Top News:
Sarah Whitten / CNBC:
Lionsgate shares soar ~15% after report that CBS interim CEO made an offer of around $5B to acquire Starz; Lionsgate said to have rejected offer — KEY POINTS — Rumors that CBS had made an informal offer to buy Starz from the media company sent the stock soaring.
Discussion:
The Information, Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, NickALive!, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters and Cord Cutters News
RELATED:
Reuters:
Sources: Lionsgate offered to sell Starz to CBS for $5.5B after CBS made an informal $5B bid for the network — (Reuters) - Lions Gates Entertainment offered to sell cable channel Starz to CBS Corp for $5.5 billion after rebuffing a lower offer, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Discussion:
@matthewkeyslive
John Scott-Railton / The Citizen Lab:
Inside Endless Mayfly, an Iran-aligned network of websites and online personas used to spread false information targeting Saudi Arabia, the US, and Israel — Endless Mayfly1 is an Iran-aligned network of inauthentic websites and online personas used to spread false and divisive information …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab and The Atlantic
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Techdirt settles suit by Shiva Ayyadurai, who claimed to invent email; no money exchanges hands; Techdirt to link to an Ayyadurai statement on related articles — It's possible that some of you saw the news earlier this week that the legal dispute, in which Shiva Ayyadurai sued us for defamation …
Discussion:
PR Newswire, @normative, @adamsteinbaugh, @scottgreenfield, NBC News and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify to start testing Car Thing, a voice-controlled smart assistant device that connects to your car and phone over bluetooth, with some Premium users in US — To learn how people consume audio in their car — Spotify will begin publicly testing its first hardware today …
Discussion:
Spotify, BGR, The Week, Android Police, RAIN News, Fast Company, Android Headlines, Variety, Engadget, Music Ally, Thurrott, TechCrunch, Mashable and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Nicolas Kristen / Global Editors Network:
Q&A with Google News creator Krishna Bharat on the impact of AI on journalism, the future of assisted interviews, and AI's contribution to democratic processes — In recent years, the threats posed by AI to democracies through hacking, manipulation, and disinformation campaigns have garnered public attention.
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Google says it will shut down Jump, its cloud-based VR video stitching service, on June 28, due to a usage decline as new video formats and VR cameras came out — Google will shut down Jump, its cloud-based video stitching service, this summer. The company emailed creators Friday afternoon …
Discussion:
Engadget
David Von Drehle / Washington Post:
The battle for readers' attention translates to pandering to biases and flattening information, so trivial and significant stories get equal standing — Could it be a civic duty to tune out the news? Journalist Oliver Burkeman floats this provocative idea in a recent essay published in the Guardian newspaper.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
As streaming services look for content, the price to option magazine articles has soared; journalists and media organizations sometimes clash over revenue split — As a peripatetic writer for national magazines, David Kushner has traveled to some far-flung destinations.
Discussion:
@gerryfsmith, Thanks:@steverubel
Marisa Guthrie / Hollywood Reporter:
Steve Kroft, the longest-tenured correspondent on 60 Minutes, is retiring, with his final segment airing Sunday — The show's longest-tenured correspondent is known for his incisive interviews and impactful investigations. But he admits, “I'm not easy.” — Steve Kroft, the longest …
Discussion:
Newser, The Daily Caller, TVWeek.com, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, CBS News, People.com, Deadline, TVNewser, The Wrap, Variety, Associated Press and Mediaite
Patience Haggin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Google agreed to refund advertisers that paid for ads displayed in an ad fraud scheme discovered in 2017, following lawsuit over back-payments — Google has agreed to refund advertisers for ads purchased through its ad marketplaces that ran on websites with fraudulent traffic …
Discussion:
@dinasrinivasan, @asharma, @craigsilverman and Marketing Land, more at Techmeme »
Miriam Berger / The National:
Arabic podcasts, relatively free from regulation for the moment, rise thanks to young producers providing views on the Arabic world unseen in mainstream media — A new generation of young and forward-thinking producers are providing an alternative view on the Arabic world