Top News:
Miranda Green / Nieman Lab:
Greenpeace accuses Dakota Access Pipeline's owner of using a direct mailer, stylized as a local newspaper called Central ND News, to sway the jury in a lawsuit — Though Central ND News promises to “fill the void in community news after years of decline in local reporting by legacy media” …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, Associated Press, RedState, Financial Times, Central ND News, The Hill, Daily Caller News Foundation, HotAir, Washington Post, The Guardian, @mirandacgreen, @mirandacgreen, @mirandacgreen, @mirandacgreen, @mirandacgreen, @mirandacgreen, DNyuz, MPR News, @mirandacgreen, KDFX-TV and Forbes
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Ziff Davis' Everyday Health acquires women-focused newsletter company theSkimm, whose co-CEOs will stay on with no plans to lay off any of its 75 staffers — Ziff Davis, one of the largest publicly-traded digital media companies, has acquired TheSkimm, executives told Axios.
Discussion:
Variety, @sarafischer, @mediaevan and @ziffdavis
Variety:
Q&A with Netflix's Ted Sarandos on his 25-year anniversary at Netflix, his cameo on Apple TV+ series The Studio, competing with suppliers like Disney, and more — In a few weeks, Ted Sarandos will make his acting debut — playing Ted Sarandos. The co-CEO of Netflix is lampooning himself …
Discussion:
Mirror, Screen Rant, Blogcritics, New York Post, Business Insider, 9to5Mac, People, Variety, @tvgrimreaper, @variety, Observer, @discussingfilm, @loudmouthjulia, Us Weekly, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck and Just Jared, more at Techmeme »
Liam Scott / Columbia Journalism Review:
A press freedom reporter at VOA recalls its last days, as dozens of staffers on J-1 visas may have to return to countries with a record of jailing critics — Covering the press freedom beat at VOA, I got a front-row seat to its demise. — On Saturday, about thirteen hundred Voice of America staffers …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
David Novak, co-founder of Yum Brands, has been named chairman of the new company that will be formed by Comcast's NBCUniversal spinoff — Your Privacy Rights — PMC, its service providers, and third-party partners collect information about you and how you use our services …
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, The Hollywood Reporter, Business Wire, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck and Deadline
Andreas Wiseman / Deadline:
Source: Ketchup Entertainment is negotiating an all-rights acquisition for ~$50M for Warner Bros' movie Coyote vs. Acme, which was shelved in November 2023 — Gareth West's distributor-financier Ketchup Entertainment is negotiating an all-rights acquisition in the $50M range for the animated-live-action hybrid project.
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, @talkinghenry.bsky.social, @waffyworld, AV Club, @matbrunetvo.com, Collider, IndieWire, @jolsontweets, @billkuchman.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, Nerdist, Comic Book, @auzzy@zirk.us, @animated_antic, Screen Rant, Empire, Cord Cutters News, SlashFilm, Animation Magazine, @markosemustard, @theinsneider, @tylerortegatube, CBR, @capybaroness, @ooccouchgags, @naveryw.bsky.social, Just Jared and Oh No They Didn't!
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
NYT says it will start tracking public opinion surveys to build “on the work of the politics website 538”, providing the data in about the same format as 538 — When ABC shut down FiveThirtyEight early this month, the site's publicly available polling databases …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Newsletter service Ghost launches support for ActivityPub integration in beta for Ghost(Pro) subscribers, letting them share their posts across the fediverse — Newsletter platform Ghost, an open source competitor to Substack, is now connected to the fediverse, also known as the open social web.
Discussion:
Ghost, The Fediverse Report, The Verge and One Man & His Blog
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The UK's NUJ urges Reach to reconsider a 2% pay rise offer for staff and compares £600 staff bonuses with the £662,000 in total bonuses paid to CEO Jim Mullen — NUJ asks Reach to “urgently reconsider” 2% pay offer. — Reach staff have received a £600 bonus in recognition of the company's profit growth last year.
Lucy Knight / The Guardian:
Crowdfunding publisher Unbound goes into administration and has been acquired by newly-formed Boundless; some authors say they haven't been paid for months — The company, launched in 2011, has been acquired by new company Boundless, after writers have been left unpaid for months
Discussion:
@lemnsissay, @sdebar, @katharineq, @kizzia.bsky.social, Substack, @scribblerrob.bsky.social, @alanrew.bsky.social, @mcragg.bsky.social, @adashofseaglass.bsky.social, @danrhodes.bsky.social, @isobelstarling.bsky.social, @katbrownwrites.com, @matpringle.bsky.social, @shaunusher.bsky.social, @victoriastrauss.bsky.social, @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social, @russincheshire.bsky.social and The Bookseller
Financial Times:
Sportradar will take over Endeavor's IMG Arena data platform and its portfolio of sports betting rights in a deal where Endeavor will pay Sportradar $225M — Entertainment group is slimming down ahead of private equity takeover — Entertainment conglomerate Endeavor is paying a US rival $225mn …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Straits Times, Benzinga, @mukund, Sportradar AG, @sportradar, @sportradar, @novy_williams, Sportico, Sportcal, @butlerbets and @mattrybaltowski
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Plex is increasing Plex Pass prices for the first time in a decade and making remote playback for personal media a paid feature at $1.99/month or $19.99/year — Streaming service and software maker Plex is raising its prices. The company announced on Wednesday its first price increase …
Justin Kaufmann / Axios:
The Chicago Sun-Times' film critic Richard Roeper takes a voluntary buyout after 37 years at the paper; the Sun-Times guild says 15 of its members took buyouts — Longtime Chicago film critic Richard Roeper is leaving the Sun-Times after almost 40 years at the paper.
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