Top News:
Associated Press:
A US district court judge agrees to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing an executive order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS — A federal judge has agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Associated Press, Politico, New York Times, CNBC, Mediaite, Radio & Television …, CNN, Inside Radio, Washington Examiner, International Business Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, The Hollywood Reporter, NPR, Current, Washington Post, CBS News, Bloomberg, twitchy.com, NOTUS, @dystopian-fashion.bsky.social, @brianstelter, Ricardo Baca on LinkedIn, @repsummerlee.bsky.social, The Hill, @kabiu.bsky.social, Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit, Diane Ravitch's blog, @lindsaybergersacks …, Cord Cutters News, @newsman.bsky.social, @ben@werd.social, @pbsnews.org, Fox News, @wessmith123.bsky.social, MS NOW, @benmullin, Deadline, Forbes, New Republic and WTOP News
Amos Barshad / Columbia Journalism Review:
A profile of CBS' Tony Dokoupil: his start at Newsweek and NBC News, the shift to on-camera work, and ex-colleagues' surprise at some of his current coverage — How Tony Dokoupil went from being a hair model to a print journalist to the anchor of CBS Evening News, guided by the principle “We love America.”
Kendra Barnett / Adweek:
Spotify rolls out interactive carousel ads in the app's Now Playing view and branded playlist takeovers, including some flagship selections like Rap Caviar — The company is branching beyond audio-only formats and into visual and interactive ads … Spotify is rolling out interactive carousel ads, the company announced on Tuesday.
Discussion:
Natacha Springer on LinkedIn, Gearóid O'Rourke on LinkedIn and Spotify
David Shepardson / Reuters:
Fox, Sinclair, and NAB file FCC comments urging US regulators to address the trend of Big Tech companies buying sports rights, saying it could weaken local TV — Major broadcast station owners said on Monday that U.S. regulators should address the trend of Big Tech companies acquiring …
Discussion:
TV Tech, Awful Announcing, Barrett Media, Inside Radio, Bloomberg and Reuters
Violet Jira / NOTUS:
TMZ has expanded its political coverage with a producer and photographer in DC, with particular attention on how lawmakers are behaving during the DHS shutdown — “We wanted to use our platforms to show how Congress — Dems AND Republicans — have betrayed us," said TMZ's Harvey Levin. — Copy
Steve McCaskill / SportsPro:
Report: ITV won't show ads during the World Cup's three-minute hydration breaks despite FIFA giving media partners permission to do so during the 2026 contest — - ITV shares rights to tournament with BBC - Fifa allowing partners to air in-game commercials — Six Nations launch was considered revenue success
Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch:
Runway launches a $10M fund to invest in early-stage startups building across AI, media, and world simulation and a Builders program offering free API credits — Runway is moving beyond building AI video models and into shaping what gets built on top of them.
Discussion:
The Economic Times and TheNeuron
Qassim Abdul-Zahra / Associated Press:
Iraqi officials say a US journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad and security forces are looking for her captors; one outlet identified her as Shelly Kittleson — An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad and Iraqi security forces are pursuing her captors, Iraqi officials said.
Discussion:
AL-Monitor, Fox News, Mediaite, WTTG-TV, New York Times, CBS News, New York Sun, National Enquirer, NBC News, New York Post, @flingjore.com, The Hill, @kareemrifai, The Independent, Washington Examiner, ZeroHedge News, AL-Monitor, The National, Metro.co.uk, Mirror, Daily Mail, Deadline, @charles_lister, Human Events, Just Jared, Al Jazeera, New Republic, Reuters, The Indian Express and The Gateway Pundit
Ana Swanson / New York Times:
A global WTO ban on taxing digital streaming and downloads across national borders expired on March 30; negotiations are set to continue in Geneva this spring — A prohibition on taxing digital downloads expired, after members of the World Trade Organization concluded their annual meeting without an agreement.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google launches Veo 3.1 Lite, costing <50% of Veo 3.1 Fast and meant for “high-volume video applications”, and affirms its commitment to video generation tools — Following OpenAI's Sora exit last week, Google today said it's committed to offering video generation while announcing Veo 3.1 Lite.
Discussion:
Android Authority, Benzinga, TestingCatalog, iPhone in Canada, The Decoder, The Keyword, The Motley Fool and TechRadar, more at Techmeme »
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Roku launches a standalone app for Howdy, its $2.99/month ad-free streaming service with ~10K hours of content, in the US; Howdy debuted in August 2025 — Roku announced on Tuesday that it's launching a standalone mobile app for Howdy, its recently-launched ad-free streaming service that costs $2.99 per month.
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Business Wire, Streaming Better, Cord Cutters News and Media Play News
New York Times:
Instagram reaches an agreement with the MPA to cease using the PG-13 trademark in its Teen Accounts marketing, after a C&D letter, and will add a disclaimer — The social media giant, under legal pressure from the Motion Picture Association, has retreated from its use of the movie rating in its marketing.
