Top News:
Axios:
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, answering claims that USAID spent millions on Politico Pro, says DOGE will cancel $8M in Politico subscriptions — - Right-wing personalities are using USAspending.gov to dig up more payments from the government to media organizations …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, CNN, Daily Mail, Mediaite, The Verge, The Daily Caller, @repboebert, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @timcast, @karilake, @krassenstein, @adamkinzinger, @billybinion, @ike_saul, @davidstrom, @binarybits, @tysonbrody, @ggreenwald, The Post Millennial, @jessicalessin, The Independent, IJR, @billybinion, @kylenabecker, @byrontau, New Jersey Online, @kylenabecker, @ike_saul, @willsommer, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, @karaswisher.bsky.social, Newser, @billybinion, @ike_saul, Fox News, @scottnover, @_cingraham, @voberoi, @vtg2, @ike_saul, @knittingknots2@mstdn.social, Louder With Crowder, The Dispatch, HotAir, Washington Post, Althouse, freebeacon.com, New Republic, @SteveThompson@mastodon.social, TVNewsCheck, Yahoo News, New York Post, Shore News Network, Lead Stories, Ace of Spades HQ and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Isabella Kwai / New York Times:
Trump amplifies a conspiracy theory that “billions” in USAID and other agencies' funds were stolen to pay Politico and others for positive coverage of Democrats — President Trump spread unfounded claims that the government had paid Politico and other news media outlets for positive coverage of Democrats.
Discussion:
@rikkiratliff, @mtaibbi, @rubinreport, @armanddoma, @ryangrim, @nancyscola, @elonmusk, @mehdirhasan, @krassenstein, @billackman, @lhfang, @cabot_phillips, @billybinion, @jeremymbarr, @ike_saul, @cheetah.bsky.social, @peterschiff, @armanddoma, @parkermolloy.com, OpenTheBooks, Raw Story, @realDonaldTrump …, @stuartathompson.bsky.social, @stuartathompson.bsky.social, @willsommer.bsky.social, @brianstelter, Blaze Media and Digby's Hullabaloo
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
FCC Chair Brendan Carr releases the CBS Harris transcript and seeks comment on a complaint about a CBS station; commissioner Anna Gomez calls the moves reckless — The complete interview, which is at the center of a lawsuit filed by President Trump, shows that “60 Minutes” aired a concise version of Ms. Harris's answer on Israel.
Discussion:
Federal Communications Commission, Deadline, @brendancarrfcc, New Republic, Variety, Fox News, The Federalist, @agomezfcc, @agomezfcc, @agomezfcc, Washington Post, @davidguilbault.bsky.social, freebeacon.com, Federal Communications Commission, Voice of America, ZeroHedge News, Twitchy, Associated Press, CNN, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, Reuters, The Wrap and Daily Mail
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Trump calls on CBS to “terminate” 60 Minutes, and says “CBS should lose its license”, amid his $10B lawsuit against CBS over the Kamala Harris interview — President Donald Trump called on CBS to cancel its long-running newsmagazine, “60 Minutes,” …
CBS News:
60 Minutes publishes transcripts and video from its interview with VP Kamala Harris that the FCC requested, as the agency reviews the Paramount-Skydance merger
Discussion:
NPR, The Wrap, The Hill, Mediaite, Fox News, Ace of Spades HQ, The Floridian, NewscastStudio, Blaze Media, Poynter, PJ Media, Townhall, Newser, Axios, UPI, TV Tech, New York Post, Washington Examiner, The Independent, The Post Millennial, Fox News, The Hollywood Reporter, The Gateway Pundit, Deadline, Reason, Inside Radio, Radio & Television …, Radio Ink and TVNewsCheck
Charlotte Klein / New York Magazine:
The Bulwark had its first profitable year in 2024, and its Substack, which has 76K paid subscribers, is gaining 700 to 1,000 paid subscribers every day or two — The explosive success of The Bulwark. — It was the day after Donald Trump's inauguration, and Tim Miller was struggling …
Variety:
The British Film Institute: UK film and high-end TV production spend reached £5.6B in 2024, up 31% from 2023 and but down from 2022's all-time high of £6.27B — Film and high-end TV production in the U.K. made considerable gains last year, according to new figures from the British Film Institute.
Discussion:
Financial Times, Advanced Television, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and British Film Commission
RELATED:
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
The British Film Institute: UK broadcasters slashed their spending on high-end TV shows to the lowest level since 2015, while US streamers increased spending — Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky also among UK broadcasters making cuts as Netflix, Disney and Amazon pile on pressure
Discussion:
WORLD SCREEN and Deadline
Ernie Smith / Tedium:
WBD releases more than 30 movies on YouTube for free across five channels over the past month, apparently without DRM; some are gems, some are stinkers — A major studio is apparently treating YouTube as a place to drop some of its archive films that have lost their cinematic luster.
Discussion:
Variety, Gizmodo, Engadget, Streaming Better, Cord Cutters News, @mlanger@mastodon.world, @simonowens.bsky.social, @scripting.com, @ernie.tedium.co, @tcarmody.bsky.social, @weinberg.social, @hitrewindpod.bsky.social, @ernie.tedium.co, @ernie@writing.exchange, @nicktheandersen.bsky.social, @ernie@writing.exchange and Hacker News
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Disney lowers its content spending estimate, including for sports rights, for FY 2025 by $1B to ~$23B; for FY 2024, Disney's content spend was $23.4B — As Wall Street analysts parse its earnings beat and stagnate streaming subscriber growth, the company revises its spending expectation …
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @ballmatthew, @eric_seufert, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social and Benzinga
Mia Sato / The Verge:
StackCommerce, an online shopping platform creating affiliate marketing content, acquired Reviewed from Gannett on December 1 after its shutdown in August 2024 — Now, it's back from the dead under a new owner. … Now, it's back from the dead under a new owner.
Discussion:
The Information
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
Spotify and Warner Music sign a multi-year deal that covers recorded music and music publishing and “delivers new benefits for artists, songwriters, and fans” — “This major agreement delivers new benefits for artists, songwriters, and fans, while unlocking further collaboration that expands the music ecosystem.”
Discussion:
The Wrap, TechCrunch, Variety, Reuters, Warner Music Group Corp., Billboard, Deadline, The Verge, MusicRow.com, Music Business Worldwide and Music Week
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Warner Music buys a controlling stake in Tempo Music, which owns the song rights of Bruno Mars, Adele, and more; a source says the deal values Tempo at $450M — - Warner is acquiring a controlling stake in Tempo Music — Tempo owns all or parts of songs by many top hitmakers
Sean Burch / The Wrap:
News Corp reports Q2 revenue up 5% YoY to $2.24B, net income up 58% YoY to $306M, Dow Jones revenue up 3% YoY to $600M, and WSJ subscriptions up 4% YoY to 4.2M — The news giant lost 30,000 WSJ customers during the holiday quarter as overall Dow Jones subscriber growth was flat
Discussion:
Press Gazette, News Corporation, New York Post, Reuters and Capital Brief
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