Top News:


Filing: Newsmax paid $40M in 2024 to settle the Smartmatic defamation lawsuit over false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 US election — Newsmax Media has agreed to pay $40 million to settle allegations it defamed Smartmatic by reporting false claims …


The Guardian, City AM, GB News, and Newsquest appear to have introduced “consent or pay” models in recent months, joining Mail Online, Mirror, and more — The Guardian has become the latest UK news publisher to begin requiring readers to pay for website access if they do not agree to being tracked by third-party cookies.
Discussion:
@nigelcallaghan.bsky.social, @martinsfp.bsky.social and @pressgazette.co.uk


Streamers court YouTubers for new shows or spinoffs; sources: Amazon made $100M+ in profit on Beast Games and Netflix held talks with Dude Perfect for a series — Disney, Peacock and others pursue YouTube stars for new shows; Amazon's ‘Beast Games’ boasts profit and gears up for more seasons
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Hernan Lopez on LinkedIn, @tvgrimreaper and @jtoonkel


John Feinstein, a Washington Post sportswriter who wrote more than 40 books including A Season on the Brink, about basketball coach Bob Knight, has died at 69 — He had a long affiliation with The Washington Post and wrote books including “A Season on the Brink,” about Indiana University men's basketball coach Bob Knight.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Defector, Poynter, Compliance Podcast Network, New York Times, Barrett Media, UPI, Fox News, Associated Press, TMZ.com, Deadline, Washington Monthly, KSDK-TV, @knoxrob1.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, @tommytomlinson.bsky.social, @lukerussert.bsky.social, @sallyjenx.bsky.social, Awful Announcing, New York Post, @sethemerson.bsky.social, @bfquinn.bsky.social, @petegain.es, @lukedecock.bsky.social, @norlander.bsky.social, @jadande.bsky.social, New York Daily News, PBS NewsHour and r/Journalism

Kari Lake, who joined the USAGM in February, says she is canceling the agency's contracts with news services including AP, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse — A senior advisor to President Donald Trump said Thursday she was moving to cancel long-established contracts between three international …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Desk, @maynereport, @buynevich, TVNewsCheck and @karilake


CNBC is expanding its CNBC Sport brand by adding a weekly TV series, live events, and launching a series of long-form CNBC Sport-branded productions — CNBC Sport, launched by reporter Alex Sherman, will add a weekly TV series and launch a series of long-form docs (starting with a Steph Curry special) in the coming weeks.


Dazn announces a multi-year deal to stream LIV Golf in Japan, Canada, and several European countries, alongside the LIV Golf+ service — LIV Golf's broadcast reach will extend to Japan, Canada and much of Europe thanks to a multiyear partnership with London-based sports entertainment platform DAZN …


China announces new rules requiring companies to label AI-generated material, either explicitly or via metadata, starting September 1 — China joined the EU and US in rolling out new regulation to control disinformation by requiring labeling of synthetic content online.


A look at the success of Chinese animated movie Ne Zha 2, grossing $2B+ globally, and its impact on the Chinese film industry and Hollywood's future in China — Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 recently became the first non-Hollywood movie to cross $2B worldwide, and in so doing joins …
Discussion:
@thedragonfeeder and @deadline


Meghan Markle and Lemonada Media announce Confessions of a Female Founder, a weekly podcast featuring conversations with women entrepreneurs, premiering April 8 — Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is back with her first new podcast in more than two years: “Confessions of a Female Founder,” …
Discussion:
The Sun, Us Weekly, E! Online, @dannygroner.bsky.social, Yahoo Life, Cele|bitchy, People, HELLO!, HELLO!, The Hollywood Reporter, Us Weekly, The Daily Wire, Vanity Fair, GB News, Marie Claire, Tatler, SheKnows, The Hollywood Gossip, Vogue, E! Online, Mirror, TechCrunch, InStyle, New York Post and Deadline


Reddit will let users hide ads from a given advertiser account from their feeds for “at least a year”; some users report seeing a daily limit for hiding ads — Reddit has shown a growing commitment to promoting ads on its platform, especially since going public a year ago.
Discussion:
The Verge, Hindustan Times, Haaretz and r/RedditSafety, more at Techmeme »


Reuters journalist Raphael Satter sues the Indian government for revoking his Overseas Citizen status, after he wrote about hack-for-hire company Appin in 2023 — Raphael Satter had his OCI card taken away after publishing a story critical of an Indian businessman