Top News:
Mark Walker / New York Times:
Block Communications announces that The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will cease publication May 3; the closure will not affect its sister newspaper, The Toledo Blade — The family-owned company that operates the newspaper cited mounting losses and labor constraints. A final edition is expected on Sunday, May 3.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, The Guardian, Awful Announcing, Editor and Publisher, Plain Dealer, Dow Jones Newswires, MLive.com, CBS News, @pghguild, Keith Reed on LinkedIn, Stacy Skiavo on LinkedIn, @victorpickard.bsky.social, Barrett Media, @stephenthompson.bsky.social, Daily Caller News Foundation, New York Daily News, Deadline, @steve@s.yelvington.com, @colinbwilliams.com, @lrearick.bsky.social, @kevincollier.bsky.social and r/Journalism
Isabella Simonetti / Wall Street Journal:
Semafor raised $30M at a $330M valuation after generating $2M in EBITDA in 2025, its first profitable year, and plans to expand its annual CEO gathering in DC — The digital media outlet, which aims to inform the ‘global leadership class,’ plans to expand its events business and add journalists
Discussion:
@johnwilson, @thesimonetti, @neilcybart, Axios, @parryravi, Justin B. Smith on LinkedIn, @sbanjo, The Wrap, Semafor, @emily_sundberg, @lizrhoffman, Reuters and Talking Biz News
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
WBD's board unanimously rejects Paramount's amended $108.4B acquisition offer, saying the bid still has “significant” risks compared to Netflix's $83B offer — The board says the revised $108.4 billion bid continues to offer “significant costs, risks and uncertainties” compared to its $83 billion deal with Netflix
Discussion:
CNBC, MediaPost, Warner Bros. Discovery, Business Insider, Forrester, StreamTV Insider, The Times, TV Tech, Ars Technica, The Movie Blog, CNN, Washington Examiner, GamesIndustry.biz, Dow Jones Newswires, @luiz_fernando_j, Bloomberg, MS NOW, @scottnover, Los Angeles Times, Screen, New York Post, UPI, Engadget, @sarafischer, @brianstelter, Barron's Online, The Standard, Fortune, Axios, TTV News, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Cord Cutters News, @danprimack, BERNAMA, @lwsresearch, World of Reel, @brianstelter, Wall Street Journal, GameSpot, New York Times, @pkafka, Financial Times, Deadline, BBC, Proactive, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, Plain Dealer, Türkiye Today, @lucas_shaw, The Streamable, TechCrunch, Advanced Television, @sarafischer, The Independent, Far Out Magazine, Barrett Media, Forbes, Broadband TV News, Capital Brief, Media Play News, Telecompaper, CBS News, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, Cynopsis and Realscreen, more at Techmeme »
Katie Arcieri / Bloomberg Law:
The US House Judiciary Subcommittee scrutinizes the WBD-Netflix deal, and Rep. Jamie Raskin expresses concern over Trump's influence on Paramount and Netflix — House lawmakers Wednesday questioned the proposed tie-up between Warner Bros. and Netflix Inc., with some weighing the competitive tradeoffs …
Discussion:
Reuters, Financial Post, Al Jazeera, Irish Examiner, The Independent, Sky News, The Wrap and Comic Book
RELATED:
Tony Maglio / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD board chair indicates WBD remains open to a Paramount acquisition, saying David Ellison “stepped up to the table” but “ultimately didn't raise the price”
WBD board chair indicates WBD remains open to a Paramount acquisition, saying David Ellison “stepped up to the table” but “ultimately didn't raise the price”
Discussion:
Business Insider, CNBC, Vanity Fair, NBC News, Front Office Sports, Reuters, Screen, Media Play News, CBS News and Mediaite
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Sources: Tony Dokoupil's CBS Evening News debut left some staffers embarrassed and alarmed over the chaotic on-air rollout and MAGA-friendly editorial choices — On Tuesday evening, newly installed “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil closed out just his second official broadcast with a surreal segment …
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, HuffPost, The Independent, RADAR, NewsMax.com, Notes From The Circus, Mother Jones, New Republic, America, America, The Hill, @tonydokoupil, Deadline, TV Insider, @mattxs, @sueinrockville.bsky.social, Raw Story, Variety, Mediaite, @passantino.bsky.social, @samlitzinger.bsky.social, @nickfield.bsky.social, @nickfield.bsky.social, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, @passantino.bsky.social, @scott-conway.bsky.social, @oliverdarcy.bsky.social and Variety
Jazz Tangcay / Variety:
NLRB: DreamWorks remote workers, Netflix animation production workers, and “Ted” production workers vote to unionize with the Animation Guild and Editors Guild — DreamWorks Animation (DWA) remote workers across the United States, feature production workers at Netflix Animation Studios …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @scribblechris.bsky.social, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Washington Post:
The new Pentagon press corps, comprising many right-wing influencers, had no scoops about the Venezuela raid, choosing to praise the event instead of probing it — Newfound access hasn't provided more information to the largely right-wing press corps that signed the Defense Department's media rules.
Discussion:
@scottnover, @scottnover.bsky.social and @drewharwell.com
Carolina Abbott Galvão / Columbia Journalism Review:
Q&A with John Cusack, a longtime press freedom advocate, on how FOIA-based reporting shouldn't be behind paywalls and how walls hurt those most affected by news — The movie star says that by selling their public-records-based reporting, news outlets are compromising one of journalism's essential civic roles.
Discussion:
@mariabustillos.com, @freedom.press and @katie-drummond.bsky.social
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Fox is launching Fox Creator Studios to work with social content creators on multiple platforms and has made development deals with several food personalities — Digital-first division starts with a focus on food through deals with Gordon Ramsay and social media stars Rosanna Pansino …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, TVNewsCheck, Kelly Russell on LinkedIn and Cord Cutters News
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Apptopia and Similarweb: Conservative news apps have seen little to no growth in downloads and web traffic over the past two years, as infighting splinters MAGA — Most major conservative news apps have seen little to no growth in monthly traffic or app downloads over the past one to two years …
Discussion:
@aaronrosspowell.com and Simon Owens's Media Newsletter
Deadline:
Deadline names Nellie Andreeva, its current Co-Editor-In-Chief and head of the TV department, as sole EIC; Mike Fleming Jr. will become Editor-at-Large — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline's current Co-Editor-In-Chief and head of the TV department, has been named sole Editor-in-Chief.
Discussion:
The Ankler, The Wrap, @deadline and @maxwelltani, more at Techmeme »
Elizabeth Hernandez / Denver Post:
After its domain registration expired, the student news outlet at the University of Colorado Boulder was plagued by a copycat site using AI to create content — Copycat websites increasingly common amid rise of artificial intelligence, CU Independent's attorney says
