Mediagazer: US prosecutors charge former Eminem employee Joseph Strange with allegedly stealing and selling unreleased Eminem music that leaked online in January 2025 (Steven J. Horowitz/Variety)

Oliver Darcy / Status:

Sources: Axel Springer board member Martin Varsavsky criticizing Politico's Gaza coverage did not sit well with many of its journalists, who he called “woke” — An Axel Springer board member attacked POLITICO and its “woke” reporters, igniting internal backlash and spotlighting …

Discussion: @ryangrim, @ciarannugent, @heerjeet, @hasanthehun, @seamus_malek, @mattlech, @karaswisher.bsky.social, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social, @martinvars, The Independent, Jewish Insider and Breitbart

Kylie Robison / The Verge:

Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy says the Disney+ show's scripts will not be released as planned, due to fears that they could be used as AI training data — Tony Gilroy doesn't want his work to become training data. … Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy told Collider he has killed plans to publish …

Discussion: Collider, @ednewtonrex, @sarahsyd8, @camandfilm, @ben_eales and Variety, more at Techmeme »

Steven J. Horowitz / Variety:

US prosecutors charge former Eminem employee Joseph Strange with allegedly stealing and selling unreleased Eminem music that leaked online in January 2025 — A man has been charged with stealing and selling unreleased Eminem music that leaked to the web earlier this year.

Discussion: US Department of Justice, NME, Detroit Free Press, @shadyfenty_, @marshydafox, AM 800 CKLW, The Indian Express, Digital Music News, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Rolling Stone, KDFX-TV and Associated Press

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Ziff Davis' Everyday Health acquires women-focused newsletter company theSkimm, whose co-CEOs will stay on with no plans to lay off any of its 75 staffers — Ziff Davis, one of the largest publicly-traded digital media companies, has acquired TheSkimm, executives told Axios.

Discussion: Adweek, @sarafischer, The Wrap, @mediaevan, @ziffdavis, Jennifer Meyer on LinkedIn, Amy Sterner Nelson on LinkedIn, Danielle Weisberg on LinkedIn and Variety

Financial Times:

Sources detail how Jeff Bezos making peace with Trump has stunned WaPo's newsroom, which has seen at least a dozen seasoned journalists leave for competitors — In the past year, the Amazon founder has executed a sharp public reversal in his relationship with the president that has surprised even longtime associates

Reuters:

Sources: Axel Springer is considering a sale of its affiliate marketing unit Awin, which could be worth ~$436M — German media group Axel Springer is considering a sale of its affiliate marketing unit Awin, according to three people familiar with the matter, following the planned break-up its owners agreed last year.

Discussion: MediaPost

Trip Gabriel / New York Times:

K.W. Lee, a pioneering Asian American journalist whose reporting led to the release of a Korean immigrant on death row in California, died on March 8 at age 96 — His reporting sought to humanize and unite Asian Americans. It also led to the release of a Korean immigrant on death row.

Camille Bromley / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A with Rest of World Senior Reporter Viola Zhou on covering China's tech industry and Chinese entrepreneurs' reluctance to talk with international media — The Trump administration thinks of Chinese tech as a dangerous rival to Silicon Valley. How do Chinese companies see it?

Discussion: Bloomberg and @chameauleon.bsky.social

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

RTL Group reports FY 2024 streaming revenue up 42% YoY to €403M, subscribers in Germany, Hungary, and France up 21% to 6.8M, and expects profitability by 2026 — RTL's streaming subscribers in Germany, Hungary and France jumped 21 percent to 6.8 million last year, the company announced …

Discussion: Variety, Reuters, Luxembourg Times, C21Media and RTL Group

Leena Tailor / The Hollywood Reporter:

How Bluey became a brand worth an estimated $2B, spawning immersive experiences, books, podcasts, toys, albums, themed hotel rooms, and more — The brand has spawned immersive experiences, books, podcasts, toys, albums, clothing, homeware, themed hotel rooms, Facebook groups and a mobile game …

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Newsletter service Ghost launches support for ActivityPub integration in beta for Ghost(Pro) subscribers, letting them share their posts across the fediverse — Newsletter platform Ghost, an open source competitor to Substack, is now connected to the fediverse, also known as the open social web.

Discussion: Ghost, The Fediverse Report and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Miranda Green / Nieman Lab:

Greenpeace accuses Dakota Access Pipeline's owner of using a direct mailer, stylized as a local newspaper called Central ND News, to sway the jury in a lawsuit — Though Central ND News promises to “fill the void in community news after years of decline in local reporting by legacy media” …