1:55 AM ET, March 26, 2025
March 25, 2025
10:30 PM
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
Anthropic convinced a California federal judge to reject a preliminary bid to block it from using lyrics owned by UMG and other music publishers to train Claude
7:15 PM
Anna Washenko / Engadget:
Game Informer, closed by GameStop in 2024, returns with its full staff and new owner Gunzilla Games; EIC Matt Miller says it will stay editorially independent
6:15 PM
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Trump withdraws the nomination of Media Research Center founder L. Brent Bozell III to head USAGM, naming him instead to serve as US ambassador to South Africa
5:40 PM
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
NBCUniversal will launch 40 FAST channels on LG smart TVs in an expanded partnership, spanning entertainment, news, sports, Spanish-language content, and more
5:15 PM
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Court docs: a federal judge has ordered USAGM to restore operational grants to RFE/RL, after the outlet sued to stop the blocking of funds allocated by Congress
5:00 PM
Ruth Michaelson / The Guardian:
A prosecutor in Turkey remands eight journalists to custody, reversing a decision to release them after they were arrested for covering anti-government protests
4:20 PM
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers names Gregory Hessinger as president, succeeding Carol Lombardini, who is stepping into an advisory role
3:55 PM
Alex Konrad / Upstarts Media:
Alex Konrad, who worked for 12 years at Forbes covering startups and broader tech stories, launches Upstarts Media on Substack, about the startup ecosystem
2:40 PM
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
How the AP is managing to cover the White House while it awaits a decision on its ban: reliance on pool reports and dependence on foreign AP correspondents
1:20 PM
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen: YouTube made up 11.6% of all US TV use, the most of among media providers; viewers over age 50, accounted for 36% of time spent watching YouTube on TV
12:40 PM
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Megyn Kelly plans to launch podcast network MK Media, starting with shows hosted by Mark Halperin, columnist Maureen Callahan, and commentator Link Lauren
12:10 PM
Reuters:
India's finance minister says the country will scrap a 6% tax on digital advertisements, easing costs for US tech giants, as a way of soothing US trade concerns
11:15 AM
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
The UK CMA says Ticketmaster may have broken consumer protection law in how it sold 900K+ Oasis tickets in 2024 and told it to change how it gives pricing info
11:00 AM
Melissa Heikkilä / Financial Times:
AI startup Synthesia says it's creating a $1M stock pool to pay actors with equity for the use of their likeness; Synthesia was valued at $2.1B in January 2025
10:40 AM
Michael Burkhardt / 9to5Mac:
Apple Music is opening its catalog to DJs by integrating with popular DJ software and hardware platforms including Algoriddim's djay Pro and AlphaTheta
10:15 AM
Ian Youngs / BBC:
Barb: Netflix's Adolescence becomes the first streaming show to top the UK's weekly TV ratings, with the first episode drawing 6.45M viewers in its debut week
9:48 AM
Deadline:
No Other Land co-director Yuval Abraham says co-director Hamdan Ballal has been freed after being beaten by Israeli settlers and arrested by soldiers
9:25 AM
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher are set to testify to Congress on March 26 at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's “Anti-American Airwaves” hearing
8:25 AM
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
3D tech company Infinite Reality acquires Napster for $207M; Infinite's CEO says that the file-sharing phenomenon will be used for marketing in the metaverse
7:50 AM
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Daily Mail crosses 250K digital subscribers, including more than 163K Mail+ subscribers, and appoints Celia Duncan as its first global women's editor
6:50 AM
Chloe Mac Donnell / The Guardian:
Fashion magazine i-D, bought by Karlie Kloss' Bedford Media after Vice's 2023 bankruptcy, returns to UK newsstands, priced at £20; i-D plans two issues per year
6:30 AM
Bloomberg:
TikTok memo: Blake Chandlee, who oversaw TikTok's ad sales and marketing globally, is moving to an advisory role; TikTok faces an April 5 deadline for a US sale
6:10 AM
New York Times:
