Mediagazer: Memo: Amazon MGM Studios head Jen Salke is stepping down to start a new production entity; the former NBC Entertainment president joined Amazon in 2018 (Brian Welk/IndieWire)

8:05 PM ET, March 27, 2025

Top News:

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

AP photographer Evan Vucci and AP Chief White House Correspondent Zeke Miller testified Thursday about damage done by the White House ban on the wire service — Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci testified at a court hearing in the AP's lawsuit over being kicked out of the White House press pool.

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The Hill, Mediaite, @whoa-magic.lol, @kyledcheney.bsky.social, Giada Zampano on LinkedIn, CNN, Saeed Ahmed on LinkedIn, Deadline, @danlinder.bsky.social, The Associated Press and The Wrap

Michael Savage / The Guardian:

BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was arrested in Turkey on Wednesday and deported from the country today after reporting on anti-government protests — Mark Lowen considered ‘threat to public order’ after reports on nationwide anti-government demonstrations — The BBC correspondent Mark Lowen …

Reuters:

Turkey releases seven journalists it detained while covering mass anti-government protests, including Agence France-Presse journalist Yasin Akgul — A Turkish court on Thursday freed Agence France-Presse journalist Yasin Akgul, detained this week while covering mass protests over the jailing …

Discussion: BBC, CBS News, Bloomberg, Mediaite, @pierocastellano.com, Committee to Protect …, Mirror, Reporters Without Borders, Breitbart and Al Jazeera

John Nichols / The Nation:

Robert McChesney, a co-founder of media advocacy nonprofit Free Press and a globally respected media scholar and author, died from cancer at 72 — The academic and activist inspired generations of people to challenge corporate power and support a media reform movement that lives on. — Bluesky

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Vanity Fair, Free Press, @notaaroncraig.bsky.social, @ajbauer.bsky.social, @jenmercieca.bsky.social, @nicholsuprising.bsky.social, @froomkin.bsky.social, @timkarr.bsky.social, @victorpickard.bsky.social, @dankennedy.net, @joeycoleman.ca, @joshuabenton.com, @mediamorphis.bsky.social, @christopherterry.bsky.social and TVNewsCheck

Mike Isaac / New York Times:

Meta adds a Friends tab on Facebook that will show content just from users' friends, with no recommended posts, as it brings back “OG” Facebook experiences — A new Friends Tab will feature posts from a user's friends and relatives, which was the original mission of the app.

Discussion: Meta, Australian Financial Review, Axios, Deadline, Tubefilter, Business Insider, PCWorld, Social Media Today, CNBC, Engadget, @jonkropf.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, @dannygroner.bsky.social, MacRumors and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:

The widow of Pierre Zakrzewski, the Fox News cameraman who was killed while working in Ukraine in 2022, filed a £9M suit against Fox in the UK earlier in March — Michelle Ross-Stanton, the wife of Fox News video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski, is seeking more than $11 million in compensation.

Discussion: Adweek, Deseret News and @washingtonpost.com

Danielle Kaye / New York Times:

VOA Director Michael Abramowitz sues Kari Lake, Victor Morales, and USAGM, alleging dismantling VOA violates federal law and separation of powers — The lawsuit by the director and journalists is the latest legal challenge to the administration's bid to dismantle the government-funded broadcaster.

Discussion: The Contrarian, JURIST, Politico, Raw Story and Deadline

Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:
Kari Lake withdraws the cancellation of RFE/RL's funding and argues RFE/RL's lawsuit is “moot” after a court granted the outlet a temporary restraining order

Discussion: Reuters, The Diplomat, New Republic, The Independent, The Hill, Raw Story, @kyledcheney.bsky.social, @chrisgeidner.bsky.social and NPR

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:

After OpenAI released ChatGPT's new image generator, social media has been flooded with AI memes in the style of Studio Ghibli, highlighting copyright concerns — It's only been a day since ChatGPT's new AI image generator went live, and social media feeds are already flooded with AI-generated memes …

Discussion: 404 Media, Business Insider, PC Gamer, @trungtphan, CNET, @uncledoomer, Associated Press, @mdurbar, Futurism, Breitbart, MobileSyrup, Fortune, New York Times, UnHerd, @andybrockman.bsky.social, @nickmillermusic, @peduarte, @nuberodesign, Comic Book, @adtac_, @guiltfoyle, @bcmerchant, @btckaz, @bigblackjacobin, @thejasonrink, @indian_bronson, @cpaik, @hebennigatu, @pjaccetturo, @ednewtonrex, @gdb, @niles100, @thekitze, Eric Calderon on LinkedIn, @bizlet7, @petergyang, @adonis_singh, Ars Technica, @nikitabier, @tobi, IndieWire, @mrewanmorrison, @uncledoomer, @carnage4life@mas.to, @jiratickets, @ednewtonrex, @bartlebytaco, @theinnerobserver.bsky.social, The Indian Express, Forbes, @slimjosa, @ausscreenwriter, @heybarsee, @wildbarestepf, @sorayanadiamcdonald.com, Variety, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, Stella Inabo on LinkedIn, @nekotsukistudio.bsky.social, @SuffolkLITLab@esq.social, @jael.bsky.social, The US Sun, @loudmouthjulia, @grantslatton, @venturetwins, CoinDesk, NDTV, VentureBeat, The Verge and Not the Bee, more at Techmeme »

Financial Times:

Since the 2024 US election, Fox News has gained 125 new blue-chip advertisers, including Amazon and UBS, and its 8pm-11pm viewership in 2025 is up 50% YoY to 3M — Viewer numbers have soared in past year, prompting many companies to return to the Murdoch-owned channel

Discussion: Mediaite, The Desk and @pressgazette.co.uk

Brian Welk / IndieWire:

Memo: Amazon MGM Studios head Jen Salke is stepping down to start a new production entity; the former NBC Entertainment president joined Amazon in 2018 — No immediate successor will be been named, and film chief Courtenay Valenti and TV head Vernon Sanders will report directly to Prime Video chief Mike Hopkins.

