Top News:
Alanna Durkin Richer / Associated Press:
The US DOJ reaches a settlement in its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, in a case that alleged an illegal monopoly over US live events — Justice Department lawyers announced Monday that they'd reached a settlement in their antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster …
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Cele|bitchy, Variety, theSkimm, NY State Attorney General, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Deseret News, @ryangrim, Bisnow, @balint.house.gov, @agrobbonta, Gothamist, WHDH-TV, @mikeisaac, @leehepner, TechCrunch, @danprimack, The Wrap, Fast Company, Digital Music News, @matthewstoller, Entrepreneur, The Independent, CMU, Miami New Times, @volts.wtf, Associated Press, UPI, Financial Times, The Guardian, CNBC, Washington Post, @jeffjacksonnc, Gizmodo, Billboard, Digital Music News, FOX 10 Phoenix, NPR, Proactive, Stereogum, Sportico, Deadline, Reuters, Business Insider, Randy Nichols on LinkedIn, Insurance Journal, Yahoo Finance, Axios, Courthouse News Service, Sports Business Journal, The Wrap, Music Ally, WPXI-TV, Fox Business, Bloomberg, Associated Press, CBS News, Variety, Hypebot, The Verge, NewsMax.com, Music Business Worldwide, Blaze Media, The Floridian, Deseret News, Docket updates …, Paste, Billboard and Semafor, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Piers Morgan's Uncensored names Rashida Jones, who left MSNBC in 2025, as CEO, and raises capital; the YouTube-based media company was reportedly seeking ~$30M — Morgan's company, Uncensored, also raised cash from Antenna Group, Raine Ventures, and Reuben Brothers.
Discussion:
Poynter, Barrett Media, @jtes, @dylanbyers, TheGrio, Baller Alert, The Wrap, Variety, Deadline and Mediaite
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
ESPN hires six sports journalists, including enterprise reporter Kent Babb, who were laid off from WaPo when the newspaper eliminated 300+ jobs in February — ESPN said it has hired six sports journalists who were cut from The Washington Post when it eliminated more than 300 jobs in early February …
Discussion:
ESPN Press Room U.S., Kent Babb on LinkedIn, @jbflint, @jeremymbarr, @sbj, @davejorgenson.bsky.social, Axios, @bryandfischer.bsky.social, Awful Announcing, @alexaphilippou.bsky.social, Sports Business Journal, The Wrap, Barrett Media, Mediaite, Deadline, Talking Biz News and Front Office Sports
Shannon Bond / NPR:
The Knight First Amendment Institute and Protect Democracy sue the Trump admin for its policy targeting noncitizens whose work the government deems “censorship” — An adjunct professor at a university in the eastern U.S. who studies online harms to children has left the country …
Discussion:
Knight First Amendment …, New York Times, @katiefallow.bsky.social, Digital Journal, Reuters, @knightcolumbia.org, @protectdemocracy.org, Courthouse News Service, Law & Crime, @andrewlevesque.bsky.social, MediaPost, Protect Democracy, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social, Bloomberg Law and Knight First Amendment …
Scott MacFarlane / Scott MacFarlane on LinkedIn:
CBS News correspondent Scott MacFarlane says he is leaving the network, and looking “forward to some independence and finding new spaces to share” his work — I just shared this note with my wonderful CBS News colleagues: — To my incredible colleagues at CBS:
Discussion:
Status, USA Today, @jeremymbarr, Variety, DNYUZ, @jeremymbarr, Fox News, Newsbusters, @brianstelter, @scottnover, The Guardian, Reality Tea, The Hill, Mediaite, New York Post, Los Angeles Times, TV Insider, @rvbdrm.com, The Wrap and Deadline
Kyle Tharp / Chaotic Era:
Once averse to politics, Meta is now paying political creators thousands per month to post on Facebook; one liberal creator says Meta paid him $268K in January — For years, Meta, Facebook's parent company, has had a complicated relationship with politics.
Discussion:
@kylewilsontharp.bsky.social
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Bill O'Reilly launches a new weekly interview podcast called We'll Do It Live, debuting in the same week as Sean Hannity's similar show Hang Out — One of Bill O'Reilly's most infamous lines becomes the title of what he no doubt hopes will becomes a popular new venture. — “We'll do it LIVE!”
Discussion:
Axios, Inside Radio, TheDesk.net, Nicole Casey on LinkedIn, The Wrap, Fox News, @bristei.bsky.social and Barrett Media
Sean James / Mediaite:
Megyn Kelly says 60 Minutes made “deceptive edits” to a Pete Hegseth interview to “rehabilitate” Israel's role in Iran war because of Weiss' “pro-Israel” stance — Megyn Kelly accused 60 Minutes of making “deceptive edits” to its Pete Hegseth interview so that it could …
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation, RADAR, Megyn Kelly, The Wrap, Althouse, TV Insider, The Hill, RealClearPolitics and CBS News
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Wasserman rebrands as The Team as Casey Wasserman's talent and management agency intensifies its efforts to find a buyer — The talent and management firm previously hired Moelis to lead a sales process. — Wasserman is gone, say hello to “The Team.” — The talent agency founded …
Discussion:
The Athletic, Front Office Sports, Variety, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, DNYUZ, Digital Music News and Bloomberg
Dan Milmo / The Guardian:
Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory, Richard Osman, and ~10,000 writers publish Don't Steal This Book, an “empty” book to protest AI companies using their work — About 10,000 writers including Kazuo Ishiguro, Philippa Gregory and Richard Osman join copyright campaign
Discussion:
ITV News, The Verge, LBC, Don't Steal This Book, The Independent, The Bookseller, @tobywalsh, @ednewtonrex and Daily Mail
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
A former adviser sues Paramount President Jeff Shell for $150M over an alleged unpaid PR contract, and claims Shell disclosed non-public Paramount plans to him — Jeff Shell, the president of Paramount Skydance, was sued Monday by a man who claims he is owed $150 million for crisis communications services …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, @mtfiii, @xpangler, @xpangler, Vulture, Casino.org, Daily Mail, Deadline, Mediaweek, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Los Angeles Times and @xpangler
Mikey O'Connell / The Hollywood Reporter:
An interview with Conan O'Brien about hosting the Oscars for the second time, late night TV's steady decline, his podcast and HBO Max travelogue, and more — The man Stephen Colbert calls “the patron saint of ex-talk show hosts” has a few things to say about the late night crisis …
Discussion:
CinemaBlend, Page Six, The Wrap, Us Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Reality Tea, Daily Mail, RADAR, E! Online, Suggest, Extra, Rolling Stone and Just Jared
