Mediagazer: Thierry Breton says EU Digital Services Act content rules will apply to Apple, Meta, Google, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, and 12 others from August 2023 (Foo Yun Chee/Reuters)

1:05 PM ET, April 25, 2023

Top News:

Jack Shafer / Politico:

Tucker Carlson's ouster, like Glenn Beck's and Bill O'Reilly's before him, shows that no one at Fox News is irreplaceable since Fox itself is the star — No one is irreplaceable at the network. It was designed that way. — If you're wondering did Tucker Carlson jump …

Discussion: The Atlantic, SPLICETODAY.com, @neilchenoweth, @eugene_scott, @glcarlstrom, @michaelkruse, Insider, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite

Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:

Sources: the decision to fire Tucker Carlson came straight from Rupert Murdoch and is related to former Carlson producer Abby Grossberg's discrimination lawsuit — Tucker Carlson is leaving Fox News. — The network announced the departure of its top-rated and most provocative conservative prime-time host Monday with no explanation.

Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:
Source: Tucker Carlson's Fox News exit was “a firing” and he's “totally surprised”; sources: the newsroom is in “shock” and found out when the news broke online

Discussion: @phil_lewis_, Semafor, @jimrosicafl, Insider, The Hollywood Reporter, Newser, Forbes, @nycsouthpaw, @tedlieu, @semafor and Mediaite

Aidan McLaughlin / Mediaite:
Fox News says the network and Tucker Carlson “have agreed to part ways”, and that Carlson's last program was on Friday, April 21

Discussion: @sarafischer, Washington Post, @oliverdarcy, @therecount, @brianstelter, Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Semafor, @brianstelter, @rt_com, New York Times, @bonchieredstate, Fox News, New York Magazine, New York Times, @dylanbyers, @goangelo, @atrupar, @brianstelter, Mother Jones, Insider, @mimms, The Wrap, @andrewfeinberg, Axios, Culture News, @megynkelly, Media Matters for America, @harrymccracken, @mattyglesias, @brianstelter, @henryrodgersdc, @pkafka, @bgrueskin, @keitholbermann, @claireatki, @erikwemple, @projectlincoln, New York Times, @morganisawizard, @oneunderscore__, The Atlantic, @nikkimcr, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, @brianstelter, Talking Points Memo, NPR, CNN, Newser, @erikwemple, @bad_takes, @srl, New Republic, Politico, @brianstelter, Vibe, @mehdirhasan, Forbes, Insider, @cwarzel, @davidfolkenflik, Media Voices, @nidhi, @rvawonk, @brianstelter, @rashidatlaib, @business, @maddowblog, @catturd2, CNN, @mollyjongfast, @yashar, @brianstelter, @jbflint, @daveweigel, @michaelehayden, @ndrew_lawrence, @owillis, @mlcalderone, @charliekirk11, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, @garbageape, @oneunderscore__, @jordanbpeterson, @mehdirhasan, @brianstelter, @alfranken, @justinbaragona, @oneunderscore__, @therickwilson, @jason_pontin, @rottenindenmark, @andylevy, @jeremymbarr, @jeremymbarr, @bgrueskin, @rvawonk, @taylorlorenz, @profjeffjarviss, @junlper, @mattgertz, @semaforben, @edmundlee, @murderxbryan, @tedlieu, @darth, @carlbeijer, @kbandersen, @mikedrucker, @kasparov63, @mediaite, @ktbenner, @nemanjayvr, Reuters, @thefootballnick, @aidnmclaughlin, @semaforben, @kendallybrown, @sethmoulton, @tomaxwell, @scottnover, @themaxburns, @muldowney, @jeffjarvis, @timinhonolulu, @danprimack, @businessinsider, @jeremymbarr, @davidhogg111, @oliverdarcy, @brendonleslie, @catturd2, @teroterotero, @cwarzel, @ajs, NBC News, @colinyovng, @jeremymbarr, @decodingfoxnews, @decodingfoxnews, @mariashriver, @dougjballoon, @jeffjarvis, @deggans, @fmanjoo, @cmclymer, @colbyhall, @askdrruth, @johnjharwood, @petersterne, @matthewkeyslive, @mgsiegler, @fmanjoo, @carnage4life, @tomcoates, @fmanjoo, @davewiner, @danprimack, @tomcoates, @normative, @lucas_shaw, @arusbridger, @ninaburleigh, @lucas_shaw, @brianstelter, @danprimack, @brianstelter, @hamiltonnolan, @mk7j21, @petersterne, @sherman4949, @lanceulanoff, @eriqgardner, @sherman4949, @robbystarbuck, @brianstelter, @gaberivera, Variety, The Guardian, @dell@journa.host, @danhon@dan.mastohon.com, Mediaite, Forbes, Forbes, Press Gazette, The Desk, New York Magazine, Associated Press, IndieWire, @bkahn@mstdn.science, Bloomberg, The Wrap and @antonioserrata@masto.ai

