Mediagazer: Russell Simmons sues HBO and the directors of On the Record for $20M, alleging they defamed him in their documentary on sexual assault allegations against him (Gene Maddaus/Variety)

Barbara Tasch / BBC:

The BBC rejects a White House claim that it took down a Gaza story, after Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the BBC of taking “the word of Hamas” — The BBC has rejected incorrect White House criticism of its Gaza coverage, describing a claim that it had taken down a story as “completely wrong”.

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

Russell Simmons sues HBO and the directors of On the Record for $20M, alleging they defamed him in their documentary on sexual assault allegations against him — Russell Simmons is suing HBO and the filmmakers behind the “On the Record” documentary for $20 million, alleging they defamed …

Discussion: Billboard, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, AV Club, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Rolling Stone, New York Post, TMZ.com, Vibe and Baller Alert

Sean Burch / The Wrap:

WGA East threatens a strike by Vox employees without a new contract that includes The Dodo Union staffers along with better pay, AI protections, and more — The strike threat, made by WGA East, says it wants a joint contract that includes The Dodo Union colleagues

Discussion: @mediaevan and @mediaevan.bsky.social

Attila Mong / Committee to Protect Journalists:

Since November 2024, Serbia had a sharp rise in attacks on journalists amid political unrest, including 23 physical assaults and 128 total attacks and threats — What journalists called a “witch hunt” atmosphere against government critics in Serbia one year ago has since escalated into a rise …

Discussion: Al Jazeera, BBC and TheJournal.ie

Tom Levitt / The Guardian:

UK-based BBC Persian journalists say their families in Iran are being terrorised and punished by the Iranian regime, with a sharp escalation in 2025 — BBC says ‘sharp and deeply troubling escalation’ this year of Iran targeting families of UK-based BBC Persian journalists

Discussion: @jftaveira1993, @lgsentinel, @Wen@mastodon.scot and @ianmoody.bsky.social

Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:

AMC Entertainment has reached an agreement with National CineMedia to run ads right before the start of a film, starting July 1 — Starting July 1, AMC theaters will feature a “platinum spot” that's shown on screens right before the start of a film. The theater chain, which has struggled financially …

Discussion: Kotaku, SlashFilm, The Ankler and Media Play News

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Newsweek acquires adtech firm Adprime, a demand-side platform focused on healthcare marketers, to strengthen its health vertical and grow B2B revenue — The tie-up is part of a broader bid from the publisher to diversify its advertising — The 93-year-old publisher Newsweek has acquired …

Discussion: MediaPost

Steven Zeitchik / The Hollywood Reporter:

AMC signs a deal with Runway to use its AI tech to generate marketing images and pre-visualize unproduced shows, the first cable player to work with Runway — The ‘Mad Men’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ producer is the latest Hollywood company to sign a pact with the generative AI firm.

Discussion: AV Club, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, Engadget, Peter Csathy on LinkedIn, @proggrrl.bsky.social and @carnage4life.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Jake Kanter / Deadline:

An analysis of 61 settlements signed by Channel 4 staff who left amid employment disputes between 2017 and 2021 shows it paid out ~£5M and all but two had NDAs — Deadline has analyzed 61 settlement deals signed by former staff members who exited Channel 4 amid an employment dispute between 2017 and 2021.

Discussion: @johnmcm1 and @jake_kanter

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

The Nevada Legislature rejects a proposal to create a $95M annual tax credit for the Sony- and WBD-backed Summerlin Studios project in Las Vegas — A proposal to build a movie studio in Las Vegas died in the Nevada Legislature on Monday night, as lawmakers refused to grant a $95 million annual subsidy.

Meghan Bobrowsky / Wall Street Journal:

Reddit sues Anthropic, alleging it accessed Reddit 100K+ times after saying it had stopped; Reddit has reached formal licensing deals with OpenAI and Google — The online discussion forum says Anthropic continued to access its site over 100,000 times after saying it stopped

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Meta has talked with Disney, A24, and other companies about exclusive content for a premium VR device it plans to launch next year for less than $1,000 — Tech company has talked with Disney and A24 about exclusive content for a premium VR device — Meta Platforms is courting Hollywood …

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, UploadVR, The Verge, MarketWatch, @jtoonkel, Sherwood News, @mikeisaac, @peark.es and @frydawolff.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »