developed the plan to create a “third newsroom” for new audiences — Critics raise concerns about the values of a new team of executives. Meanwhile, the business woes are real. What does Jeff Bezos want?
Discussion:
@ashleyrparker, @farhip, @washingtonpost, @farhip, @elaheizadi, The Daily Beast, Poynter and MediaPost
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Journalists rejoice after Apple says iOS 18 will support call recording and transcription, and participants will be notified that they're being recorded — “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks when decades happen.” — The word you're looking for is “sherlocked.”
Discussion:
@bourgwick@heads.social, The Verge, @jherrerx, AppleInsider, @jenseniorny, @mishaalrahman, Vered Horesh on LinkedIn, @anne_loreto, @josephzeballos, @jasonwilson@mastodon.online, @petersterne, @jasonwilson@mastodon.online, @ursulaperano, @klundster, Fast Company, @joshhterry, @taylorlorenz and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Source: Spotify plans to launch a higher-priced premium plan later in 2024, charging $5+ more per month for better audio, playlist and library tools, and more — The plan will cost at least $5 more per month and include access to high-fidelity audio and new playlisting tools.
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Comscore: Roku is the most popular CTV OS by time spent, with 49% of the total market, and The Roku Channel is most popular FAST service by total hours — Roku leads Pluto TV and Tubi among free, ad-supported TV streamers — A new report from measurement firm Comscore has shed light …
Discussion:
Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn, David Eilenberg on LinkedIn, The Desk and StreamTV Insider
Alberto Nardelli / Bloomberg:
Docs and sources detail how Russian operative Artem Kureyev helped run influence operations in Europe for years, including contacting journalists about Ukraine — - Agent had frequent contacts with journalists about Ukraine — US and EU are stepping up efforts to combat disinformation
Discussion:
@GaryRLundberg@newsie.social, @rvps2001@mastodon.social, @KimPerales@toad.social and Semafor
Aidan Ryan / The Boston Globe:
Current and former staff at Boston public media outlet GBH criticize top salaries after 31 people were laid off; nine execs earned $300K+ in base pay in 2023 — When GBH laid off nearly three dozen workers last month, chief executive Susan Goldberg cited flat revenue and rising costs that left …
Discussion:
@chipgoines, @dankennedy_nu, @aidanfitzryan, Inside Radio and Radio Ink
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
News reader Particle, which uses AI to summarize stories, raised a $10.9M Series A led by Lightspeed and announces Reuters as a news source for its service — Traffic is down, newsrooms are undergoing layoffs, and publishers fear that AI technologies will only make matters worse.
Kathryn Lundstrom / Adweek:
The New York Times and Instacart announce a two-year partnership to let users order ingredients for New York Times Cooking recipes with Instacart — It's part of a growing trend of retail media-publisher partnerships — Shoppers can now order ingredients for New York Times Cooking recipes thanks …
Discussion:
Ad Age, Laura Jones on LinkedIn, The New York Times Company and AdExchanger
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
David Nevins has stepped down as CEO of North Road Co., the media venture Peter Chernin launched in 2022 and which has been acquiring production companies — Nevins formally joined North Road Co. company last July. The company's initial focus has been on acquiring distinctive production banners …
Discussion:
Deadline
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The UK's Future launches Elevate, which offers ad-serving tech to publishers and helps them sell their online ad inventory through programmatic and direct sales — Future plc has launched a new brand called Elevate based around selling its own advertising technology to other publishers.
Discussion:
Future, @futureplc, Ad Age and Digiday