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
Source: Tucker Carlson was in the midst of negotiating the renewal of his Fox News contract through 2029 and told people last week he expected it to be renewed

Discussion: Mediaite, The Daily Beast, The Hill, Columbia Journalism Review, @palmerreport, @brianstelter, @oliverdarcy, @davidjollyfl, @repmtg, @calltoactivism, @brianstelter, The Atlantic and @Npars01@mstdn.social

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nate Silver tells FiveThirtyEight employees that he expects to leave Disney when his contract is up “soon” as layoffs hit the data journalism outlet — ABC News is expected to retain the FiveThirtyEight brand, with plans to streamline the data-driven site.

Discussion: @natesilver538, @natesilver538, The Hill, @alexweprin, @claremalone, @dilanesper, @emilybell, @ejmiller25, @tvgrimreaper, @ggreeneva and @dgreenbaum

Lindsay Isaac / CNN:

In court documents, Prince Harry's legal team alleges Prince William settled phone hacking claims with News Group Newspapers for a “very large sum” — Buckingham Palace and Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers reached a secret agreement over historical phone hacking claims …

Discussion: Associated Press, SheKnows, The Guardian and Reuters

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

Prince Harry's lawyers say the royal family had an agreement not to pursue claims against News Group Newspapers until the conclusion of phone hacking litigation — Prince Harry is newly pursuing News Group Newspapers over claims of unlawful information gathering.

Discussion: Washington Post, Reuters, The Guardian, Insider, Robb Report, Financial Times, @janinegibson, Deadline, Hacked Off, @independent, Semafor and @msmwatchdog2013

Lee Haye-ah / Yonhap News Agency:

Netflix plans to invest $2.5B in South Korea for Korean TV series, movies, and scripted shows over the next four years — Netflix said Monday it will invest US$2.5 billion in South Korea over the next four years to produce Korean TV series, movies and scripted shows.

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, TechCrunch, The A.V. Club, Fortune, Semafor, Broadband TV News, Insider, Financial Times, CNN, The Wrap, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Reuters and Deadline

Alex Thompson / Axios:

Following Biden's reelection campaign announcement, the Republican National Committee publishes an attack ad featuring AI-generated images, some including Biden — - The video features AI-created images appearing to show Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris celebrating at an Election Day party …

Discussion: Forbes, The Verge, New York Post, The Hill and Semafor, more at Techmeme »

Chloe Xiang / VICE:

A look at AI Hub, a Discord community focused on AI music that released an entire album featuring original songs using AI-generated vocals from famous artists — On Saturday, they released an entire album using an AI-generated copy of Travis Scott's voice, and labels are trying to kill it.

