Top News:
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
The Freedom of the Press Foundation, a shareholder in Paramount, is threatening legal action against the company if it settles with President Trump — As Paramount considers settling a lawsuit with Donald Trump, the Freedom of the Press Foundation warns that it will sue over a deal that allegedly “could amount to a bribe.”
Discussion:
Freedom of the Press …, The Independent, @trevortimm, @johncusack and @pamspaulding.bsky.social
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Daniel Engber / The Atlantic:
PBS cut 90 seconds from a documentary on Art Spiegelman in which he criticized Trump; the edit was made a few days after the “Anti-American Airwaves” hearing — A worrying pattern has taken hold in public television. — American Masters, an award-winning documentary series …
Discussion:
New York Times, @juliarosekraut.bsky.social, @dougcoulson.bsky.social, @harrymccracken.com, @candicefrederick.bsky.social, @engber.bsky.social, @antkaufman.bsky.social, @gregpak.net, @ronhogan.bsky.social, @jlacroix.bsky.social, @gregpak.net, @thereisnocat.com, @gregalor.bsky.social, @chloeph.bsky.social and International Documentary …
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
How one winner and three finalists in 2025's Pulitzer Prizes used AI in their reporting, from a custom image-recognition algorithm to satellite imagery analysis — For a second year, the Pulitzer Prizes required applicants to divulge AI usage — one winner and three finalists disclosed.
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Redbird Capital Partners buys the Telegraph at a £500M valuation, ending nearly two years of ownership limbo; IMI will take a minority investment — US-based private investment firm Redbird Capital Partners has bought the Telegraph ending nearly two years in ownership limbo for the newsbrand.
Discussion:
The Media Leader, The Guardian, Variety, Deadline, @frasernelson, @jonathan_hinder, @ascendedyield, @aaronbastani, The Times, Yahoo Finance, CNN, Sky News, BusinessCloud, New York Post, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, UPI, Agence France-Presse, New York Times, Business Wire, @williamcb.bsky.social, @jim.londoncentric.media, Telegraph, The Independent, Reuters, Associated Press, @ianfraser.bsky.social, City A.M., The Hollywood Reporter, RTÉ and Fortune
Variety:
A24 is shutting down its documentary filmmaking department, laying off five staffers, as sources say the market is too challenging to support an entire division — A24 is shutting down its documentary filmmaking department with five people departing from that division, Variety has confirmed.
Benjamin Lindsay / The Wrap:
WaPo faces criticism for publishing a column asking “where Jews belong”, which many saw as antisemitic, after killings of two Israeli Embassy staffers in DC — The article, titled “For U.S. Jews, D.C. Museum Killings Deepen Resolve - and Fear," was published by the paper Friday
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth orders additional press restrictions at the Pentagon, including banning reporters from certain areas without government escorts — Bedeviled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions …
Discussion:
Military and Veteran …, Fox News, @secdef, @lmartinezabc, National Press Club, The Guardian, @stephenlosey.bsky.social, @jimlaporta, The Daily Beast, @cwharlow.bsky.social, @npcpresident, @defensebaron, The Hill, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, @sentdefender, @meghannmyers_, @danlamothe and @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
Liam Scott / Poynter:
Some VOA employees discuss the bare-bones return to work: out of 1,300 staff, only 30 remain, and the outlet is only publishing in four languages, instead of 49 — The bare-bones return has been marked by low morale, confusion and uncertainty, VOA sources say
Discussion:
The Newsguy, NPR, @liamjscott and The Independent
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
A UK court approves Media Concierge's acquisition of National World, owner of The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post, and others, effective May 27 — The new boss of National World has told staff they will be given the space to carry on “business as usual” after its takeover by Media Concierge next week.
Discussion:
Media Concierge, BusinessCloud, HoldtheFrontPage and thenational.scot
Sara Ashley O'Brien / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Gen Z influencer Alix Earle, who has 7.5M TikTok followers and has moved beyond sponsorship deals by getting equity in some brands she promotes — How a University of Miami student became Gen Z's savviest pitchwoman … Alix Earle is in Los Angeles ready to “activate.”
Discussion:
@jtes, @simonowens.bsky.social, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, People, Us Weekly, The Hollywood Gossip and E! Online
BBC:
BBC World Service is launching a Polish-language news website, BBC News Polska, the first new language offer produced with the help of AI translation — BBC News Polska will deliver independent and impartial news in text and video for Polish-speaking audiences
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Melania Trump releases an audiobook of her memoir with her “official AI voice” created by ElevenLabs, available exclusively on the ElevenReader app — First Lady Melania Trump released her recently published memoir “Melania” as an audiobook that will be available in multiple languages …
Discussion:
@melaniatrump, Mashable, HOLA!, @matistanis, Washington Times, The Daily Beast, @sifill.bsky.social, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social, Daily Kos, Daily Mail, San Francisco Chronicle, New Jersey Online, Gizmodo, The Daily Caller, People, New York Post, The Hill, ABC News, IJR, NewsMax.com and Fox News
