Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Sewell Chan's departure from CJR comes as the magazine has been running under tight budgetary constraints and was beginning a fundraising campaign — Sewell Chan, who started as executive editor of the publication in September, said his firing after several staff complaints was “baffling.”
Discussion:
Media Nation and @ryangrim
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Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr:
[Thread] Columbia University is cutting ties with Sewell Chan, Columbia Journalism Review editor since June 2024; Betsy Morais will serve as interim director — Some news: Columbia University is cutting ties with Sewell Chan, who has been the editor of Columbia Journalism Review since last year
Sewell Chan / Sewell Chan on LinkedIn:
Sewell Chan says the decision to fire him is “quite frankly baffling” and it came after “I had three pointed conversations with staff members in recent weeks” — My statement, part 1: — Yesterday I was fired by Columbia University after eight months as executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review.
Discussion:
@gary_weiss, @unrealdmgold, @cduhigg, @ericnewcomer, @colligan.bsky.social, @froomkin.bsky.social and The Wrap
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
A profile of Acyn Torabi, or @Acyn, who joined MeidasTouch in 2023 and is shaping the US liberal media with his fast-cut, viral video posts of political gaffes — Acyn Torabi dominates the internet with fast-cut clips of political mayhem. Are they news, or something else?
Christopher Grimes / Financial Times:
The success of A Minecraft Movie, set to hit $700M in ticket sales globally this weekend, signals Hollywood's breakthrough in adapting video games into films — While superhero franchises flag, ‘A Minecraft Movie’ shows the industry has finally cracked the formula for translating popular games into films
Discussion:
Daily Mail, The Hollywood Reporter, @grimes_ce, Variety, TechCrunch, Deadline, Christopher Grimes on LinkedIn, RTÉ and The Sun, more at Techmeme »
Michael Idov / New York Times:
A look at Votvot, a streamer that provides uncensored content to counter Kremlin propaganda, as its ~$2M annual budget is cut as part of Trump's RFE/RL cuts — The Trump administration's decision to take a hammer to the funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty might be legally dubious …
Discussion:
CBS News
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of TKO CEO Ari Emanuel, as he builds a live events business; sources: Emanuel is in talks to buy the Miami and Madrid Open tennis tournaments for $1B+ — The talent agent is buying sports events, and music and art festivals — “I'm the juice.”
Discussion:
@brianstelter, @jbflint, @jbflint and @ccadelago
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
A federal judge declines the AP challenge to the WH eliminating wire service pool slots, calling the policy “neutral” as it does not punish the AP specifically — A federal judge who ruled that the Trump White House's ban on the Associated Press was a violation …
Discussion:
Daily Camera, New York Post, @mediaevan, @jakemrosen, The Hill, Techdirt, One America News Network, Washington Times, ABA Journal, Bloomberg and The Hill
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Filing: AP is expected to have a spot in the White House print pool by Sunday, after the WH made wire reporters part of the regular rotation for print reporters
Hassan Ali Kanu / Politico:
In an appeals court hearing on the AP's White House access, the DOJ argued that WH spaces are akin to private spaces to which the president can restrict access
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, @gregoryaight.bsky.social, @michaelbishop.me, The Hill, TVNewsCheck and Reuters
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
UK law enforcement is targeting gangs, rather than consumers, to tackle the boom in “broken” Fire sticks, used to stream sports and other content illegally — Enforcement resources directed at gangs at the top rather than consumers who flout law
Discussion:
Sam Sadi on LinkedIn
Julian Wyllie / Current:
A look at the public media projects at risk due to DOGE-driven NEH grant cuts, including three American Masters films and a Ken Burns-produced documentary — A forthcoming docuseries on the criminal justice system and three American Masters films are among the public media projects targeted …
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg:
How YouTube is adapting to the AI era; a VP expects that in five years, every video uploaded to YouTube could be dubbed automatically into every spoken language — The video giant, turning 20, tries to keep the content spigot flowing while appeasing its army of broadcasters and copyright holders.
Discussion:
@airbagmoments.bsky.social, Mirror, The Guardian, Mark Bergen on LinkedIn, Barrett Media, Elle and Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »
Crispian Balmer / Reuters:
Italian newspaper Il Foglio says its monthlong experiment with a four-page daily insert written by AI boosted sales, and plans a weekly AI-written section — Artificial intelligence can write a great book review and is good at irony, but it won't replace quality journalism …
Discussion:
@claeshs.bsky.social
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Ted Sarandos says Netflix talent uses “AI tools to do set references, pre-vis, VFX sequence prep, shot planning” and AI can make movies “10% better” — Citing recent comments by James Cameron, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he hopes AI can make films “10% better,” not just “50% cheaper.”
Discussion:
Thought Catalog, Fox News, Business Insider, IndieWire and Variety
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