Discussion: Variety, New York Times, The Wrap, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, The Information, World of Reel, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Cord Cutters News

Julia Ornedo / The Daily Beast:

Richard Carlson, a former Voice of America director, former CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and father of Tucker Carlson, has died at 84 — REST IN PEACE — Dick Carlson first became a reporter in the 1960s and spent the majority of his life working as a journalist.

Discussion: @tuckercarlson, The Wrap, @rdotinga, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit and RADAR

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Ex-Endeavor exec Patrick Whitesell's new company takes a stake in Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions; sources say it's a 10% stake sale, valuing Omaha at $750M+ — Peyton Manning has a new business partner. — A new platform run by Patrick Whitesell, the former executive chairman of Endeavor …

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Axios, Variety, Barrett Media, Front Office Sports and Deadline

Deadline:

After over 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival will leave Park City, Utah, for Boulder, Colorado, in 2027; Boulder offered $34M in tax incentives over 10 years — After over 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival is leaving Park City for a new and lucrative home in Boulder, Colorado

Carmen Reinicke / Bloomberg:

AppLovin's stock closes down 20%+ after short seller Muddy Waters released a report, the third such short report against the company in about a month — It's at least the third report from a short seller in about a month. In February, Fuzzy Panda and Culper Research both published short reports …

Discussion: CNBC, Yahoo Finance, Benzinga, Muddy Waters Research and Investor's Business Daily, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Sources: the BBC drops plans to sell ads on some of its podcasts when streamed on third-party platforms like Spotify in the UK, following industry backlash

Discussion: Advanced Television

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD's Max announces two new packages in France, bundling Max Basic with content from outlets Le Monde and Télérama, for €15 and €7, respectively

Discussion: David Urgell on LinkedIn, Broadband TV News, Cord Cutters News and Adweek

John Koblin / New York Times:
CBS cancels late-night show After Midnight; the 2025-2026 season will be the first time in 30 years that CBS won't have original programming in the 12:30 slot

Discussion: Variety, Newsbusters, New York Post, UPI, LateNighter, Deadline, Entertainment Weekly, TVNewsCheck, TVLine, The Wrap, Seriously? OMG! WTF?, The Hollywood Reporter and Just Jared

Nieman Lab:
As the National Trust for Local News seeks a new CEO, the outgoing CEO, execs, and journalists discuss its missteps, like lack of transparency and salary issues

Discussion: International Symposium …

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Magna forecasts a 9.6% YoY jump in 2025 digital media ad revenue in the US, with $293B in total spend, and a 1% YoY drop in traditional media ad sales to $103B

Discussion: Deadline, MAGNA, The Wrap, Quartz, TVNewsCheck, Inside Radio, MediaPost, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, WORLD SCREEN, Ad Age and Wall Street Journal

Earlier Picks:

Mollie Cahillane / Sports Business Journal:
ESPN is relocating the production of the 1am ET edition of SportsCenter and its soccer studio shows from Los Angeles to its headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut

Discussion: Awful Announcing, The Wrap, SFGATE, Los Angeles Times, Barrett Media, The US Sun, @andrewmarchand, TVNewsCheck, Mollie Cahillane on LinkedIn, New York Times, Front Office Sports and Sports Media Watch

Colleen McClain / Pew Research Center:
A survey of US adults: 34% support a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023, and 49% say TikTok is a national security threat, down from 59% in May 2023

Discussion: WTTG-TV, Passionfruit, Euronews, Al Jazeera, @johngramlich.bsky.social, New York Post, The Hill, The US Sun, PR Daily and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
In a podcast interview with Tucker Carlson, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong defends remaking the paper, saying “we will not be an echo chamber”

Discussion: @fgbjr@indieweb.social, @nicolefcarr.bsky.social and @murshedz.bsky.social

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Deloitte: 56% of Gen Zs and 43% of millennials surveyed find social media content “more relevant than traditional TV shows and movies”

Discussion: The Streamable, Next in Media, Fast Company, Deloitte Insights, @tvgrimreaper, Media Play News, Tubefilter, The Desk, Shawn E. Shepard on LinkedIn, Andrea Abrams on LinkedIn, Adam Steingart on LinkedIn, Streaming Better, Fortune, The Wrap, Cord Cutters News and @curttalkstv.bsky.social

Charlie Nash / Mediaite:
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accuses PBS and NPR of “brainwashing children” and making them transgender ahead of a DOGE subcommittee hearing with their CEOs

From Techmeme:

CNBC:
OpenAI closes a $40B funding round, the most ever raised by a private tech company, at a $300B post-money valuation; SoftBank led the round with $30B

Ian King / Bloomberg:
At the Intel Vision conference, CEO Lip-Bu Tan says Intel plans to spin off non-core assets, create new products including custom semiconductors, and more

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Sam Altman says OpenAI is planning to “release a powerful new open-weight language model with reasoning in the coming months”

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