Mediagazer: Google says it is bringing its Rewarded Video ad format to Roblox, letting users watch ads in exchange for in-game benefits, like virtual currency or power-ups (Kendra Barnett/Adweek)

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Tortoise Media names Times journalist Rachel Sylvester as The Observer's political editor; a source says 50%+ of Observer staff have decided to leave — Tortoise Media has announced the recruitment of Times journalist Rachel Sylvester as political editor of The Observer as it gears up to take over the title later this month.

Discussion: @carolecadwalla.bsky.social, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @josiah.writes.news, @jamiesusskind, @tortoise, @plutotlabarbie, @rsylvestertimes, @catneilan, @mypalfootfoot7 and @michaelsavage

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

An NPR document from February 2011 estimated defunding could cut up to $240M from the public radio system and close up to 18% of roughly 1,000 member stations — Republicans say there is no reason for the government to fund the public broadcasters. — There is no reason, Republicans say, for the government to fund NPR and PBS.

Discussion: The Washington Free Beacon, @mattgertz, @benmullin, Media Nation and Nieman Lab

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

News Corp finalizes the sale of Australian pay-TV operator Foxtel Group to DAZN in a $2.2B deal after regulatory approval, and will take a 6% stake in DAZN — Billboard Women in Music 2025 — News Corp said Wednesday it has finalized the sale of Australian pay-TV operator Foxtel Group to global sports streaming provider DAZN.

Discussion: Reuters, Advanced Television, News Corporation and The Hollywood Reporter

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

After leaving Meet the Press, Chuck Todd is embarking on a career as a media entrepreneur, and plans to hire other hosts for a podcast and video network — After leaving NBC News in January, the former “Meet the Press” moderator is starting a new chapter as a media entrepreneur.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, @tvgrimreaper, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social and @benmullin.bsky.social

CNBC:

Newsmax shares jumped 179% on April 1 and have risen 1,500%+ since their March 31 debut, bringing the company's market cap to ~$20.8B, above WBD and Fox Corp — Shares of conservative cable channel Newsmax soared nearly 180% Tuesday, a day after the stock's dizzying debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

The Telegraph removes a March 22 article claiming campaign group Stop Funding Hate had amplified anti-Semitic social media posts and will pay legal costs — Telegraph agrees to pay campaign group's legal costs. — The Telegraph has removed an article claiming campaign group Stop Funding Hate …

American Journalism Project:

John Thornton, founder of The Texas Tribune, co-founder of the American Journalism Project, and venture capitalist, has died at age 59 — It is with great sadness that we share the news that John Thornton, co-founder of the American Journalism Project and Elsewhere Partners …

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, Austin Business Journal, Jason Alcorn on LinkedIn, Newmark J-School, The Texas Tribune, Anna Nirmala on LinkedIn, Patty Pina Slutsky on LinkedIn, Elizabeth Green on LinkedIn, Michael Ouimette on LinkedIn, @theajp.bsky.social, @tlangford.bsky.social, @dicktofel.bsky.social, @jkealing.bsky.social and @jeffjarvis.bsky.social

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

A look at Direkt36, a member-supported Hungarian investigative news site that recently released a documentary about the wealth in Viktor Orbán's inner circle — “In a bizarre way, the government propaganda also helped create some buzz around the film.”

Discussion: TVNewsCheck and @amlwhere.bsky.social

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

US nonprofit National Novel Writing Month, recently embroiled in AI and content moderation scandals, shuts down after 25 years, citing financial issues — NaNoWriMo, a twenty-five-year-old online writing community-turned-nonprofit, announced on Monday evening that it is shutting down.

Discussion: Publishers Weekly, NaNoWriMo Kilby on YouTube and Gizmodo

Wired:

Trump gutting a small federal agency that provides funding to libraries and museums could threaten access to digital services such as the free ebook app Libby — The Institute of Museum and Library Services has long received bipartisan support. But after years of trying, President Donald Trump has delivered it a crushing blow.

Discussion: NPR, @karayorio.bsky.social, BOOK RIOT, INDY Week, HuffPost, @peard33.bsky.social, @laurengoode.bsky.social, PBS NewsHour, American Alliance of Museums, ARTnews, Lewiston Sun Journal, CBS News, Federal News Network and New Republic

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

An interview with Vox EIC and Publisher Swati Sharma on a boom in paying readers after Trump's inauguration, building a community, and reaching “news avoiders” — According to “explainer” newsbrand Vox the rate of increase for new paying members grew 350% in the two months …

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

In a new paper, Tim O'Reilly and other researchers say OpenAI likely trained GPT-4o on paywalled books from O'Reilly Media without a licensing agreement — OpenAI has been accused by many parties of training its AI on copyrighted content sans permission. Now a new paper by an AI watchdog …

Discussion: AI Disclosures Project, Beyond Search and Asimov's Addendum, more at Techmeme »