Top News:
Andrew Marchand / New York Times:
Sources: ESPN and Stephen A. Smith agree to a five-year $100M contract that has Smith continuing on his daily First Take show and scaling back other commitments — Stephen A. Smith has agreed to a new contract with ESPN worth at least $100 million for five years, an agreement that will result …
Discussion:
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Sean Burch / The Wrap:
Paramount files two motions in Trump's lawsuit against CBS News, one seeking dismissal on First Amendment grounds and the second saying Texas is the wrong venue — Paramount says President Trump's lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris is “an affront to the First Amendment”
Bloomberg:
Sources: the FCC asked 13 public radio stations, including Boston's WBUR, for details on past sponsorships by March 31, to assess potential guideline violations — - The agency sent similar letters to NPR and PBS in January — Chair Carr investigating whether public stations airing ads
Discussion:
@mediaevan, @dkistner1111.bsky.social and @christopherterry.bsky.social
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
Apple defeats a copyright lawsuit by tech journalist Dan Ackerman, who accused the company of ripping off his book about Tetris for a movie on the same subject — Apple (AAPL.O) convinced a New York federal court on Thursday to dismiss a copyright lawsuit brought by tech journalist Dan Ackerman …
Discussion:
AppleInsider
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Sources: GB News and the Spectator owner Paul Marshall met senior figures in UK's right-leaning media to discuss a plan to fund a new generation of journalists — Multimillionaire Paul Marshall understood to be talking to senior figures in Britain's right-leaning media about the idea
Discussion:
@michaelsavage, @joeehanley, @josiah.writes.news, @ianfraser.bsky.social and @blooms-ghost.bsky.social
Vikram Dodd / The Guardian:
A review finds UK police correctly investigated Daily Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson over alleged racism after a complaint about a tweet she later deleted — Telegraph columnist was visited by ‘exemplary’ officer after complaint about inaccurate tweet she later deleted
Discussion:
@stephenfarrow.bsky.social, @hectorthehog.bsky.social, GB News and Jersey Evening Post
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
A journalist using the pseudonym Dissent Doe, who runs US-based DataBreaches.net, refuses a UK court order to remove two posts on a cyberattack at HCRG — A U.S.-based independent cybersecurity journalist has declined to comply with a U.K. court-ordered injunction that was sought following …
Discussion:
@lorenzofb and DataBreaches.Net
Nate Silver / Silver Bulletin:
Disney was never particularly interested in running FiveThirtyEight as a business; the data-driven approach to political coverage still has a bright future — Last night, as President Trump delivered his State of the Union address 1, the Wall Street Journal reported that ABC News would lay off …
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Memo: BBC News CEO Deborah Turness announces a new department that will use AI to give people more personalized content and focus on reaching under-25-year-olds — Boss says BBC News's reach is ‘defying gravity’ and it must use AI to ‘support and accelerate our growth’
Reuters:
Vivendi says the net asset value of its investments was €4.83B as of December 31, 2024, following the French publishing group's spinoff of three companies — Vivendi (VIV.PA) said on Thursday that the net asset value of its investments amounted to 4.83 billion euros ($5.23 billion) …
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Audacy says it “has made workforce reductions” to “stay competitive”; sources say ~100 employees were laid off this week and cuts may exceed 300 by mid-March — Radio broadcaster Audacy issued sweeping layoffs this week that have impacted at least 100 workers in local …
Discussion:
Barrett Media, Kansas City Business Journal, @thedesk.net, RADIO ONLINE and Awful Announcing
Washington Post:
A look at the Trump administration's strategy to transform its traditional press shop into a rapid-response influencer operation via memes, TikTok, and podcasts — The Trump administration has transformed its traditional press shop into a rapid-response influencer operation, and “they're all offense, all the time.”
Discussion:
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