Mediagazer: No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham says co-director Hamdan Ballal has been freed after being beaten by Israeli settlers and arrested by soldiers (Deadline)

1:45 PM ET, March 25, 2025

Top News:

No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham says co-director Hamdan Ballal has been freed after being beaten by Israeli settlers and arrested by soldiers — Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian co-directors of Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, has been freed after being detained and beaten …

Discussion: @yuval_abraham, New York Times, @yuval_abraham, Variety, Yahoo News, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, NPR, UPI, Forbes, Al Jazeera, Reuters, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, The Daily Caller, CNN, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Consequence, The Week, GoldDerby, The Guardian, Haaretz, USA Today, Committee to Protect …, Sky News, BuzzFeed, The Economic Times, Wall Street Journal, @yuval_abraham, NDTV, @monicalmarks, @dropsitenews, @sorayanadiamcdonald.com, Yahoo Movies, ArtReview, @yuval_abraham, @yuval_abraham, Channel 4, @nextbestpicture, International Documentary …, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, @marwilliamson.bsky.social, @georgejreije.bsky.social, Variety, The Wrap, TMZ.com, @harikunzru.bsky.social, @zidan.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, @lailalalami.com, @jcollins.bsky.social, Entertainment Weekly, @dryad.technology, @trinityphoenix.bsky.social, Rolling Stone, The Forward, NBC Bay Area, @amyspitalnick.bsky.social, @fmls.bsky.social, Decider, WTTG-TV and IndieWire

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Megyn Kelly plans to launch podcast network MK Media, starting with shows hosted by Mark Halperin, columnist Maureen Callahan, and commentator Link Lauren — The first three creators to join the MK Media network will be journalist Mark Halperin, culture columnist Maureen Callahan and influencer Link Lauren.

Discussion: @djmissbluesky.bsky.social, Megyn Kelly and Barrett Media

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher are set to testify to Congress on March 26 at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's “Anti-American Airwaves” hearing — Top executives from the public media networks are bracing for a hearing on Wednesday organized by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Discussion: @benmullin and TVNewsCheck

Kif Leswing / CNBC:

3D tech company Infinite Reality acquires Napster for $207M; Infinite's CEO says that the file-sharing phenomenon will be used for marketing in the metaverse — A quarter century ago, Napster was notorious on the internet for allowing people to swap songs for free, long before the music industry …

Discussion: Variety, Adweek, Axios, Engadget, Billboard, Digital Music News, Infinite Reality Inc., Entrepreneur, Music Ally, The Hollywood Reporter, Karina Kogan on LinkedIn, @infinite_ir, Music Business Worldwide, @sarafischer and Matt Wilson on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

The Daily Mail crosses 250K digital subscribers, including more than 163K Mail+ subscribers, and appoints Celia Duncan as its first global women's editor — The Mail has crossed the quarter-of-a-million digital subscribers mark after expanding its Mail+ partial paywall into America.

Discussion: Daily Mail, ResponseSource, @chronotope.aramzs.xyz and @michaelsderby.bsky.social

Al Jazeera:

Separate Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed two media workers: Hossam Shabat, a journalist who worked for Al Jazeera Mubasher, and Mohammad Mansour — Mohammad Mansour, who worked for Palestine Today, has also been killed in a separate Israeli attack.

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Discussion: New York Post, The Desk, The Guardian, Axios, Florida Politics, @mediaevan.bsky.social, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and Fortune

Ian Youngs / BBC:

Barb: Netflix's Adolescence becomes the first streaming show to top the UK's weekly TV ratings, with the first episode drawing 6.45M viewers in its debut week — Netflix drama Adolescence has become the first streaming show to top the UK's weekly TV ratings, beating BBC shows like The Apprentice …

Discussion: The Guardian, Variety, Screen Rant, GB News, The Independent, The Hollywood Reporter, Mirror, Deadline, GB News, Digital Spy, The Sun, @shaneoleary1, Advanced Television, @whatonnetflix, Deadline, @planetbelfast.bsky.social and Daily Mail

Reuters:

India's Finance Minister says the country will scrap a 6% tax on digital advertisements, easing costs for US tech giants, as a way of soothing US trade concerns — India will scrap a tax of 6% on digital advertisements online, the finance minister said on Tuesday, easing costs for U.S. tech giants …

Discussion: MEDIANAMA, New York Post, CNBC-TV18, Business Standard, Moneycontrol, Moneycontrol, Times Bull, Business Today, The Indian Express, Business Today, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times, Times of India and r/GeopoliticsIndia, more at Techmeme »

Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nielsen: YouTube made up 11.6% of all US TV use, the most of among media providers; viewers over age 50, accounted for 36% of time spent watching YouTube on TV — The service supplants Disney atop the Nielsen list for the second time. — YouTube commanded more TV time than any other media provider …

Discussion: Radio & Television …, The Desk, Nielsen, @lucas_shaw, The Wrap, WORLD SCREEN, Deadline, Media Play News and Cord Cutters News

Chloe Mac Donnell / The Guardian:

Fashion magazine i-D, bought by Karlie Kloss' Bedford Media after Vice's 2023 bankruptcy, returns to UK newsstands, priced at £20; i-D plans two issues per year — Publication makes long-awaited return to UK newsstands amid renewed interest in luxury and indie titles

Discussion: @pollybirkbeck, @ali_sivi and @ungodlyandroid

Bloomberg:

TikTok memo: Blake Chandlee, who oversaw TikTok's ad sales and marketing globally, is moving to an advisory role; TikTok faces an April 5 deadline for a US sale — A TikTok executive responsible for its core advertising business is stepping aside as part of a reorganization …

more at Techmeme »

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