Mediagazer: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the White House, not the WHCA, will now decide which outlets will be in the pool covering presidential events (Ted Johnson/Deadline)

9:30 PM ET, February 25, 2025

Top News:

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the White House, not the WHCA, will now decide which outlets will be in the pool covering presidential events — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the White House would now determine which outlets will be members of the press pool …

Discussion: Mother Jones, TVNewsCheck, White House Correspondents …, The Hill, The Guardian, The Hill, Reuters, RedState, Breitbart, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Human Events, Daily Mail, New York Daily News, CNN, PBS NewsHour, @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, Law & Crime, Associated Press, Adweek, @nytimespr.bsky.social, New York Post, The Independent, The Washington Free Beacon, USA Today, CBS News, Financial Times, Semafor, New York Times, Washington Times, Rolling Stone, New Republic, Washington Examiner, Fox News, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @realtuckfrumper.bsky.social, @cernovich, @peterbakernyt.bsky.social, @mehdirhasan.bsky.social, HotAir, American Greatness, Los Angeles Times, @davidrlurie.bsky.social, @pressfreedomtracker.us, The Wrap, Newser, NBC News, Politico, @kylehaynes.bsky.social, Showbiz411, @mariopro.bsky.social, @greatscottusa.bsky.social, @peterbakernyt.bsky.social, The Desk, @sodrock.bsky.social, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, The Post Millennial, @viktorshtrum.bsky.social, @markjacob.bsky.social, Townhall, Axios, @grynbaum, @jacquiheinrich, Deseret News, @dlboardman, Raw Story, Bloomberg, ZeroHedge News, @dfriedman.bsky.social, @ianjames.bsky.social, The Gateway Pundit, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @sonofathomp.bsky.social, NOTUS, Blaze Media and Variety

Dan Milmo / The Guardian:

Kate Bush and 1,000+ other musicians “co-write” a “silent” album to protest the UK's proposal to let AI train on their copyrighted work if they don't opt out — Recordings of empty studios represent impact on musicians of UK's plans to let AI train on their work without permission

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Major UK newspapers blanket their front covers to protest government proposals to let AI companies train models on copyright-protected work without permission

Discussion: The Week, The Guardian, Press Gazette, Forbes, Engadget and The Drum

Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:

WBD closes three game studios and cancels a highly anticipated Wonder Woman title in a bid to boost the profitability of its interactive entertainment business — - Company halts work on highly anticipated Wonder Woman title — Closures follow several disappointing releases last year

Matthew Belloni / Puck:

Three sources say Kathleen Kennedy, a legendary movie producer and Lucasfilm president for 13 years, plans to step down by the end of 2025 — After a mixed 13-year run, the legendary movie producer has informed Disney, as well as friends and associates, that she will exit as Lucasfilm president by the end of the year.

New York Times:

Sources: Paramount and Trump agree to appoint a mediator in his $20B lawsuit against CBS, a sign that the sides are trying to resolve the case over 60 Minutes — The move is another indicator that the two sides are exploring ways to resolve the case, over the editing of a “60 Minutes” interview, out of court.

Discussion: New York Post, @benmullin, TV Tech, @owillis.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, WWCP-TV and Fox News

Isabella Simonetti / Wall Street Journal:

Oliver Darcy's Status adds CNN Editor Jon Passantino, now has 70,000+ subscribers, and is on track to top $1M in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2025 — Oliver Darcy's media newsletter, launched in August, is poaching a CNN editor and on track to top $1 million in annual recurring revenue

Discussion: Status, Talking Biz News, The Information, Bradley Singer on LinkedIn, @donie.bsky.social, @brianstelter, TVNewsCheck, Simon Owens on LinkedIn, @brianstelter, Oliver Darcy on LinkedIn, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @kfile.bsky.social, @stevenjcbuckley.bsky.social, @jackjenkins.me, @passantino.bsky.social and @oliverdarcy.bsky.social

Jessica Testa / New York Times:

Jonathan Goldstein's podcast Heavyweight joins Pushkin Industries and plans to release new episodes this year, after being canceled by Spotify in 2023 — Pushkin Industries, the podcast company that will release the show, is betting that documentary-style audio programs can still win an audience.

Discussion: Eric Sandler on LinkedIn, Sara Nics on LinkedIn, Theo Beidler on LinkedIn, @benmullin, Gretta Cohn on LinkedIn, @fountain.bsky.social, @jtes, @heavyweight.bsky.social, @ariellethisandthat …, @philthepill.online and The Hollywood Reporter

Vlad Savov / Bloomberg:

Baidu acquires the YY Live streaming platform from Joyy for $2.1B, completing a deal started in 2020; a previous $3.6B deal was rejected by Chinese regulators — The operator of China's leading search engine is paying roughly $2.1 billion for YY Live, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Discussion: Baidu, Inc., @briantycangco, Reuters, Capital Brief and Reuters

Sarah Downs / Variety:

WBD announces that its Max streaming service will launch in Australia on March 31; subscribers to Foxtel get access to the Basic with Ads tier at no extra cost — Max is coming to Australia next month. … As part of a new partnership, Foxtel Group will be a key launch partner …

Discussion: Advanced Television, The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, Vital Thrills, Press Start, Media Play News and Capital Brief

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

AAM: the combined average daily circulation of the 25 largest newspapers in the US fell 12.7% in the year to the end of September 2024; LAT saw the biggest drop — The combined average daily circulation of the 25 largest audited newspapers in the US dropped 12.7% in the year to the end of September 2024, new data shows.

Discussion: @pressgazette.co.uk and @defeatthefascists.bsky.social

Carolyn Giardina / Variety:

Memo: Technicolor Group, which encompasses VFX brands MPC and The Mill, begins to shut down operations “due to inability to find new investors” — Following a weekend during which it tried to make 11th hour deals to save the company and its brands, Technicolor Group CEO Caroline Parot sent …

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

Email: New York Public Radio, which operates WNYC, the Gothamist, and more, plans to lay off about 7% of its staff as it struggles with a financial shortfall — The elimination of 21 full-time roles is the latest in a series of reductions at the organization.

Discussion: @kevinleecaster.bsky.social, @jasonisaacdrums@heads.social, @evayaaasantewaa.bsky.social, @micahloewinger.bsky.social and @micahloewinger.bsky.social

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