Mediagazer: 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 (Tatiana Siegel/Variety)

9:05 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, financialpost, @benmullin, Roll Call, @azagata.bsky.social, Politico and MediaPost

Josh Xiao / Bloomberg:

Two influential Chinese bloggers say China is considering a ban on Hollywood movies as part of a set of measures to retaliate against Trump's tariffs — Two influential Chinese bloggers posted an identical set of measures that authorities are mulling to hit back at the latest tariff threats …

Discussion: Variety, Times of India, Daily Mail, TheGamer, The Hollywood Reporter, @endwokeness, @autismcapital, @zerohedge, @pti_news, @globaltimesnews, @catturd2, @shawn_farash, @derrickevans4wv, The Express Tribune, ZeroHedge News, Raw Story, MPR News and NBC Bay Area

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, Adweek, @briank.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, NewsBlues.com 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: @digiphile.bsky.social, @michaelsderby.bsky.social, @justinhendrix.bsky.social, Vanity Fair, @michaelkruse.bsky.social and PR Daily

Emma Roth / The Verge:

The News/Media Alliance is running an ad campaign this week urging the US government to “make Big Tech pay for the content it takes to run its AI products” — Publishers across the US are participating in an ad campaign asking to ‘make Big Tech pay for the content it takes.’

Discussion: News/Media Alliance and News/Media Alliance

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