Mediagazer: 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 (Benjamin Mullin/New York Times)

11:25 AM ET, April 2, 2025

Top News:

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

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, @michaelkruse, @djtweets, @kantrowitz, @chriscillizza, @benmullin, @owillis.bsky.social, @tvgrimreaper, @benmullin.bsky.social and @jeffjarvis.bsky.social

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

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

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

CNBC strikes distribution deals with Apple and Roku for its $14.99 per month subscription service CNBC+ — Billboard Women in Music 2025 — The future of CNBC may not entirely take place on CNBC. — As of Wednesday afternoon, both Apple TV and Roku will distribute CNBC+ to users …

Discussion: Talking Biz News, CNBC Press Releases and Cord Cutters News

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 …

Discussion: @josiah.writes.news

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Patreon signs podcasting deals with Sony Music and Wondery, and says it now has 6.7M paid podcast subscriptions, generating $472M+ in 2024 revenue, up 35% YoY — Podcasters made more than $472 million on the platform last year — Patreon Inc., a subscription platform for online creators …

Discussion: TechCrunch

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, American Press Institute, 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

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 …

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, BOOK RIOT, @karayorio.bsky.social, HuffPost, INDY Week, @peard33.bsky.social, @laurengoode.bsky.social, PBS NewsHour, American Alliance of Museums, ARTnews, Lewiston Sun Journal and CBS News

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Energy & Commodities Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Politics Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Consumer Brands Reporter, GA — AJC

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Product Editor, CA — CalMatters

Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sydney — Guardian US

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Bangor Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Commerce Editor - Health, Remote US — Yahoo

Sports Editor, MI — Detroit News

Deputy Politics Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

Alphaville Reporter, London — FT

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More News:

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

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

Katie Strang / New York Times:
How the repetition of a false rumor by ESPN's Pat McAfee, ESPN radio hosts, and others negatively impacted an Ole Miss student, who plans to sue

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, Sportico, @corrihess.bsky.social, @txnewsprincess.bsky.social, @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social, @kenvogel.bsky.social, @prolibshow.com, @velodus.bsky.social, The US Sun, @epicureandealmaker …, Mediaite, New York Post, Awful Announcing and WTRF

Max Goldbart / Deadline:
BBC and ITV's new contracts with actors' union Equity won't include AI safeguards as they await the outcome of Equity negotiations with producer trade body Pact

Andreas Wiseman / Deadline:
Ketchup Entertainment buys Coyote vs. Acme from WBD, which shelved it in November 2023 as a cost-cutting measure; the movie is expected in theaters in 2026

Discussion: The National Interest, Screen Rant, Eric Calderon on LinkedIn, Lucy Tanner Tomlinson on LinkedIn, @mikeirvo.bsky.social, @matbrunetvo.com, Cartoon Brew, Cele|bitchy, Mediaite and Entertainment Weekly

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok is shutting down its Instagram rival TikTok Notes on May 8, 2025, directing users to Lemon8, a similar ByteDance app with 12.5M MAUs as of December 2024

Discussion: TechNode and The Information

Jake Kanter / Deadline:
YouTube suspends two major fake movie trailer channels from its partner program, following Deadline's report on studios earning ad revenue from the trailers

Discussion: Fast Company, Media Play News, Jessie Stephenson on LinkedIn, 9to5Google, @applecider.bsky.social, @johnhudgens.bsky.social, @joehenderson.bsky.social, @culturecrave.co and Tubefilter

Earlier Picks:

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
Steve Kornacki signs a deal with NBC News and NBC Sports and departs from MSNBC, which Comcast is spinning off into a new corporate entity

Sportico:
Sources: the NHL has reached an agreement with Rogers on a new 12-year Canadian TV deal that will pay the league about $7.7B, starting with the 2026-27 season

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

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Sun reports revenue down 3% YoY to £296.3M and an £18M loss in the year to 30 June 2024; The Times reports revenue down 0.6% to £383.4M and a £61M profit

Discussion: Telegraph and City A.M.

Kendra Barnett / Adweek:
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

Discussion: Music Ally, The Information, The Verge, Barron's Online, TechCrunch, Benzinga, Roblox Corporate, Bloomberg, Ad Age, Investing.com, Marketing Brew, Reuters, MediaPost, Variety and Google

From Techmeme:

Qianer Liu / The Information:
Sources: Intel and TSMC have reached a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture that will operate Intel's chipmaking facilities; TSMC will take a 20% stake

Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat:
OpenAI makes ChatGPT Plus free for college students in the US and Canada until the end of May 2025, intensifying competition with Anthropic in higher education

Washington Post:
US officials say NSA director and Cyber Command head Timothy Haugh was fired on April 3, along with his deputy Wendy Noble

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