Discussion: @dadabots and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »

Martine Paris / Forbes:
Pop star Grimes tells fans to create AI-generated music using her voice, saying she will split 50% royalties, the same deal as “with any artist I collab with”

Discussion: @grimezsz, @grady_booch, @lucalush, @kelly_mckernan, Music Ally, Digital Music News, CBS News, @thechosenberg, @philthatremains, @frantzfries, @reocragun, @nickfloats and The Verge

Wall Street Journal:

Overwhelmed by streaming services and their content, some US viewers are turning to Pluto TV, Tubi, and other free offerings that show classic TV shows with ads — Free streaming services Pluto TV, Tubi, Xumo Play and others show classic TV shows with ads, easing decisions for those overwhelmed with options

Discussion: @bysarahkrouse, @jasoncolavito, @jtoonkel, @tednesi, @mulvihill79 and @mattzeitlin

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

An interview with Danny Groom, the editor of Mail Online in the UK, on expanding royal coverage to royal families around the world, including Monaco and Morocco — Mail Online boss Danny Groom said the royal growth has “huge editorial and commercial possibilities”.

Discussion: @pressgazette and @hayley_barlow

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Spotify reports Q1 revenue up 14% YoY to €3B, ad revenue up 17% YoY to €329M, MAUs up 22% YoY to 515M, Premium Subscribers up 15% YoY to 210M, and a €225M loss — Audio streaming giant posted lower-than-expected revenue gains as ad spending cooled Spotify Technology SA reported …

Discussion: The Wrap, Engadget, Spotify, Billboard, Digital Music News, TechCrunch, Reuters, Variety, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, Music Business Worldwide and AllAccess.com, more at Techmeme »

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Thierry Breton says EU Digital Services Act content rules will apply to Apple, Meta, Google, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, and 12 others from August 2023 — Five Alphabet (GOOGL.O) subsidiaries, two Meta Platforms (META.O) units, two Microsoft (MSFT.O) businesses, Twitter and Alibaba's …

Discussion: The Guardian and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

James Hercher / AdExchanger:

On April 23, a Meta ad system glitch caused some campaigns to overspend by more than double their daily cost cap; 10+ agencies say Meta gave next to no feedback — Hope you had a peaceful Sunday. — If you're a Facebook advertiser, though, that may not have been the case.

Discussion: MediaPost, Bloomberg, @uofdigital, The Drum, Gizmodo, MediaPost and @profcarroll@federate.social, more at Techmeme »

Alex Griffing / Mediaite:

CNN rebukes Don Lemon for saying his agent “informed” him that CNN terminated him, saying Lemon “was offered an opportunity to meet” but instead took to Twitter — CNN's communications department issued a quick correction to fired anchor Don Lemon's brutal statement …

Discussion: Vanity Fair, Breitbart, The Desk, @nycsouthpaw, @andylevy and Reuters

New York Times:
CNN parts ways with Don Lemon, who had been under scrutiny since making on-air remarks about women and aging in February 2023; Lemon says he was terminated

Digiday:

How a reliance on social media traffic led to BuzzFeed News' demise; Similarweb: social channels made up 26% of its traffic in Q1 2023, vs. 13% at HuffPost — BuzzFeed News shut down Thursday due to an “over-investment” into the social-first news site, according to an internal memo from BuzzFeed Inc's CEO and founder Jonah Peretti.

Discussion: The Nation, @janebsinger and @michaelmeckler@mastodonapp.uk

Max Tani / Semafor:
With Facebook's pivot away from news and Twitter's decay, media outlets return to digital media's foundational concepts of the early 2000s like homepage traffic

Discussion: @azi, @bernstein, @maxwelltani, @maxwelltani, @maxwelltani, @jodyavirgan, @versharma, @kevinokeefe, @chaykak, @rafat, @ericlach, @joeposner, @benjysarlin and @markdistef, more at Techmeme »

Deadline:

CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble filed the inappropriate conduct complaint against NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell; source: Gamble had a previous relationship with Shell — EXCLUSIVE: Multiple sources tell Deadline that the woman who filed the complaint against NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, USA Today, NBC News, Adweek, Reuters, CNN, @johnnydollar01, @keitholbermann and New York Times

Financial Times:

Axel Springer files a criminal complaint against Julian Reichelt, the Bild EIC ousted in 2021, saying he shared confidential internal data with a media outlet — Publisher pursues ex-Bild editor Julian Reichelt — who was sacked for alleged misconduct — over data leaks

Discussion: @olafstorbeck and @laurapitel