Chris LaCivita, an ex-Trump campaign manager, files a defamation lawsuit against The Daily Beast over an October 2024 article on how much the campaign paid him
5:50 AM
Al Jazeera:
Separate Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed two media workers: Hossam Shabat, a journalist who worked for Al Jazeera Mubasher, and Mohammad Mansour
5:20 AM
M.G. Siegler / Spyglass:
A look at Apple's bad Apple TV+ strategy, including dismissing Netflix's growth, building a platform without a back-catalog, and using TV+ to boost device sales
4:20 AM
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava on the music creation platform, the economics of creator platforms, why creatives “deserve better” than AI tools, and more
March 24, 2025
10:35 PM
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Former CNN foreign correspondent Saima Mohsin says she “lost the support of the very place I thought would have my back” after an injury on assignment for CNN
8:05 PM
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
A profile of Sasha Stone, a blogger who has covered the Hollywood awards season since the 1990s and now leans into MAGA punditry, costing her advertisers
5:35 PM
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Lawyers for USAGM say they notified RFE/RL of their intention to disburse $7M+ by next week, following a lawsuit filed by the broadcaster
4:40 PM
Simon Hattenstone / The Guardian:
An interview with HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur on the BBC ending his interview show, why it is a depressing day for the BBC, and his anger at management
3:57 PM
Brian Welk / IndieWire:
Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land's co-director Yuval Abraham says co-director Hamdan Ballal was “lynched” by Israeli settlers and arrested by soldiers
3:20 PM
Jeffrey Goldberg / The Atlantic:
The Atlantic EIC says he was inadvertently included in a Signal chat group with Pete Hegseth, JD Vance, and others revealing the attack plans on Houthi targets
3:00 PM
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
SEC filing: Ari Emanuel and a trust controlled by Emanuel received a payment of $174M in connection with the Silver Lake deal; Patrick Whitesell received $100M
2:20 PM
Anna Peele / Vanity Fair:
Q&A with Nick Denton on moving to Hungary, Gawker, how Peter Thiel actually did him a huge favor, and Thiel funding the Gawker suit mainly over a PayPal story
1:45 PM
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Live Nation reaches a $20M deal to settle an investor lawsuit claiming the company misled investors over allegations that it violated antitrust laws
1:00 PM
Sara Fischer / Axios:
A look at VOA staffers' lawsuit against Trump administration as they file a motion on Monday seeking a restraining order to freeze further attempts to gut VOA
12:05 PM
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Dow Jones launches a content feed for users of the London Stock Exchange Group's Workspace data platform, its first customized product for an enterprise partner
11:00 AM
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The New Statesman names UnHerd Political Editor Tom McTague as editor, following Jason Cowley standing down as editor of the title at the end of 2024
10:10 AM
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
CNN hires Amanda Wills, who departed CNN in 2022 to lead video at the WSJ, as chief content officer, as the cable news brand plans a digital push
9:50 AM
Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
SCOTUS refuses to revive a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump ally Steve Wynn, in a case seeking to overturn, or narrow, the 1964 NYT v. Sullivan ruling
9:05 AM
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Endeavor closes a deal to go private with Silver Lake and changes its name to WME Group; Ari Emanuel gives up his CEO role to become executive chairman
7:40 AM
Associated Press:
Turkish media workers' union says authorities detained at least eight reporters and photojournalists from their homes, as the government cracks down on protests
6:45 AM
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Serbian editors say press freedom is at a “dangerous turning point” after growing pressure on independent outlets from Serbian ministers and state-backed media
6:10 AM
Adeel Hassan / New York Times:
A US judge rules Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You was not stolen from other songwriters, in a $20M lawsuit over a 1989 song with the same name
