Top News:
Alex Heath / Sources:
Sources: YouTube reorganizes its leadership team, with three product teams reporting to CEO Neal Mohan, and announces a “voluntary exit program” for US staff — Neal Mohan's internal memo about YouTube's “next frontier” and opt-in layoffs. — ∙ Paid
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet reports YouTube's Q3 ad revenue rose 15% YoY to $10.26B, vs. $10.01B est., and Google's advertising revenue reached $74.18B, up from $65.85B a year ago — YouTube, the internet's biggest video streaming platform, continues to flex its muscles as an advertising powerhouse …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube reorganizes its product group, naming Christian Oestlien as head of all subscription products, including YouTube TV, Music, and Premium — YouTube is making a significant reorganization to its product teams, with veteran exec Christian Oestlien taking the reins of a newly created group housing …
Brendan Ruberry / Semafor:
A man named Bill DeBlasio, quoted in a Times story as ex-NYC mayor de Blasio, says he just played along in response to Times' email and used ChatGPT to respond — The Scoop — The man at the heart of a high-stakes mix-up that rippled through global political journalism in the final days …
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Zachary Leeman / Mediaite:
The Times of London says its “reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be” Bill de Blasio; it took down its story after two hours
The Times of London says its “reporter had been misled by an individual falsely claiming to be” Bill de Blasio; it took down its story after two hours
Discussion:
Semafor, Washington Post, The Hill, @atherton.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @maxwelltani, @bencjacobs, The Cut, @daveweigel, @petertwinklage, Associated Press, NBC News, The Guardian, The Wrap, New York Magazine, New York Sun, IJR, HuffPost, RedState, New York Post and New York Times
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Meta reports Q3 revenue up 26% YoY to $51.2B vs. $49.4B est., net income down 83% to $2.7B due to a $15.9B one-time income tax charge; META down 6%+ after hours — Here's how the company did, compared with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG: — Earnings per share: $7.25 adj. vs. $6.69 estimated
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Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Mark Zuckerberg says Threads has 150M DAUs, up from 100M+ in December 2024, and Meta has rolled out ads globally in the Threads feed with plans to add video ads
Discussion:
Social Media Today, 9to5Mac and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »
Jaspreet Singh / Reuters:
Meta recorded a one-time income tax charge of $15.93B related to Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and expects 2025 capex of $70B-$72B, up from a $66B-$72B forecast
Meta recorded a one-time income tax charge of $15.93B related to Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and expects 2025 capex of $70B-$72B, up from a $66B-$72B forecast
Discussion:
COINOTAG NEWS, DigiTimes, Gizmodo, The Wrap, B&T, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Axios, The Economic Times, New York Times, Variety and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Pooja Rajkumari / TheStreet:
Crypto media company Blockworks is closing its newsroom, launched in 2021, and will focus on software and data, continuing its main newsletters and podcasts — Founded in 2017, the crypto media outlet says the move marks the next phase of its growth. — Blockworks, a leading crypto media company …
Discussion:
@duru_tobe, @imtovak, @zguz, @jasonyanowitz, @whosknave, @strack_ben, @eking0x, @gdkairos, Talking Biz News, Blockhead, @0xjonnydee, @mollyjzuckerman and NFTgators, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Paramount Skydance lays off ~1,000 staff, mostly in the US; in a memo, David Ellison says the cuts “are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success” — Paramount Skydance, aiming to get leaner and meaner, today is laying off about 1,000 employees, mostly in the U.S. David Ellison …
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times, CNN, @maxwelltani, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, @jswatz.bsky.social, The Movie Blog, Jeff Heckelman on LinkedIn, @joshsternberg.com, @jamesfaris_, @theonlyrsj.bsky.social, Fast Company, @scottnover, Sports Business Journal, Screen, @variety, Times of India, UPI, Adweek, Yahoo Finance, Dow Jones Newswires, Fox Business, The Hill, Paula Lauzon on LinkedIn, @bostonjerry.bsky.social, Baller Alert, Wall Street Journal, NBC News, TVNewsCheck, @aram@aoir.social, GamesRadar, Deadline, Business Insider, WPXI-TV, Barrett Media and Breitbart
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Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Disney and YouTube settle their legal dispute over YouTube's hiring in May of former Disney executive Justin Connolly to be global head of media and sports — “A Notice of Settlement of Entire Case has been filed in this case,” said an order placed in the Los Angeles Superior Court docket Wednesday.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Variety, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, Sports Media Watch, @matthewkeyslive and The Hollywood Reporter
Ana Marie Cox / Talking Points Memo:
Patron-supported journalism, including newsletters on platforms like Patreon and Substack, offers only a precarious income for many journalists — Writing about the failure of patron-supported journalism is itself a kind of confession. It hasn't worked for me, and I struggle to weigh my guilt around that …
Discussion:
Poynter, Julia Barton on LinkedIn, @klaszus.bsky.social, @jamesian.bsky.social, @beebrookshire@mastodon.social, @ethanpfreedman.com, @tubaboy.bsky.social, @bartona104.bsky.social, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @cmcanning.bsky.social, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @joshgondelman.bsky.social, @talkingpointsmemo.com, @volts.wtf, @volts.wtf, @motomatters.com, @volts.wtf, @leximcmenamin.com, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @joshtpm.bsky.social, @brosandprose.bsky.social, @js@podcastindex.social, @anamariecox.bsky.social, @volts.wtf, @ketanjoshi.co and @dankennedy.net
Katherine Sayre / Wall Street Journal:
UMG partners with AI music generator Udio to launch a subscription service for creating music with licensed songs in 2026, in part to settle a copyright lawsuit — Udio agrees to launch a new subscription service for fans to create music based on licensed songs
Discussion:
Billboard, Music Ally, Universal Music Group, Reuters, Digital Music News, Udio, Bloomberg and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Erik Wemple / New York Times:
A profile of Shirish Dáte, a White House reporter for HuffPost, whose treatment by top Trump officials stands out, with regular insulting and disparaging texts — Journalists court criticism when they fail to ask subjects of their reporting for comment.
Discussion:
@matthewkassel, @buzzfeedpr, @igorbobic, HuffPost on LinkedIn, @scottnover, @daviddarmofal.bsky.social and @barryyeoman.com
Simon Goodley / The Guardian:
The Telegraph's sale to RedBird Capital faces new controversy after the paper linked RedBird's John Thornton to Chinese leader and suspected spy chief Cai Qi — Media group's own paper publishes photo of RedBird Capital chair with alleged spy ring chief — The sale of the Telegraph Media Group …
Discussion:
Telegraph, @glostermeteor.bsky.social, @fbermingham.bsky.social, @thequentinletts, @mpiainds and Telegraph
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Apollo Global reaches a deal to sell AOL to Bending Spoons, sources say in a deal valued at ~$1.5B; AOL has about 30M MAUs across its email and web properties — Apollo Global Management has reached a deal to sell AOL to Italian tech holding group Bending Spoons in a deal valued at roughly $1.5 billion, Axios has learned.
