Mediagazer: 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 (Nicole Sperling/New York Times)

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: Mediaite, New York Post, Variety, The Information, Axios, The Wrap, @digitalshields, @dylanbyers, The Hollywood Reporter, @chaykak, @benmullin and Puck

Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers:
Sources: ex-Disney TV chief Ben Sherwood and ex-Hearst Magazines executive Joanna Coles have a combined 49% stake in The Daily Beast; Barry Diller retains 51%

Discussion: Deadline and @semaforben

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 …

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.

Discussion: Observer, @snuggliermuffin, ComingSoon.net, @vortiwife.neocities.org, Business Insider, Grace Maharaj on LinkedIn, @simonm223.bsky.social and Forbes

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: @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 …

Discussion: @modestproposal1, The Verge, BGR, @rickgregg, @miggiesmalls, @paxtonguy1, @mulvihill79, @ashokmoore, @nicholasadeleon, @fredbauerblog, @brianbyrdman, @james_levinson, @samro, @smtuffy, @sportsrapport, @groditid, @jontypesthings and @ddayen

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: WAN-IFRA and LatAm Journalism Review

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

Sam Roberts / New York Times:

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Don Wright, who drew cartoons for The Miami News and The Palm Beach Post, died on March 24 at age 90 — He won two Pulitzers for Florida newspapers, commenting wryly on war, segregation, church scandals and more while reaching readers nationwide through syndication.

Discussion: @jamesrosentv

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, @kateconger, @baekdal, @sapna, @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