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Internal memo: Paramount Global is cutting its US-based staff by 3.5% and may also reduce its workforce outside of the US over time — Paramount Global is cutting its U.S.-based staff by 3.5%, the latest round of layoffs at the media company as it contends with the decline of the traditional pay-TV bundle and macroeconomic headwinds.
Discussion:
Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Tencent Music agrees to buy podcasting startup Ximalaya for $1.3B in cash, plus some stock, in a bid to become China's Spotify; Ximalaya had 303M MAUs in 2023 — The company, a unit of WeChat-operator Tencent Holdings Ltd., will issue shares to its founders and other backers to help fund the acquisition, it said in a statement.
Discussion:
Reuters

CPJ says police have assaulted “more than 20” journalists, including by less-lethal projectiles, since LA protests began on June 6, echoing the 2020 US protests — Reporters say they were struck with less-lethal rounds fired by law enforcement. Advocates worry it will inhibit vital journalism.
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CPB CEO Patricia Harrison says three board members that President Trump tried to fire in April remain directors, after a US judge recognizes CPB's independence — Correction: A previous version of this article gave incorrect names of the fired CPB board members. They are Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan and Thomas Rothman.
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Current, CPB, Inside Radio, TV Tech, Reuters, Radio Ink, Deadline, Radio & Television …, Diane Ravitch's blog and RADIO ONLINE

Disney closes its deal with Comcast to buy out NBCUniversal's 33% stake in Hulu, paying an additional $439M, after agreeing in 2023 to pay $8.61B — Disney agreed to buy Comcast's 33 percent stake in Hulu in 2023, after an extended appraisal process, the deal is finally set to close.
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The Orlando Sentinel got a cease-and-desist from Florida's DCF that claims its reporter coerced families for a story on a foundation tied to Gov. DeSantis' wife — Florida's child welfare agency sent a letter to a Florida newspaper telling it to “cease and desist” its reporting on foster families …
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WPP Media expects ad revenue from user-generated content and platforms like YouTube and TikTok to surpass that from traditional media for the first time in 2025 — User-generated material to surpass advertising income from professional media amid change in viewing habits
Discussion:
VideoWeek, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters and campaignlive.co.uk, more at Techmeme »

Q&A with Maggie Haberman about covering Trump's second term, how the media is separating “the signal from the noise”, Trump's threats, Biden's decline, and more — The New York Times' stalwart Trump chronicler, who's out this week with a new afterword to Confidence Man …
Discussion:
@nataliekorach

WBD splits into two publicly traded companies: Global Networks, with CNN and other cable channels, and Streaming & Studios, with HBO Max and its studio business — The entertainment company is contending with a hefty debt load and a sagging stock price
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WBD says David Zaslav will be CEO of the new Streaming & Studios business, and current WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will become CEO of the Global Networks business
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Tony Maglio / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD's split is set to close in mid-2026; CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels says he assumes “the majority” of WBD's ~$37B debt will exist with the spun off Global Networks
WBD's split is set to close in mid-2026; CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels says he assumes “the majority” of WBD's ~$37B debt will exist with the spun off Global Networks
Discussion:
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SAG-AFTRA reaches a tentative deal with Activision, EA, Epic, Take-Two, and other game companies on the Interactive Media Contract, after months of strikes — The video game actors' strike may soon come to an end. — The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists …

A UK High Court judge dismisses green energy industrialist Dale Vince's data protection lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher ANL — Green energy industrialist Dale Vince's High Court data protection claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail has been thrown out by a judge.
Discussion:
Irish News

Roblox hires Paramount's Naveen Chopra as CFO starting June 30; Chopra previously held senior roles at Amazon and served as CFO at Pandora and TiVo — Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge Shows the Limits of Impressively Thin Phones … Explainers