Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles take minority stakes in The Daily Beast; Sherwood will be CEO and publisher, and Coles will be chief creative and content officer — The former Disney executive Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles, the former Hearst content chief, are being given a minority stake in the digital tabloid.
Discussion:
Politico, Mediaite, @davidphinney, New York Post, The Information, Axios, @digitalshields, @dylanbyers, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, @chaykak, Variety, @benmullin and Puck
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Max Tani / Semafor:
The Intercept is losing ~$300K/month and could run out of cash by May 2025, according to data from March; its CEO says the projection was a worst case scenario — The Scoop — The Intercept, the left-wing U.S. newsroom that's been a thorn in Joe Biden's side and a hub for pro-Palestinian coverage …
Discussion:
Semafor, New York Post, @jameeljaffer, @eoinhiggins_, @brianchallenge1, @georgebaily@mastodon.social, @semafor, The Daily Caller, @skooks, @sarahleah1, @ericmgarcia, @pressgazette, @mbolotnikova, @joffemd, @jason_pontin, @micahflee@infosec.exchange, @noahpinion, @noahpinion, @clarajeffery and @maxwelltani
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
As Netflix's new film chief Dan Lin takes charge, the company aims to shift its film strategy to focus on audience appeal and cost efficiency — Dan Lin, the streaming service's new film chief, wants to produce a more varied slate of movies to better appeal to the array of interests among subscribers.
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
A look at the negotiations to provide media access to Trump's trial; the state court system hired ex-journalist Al Baker to prepare for the historic trial — For months, reporters, lawyers, and court officials have been negotiating media access to the camera-free proceedings.
Discussion:
TMZ.com, @bubblebathgirl, @benkochman, Deadline, @maggienyt, @charlottetklein, @mlcalderone, @edcauchi and Reuters Institute
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Disney plans old-style TV channels within Disney+, with a continuous, scheduled stream of shows that are focused on certain genres like Star Wars — In television, what's old is new again. After more than a decade of growth in streaming services that make viewers click on shows they want to watch …
Bloomberg:
Taylor Swift's music returning to TikTok highlights her power over UMG and its CEO Lucian Grainge, who must now hope other music groups join his TikTok fight — Shari Redstone believes she's found the right buyer for Paramount. Her fellow shareholders aren't convinced.
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Music Ally and Lefsetz Letter
Richard Brooks / The Guardian:
Ofcom Chair Michael Grade says TV has become more “exploitative and cruel”, which makes him “mad”, and worries that the UK public are now used as performers — The boss of the broadcast regulator has expressed concern about how the chase for audience ratings is harming the industry
Discussion:
@theworsttom, @paulmay9115 and @jeffjarvis
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Major South African outlet The Daily Maverick takes down its site for a day to alert readers to ad revenue, grant funding, and philanthropic support “drying up” — A major South African news website has taken “drastic” action to raise awareness of the “crisis in journalism” by shutting down for 24 hours.
Discussion:
@paulivw, @carrynann, @newzroom405, @cebelihlem, WAN-IFRA and LatAm Journalism Review
Ariel Zilber / New York Post:
CNN axes King Charles, its weekly one-hour primetime show launched in fall 2023 by Chris Licht with hosts Gayle King and Charles Barkley, due to low ratings — The CNN weekly prime time talk show co-hosted by basketball loudmouth Charles Barkley and CBS morning star Gayle King has ended a six-month run that failed to produce ratings.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Awful Announcing, @mediaevan, The Hill, The Daily Caller, The Daily Beast and The Hollywood Reporter
New York Times:
Sources: Instagram is in the early stages of testing “Creator AI” chatbots for top influencers, which would automate DM responses to fans in a creator's “voice” — Instagram is testing a program that offers its top influencers the ability to interact with their followers over direct messages using a chatbot.
Discussion:
Avi Hakhamanesh on LinkedIn, @baekdal, @sapna, @kateconger, @mikeisaac, Digital Journal and @mikeisaac, more at Techmeme »
Josef Adalian / Vulture:
Q&A with Craig Erwich, president of Disney Television Group, on determining what shows air where, from Hulu to ABC, the continued importance of ABC, and more — This story first ran in Buffering, Vulture's newsletter about the streaming industry. Head to vulture.com/buffering and subscribe today!
Discussion:
Screen Rant
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Slack message: NYT's probe into whether staff leaked confidential information about its Gaza war coverage ended without any conclusive findings — Times Executive Editor Joe Kahn said there were ‘gaps in the way proprietary journalistic material is handled’
Discussion:
New York Post, The Intercept and @ryangrim
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