Top News:
Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
MLB finalizes deals with NBC/Peacock, Netflix, and ESPN; sources: NBC/Peacock pays ~$200M/year, Netflix pays $50M/season, ESPN maintains $1.65B over three years — Major League Baseball announced its new TV deals with NBC, Netflix and ESPN on Wednesday, restructuring its broadcast future.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Awful Announcing, Axios, Sportico, Sports Business Journal, The Wrap, Reuters, Variety, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, TVNewsCheck, Plain Dealer, NBCSports.com, UPI, iDrop News, New York Daily News, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, TV Media Blog, True Blue LA, The US Sun, Barrett Media, ESPN Press Room U.S., Front Office Sports, Engadget, MacTech.com, CNBC, Fox Business, NBC News, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, New Jersey Online, Washington Post, Deadline, Bloomberg, Daring Fireball, MacRumors, ESPN.com, The Streamable, @espnpr, Sports Video Group, The Big Lead, Sporting News, MLB.com and Android Authority
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
The White House sends out a press release calling ABC News “a Democrat spin operation masquerading as a broadcast network” and cataloging perceived offenses — A day after President Donald Trump blew up at ABC News correspondent Mary Bruce and called for the network to lose …
Discussion:
The White House and The Wrap
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Trump calls for ABC to lose its broadcast license and says Brendan Carr “should look at that” after an ABC reporter asked questions about Khashoggi and Epstein
Discussion:
Poynter, National Press Club, The American Bazaar, Associated Press, Robert Reich, Reason, NBC News, @billiejsweeney.bsky.social, Newsbusters, UPI, Newser, @dbauder.bsky.social, MS NOW, @westwingreport, The Hollywood Reporter, Straight Arrow News, The Independent, CNN, New York Sun, Mediaite, PinkNews, New York Times, @kaydeeartist.com, Barrett Media, The Hill, All Rise News, New York Post, Talking Points Memo, The Hollywood Gossip, Media Matters for America, Fortune, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, Roll Call, Zeteo, @kaedotcom.bsky.social, Fox News, @timkarr.bsky.social, Politico, al.com, Mirror US, New Republic, The Guardian, TMZ.com, Fox News, PBS NewsHour, People, Reuters, @klasfeldreports.com, @gbrandonffx.bsky.social and CNBC
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon launches a Video Recaps feature on Prime Video that uses AI to summarize a show's key plot points with snippets and music, available in beta for US users — Feature debuts after streamer introduced text-based AI recaps last year … Now Amazon is using AI to add sight, sound and motion to the mix.
Discussion:
Engadget, Thurrott, MobileSyrup, BGR, Newser, Android Headlines, Cord Cutters News, TechRadar, StreamTV Insider, About Amazon, Deadline, CNET and The Hollywood Reporter
Emma Roth / The Verge:
A US federal judge denies Disney's request to block Sling TV's one-day pass that allows streaming of live content, saying Disney didn't prove “irreparable harm” — The entertainment giant failed to prove that Sling TV's temporary streaming passes caused it irreparable harm, according to the ruling.
Discussion:
Engadget, TVNewsCheck, Pocket-lint, TheDesk.net, Variety, Cord Cutters News, Streaming Better, CNET, Plain Dealer, PCWorld, Dow Jones Newswires and Media Play News
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
The Olivia Nuzzi comeback shows everything that is wrong with modern media, where personal branding, access trading, and controversy trump credibility — When news broke last September about Olivia Nuzzi's alleged relationship with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., my first instinct—within minutes, actually—was sympathy.
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Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
Moral rot within journalism makes it hard for ethical practitioners to do their jobs, as they watch successful people in the field displaying malleable ethics
Moral rot within journalism makes it hard for ethical practitioners to do their jobs, as they watch successful people in the field displaying malleable ethics
Discussion:
The Guardian, Ace of Spades HQ, Freedom of the Press …, RedState, @sydbrownstone.bsky.social, @meghanbkelly.bsky.social, The Hill, @jenramose.online, @ericschmeltzer.com, @wdlindsy@toad.social, @ZhiZhu@newsie.social, @lisafung.bsky.social, @ryanlcooper.com, @ubiquity75.xyz, @dandrezner.bsky.social, @paulguinnessy.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @juliedicaro.bsky.social, @nytpitchbot.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @jasonkoebler.bsky.social and @marisakabas.bsky.social
Ivan L. Nagy / Columbia Journalism Review:
Guardian US EIC Betsy Reed says the outlet expects to bring in $50M+ this year, up from $43M last year, and plans to grow newsletters and launch a news podcast — This fall, as publicly funded media was hollowed out by budget cuts, billionaire owners bowed to political pressure …
Discussion:
@jayrosen.bsky.social and @columjournreview.bsky.social
Rachel Behrndt / WFAA-TV:
Hearst plans to lay off 26 people at The Dallas Morning News, outsourcing print page production; the Dallas News Guild says the action violates its contract — Nearly two months after officially acquiring the paper, Hearst will lay off 26 people at the Dallas Morning News, the paper confirmed Wednesday.
Discussion:
@dallasnewsguild, @markstenberg3 and Dallas Business Journal
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
All four reporters at Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit news site, accused their EIC of using generative AI tools without disclosure; one reporter was fired — Suncoast Searchlight's four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts.
Jin Yu Young / New York Times:
The 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Award disqualified two books citing AI-made covers; their publisher says AI's rise has put the industry in “uncharted waters” — A New Zealand book competition dropped two of a publisher's books because they had A.I.-generated covers.
Ben Jacobs / Politico:
A look at Verdict with Ted Cruz, currently the most popular podcast of any sitting US politician, which puts Ted Cruz ahead of rivals in a potential 2028 WH bid — Three times a week, late in the evening, a middle-aged man pulls a microphone out of a Pelican briefcase …
Discussion:
Newser, @bencjacobs and @bselena.bsky.social
Vaibhavi Khanwalkar / The Economic Times:
AI video startup Luma AI raised a $900M Series C led by Humain, sources say at a ~$4B valuation — The firm's Indian-American CEO Amit Jain, an IITian who was formerly with Apple, told ET that the domain the company operated in is capital-intensive and requires sizable investments to scale.
Emine Sinmaz / The Guardian:
NYT says it will not renew Larry Summers' contract as a contributing writer for its Opinion section, after the publication of his emails with Jeffrey Epstein — Publication said it will not renew former treasury secretary's contract in latest fallout after release of emails
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
TikTok is rolling out new digital well-being features, like an affirmation journal, and says it will also give users badges for limiting their daily screen time — TikTok is rolling out new digital well-being features like an affirmation journal and a background sound generator aimed at improving the mental health of its users.
Discussion:
Social Media Today, CNET, Digital Trends, 9to5Mac, Dataconomy, Tech Times, Mashable and Engadget
RELATED:
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok says it will test letting users choose how much AI-generated content appears in their For You feed, and more advanced AI-generated content labeling tech
TikTok says it will test letting users choose how much AI-generated content appears in their For You feed, and more advanced AI-generated content labeling tech
Discussion:
Social Media Today, CNET, WebProNews, MacRumors, iPhone in Canada, Business Insider, Android Headlines, Tubefilter, @carnage4life.bsky.social, WeRSM, Digital Trends, KnowTechie, Dexerto, TikTok, The Verge, PCMag, Dataconomy, PC Gamer, RTÉ, Engadget, Mashable and The Sun, more at Techmeme »
