Mediagazer: How X became a powerful government mouthpiece, including through a rotating seat in the White House press briefing room occupied by John Stoll, X's head of news (Kate Conger/New York Times)

7:45 AM ET, April 8, 2025

Top News:

The US stock market briefly surged on April 7 after CNBC, Reuters, and others picked up an erroneous X post that Trump was considering a 90-day pause on tariffs — At just after 10 a.m., shouting erupted on the Siebert trading floor in downtown Manhattan. Mark Malek, the firm's chief …

Tatiana Siegel / Variety:

Sources: Evan Gershkovich is not cooperating on the WSJ's documentary and book about his imprisonment, and plans his own film and book, sparking tensions — It was a dramatic moment. On Aug. 1, 2024, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stepped off a plane in Turkey to freedom, after 16 months spent in a Russian prison.

Discussion: Poynter, @farnazfassihi, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social and Talking Biz News

New York Times:

A majority of 300+ WaPo tech workers sign union cards and plan to formally request recognition, WaPo's first public union drive since Bezos' 2013 acquisition — With global markets again in free-fall, the president appeared to be losing support of business leaders, raising questions about his leverage in his trade fight.

Discussion: Washingtonian, KB Ruleaux on LinkedIn, Associated Press, Quartz, @azagata.bsky.social, financialpost, @benmullin, Roll Call, Politico and MediaPost

Anvee Bhutani / The Guardian:

Student journalists in the US are resigning or requesting takedown of stories amid growing repression by the Trump administration against pro-Palestinian speech — Newsrooms forced to adapt as writers resign and request takedown of stories to avoid potential repercussions

Discussion: Inside Higher Ed, @jestastrophy.bsky.social, @victorerikray.bsky.social, @kennysmith.bsky.social, @annkspencer.bsky.social, @ClimateJenny@biodiversity …, @timmonsroberts.bsky.social, @yanisvaroufakis.bsky.social, @anveebhutani.bsky.social, Daily Caller News Foundation and Fox News

Bloomberg:

Publishers say site traffic has plummeted since Google rolled out AI Overviews; sources say Google acknowledged the drop in an October 2024 publisher meeting — In March 2024, website owner Morgan McBride was posing for photos in her half-renovated kitchen for a Google ad celebrating the ways …

Discussion: ZeroHedge News, @davey.bsky.social and @byjulialove, more at Techmeme »

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

RocaNews, a Gen-Z focused outlet that operates via Instagram, a gamified app, newsletters, and YouTube, says it became profitable in October and has 2M readers — An American news start-up says it is proving Gen Z audiences will pay for news if it's done the right way.

Discussion: Forbes

New York Times:

Sources: Paramount and Trump are poised to begin mediation in his $20B lawsuit against CBS News and have picked a mediator for the case in recent days — President Trump's $20 billion suit accuses CBS News of deceptively editing an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, @davidenrich.bsky.social, Reuters, @benmullin, New York Post, Deadline, @michaelsderby.bsky.social and Variety

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:

A Minecraft Movie collects $157M at the US box office in its opening weekend, the biggest domestic debut of 2025 and best in history for a video game adaptation — “A Minecraft Movie” leveled up at the box office, collecting a blockbuster $157 million in its opening weekend.

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

Nexstar ordered its 160+ local TV stations to air segments during local newscasts that encourage viewers to lobby the FCC for broadcast ownership deregulation — Nexstar Media Group has ordered most of its 160-plus local television stations to air segments during local newscasts …

Discussion: Inside Radio, NewsBlues.com, Adweek, @briank.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck and Radio & Television …

Kate Conger / New York Times:

How X became a powerful government mouthpiece, including through a rotating seat in the White House press briefing room occupied by John Stoll, X's head of news — On a recent Thursday, journalists cramming into the White House press briefing room saw an unfamiliar face in a rotating seat designated for new media.

Discussion: PR Daily, @digiphile.bsky.social, @michaelsderby.bsky.social, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, Vanity Fair and @michaelkruse.bsky.social

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Some experts weigh in on how President Trump's trade policy could impact the entertainment industry: ad budgets may shrink, Netflix could be shielded, and more — We asked experts how his trade policy will impact the entertainment business. … The adaptation of the popular video game opened …

Discussion: @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, The InSneider and New York Times

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Under the pact terms, the Skydance-Paramount merger deadline was automatically extended 90 days past April 7, as the parties await FCC approval — Under the terms of the pact, the deadline for the agreement to close has been automatically extended for another 90 days.

Discussion: Reuters, The Wrap, Cord Cutters News, Media Play News and Deadline

Archived Page Info:

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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

Managing Editor, Remote US — Velo

Lex Writer, London — FT

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More News:

Vauhini Vara / Bloomberg:
A look at Inkitt, a publishing platform that uses AI to create sequels and spinoffs of authors' original work with minimal human input, raising quality concerns

more at Techmeme »

Rob Waugh / Press Gazette:
AI tools like ChatGPT have fueled a rise in media “experts” with dubious or fake credentials, often sourced via journalist request services

Zach Seward:
Quartz co-founder Zach Seward on the idealistic beginnings of Quartz, the death of the outlet, and how Jim Spanfeller and G/O Media killed it

Caroline Radnofsky / NBC News:
Most books sold in the US are printed domestically, but new tariffs could raise manufacturing costs, squeezing publisher profits and pushing up book prices

Discussion: @susijohnston.bsky.social, Publishers Weekly and YourStory.com

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Filing: Moonvalley, whose AI model Marey generates “HD” clips up to 30 seconds in length, raised $43M and says it's working on licensing arrangements

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Krea, which helps creators use multiple AI models to generate content, raised a $47M Series B, a $33M Series A, and a $3M seed; sources: Krea is valued at $500M

Discussion: Saanya Ojha on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Siyanda Mthethwa / Reuters:
Spotify's royalty payouts to South African performers grew 54% YoY in 2024 to $21M, while payouts to Nigerian artists more than doubled to $38M

Discussion: Semafor and Music Ally

Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Six Russian BBC journalists labeled “foreign agents” by Putin's regime speak on how it has impacted their lives, effectively banishing them from their homeland

Discussion: @metkere and @michaelsavage

Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Several prominent conservatives in media notably came out against Trump's tariffs, with the most strident criticism coming from WSJ's editorial board

Discussion: Australian Financial Review, The Wrap, The Hill, Benzinga, The Daily Beast and The Independent

Gretel Kahn / Reuters Institute:
A look at the inroads made by China, Russia, and Turkey in Africa's information ecosystem and the void they will fill now that VOA has been silenced

Discussion: Bloomberg, @reutersinstitute.bsky.social, @cdncurmudgeon.bsky.social, Samba Dialimpa Badji on LinkedIn and @newsguy.bsky.social

Charles Martin / AppleInsider:
The BBC complains to the UK CMA that Apple and Google's news aggregators weaken its relationship with the public by downplaying the BBC branding

Discussion: TechCrunch and Telegraph

From Techmeme:

Financial Times:
The EC's president says the EU won't revisit its “untouchable” rules, like the DMA, and could tax digital ad revenue, hitting Meta and Google, if US talks fail

Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Sources: Tim Cook approved doubling Apple's AI chips budget in 2023 after John Giannandrea sought more GPUs, but CFO Luca Maestri cut the increase to under half

Erin Woo / The Information:
Source: Google cuts hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices unit, which works on Android, Pixel, and Chrome, after offering buyouts in January 2025

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