5:50 AM
Andrew Anthony / The Guardian:
A profile of The New Yorker at 100 and an interview with editor David Remnick, in the post for 27 years, as the magazine navigates “a world of misinformation”
5:00 AM
John Koblin / New York Times:
A look at the challenges facing Sesame Workshop, including losing its HBO contract and competition from newer shows like Bluey and CoComelon
March 23, 2025
10:15 PM
Max Tani / Semafor:
Source: YouTube is preparing to test a feature that will let host-read ads be dynamically inserted and swapped out within individual YouTube videos
3:15 PM
Robert D. McFadden / New York Times:
Max Frankel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent and executive editor of The New York Times from 1986 to 1994, has died at the age of 94
10:20 AM
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
After leadership changes and an internal studio closure, Netflix aims to refine its gaming strategy, focusing on smaller-scale games rather than big-budget ones
March 22, 2025
4:50 PM
Eliza Gkritsi / Politico:
X suspends several accounts belonging to opposition figures in Turkey, amid extensive protests sparked by the arrest of President Erdogan's main political rival
March 21, 2025
10:45 PM
Bloomberg Law:
Brendan Carr says the FCC is prepared to block M&A proposals, including the Paramount-Skydance deal, from companies with “invidious forms of DEI discrimination”
9:25 PM
David Folkenflik / NPR:
VOA journalists, their unions, and Reporters Without Borders sue USAGM, acting CEO Victor Morales, and Kari Lake, alleging their moves to close VOA are unlawful
8:25 PM
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Memo: CNN's Virginia Moseley revamps the DC bureau, with SVP Philip Rucker overseeing all Washington editorial, SVP Adam Levine's duties reduced, and more
8:00 PM
Brent Lang / Variety:
Reed Hastings, Ted Sarandos, and others discuss Netflix's origin story, killing Blockbuster Video, snagging House of Cards from HBO, and more
5:30 PM
Steven Levy / Wired:
An interview with Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone on the company's 30th anniversary, being in “building mode”, AI, acquiring AI-powered news aggregator Artifact, and more
3:00 PM
Mark K. Miller / TVNewsCheck:
Sinclair names Valeria Riccioli, ex-VP of Talent at Newsmax, as the director of content for The National News Desk, which airs on 80+ US stations and YouTube
1:25 PM
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
TechCrunch says the Regent deal is structured to ensure minimal disruption to its operations and Yahoo is keeping a small interest in the company
1:05 PM
Jared Newman / Cord Cutter Weekly:
Fubo discontinues Essential, its $85 per month plan with no regional sports, for new customers, after launching it in December 2024
11:36 AM
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Yahoo strikes a deal to sell TechCrunch to media investment firm Regent, which acquired PCWorld publisher Foundry earlier this week
11:30 AM
Luc Cohen / Reuters:
A jury convicts two men, whom US prosecutors say are Russian mobsters, of involvement in an Iran-backed plot to kill US-based journalist Masih Alinejad
10:25 AM
Paul Liu / The Keyword:
Google says its test removing European news content for 1% of users in eight EU countries found that there was no change to Search ad revenue due to the removal
10:05 AM
The Cloudflare Blog:
Cloudflare announces AI Labyrinth, which uses AI-generated content to confuse and waste the resources of AI Crawlers and bots that ignore “no crawl” directives
9:25 AM
Paris Martineau / The Information:
Source: US Senators Dick Durbin and Lindsey Graham plan to introduce a bipartisan bill with wide support that would make Section 230 expire on January 1, 2027
9:05 AM
Katherine Hamilton / Wall Street Journal:
Activist investor David Hoffmann, who owns ~10% of Lee Enterprises after investing in October, proposes acquiring the company; $LEE rose ~18% on March 20
7:55 AM
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Bard College acquires Lapham's Quarterly at no cost from the American Agora Foundation, which had placed the print publication on hiatus in November 2023
7:30 AM
Alban Kacher / Reuters:
French media regulator Arcom orders Eutelsat to stop broadcasting Russian channels STS and Channel 5, after finding the channels had ties to a sanctioned entity
5:50 AM
Reuters:
The UK CMA fines Sky, BT, IMG, ITV, and the BBC a combined £4M+ after they admitted “to breaking the law” by “colluding” on pay rates for freelancers