Mediagazer: DoubleVerify sues Adalytics, alleging Adalytics defamed it in a March 28 report that claimed DoubleVerify's pre-bid filters sometimes fail to block bot traffic (Kendra Barnett/Adweek)

Top News:

Zach Vallese / CNBC:

YouTube launches a weekly top podcast shows chart, tracking podcasts in the US and updated every Wednesday; The Joe Rogan Experience currently tops the chart — YouTube is solidifying its place in podcasts. — The company on Thursday announced the launch of a weekly top podcast shows chart, rivaling those from Spotify and Apple.

Discussion: New York Times, YouTube, The Verge, 9to5Google, @ashleyrcarman, @loudmouthjulia and @tchambers@indieweb.social, more at Techmeme »

Zach Vallese / CNBC:
YouTube unveils Peak Points, a pilot Gemini feature for targeting ads after viewers are most engaged with a video, aiming for more impressions and a higher CTR

Discussion: Shelly Palmer, 9to5Google, Benzinga and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
YouTube previews new ad formats coming to the platform, including an enhanced shoppable connected TV offering that has an interactive product feed on the right

Discussion: PC Gamer, WORLD SCREEN, YouTube Official Blog, Variety, Radio & Television …, Adweek and TheStreet, more at Techmeme »

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Public broadcasting officials plan to go to DC today to convince lawmakers to keep their funding; Indiana cut all taxpayer funding for its 17 public stations — Public broadcasting officials from across the country plan to descend on Capitol Hill today in hopes of convincing lawmakers …

Discussion: @davidfolkenflik.bsky.social, Fox News and San Francisco Public Press

Tyler Falk / Current:
New York adds $4M in state funding for public radio stations to the FY 2026 budget, set to be divided evenly, in response to threats to CPB funding

Discussion: New York Public Radio on LinkedIn

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

MSNBC hires Politico senior managing editor Sudeep Reddy as its first-ever Washington bureau chief as it builds out reporting operations ahead of its spin-off — The cable channel, which is set to be spun off from NBC, is starting its first stand-alone D.C. office with Sudeep Reddy at the helm.

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, Talking Biz News, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, @msnbcpr.bsky.social, @vtg2, @brendanpedersen and Richard Hudock on LinkedIn

Johnny Ryan / Irish Council for Civil Liberties:

The Belgian Court of Appeal rules that the Transparency & Consent Framework, used by Google, Microsoft, Amazon, X, and the ad industry, is illegal across Europe — Landmark court decision against “TCF” consent pop ups on 80% of the internet — 14 May 2025

Discussion: @mario_gug, @chronotope, Sophie on LinkedIn, @johnnyryan.bsky.social, @aral@mastodon.ar.al, @CCC@social.bau-ha.us, @johnnyryan.bsky.social, @lilianedwards.bsky.social, @andrewhinton.bsky.social, @johnnyryan.bsky.social, @openpolicy.bsky.social, @bthalpin.bsky.social, @hannejakobsen.bsky.social and Engadget, more at Techmeme »

Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:

Analysis: the US government canceled 1,400+ federal research grants worth $1B+, including many studying online misinformation, citing protection of 1A rights — Lisa K. Fazio, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, whose federal grant to study how repetition of lies reinforced …

Discussion: @brianstelter.bsky.social, The Independent and @notaaroncraig.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Neal Mohan says the monetization rate of Shorts hit parity with core YouTube in the US and multiple other countries, and Shorts viewing grew 20% YoY in Q1 2025 — YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, the morning after the platform's big ad pitch and party in New York City, had a new milestone to share …

Discussion: The Wrap, The Information and The Hollywood Reporter

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:

Filing: Anthropic apologizes after one of its expert witnesses cited a fake article hallucinated by Claude in the company's legal battle with music publishers — A lawyer representing Anthropic admitted to using an erroneous citation created by the company's Claude AI chatbot …

Discussion: Bloomberg Law, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Chat GPT Is Eating the World, @paleofuture.bsky.social, CMU, Music Ally and Decrypt

Andrew J. Campa / Los Angeles Times:

California newsrooms will receive $10M, instead of the expected $30M, in FY 2025-26 from the state through a News Transformation Fund due to budget issues — - California newsrooms expected to receive $30 million from the state as part of a Newsroom Transformation Fund.

Discussion: @palewire, Politico, Matt Pearce on LinkedIn, Bloomberg Government, @palewi.re and @dlanghorne.bsky.social

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

The WSJ has launched two new paid executive membership programs, which cater to highly senior executives and include access to summits, roundtables, and more — Its Leadership Institute aims to launch two new councils a year — The Wall Street Journal launched the newest addition …

Discussion: Talking Biz News, Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn and @simonowens.bsky.social

Kendra Barnett / Adweek:

DoubleVerify sues Adalytics, alleging Adalytics defamed it in a March 28 report that claimed DoubleVerify's pre-bid filters sometimes fail to block bot traffic — The adtech company claims that Adalytics ‘knowingly’ spread false information about its systems and damaged its reputation

Discussion: MediaPost and @karstenw

Austin Fuller / Current:

NSF canceled a five-year, $1.2M grant for climate reporting to IndiJ Public Media in April and a PBS grant, though the majority of it was already spent — The National Science Foundation canceled a $1.2 million grant to IndiJ Public Media in April that supported Indigenous climate reporting.

Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:

Open letter: SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton says a 2024 TOS update did not intend to allow AI training on user content; SoundCloud revised the wording on May 14 — - Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email — Music Ally NEXT 2025: Tickets on sale now!

Discussion: SoundCloud, @ednewtonrex, @dryad.technology, @future_of_music, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, CMU, Passionfruit, The Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, Engadget, Digital Music News, Futurism, Billboard, TechCrunch and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Atlantic is partnering with Apple to provide exclusive audio benefits for subscribers and to sell subscriptions directly on Apple Podcasts — The Atlantic is partnering with Apple to launch exclusive audio benefits for subscribers, executives told Axios.

Discussion: Podnews