Top News:
Reuters:
Charter says it will acquire Cox Communications for $21.9B, valuing Cox at $34.5B including debt and uniting two of the biggest US cable and broadband operators — Broadband and cable TV provider Charter (CHTR.O) is in advanced talks to combine with Cox Communications in a deal that values Cox …
Discussion:
CNN, Bloomberg, Adweek, Seamless Connectivity, Awful Announcing, Business Insider, MediaPost, Barron's Online, Atlanta Business Journal, @pkafka, UPI, Fast Company, NBC News, Deadline, CNBC, The Information, Cord Cutters News, New York Times, al.com, Sports Business Journal, Media Play News, @tvgrimreaper, TV Tech, The Hollywood Reporter, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Dylan Jones on LinkedIn, Bloomberg, Fortune, @claireatki, TVNewsCheck, Reuters, ZeroHedge News, The Verge and Yahoo Finance, more at Techmeme »
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Charter says John Malone's Liberty Broadband will cease to be a direct shareholder in Charter and won't appoint directors to its board after the Cox merger — John Malone, the “cable cowboy” who has shaped the cable and media industries for decades, is set to reap a windfall …
Washington Post:
More than 500 Voice of America contractors are expected to lose their jobs by June 30; Kari Lake says 584 total employees were terminated across USAGM — More than 500 of the news service's contractors could be out of a job on June 30. — More than 500 Voice of America contractors …
Discussion:
New York Times, UPI, Forbes, Politico, The Guardian, Washington Times, Media Matters for America, The Hill, @sarahellison, @savevoanow, @davidfolkenflik, @matthewkeyslive, @w7voa, @herbscribner, @scottnover, @fatimatlis, Washington Examiner, TVNewsCheck, Michael Abramowitz on LinkedIn, The Desk, Raw Story, Bloomberg and @w7voa@journa.host
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Wall Street Journal:
Facebook and Instagram face “an epidemic of scams” driven by crime networks; internal docs from 2022 say 70% of newly active Meta advertisers promote scams — Fake puppies and phony offers of mouthwatering bargains are often seeded by overseas crime networks …
Discussion:
User Mag, Boing Boing, Jonas Bordo on LinkedIn, Erin West on LinkedIn, Yahoo Finance and @parismarx.com, more at Techmeme »
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Sources: the UAE met with Downing Street and discussed the UK's media ownership law weeks before a law change paved the way for the UAE's 15% Telegraph stake — Exclusive: delegates met officials weeks before UK set out higher-than-expected cap on foreign state ownership of newspapers
Discussion:
@michaelsavage.bsky.social, @profbillmcguire.bsky.social and Telegraph
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
C-SPAN plans to debut Ceasefire, its first new weekly show in 20 years in the fall, envisioned as conversations between lawmakers on opposite sides of the aisle — “Ceasefire” will be the low-key public affairs channel's first new weekly show in two decades. The question is whether Republicans and Democrats will show up.
Discussion:
@mollyereynolds, TVNewsCheck, Mock Paper Scissors, @bryancurtis, @samstein, C-SPAN.org, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Jordyn Holman / New York Times:
Q&A with PBS' Paula Kerger on why it's hard for PBS to plug budgetary gaps created by the loss of federal funding, its importance as a creative incubator, more — Paula Kerger, the chief executive of PBS, is used to fights over the public broadcaster's funding.
Hannah Prevett / The Times:
The Sidemen, a YouTube collective with more than 150M followers across all its social media channels, launches VC firm Upside to back consumer tech startups — Viral video content group creates Upside, an investment company backing consumer tech start-ups — The Sidemen, Europe's largest …
Discussion:
Jordan Schwarzenberger on LinkedIn and Tubefilter
Advanced Television:
Dailymotion acquires Archery, the company that develops Mojo, an AI-assisted video creation and editing app, which has been downloaded 50M+ times — Dailymotion, the video platform owned by Canal+, has acquired Archery, the company responsible for developing Mojo, the AI-assisted video creation …
Discussion:
CANAL+ Group, Bichoï Bastha on LinkedIn, @jean_patry and Bruno Latapie on LinkedIn
Variety:
A look at the pay packages of some top media and entertainment executives in 2024; seven of the 10 examined executives got raises despite lackluster earnings — Top execs kept raking in the bucks last year, even as many of the companies they led struggled to stay aloft
Discussion:
US Securities … and TVNewsCheck
Wall Street Journal:
The US DHS says it is considering taking part in a reality show where immigrants compete for US citizenship, an idea that was pitched by producer Rob Worsoff — 'This isn't ‘The Hunger Games’ for immigrants,' says the producer behind the pitch — The Department of Homeland Security …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Daily Mail, Townhall, @triciaohio, Department of Homeland …, Distractify, @prchovanec.bsky.social, @damonlinker, MeidasTouch News, @ianbremmer.com, Washington Post, @joaquincastrotx, @richardhanania, MSNBC, New York Times, The Hill, Washington Examiner, @oversightdemocrats.house.gov, Talking Points Memo, TV Insider, Mediaite, Daily Kos, FOX 35 Orlando, New Republic, The Independent, Newsweek, Lawyers, Guns & Money and r/fednews
Johan Ahlander / Reuters:
Sweden's PM says Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who was jailed in March in Turkey on charges of terrorism and insulting Turkey's president, has been released — Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who was jailed in March in Turkey on terrorism and insult charges, is on his way home, Sweden's Prime Minister said on Friday.
Discussion:
Committee to Protect … and Le Monde
