Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Shari Redstone was irked that Skydance's revised Paramount terms reduced National Amusements' value from $2B to $1.7B, affecting her family's holdings — There were several hitches in the last week as Skydance, Paramount and its parent company, National Amusements, reached the final stages of negotiations.
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Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
In an email to staff, Skydance CEO David Ellison acknowledges Paramount merger talks have ended, and says that Skydance is “stronger” because of the talks
In an email to staff, Skydance CEO David Ellison acknowledges Paramount merger talks have ended, and says that Skydance is “stronger” because of the talks
Nick Visser / HuffPost:
Howard Fineman, who spent three decades at Newsweek and later became HuffPost's political editor and global editorial director, dies at 75 of pancreatic cancer — Fineman, who provided a critical look behind the curtain of Capitol Hill as a regular analyst on cable television, died of pancreatic cancer.
Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline:
Sony Pictures Entertainment buys Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; 35 cinemas will keep operating under the Alamo brand, and Alamo's Michael Kustermann will remain CEO — Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has just bought Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. D eadline first told you the chain was up for sale and being shopped around to studios.
Rolling Stone:
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito suggests partisan funding of ProPublica is to blame for its coverage of the court, in a secret recording at a recent dinner — In a new, secret recording, the Supreme Court justice suggests partisan funding is to blame for coverage of justices' undisclosed luxury gifts
Discussion:
Fox News, Poynter, Slate, New Republic, CNN, @7im, @rollingstone, @eisingerj, @rollingstone, @markjacob16, @normornstein, @rollingstone, @eisingerj, @lawindsor, @justinelliott, @digiphile@threads.net, Missouri Independent, @anatosaurus, @killick@dmv.community, @allysammarco@threads.net, @adamparkhomenko@threads.net, @ernie.tedium.co, @jstatepost@mstdn.social, @slackermom.bsky.social, @macloo.bsky.social, The Daily Beast, @JasonPerseus@mas.to, Boing Boing and NewsNation
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
How The New York Post, TMZ, and 100+ other sites around the world distorted a NYT story to claim that a remote Amazon tribe got addicted to porn due to Starlink — A Times story about the arrival of high-speed internet in a remote Amazon tribe spiraled into its own cautionary tale on the dark side of the web.
Discussion:
@elonmusk, @jacknicas, @jones3d, @seangraf and @oftenwrongsorry
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
The Institute for Nonprofit News survey of 346 member outlets for 2023: 71% of outlets are digital-first, about 33% reported declines in web traffic, and more — While the sector is still growing, that growth is slowing, by some metrics. And audience data for 2023 shows that across all outlets surveyed …
Discussion:
Institute for Nonprofit News, @risj_oxford and @localnewsini
Pew Research Center:
A survey of 10,287 US adults on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X: most see news content, but a minority says they are on the platform for news, except for X — X remains more of a news destination than other sites, but the vast majority of users on all four are seeing news-related content
Discussion:
The Media Leader, Engadget, Press Gazette, The Verge, @kurtwagner8 and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The UK Central Arbitration Committee approves an NUJ request to become the recognized union for PA Media's journalists, after PA resisted recognizing the union — The Central Arbitration Committee has approved an NUJ application to become the recognised union for journalists at , PA Media.
Discussion:
@pressgazette, National Union of Journalists … and HoldtheFrontPage
Alyssa Boyle / AdExchanger:
Roku launches Roku Exchange to let programmatic ad buyers access the same data as direct buyers, get more metadata about channels, and more — Roku wants ad buyers to know it's no walled garden. — On Wednesday, Roku announced what it's calling the Roku Exchange.
Discussion:
The Desk, StreamTV Insider, Paul Gubbins on LinkedIn, Joe Melendez on LinkedIn, Advanced Television and Adweek
Cuneyt Dil / Axios:
Sources: WaPo CEO Will Lewis is floating Local+, a new offering for readers who want to pay extra for premium local content, including paid newsletters — - In pre-Bezos times, the Post made the world of Washington front and center, dedicating A1 columns to city hall and zoning disputes in the suburbs.
Discussion:
The Guardian, @cuneytdil and @jayrosen_nyu
Seb Starcevic / Politico:
A Dutch court convicts and sentences six men in connection with the murder of celebrity crime reporter Peter R. De Vries on an Amsterdam street in July 2021 — A Dutch court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced six men in connection with the murder of a well-known crime reporter and television presenter.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reporters Without Borders, Deutsche Welle, RTÉ, Agence France-Presse and CBS News
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
YouTube plans to roll out its Thumbnail Test & Compare tool to all creators “in the coming weeks”, letting them test video thumbnails “evenly” across audiences — YouTube is preparing to roll out a new thumbnail testing feature to creators, which means you'll …
Discussion:
Google Help Center, TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Techmeme »