Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: David Ellison, the CEO of Skydance, has recently held early discussions about acquiring Bari Weiss' The Free Press — David Ellison, the founder of Skydance, and Bari Weiss, the co-founder of The Free Press, are attending the annual Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley this week.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Legendary Entertainment is considering acquiring Lionsgate Studios after Lionsgate finalized its split from Starz; Lionsgate has a market cap of $1.8B — Legendary Entertainment LLC, the independent film and TV studio behind the Dune trilogy and A Minecraft Movie …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and r/movies
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
In a post, Donald Trump says he will withhold support and endorsements for any Republican who votes against his bill to claw back CPB funding — The Senate next week is expected to consider a package to rescind $9.4 billion in funding, including $1.1 billion already allocated to the Corporation …
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Times, Newsweek, Deseret News, Townhall, National Review, New Republic, BroadwayWorld, The Independent, The National Pulse, New York Times, Mediaite, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Florida Politics, Newsbusters, Raw Story, Politico, TVNewsCheck, RedState, NewsMax.com, The Hill, CBS News, Reuters, HuffPost, Benzinga and Washington Examiner
Lindsey Holden / Politico:
A judge grants a temporary restraining order against LAPD, ruling that they can't force journalists out of protest areas or use nonlethal weapons against them — “When journalists persisted in documenting the protests, it appears from the evidence presented that they faced an onslaught …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, PetaPixel, New Republic, NewsMax.com, LAist, Axios, @azi, @scottnover, @scottnover, US District Court, USA Today and Fox News
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Sources: the BBC's board has approved a significant outsourcing drive and is in talks with US tech giants as partners, seeking urgent savings — Exclusive: BBC understood to be speaking to US tech giants as it desperately seeks cost savings — The BBC is examining a significant outsourcing drive …
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: Meta won't propose additional changes to its pay-or-consent model in the EU, and could face fresh antitrust charges and hefty daily fines — Meta Platforms (META.O) is very unlikely to offer more changes to its pay-or-consent model, meaning it is almost certain to be hit …
Discussion:
WinBuzzer and Cryptopolitan, more at Techmeme »
Tony Stubblebine / The Coach Life:
Medium CEO says the company has been profitable since August 2024 and details its financial turnaround after losing $2.6M per month in 2022 — Medium's recap, financial turnaround, and difficult path back to health. — · — Just now — I'm gonna write the wonky post of Medium's turnaround.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Hunter Walk on LinkedIn and Tony Stubblebine on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
A look at Radio Times parent company Immediate Media, which had adjusted profit of ~£36M in 2024 and 745K digital subscribers, out of 1.3M total subscribers — Magazine publishing nowadays is generally either a story of decline or one of pedalling ever faster to stand still.
Discussion:
Dominic Ponsford on LinkedIn
The Hollywood Reporter:
A profile of Sean O'Brien, the pro-Trump leader of Teamsters union and one of the very few Hollywood emissaries with the clout to lobby Trump for tax credits — Sean O'Brien, the colorful and combative leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is providing an unexpected line to the White House.
Muck Rack:
In 2025, the US has 8.2 journalists per 100K residents on average, down from 40 in 2002; 33% of US counties don't have even one full-time journalist — Where are the journalists? — For the first time, we've mapped how many local journalists cover each U.S. county, revealing in stark detail the stunning collapse in local reporting.
Discussion:
CNN, Inside Radio, @tvgrimreaper, @griffen8smith, @brianstelter, @paulguinnessy.bsky.social, Local News Initiative, @jayrosen.bsky.social, Matthew Albasi on LinkedIn, The Hill, UPI, Scott Yates on LinkedIn, NextDraft, Center for Cooperative Media, NCS | NewscastStudio, Poynter and @dankennedy.net
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
A look at ProRata's recently launched Gist AI answer widget, which it hopes publishers will feature on their pages, arguing it helps with reader retention — Prorata's chief business officer has set out four things the AI start-up needs to prove to publishers as it builds up to a wider launch of its products.
Amy Hollyfield / Dallas Morning News:
Dallas Morning News parent company DallasNews Corporation signs a merger agreement to be acquired by Hearst, in a deal that values it at $74.9M — DallasNews Corporation, the public parent company of The Dallas Morning News and Medium Giant, has signed a definitive merger agreement …
Discussion:
Poynter, Axios, Media Nation, @jbenton, Dallas Innovates, Dallas Business Journal, Houston Business Journal, HEARST, Nic Garcia on LinkedIn, MediaPost, TVNewsCheck, @4nsmiley.bsky.social, @wallstreetsimplified.com, @charlierybak.bsky.social, WFAA-TV, @vtuss.bsky.social, Austin American-Statesman and San Francisco Chronicle
