Top News:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Ozy built a TV interview show for CEO Carlos Watson based on false claims it was for A&E and that it would then be a YouTube Original, its ex-producer says — Producers say they were led to believe they were making a talk show for A&E, which said no to the program.
Discussion:
@choire, @zachstafford, @thegarance, @jduffyrice, @edmundlee, @briancgrubb, @jbouie, @kimberlynfoster, @arthur_affect, @arlenparsa, @simonowens, @byjoelanderson, @stuartathompson, @byjoelanderson, @mattzeitlin, @awprokop, @kfile, @dannygroner, @ismat, @ashleyfeinberg, @byjoelanderson, @justinbaragona, @mtill50, @davidfolkenflik, @cliffordlevy, @carlquintanilla, @caro, @jonathanvswan, @devlinbarrett, @sonnybunch, @byjoelanderson, @benyt, @thrasherxy, @franklinleonard, @kevinmaddendc, @jakesherman, @albertburneko, @byjoelanderson, @espiers and Forbes
RELATED:
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Some former Ozy employees say they were overworked to the point of exhaustion: “They brought in very talented, motivated, excited people and just used them up” — New York (CNN Business)Around midnight one Saturday late last year, Eva Rodriguez, 24, had trouble breathing.
Discussion:
@benyt, Insider, @sarafischer, Bloomberg, @lmoses, @shannonpareil, @eevasita, @gerryfsmith, @perlberg, @larakiara, @jbarro, @lollardfish, @markgongloff, @ktbenner, @mattbelloni, @priaribi, @keitholbermann, @clarajeffery, @davidgura, @moorehn, @peterhamby, @bobpickard, @parismartineau, @mslopatto, @iwriteok, @remynuma, @phil_rosenthal, @danprimack, @ahess247, @caleweissman, @tonyajoriley, @brosandprose, @anhaiphung, @chaykak, @ahhensel, @heynottheface, @gnagesh, @fka_tabs, @bartlettkate, @elenainzafrica, @nick4iezos, @bartlettkate, @charukasturi, @shortformernie, @eevasita, @eevasita, @eevasita, @alextweeting, @kerrymflynn, @shortformernie, @monicatorrr, @kidnate, @bmorrissey, @haleaziz, @nick4iezos, @jman23j, @mediaevan, @crayton_h, Gawker, Forbes, @dudejohan and Boing Boing
Brian Schwartz / CNBC:
Sharon Osbourne says Carlos Watson lied in a 2019 TV interview when he said Ozzy and Sharon invested in Ozy Media, after the Osbournes settled a trademark suit — - Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson boasted on CNBC in 2019 that Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne had invested in his company.
Axios:
Axel Springer says it gave up its Ozy board seat after investing $300k in its Series C, but Ozy listed Axel's rep as an active director in a July 2021 filing — Good people quit good jobs to join Ozy Media. They believed in its mission, its leadership and its potential for wealth creation.
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @sarafischer, @tomgara, The Rebooting, Puck and The Wrap
Axios:
Ozy Media chairman Marc Lasry resigns and steps down from Ozy's board, saying he lacks expertise in crisis management and investigations; he remains an investor
Discussion:
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Sebastian Murdock / HuffPost:
Judge issues default judgments against Alex Jones in two Sandy Hook cases for routinely failing to comply with requests, making him liable for all damages — A judge issued default judgments — a rarity in the legal world — against Jones and Infowars after the conspiracy theorist failed to produce discovery records.
Discussion:
CNN, Media Matters for America, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Hill, The Guardian, @sebastianmurdoc, UPROXX, @katiephang, @willsommer, Rolling Stone and Boing Boing
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Scarlett Johansson and Disney settle the lawsuit over her pay for Black Widow, released on Disney+ at the same time as in theaters; source: deal is worth $40M+ — (Updated with more details) Just days after the first court hearing in Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow profits mega-bite lawsuit …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, The Streamable, The Guardian, ScreenRant, Wall Street Journal, Collider, The Playlist, @theericgoldman, @variety, @eriqgardner, TechRadar, @patrickadougall, @zernerlaw, @johncampea, @ooccouchgags, @jaylclendenin, @filmupdates, 101.9fm The MIX, @chris_notcapn, @kjpurneii, Engadget, CNET, Rolling Stone, Decider, Vanity Fair, E! Online, Gizmodo, TVLine and The Verge
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
An in-depth look at Google's News Showcase deals; sources: Australian outlets got better offers than outlets in other countries due to political pressure — It is one year this week since Google launched News Showcase, an aggregation service with a $1bn budget to spend with the global journalism industry.
Discussion:
@risj_oxford, @domponsford, @wturvill, What's New in Publishing, @pressgazette, @heidilegg, @simonowens and @bmorrissey
Aislinn Keely / The Block:
TikTok launches Top Moments, an NFT collection featuring six “culturally significant TikTok videos” from creators including Lil Nas X — TikTok is launching a non-fungible token (NFT) collection that will see its top content creators partner with top NFT creators.
Discussion:
TikTok, Billboard, Variety, Like What you see? …, Klever News, Insider, @larakate, @chipzel, @nbtjacklyn, @rrhoover, @rtfktstudios, @producthunt, @blackamazon, @carnage4life, @jowyang, The Verge, GeekWire, Rolling Stone, Ad Age, Decrypt, TechCrunch, Adweek, Tubefilter, Bloomberg and CoinDesk, more at Techmeme »
Joyce Lee / Reuters:
South Korean ISP sues Netflix over costs for traffic surge from hit shows, after a court said Netflix should “reasonably” pay ISPs for network usage — South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband has sued Netflix (NFLX.O) to pay for costs from increased network traffic …
Discussion:
Insider, @reuters and Light Reading, more at Techmeme »
Allison Schiff / AdExchanger:
Facebook to update pre-campaign audience estimates to be less specific, showing a range instead of a number, after backlash for overestimating audience numbers — Pre-campaign reach estimates on Facebook are about to get less precise - on purpose. — In the coming weeks …
Discussion:
Facebook and endlessdigital's Newsletter, more at Techmeme »
Tony Arnold / WBEZ Chicago:
Chicago Public Media names Matt Moog as new CEO, as its board votes to pursue an acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times — URL Copied! — In an unprecedented maneuver to try and “secure the future” of one Chicago's two daily newspapers, Chicago Public Media's board of directors voted Wednesday …
Discussion:
Robert Feder, @lenfestinst, Columbia Journalism Review, New York Times, Robert Feder, Chicago Business, @fuscochris, @michaelsobrien, @ckrewson, @royalpratt, @justinkaufmann, @imleor, @newsjennifer, @lenfestinst, @lenfestinst, @chicagoel, @scribeguy, @danielkayhertz, @mukhtaryare, @beckycarroll7, @timakimoff, @markjacob16, @jimfriedlich, @vwpickard, What Works, Nieman Lab, @palewire, Three Things, The Hill, American Press Institute, Current, @dicktofel and @angelarozas
Clayton Davis / Variety:
HFPA adds 21 members, increasing its membership by 20%, of which 48% identify as women, 29% as Black, 24% as Asian, 29% as Latinx, and 19% as MENA — The Golden Globes have announced their new set of members to join their organization, marking the largest class in their history.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Vanity Fair and @jemelehill
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