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1:40 PM ET, May 30, 2025

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Chris Willman / Variety:
Taylor Swift purchases her catalog of recordings, which were initially released through Big Machine Records, from Shamrock for an undisclosed nine-figure sum  —  The deal with Shamrock Holdings was a triumph for Swift after six years of turmoil in which her catalog had been sold and resold.
The Bookseller:
Boundless, which bought crowdfunding publisher Unbound in March, tells authors that royalties accrued before March won't be paid until Boundless is cash stable  —  Authors published by the crowdfunding publisher Unbound will not receive historic royalty payments for sales of their books …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Memo: Business Insider is cutting staff by 21% to “endure extreme traffic drops outside of our control” and “exiting the majority of our Commerce business”  —  Business Insider is making significant layoffs — cutting 21% of staffers across the board …
New York Times:
The New York Times agrees to license editorial content to Amazon for use in its AI platforms, marking NYT's first licensing deal with a focus on generative AI  —  In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement.  Now its editorial content will appear across Amazon platforms.
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Nexstar has deleted references to DEI and data on its workforce composition from its site; it is interested in acquisitions that are subject to FCC approval  —  The broadcaster removed references to its diversity, equity and inclusiveness programs from its website and social media profiles.
Discussion: TVNewsCheck, The Hill and Wired
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Two rival Amazon influencers seek to dismiss their 2024 copyright case, where one accused the other of posting similar promotional content for the same products  —  A high-profile lawsuit between two rival lifestyle and shopping influencers would have rewritten copyright law and changed the creator industry.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Starz reports Q4 revenue down 6.2% YoY to $330.6M, an operating loss of $136.3M, up from $30.8M, and 13.04M streaming subscribers, up 470K from Q3  —  Starz, fresh off its separation from former parent company Lionsgate, reported results for the first three months of the year.
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
The Arena Group settled its lawsuit against Authentic Brands in April over Sports Illustrated licensing fees, said the size of the settlement is “not material”  —  The media company was locked in a $249 million standoff with Authentic Brands Group over unpaid licensing fees
Rory Carroll / The Guardian:
Former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams wins a defamation case against the BBC over a documentary that claimed that Adams had sanctioned an MI5 informant's murder  —  Former Sinn Féin leader sued broadcaster over allegation in documentary that he sanctioned murder of MI5 informant
Pew Research Center:
Share of news influencers on Bluesky has doubled after the 2024 US election to 43%, but X remains popular, with 82% of news influencers maintaining an account  —  The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research on how Americans absorb civic information, form beliefs and identities, and engage in their communities.
Nikita Mazurov / The Intercept:
PBS station WNET removed at least three educational TV episodes that discuss transgender identity and drag expression, following a DOGE subcommittee hearing  —  The New York-area PBS station WNET has scrubbed its archives of at least three educational TV episodes that discuss transgender identity …
Discussion: @mvario.bsky.social
 
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 More News: 
Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
Disney launches a new perks program for Disney+ US subscribers, offering discounts, free items, and more; Hulu plans to debut its own perks program on June 2
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
YouTube plans to roll out Google Lens integration to Shorts in the coming weeks, allowing users to search for elements within Shorts
 Earlier Picks: 
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
A look at YouTube's changes to become viewers' preferred TV service and to appeal more to advertisers, and at creators' push into sitcoms, like Alan's Universe
Wall Street Journal:
Making a short AI film with tools from Google, Runway, Elevenlabs, and Midjourney shows the tech has improved but takes tedious work to attain scene consistency
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount offers $15M to settle with President Trump, whose team wants $25M+, is seeking an apology from CBS News, and threatened another lawsuit
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Immediate Media's BBC History Magazine launches a Substack and a weekly podcast, and says it has 745,000 paying online subscribers, but print remains important
Ben Johansen / Politico:
Sources: all 800 full-time VOA staff are expected to receive reduction-in-force notices this week, after ~600 VOA contractors were dismissed earlier in May
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

A.J. Vicens / Reuters:
US and Canadian authorities warn that Chinese hackers are using the Brickstorm malware to install backdoor access within unnamed government and IT entities
 
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