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, Don Lemon on Instagram, @xbusiness, Axios, The Verge, Mediaite, @karaswisher, @kurtwagner8, @kurtwagner8, @brianstelter, New York Post, The Daily Beast, @dylanbyers, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @kurtbardella, @brianstelter, @charlesarthur, Us Weekly, Fox News, Rolling Stone, CBS News, Engadget, The Daily Dot, Variety, @helenkennedy.bsky.social, HuffPost, CNN, Fast Company, 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, @donlemon, Vibe, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, Reuters, The Wrap, Consequence, TVLine, NewsNation, The Wrap 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, Roll Call, New York Times, New York Times, Rolling Stone, Business Insider, @jakesherman, @alexbarinka, @matthewstoller, The Hill, @jakesherman, @business, @repmtg, @mattdizwhitlock, @adamkovac, @bostonjoan, @tomselliott, @davetroy, @reuters, @sahilkapur, @howardmortman, @boblatta, @conorsen, @mikeisaac, @ally_sammarco, @mtracey, Semafor, @axiospro, @jason_kint, @reppfluger, @committeeonccp, @sachalouise, @emilybell, @govgianforte, @igorbobic, @kateclarktweets, @jacobhelberg, @senmarkey, @jonhaidt, @repthomasmassie, @jakesherman, @matthewstoller, @jingjing_li, @tiktokpolicy, Engadget, @carnage4life, @senmarcorubio, @cspan, @atrupar, @jwherrman, @repspanberger, Digital Music News, @willoremus, @sahilkapur, @mkraju, @carnage4life, @mikeisaac, @repjeffduncan, @repmcgovern, @randpaul, @stephenkentx, @repjames, @aoc, @repdanbishop, @parismarx@mastodon.online, The Drum, Mediaite, NPR, CBS News, WSPA-TV, Cherie Thacker on LinkedIn, Forbes, W Media Research, The Hill, TMZ.com, GSMArena.com, Across Illinois, IL Patch, NBC News, Yahoo News, The Independent, The Information, USA Today, PCMag, Music Business Worldwide, CNN, Ars Technica, 9to5Mac, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The Verge, Billboard, The Wrap, Engadget, Polygon, New York Post, Fox News, @darnell@one.darnell.one, @willoremus@mastodon.social, Axios, Financial Times, TechCrunch, Variety, Digiday, UPI, MediaPost, iMore, The Daily Beast, Reuters, Chico Enterprise-Record, Bloomberg, 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:
New York Times, @zitron.bsky.social, Business Insider and CBS News, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
How the UK Conservative party establishment fought to frustrate RedBird's UAE-backed Telegraph bid; sources say Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch had a key role — Rishi Sunak's ‘hand was forced’ as PM acts to change law to stop foreign states from buying media groups
Discussion:
New York Times, @sarahleah1, Mediaite and The Media Leader
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Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:
Amazon says “a tiny fraction” of sellers paid for ads for products users couldn't buy and pledges a fix; Amazon offered a $15K refund to a seller seeking $300K — The company has pledged to reimburse sellers for the mistake and make fixes to its lucrative advertising operation.
Discussion:
Business Insider
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, TIME, @stevecase, @jbflint, @billshapiro@threads.net, The Hollywood Reporter, @mettlinger.bsky.social, @edmundlee@threads.net, @nemalki, @nemalki, @ernie.tedium.co, @jamisonfoser.bsky.social, @nemalki, @editorialiste, @miketrose@threads.net, @nytimes, @karaswisher@threads.net, @paleofuture.bsky.social, @ernie.tedium.co, @nemalki, @timjhanrahan, @msn, @business, @washingtonpost, @wsjbusiness, The Wrap, @mrwaltershapiro.bsky.social, @kifcap, Deadline, Variety and @nemalki
Russ Crupnick / MusicWatch:
US paid music subscribers hit a record 109M in 2023, rising to 136M including SiriusXM and Amazon Prime Music; seven of every 10 US millennials pay to subscribe — MusicWatch Annual Music Study points to continued health of the US music market, a record number of paid subscribers, and increased spend on recorded music.
Discussion:
Inside Radio, @billyyfantis, Billboard and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »
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:
@outonalumb, @edzitron, @kthomasulland, @alexeheath, @trishlaostwal and @edzitron, more at Techmeme »
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:
Reliance Industries, Financial Times, Bloomberg, @tim_bays, WORLD SCREEN, Reuters, The Wrap, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Advanced Television
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
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