Top News:


Filing: Newsmax paid $40M in 2024 to settle the Smartmatic defamation lawsuit over false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 US election — Newsmax Media has agreed to pay $40 million to settle allegations it defamed Smartmatic by reporting false claims …
Discussion:
NBC News, Newser, Deadline, @mickwest, @rosselderwrites, @jayshams, @jeremymbarr, The Indian Express, The Independent, Axios, Lawyer Monthly, The Wrap, CNBC, TVNewsCheck and @mikescarcella.bsky.social


John Feinstein, a Washington Post sportswriter who wrote more than 40 books including A Season on the Brink, about basketball coach Bob Knight, has died at 69 — He had a long affiliation with The Washington Post and wrote books including “A Season on the Brink,” about Indiana University men's basketball coach Bob Knight.
Discussion:
New York Times, Awful Announcing, UPI, Fox News, Associated Press, TMZ.com, Deadline, Washington Monthly, KSDK-TV, @knoxrob1.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, @tommytomlinson.bsky.social, @lukerussert.bsky.social, @sallyjenx.bsky.social, Awful Announcing, New York Post, Barrett Media, @sethemerson.bsky.social, @bfquinn.bsky.social, @petegain.es, @lukedecock.bsky.social, @norlander.bsky.social, @jadande.bsky.social, New York Daily News, PBS NewsHour and r/Journalism


Reuters journalist Raphael Satter sues the Indian government for revoking his Overseas Citizen status, after he wrote about hack-for-hire company Appin in 2023 — Raphael Satter had his OCI card taken away after publishing a story critical of an Indian businessman


Dazn announces a multi-year deal to stream LIV Golf in Japan, Canada, and several European countries, alongside the LIV Golf+ service — LIV Golf's broadcast reach will extend to Japan, Canada and much of Europe thanks to a multiyear partnership with London-based sports entertainment platform DAZN …
Discussion:
@stupidgolftakes, @livgolf_league, @redharrington44, Sportcal, Mirror US, Advanced Television, LIV Golf and Broadband TV News


Bill Ackman's Pershing Square is raising about $1.4B from the sale of a ~2.7% stake in UMG; after the sale, UMG will be about 17% of Pershing's portfolio — A group of Universal Music Group NV shareholders affiliated with billionaire Bill Ackman's hedge fund Pershing Square is set to raise …
Discussion:
Billboard, @billackman, Variety, Music Business Worldwide, Digital Music News and Reuters

Kari Lake, who joined the USAGM in February, says she is canceling the agency's contracts with news services including AP, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse — A senior advisor to President Donald Trump said Thursday she was moving to cancel long-established contracts between three international …
Discussion:
The Desk, TVNewsCheck, @maynereport, @buynevich and @karilake


WGA begins talks with CBS News for a new union contract, focusing on AI and using the recently ratified contract at ABC News as a foundation for bargaining — Artificial intelligence is taking center stage in yet another set of union negotiations as the Writers Guild of America began talks …


Comcast and the International Olympic Committee sign a $3B deal to keep NBC and Peacock as the TV and streaming homes for the Olympics through 2036 — The deal with the IOC also includes technical and advertising support surrounding the games. — In a major deal, Comcast …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Broadband TV News, The Verge, @tvgrimreaper, NBCSports.com, @loudmouthjulia, @alexweprin, @alexweprin, @brianstelter, The Desk, Quartz, Front Office Sports, Sportico, Axios, Media Play News, The Guardian, @kevdgrussing.bsky.social, The Information, CNBC, Deseret News, Sports Video Group, Los Angeles Times, Barrett Media, The Hill, KING-TV, TVNewsCheck, Reuters, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, Variety, Bloomberg, Deadline and WTOP News


A look at the success of Chinese animated movie Ne Zha 2, grossing $2B+ globally, and its impact on the Chinese film industry and Hollywood's future in China — Chinese blockbuster Ne Zha 2 recently became the first non-Hollywood movie to cross $2B worldwide, and in so doing joins …
Discussion:
@deadline and @thedragonfeeder


How Chalkbeat and Maine's Midcoast Villager use AI tools to help reporters find sources, stay informed about public meetings, and expand the scope of coverage — Chalkbeat and Midcoast Villager have already published stories with sources and leads pulled from AI transcriptions.
Discussion:
@tongli.bsky.social and @carriemelago.bsky.social


Brave sues News Corp to try to head off a copyright lawsuit by News Corp, which threatened to sue over Brave's search engine scraping and indexing its content — News Corp (NWSA.O) has been sued by Google search engine rival Brave Software, which seeks to forestall a lawsuit by Rupert Murdoch's company …
Discussion:
The Register, TVNewsCheck, MediaPost and Bloomberg Law


Meghan Markle and Lemonada Media announce Confessions of a Female Founder, a weekly podcast featuring conversations with women entrepreneurs, premiering April 8 — Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is back with her first new podcast in more than two years: “Confessions of a Female Founder,” …
Discussion:
Cele|bitchy, @dannygroner.bsky.social, People, HELLO!, HELLO!, The Hollywood Reporter, Us Weekly, The Daily Wire, Vanity Fair, GB News, Marie Claire, Tatler, SheKnows, The Hollywood Gossip, Vogue, E! Online, Mirror, TechCrunch, InStyle, New York Post, The Sun and Deadline

Meta plans to test Community Notes on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in the US from March 18; Joel Kaplan says notes will not have “distribution penalties” — Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan says in exclusive interview community notes won't penalize users
RELATED:


Meta says contributors will not be able to submit Community Notes on ads “to start with”, but they can submit them on posts by politicians and public figures
Discussion:
Poynter, Fortune, Meta, SiliconANGLE, Ars Technica, Gizmodo, Mashable, Quartz, The Daily Wire, Engadget, Business Insider, The Verge, Nicola Mendelsohn Cbe on LinkedIn and TESLARATI, more at Techmeme »


In its proposal for White House's AI Action Plan, OpenAI calls for a strategy that preserves “American AI models' ability to learn from copyrighted material” — After President Trump, in one of his initial actions upon returning to the White House, revoked the country's …
Discussion:
@rnaudbertrand, @dorialexander, @natfriedman, @ednewtonrex, @stevesi, @shakeelhashim, @andrewcurran_, @kortizart, @kywhitney, @stevesi, @chombabupe, Music Ally, @pankraru.bsky.social, @chup.blakereid.org, @dalonso@mas.to, @kint.bsky.social, @edzitron.com, Ars Technica, The Wrap, TechCrunch, @kdkorte@fosstodon.org, Fortune, OpenAI, TechCrunch, Benzinga and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
RELATED: