Top News:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
PBS and a public TV affiliate in Minnesota sue the Trump administration, saying his executive order to cut federal funding violated PBS' First Amendment rights — The nonprofit Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and one of its local affiliates on Friday said they sued the Trump administration …
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Politico, Variety, Fox News, ABC News, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Newser, United States District Court District of Columbia, Reuters, Florida Daily, CNBC, The Independent, Techdirt, AV Club, Los Angeles Times, BroadwayWorld, Ace of Spades HQ, CBS News, CNN, Business Insider and NewsMax.com
Max Tani / Semafor:
The California State Senate opens an inquiry into whether Paramount's reported $15M proposed settlement with Trump violated bribery and unfair competition laws — The Scoop — The California State senate has invited two former top CBS figures to testify in a new inquiry into whether …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, Politico, @brucedlittle.bsky.social, NewscastStudio, @semaforben, Reuters, One America News Network, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social, @scottwiener.bsky.social, @richlightshed, TVNewsCheck, The Hill, AV Club, Benzinga, American Wire News, IJR, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, Cord Cutters News and Wall Street Journal
Chris Willman / Variety:
Taylor Swift acquires the rights to her first six albums from Shamrock Capital; sources say the deal was in the mid-$300M range — 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 final price tag came at what she considered a reasonable price.
Discussion:
The Official Website …, New York Times, People, Inc, Lefsetz Letter, Rolling Stone, Time, Associated Press, @stevekovach.bsky.social, @yvettenicolebrown@threads.com, Los Angeles Times, Screen Rant, Socialite Life, Mediaite, Entertainment Weekly, GoldDerby, Page Six, The Cut, @nathanchubbard@threads.com, Richard Stumpf on LinkedIn, Washington Post, Plain Dealer, @jenrara, Digital Music News, Fast Company, @taylorswift13, Quartz, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, NBC Bay Area, Us Weekly, @lucas_shaw, PitchBook, TMZ.com, @danprimack, @mattbelloni.bsky.social, Deseret News, Consequence, Wall Street Journal, TODAY.com, @brianstelter.bsky.social, ZeroHedge News, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, StyleCaster, @mollyknight.bsky.social, KSDK-TV, The Verge, Forbes, InStyle, Bustle, @lucas_shaw, New York Post, The Wrap, CNBC, Reuters, Financial Times, Music Business Worldwide, Vogue, Marie Claire, Entrepreneur, Just Jared, UNILAD, Above the Law, Extra, Cosmopolitan, Elle, FemaleFirst, WPXI-TV and Oh No They Didn't!
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
Discussion:
Associated Press, @jim.londoncentric.media, WTOP News, Press Association, The Guardian, thenational.scot, Sky News, Deadline, NPR, Canadian Press, Press Gazette, UPI, BBC, Financial Times, Al Jazeera, Politico, GB News and Daily Mail
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 …
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:
The Hill, CNN and TVNewsCheck
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Former MSNBC host Joy Reid plans to launch The Joy Reid Show, a new video podcast, on June 9, streaming on YouTube and other major podcast platforms — The former MSNBC host will launch ‘The Joy Reid Show’ next month, with plans to expand to five days per week later this year.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, New York Sun, Baller Alert, Adweek, NewscastStudio, TV Insider, Barrett Media, TVNewsCheck and Los Angeles Times
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
A US federal judge orders the USAGM to immediately disburse RFE/RL's May funding of ~$12M, following a similar order last month for its April funding — WASHINGTON — A US district judge on May 30 granted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL)'s third request for a temporary restraining order …
Discussion:
@joshgerstein and @kaedotcom.bsky.social
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
The Arena Group settled its lawsuit against Authentic Brands in late April over Sports Illustrated licensing fees, saying the financial terms are “not material” — The media company was locked in a $249 million standoff with Authentic Brands Group over unpaid licensing fees
Discussion:
Awful Announcing and The Arena Group
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.
Chris Gardner / The Hollywood Reporter:
McClatchy will shutter In Touch, Life & Style, Closer, and First for Women in June, laying off their staffs, after acquiring the titles in a December merger — “Despite the best efforts of many of our talented colleagues, we have been unable to develop a profitable business model for four …
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.
