Top News:
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
RFE/RL sues USAGM and its officials Kari Lake and Victor Morales, arguing they acted unlawfully and unconstitutionally in blocking funds allocated by Congress — The grant cancellation would violate the Constitution and federal laws, according to the case filed by RFE/RL in the US District Court for DC
Discussion:
The Desk, Reuters and @passantino.bsky.social
David Roeder / Chicago Sun Times:
Around 20% of Chicago Sun-Times staff, or 30 employees, took buyouts and have resigned, including most of the editorial board; 5 WBEZ workers also took buyouts — Columnists, editorial writers and many more head for the exits as the paper's nonprofit owner, Chicago Public Media, deals with fiscal hardship.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Crain's Chicago Business, @ellery.bsky.social and @leebey1.bsky.social
Danielle Kaye / New York Times:
The US DOJ charges film director Carl Erik Rinsch for allegedly defrauding a “streaming platform” for $11M; an arbitrator ruled in May that he owed Netflix ~$9M — Prosecutors say Carl Erik Rinsch used funds for a science-fiction series for personal investments.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Associated Press, DNyuz, Rolling Stone, Deadline, The Verge and The Hollywood Reporter
Freedom of the Press Foundation:
Wired says it plans to drop paywalls for articles that are primarily based on public records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act — The news business isn't just any business — it serves a vital role in our democracy, recognized by the First Amendment. But media outlets can't serve that role if they're bankrupt.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, CNN, @stevenlevy, Stephanie Smith on LinkedIn, @johncusack.bsky.social, @wired, @seth-stern.bsky.social, @eloquence@social.coop, @gregwilliams718.bsky.social, @angusmaccaull.bsky.social, @jonahblank.bsky.social, @josephcox@infosec.exchange, MediaPost, Talking Biz News, @werd.io, @dbeecher.bsky.social, @leahfeiger.bsky.social, @dsilverman@mastodon.social, @warnercrocker.bsky.social, @timmarchman.bsky.social, @evystadium.bsky.social and @katie-drummond.bsky.social
Reuters:
Sources: CCI officials raided the Indian offices of global ad giants, including GroupM, Publicis, Dentsu, and Interpublic Group, over alleged price collusion — The Indian antitrust body has raided the offices of many global advertising giants, including GroupM, Publicis, Dentsu and Interpublic Group …
Discussion:
@reuters, Aditya Kalra on LinkedIn, @reuters, Press Trust of India and MEDIANAMA
Bloomberg.com:
Community Notes, first on X and rolling out on Meta's platforms, fall well short of stopping misinformation, and eliminating the rewards would go much further — The crowdsourced fact-checking system, which Meta adopted from X, is falling well short of stopping the spread of misinformation.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Nectar Gan / CNN:
Chinese nationalists and state media praise Trump's decision to dismantle VOA, RFA, and other US-funded media outlets that broadcast to authoritarian regimes — Hong Kong CNN — One nationalist influencer called it “truly gratifying.” Another said he was laughing his head off.
Discussion:
Politico, Al Jazeera, Reuters, DNyuz, Just Security, @taiwanfcc, @radiofreeasia, @boerdeng, @hadas_gold, @wang_maya, @pearsonelaine, MSNBC, The Desk, The Hill, Global Times, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal, @wbng.org, @brianstelter, @ewong, Phelim Kine on LinkedIn, Taiwan Foreign …, South China Morning Post, Global Times, TVNewsCheck, Poynter, BBC, Radio Free Asia, Punch Newspapers, The Guardian, New York Times, The Diplomat, ABC, @passantino.bsky.social, NBC News, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg and HuffPost
RELATED:
Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:
How NYT Cooking changed in the TikTok era, with an app, website, YouTube channel, and newsletter, focused on home chefs with fewer skills in the kitchen — After launching 10 years ago, NYT Cooking has succeeded in a crowded field with its blend of sleek videos, massive recipe catalog and an active community of home chefs.
Discussion:
Jordan Cohen on LinkedIn and Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks plans to step down in spring 2025; President Biden had renominated Starks in 2023 for a new term that ends in 2027 — Geoffrey Starks, one of two Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission, said that he will step down this spring.
Discussion:
TV Tech, @brendancarrfcc, @brianstelter, MediaPost, @viacristiano, @viacristiano, @geoffreystarks, Ars Technica, @kaplanikids.bsky.social, The Verge, Inside Radio, The Desk, RADIO ONLINE, Radio Ink, Bloomberg, Federal Communications Commission, Cord Cutters News, TVNewsCheck, Radio & Television … and Barrett Media
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
European news publishers say offering complimentary access to The New York Times as part of their premium subscription packages led to a subscription boost — “There's no reason to think this shouldn't work in most markets where subscription-based payment is already well advanced.”
Angela Giuffrida / The Guardian:
Italian newspaper Il Foglio says it published the world's first newspaper edition entirely produced by AI, part of a month-long experiment to show AI's impact — Il Foglio says artificial intelligence used 'for everything - the writing, the headlines, the quotes ... even the irony'
Jem Aswad / Variety:
RIAA: US paid music streaming subscriptions hit 100M in 2024; streaming revenue grew 4% YoY to $14.9B; revenue from ad-supported services fell 2% to $1.8B — For the first time, paid streaming subscriptions hit the 100 million mark in the U.S. last year, while vinyl sales continued their nearly …
Discussion:
@riaa, Deadline, Digital Music News, RIAA, @riaa, Music Business Worldwide, The Hollywood Reporter, The Verge and Billboard
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
At a town hall, ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic sought to reassure staffers after layoffs and said there is a strategy to grow the ABC News brand — ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic led an employee town hall at Disney's new New York office Tuesday.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline and New York Post
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