Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled The Don Lemon Show's partnership with X, hours after taping an interview with Musk on March 8 for the show's debut episode — The former CNN host interviewed the tech mogul last week, with the chat set to be the launch episode of his new ‘Don Lemon Show.’
Discussion:
@elonmusk, @karaswisher, @xbusiness, Axios, The Verge, Variety, New York Post, Mediaite, @karaswisher, @kurtwagner8, @kurtwagner8, @brianstelter, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, @dylanbyers, @karaswisher, Us Weekly, @helenkennedy.bsky.social, Engadget, @karaswisher, HuffPost, @kurtbardella, @brianstelter, The Daily Dot, @charlesarthur, @donlemon, Fast Company, Fox News, CBS News, Los Angeles Times, Newser, Business Insider, MediaPost, @crumbler@threads.net, Page Six, The Guardian, UPROXX, Wall Street Journal, @pkafka@threads.net, Business Insider, Quartz, TMZ.com, TechCrunch, The Hill, Deadline, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, Vibe, Reuters, The Wrap, Consequence, TVLine, The Wrap, NewsNation and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: Don Lemon had not technically inked an X contract before Elon Musk killed the deal; Lemon plans to post his interview with Musk on March 18 on YouTube — The Scoop — Elon Musk and Don Lemon are escalating towards what could be a bitter contract dispute after X's owner abruptly terminated …
Cristiano Lima-Strong / Washington Post:
The US House passes a bipartisan TikTok bill that forces a sale or ban of the app; the legislation faces an uncertain Senate path without a companion measure — The swift rebuke shifts attention to the Senate, where the bill faces significant political barriers and constitutional concerns
Discussion:
@tiktokpolicy, The Verge, New York Times, @business, The Information, @reuters, Business Insider, The Hill, NPR, Semafor, @jakesherman, @alexbarinka, @matthewstoller, @jakesherman, Digital Music News, @repmtg, @mikeisaac, @parismarx@mastodon.online, @mattdizwhitlock, @repjeffduncan, @adamkovac, @bostonjoan, @tomselliott, @davetroy, @sahilkapur, @repmcgovern, @howardmortman, @boblatta, @conorsen, @mikeisaac, The Drum, @ally_sammarco, @mtracey, @axiospro, @jason_kint, @reppfluger, @committeeonccp, @sachalouise, @emilybell, @govgianforte, @igorbobic, @kateclarktweets, @jacobhelberg, @senmarkey, @jonhaidt, @carnage4life, @randpaul, @repthomasmassie, @stephenkentx, @jakesherman, @matthewstoller, @willoremus, @repjames, @jingjing_li, @tiktokpolicy, @repdanbishop, @aoc, Engadget, @carnage4life, @senmarcorubio, @cspan, @mkraju, @atrupar, @jwherrman, @repspanberger, @sahilkapur, CBS News, WSPA-TV, Cherie Thacker on LinkedIn, The Hill, Forbes, W Media Research, Mediaite, CNN, TMZ.com, GSMArena.com, Across Illinois, IL Patch, NBC News, Yahoo News, The Independent, The Information, USA Today, PCMag, Music Business Worldwide, Ars Technica, 9to5Mac, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Verge, Billboard, The Wrap, Engadget, Polygon, New York Post, @darnell@one.darnell.one, @willoremus@mastodon.social, Axios, Financial Times, TechCrunch, Variety, UPI, MediaPost, Digiday, Fox News, iMore, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Chico Enterprise-Record, Punchbowl News and Ars OpenForum, more at Techmeme »
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The Information:
ByteDance investors, reassessing what the company's value would be without TikTok, estimate that TikTok lost several billion dollars in 2023 on revenue of ~$20B — TikTok, facing a growing threat of a U.S. ban, has been a global juggernaut over the past few years, drawing more than a billion monthly users …
Discussion:
@zitron.bsky.social, New York Times, Business Insider and CBS News
Chris Kornelis / New York Times:
Gerald M. Levin, the former Time Warner CEO who oversaw the AOL merger, widely considered the worst corporate merger in US history, died on March 13 at age 84 — He was called a visionary in cable television, but his foray into the world of the internet, in a marriage with AOL, proved disastrous.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Variety, The Wrap, @edmundlee@threads.net, @miketrose@threads.net, @billshapiro@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, @msn, @nemalki, @nemalki, @kifcap, @nemalki, @nemalki, @timjhanrahan, @nemalki, @washingtonpost, @wsjbusiness, TIME, Deadline, @stevecase, @jbflint, The Hollywood Reporter, @mettlinger.bsky.social, @ernie.tedium.co, @jamisonfoser.bsky.social, @editorialiste, @nytimes, @paleofuture.bsky.social, @ernie.tedium.co, @business and @mrwaltershapiro.bsky.social
Trishla Ostwal / Adweek:
Sources: Google's Search Generative Experience could cut organic search traffic to publishers by 20% to 60%; Google says estimating the impact is premature — Search Generative Experience could upend over 60% of publishers' total organic traffic — Google launched its artificial intelligence …
Discussion:
@edzitron, @outonalumb, @edzitron, @kthomasulland, @alexeheath and @trishlaostwal
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Filing: Paramount Global has agreed to sell its 13% stake in Indian media house Viacom18 to Reliance for $517M, raising Reliance's stake to 70.49% — Mukesh Ambani's Reliance is buying Paramount Global's 13% stake in Viacom18 for $517 million as Asia's richest man broadens his entertainment business …
Discussion:
Financial Times, Reliance Industries, Bloomberg, WORLD SCREEN, The Wrap, Deadline, @tim_bays, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters and Variety
The Moscow Times:
Kremlin-linked RIA Novosti says Russia has charged Mikhail Zygar, former EIC of broadcaster Dozhd, with spreading “fake news” about Russian army atrocities — Russian authorities have pressed criminal charges against journalist Mikhail Zygar for spreading “fake news” …
Discussion:
@newmarkjschool, @k_sonin, @brizzyc, @newmarkjschool, @zygaro and Newmark J-School
Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney is focusing on divisional heads Dana Walden, Jimmy Pitaro, Josh D'Amaro, and Alan Bergman in a search for an eventual successor to CEO Bob Iger — Walt Disney Co.'s board is focusing on four divisional heads as part of a formal search for an eventual successor …
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper
Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg:
OpenAI announces partnerships with Le Monde and Prisa Media to bring French and Spanish language news content to ChatGPT and help train OpenAI's models — Cyber Startup Wiz to Buy Gem Security for $350 Million — Why Are Deepfakes Everywhere? Can They Be Stopped? — QuickTake
Discussion:
TechCrunch, OpenAI, @aifray, @eduardosuarez, Le Monde.fr, @shiringhaffary, @tolgabilge_, @risj_oxford and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
Zeynep Tufekci / New York Times:
The UK media's extreme deference over covering Kate Middleton during her medical absence highlights its double standards in its Meghan Markle coverage — “Where Is Kate Middleton?” yet another headline blared on Monday. The public speculation following her unspecified abdominal surgery …
Discussion:
@ron_fournier, New York Post, @emayhawk, Business Insider, @nikkigemmell, Axios, The Daily Beast, Fox News and Los Angeles Times
Jane Croft / The Guardian:
The UK plans legislation to “ban foreign state ownership, influence, or control” of UK newspapers and magazines, which could thwart Redbird's Telegraph takeover — New legislation could thwart planned £600m purchase of newspaper group by UAE-backed consortium
Discussion:
Semafor, Reuters, Press Gazette, The Independent and Financial Times