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Liz Hoffman / Semafor:
Sources: the FCC is moving toward a review of Disney's broadcast licenses, putting pressure on the ABC owner as it faces scrutiny over Jimmy Kimmel's monologue — The Federal Communications Commission is moving toward a review of Disney's broadcast licenses, according to people familiar with the matter …
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Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Former FCC Commissioners and staffers ask a federal appeals court to require the FCC to vote on a November 2025 petition to repeal the News Distortion Policy — Carr has revived the previously little-used News Distortion Policy. … Several former Federal Communications Commissioners …
Zack Sharf / Variety:
President Trump says “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC” over Kimmel's joke about Melania Trump
Discussion:
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Madeline Halpert / BBC:
Melania Trump calls on ABC to “take a stand” on Jimmy Kimmel, after his joke that she has “a glow like an expectant widow” days before the WHCD shooting
Melania Trump calls on ABC to “take a stand” on Jimmy Kimmel, after his joke that she has “a glow like an expectant widow” days before the WHCD shooting
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Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify reports Q1 revenue up 8% YoY to €4.53B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 761M, above 759M est., and forecasts Q2 operating income below est.; SPOT drops 10%+ — Spotify Technology SA, the music streaming leader, reported results that underwhelmed Wall Street, forecasting operating income …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
FCC filing: Paramount says the merged Paramount-WBD will be 49.5% owned by foreign investors, with ~38.5% of the equity held by a trio of Middle Eastern funds — Paramount Skydance said the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery will be 49.5% owned by foreign investors …
Discussion:
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The Guardian:
Australia unveils a draft News Bargaining Incentive scheme that imposes a 2.25% levy on local revenues for platforms; Meta says the government is “simply wrong” — Google also rejects need for reform after Albanese government reveals draft news bargaining incentive scheme
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Reuters:
Bertelsmann agrees to combine BMG with Concord in a cash-and-stock deal giving it a 67% stake; Concord shareholders will receive a 33% stake and $1.16B in cash — Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F) will combine its music division BMG with rival Concord in a deal that would create the world's fourth …
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Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: Axel Springer and Politico execs met with staff after a letter from employees accused Mathias Döpfner of using Politico to promote his political agenda — The Scoop — Executives at Politico and its parent company, Axel Springer, held a meeting on Monday with its journalists …
Discussion:
The New World, @jonahdispatch, @elianayjohnson, @slowhoneybee and @maxwelltani
Rebecca Stewart / Adweek:
WPP reports Q1 revenue down 6.6% YoY to £3.3B and revenue less pass-through costs down 8.9% to £2.3B, its ninth quarter of decline — Rose will now only lead updates at WPP's half-year and full-year results, the company told ADWEEK … The numbers
Discussion:
Marketing Dive, adnews.com.au, WPP, MediaPost, The Drum, PRWeek, Investing.com, Yahoo Finance, City A.M., MarketBeat, BMI, BW Marketing World, Wall Street Journal and Campaign Asia
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Snap launches AI Sponsored Snaps, a conversational ad format in Snapchat's Chat tab that lets users talk to brand-specific AI agents for product recommendations — Snapchat announced on Tuesday that it's rolling out “AI Sponsored Snaps,” which will allow users to interact directly with brands' AI agents.
Discussion:
Adweek, Snap Newsroom and Engadget
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Google launches Ask YouTube, a conversational AI search “experiment” that generates pages with videos and text summaries, for Premium users in the US aged 18+ — ‘Ask YouTube’ is a new way to search that generates an AI Mode-like page of information.
Discussion:
MobileSyrup, WinBuzzer, Android Authority, The Decoder, Digit, Digital Trends, Phandroid, Search Engine Land, PCMag, Engadget and Korea Joongang Daily, more at Techmeme »
Jakub Krupa / The Guardian:
Journalist Andrzej Poczobut, the 2025 Sakharov prize winner, is freed after five years in a Belarusian prison as part of a US-brokered multi-country swap deal — Sakharov prize winner was given eight-year sentence after process widely condemned as politically motivated
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …, Al Jazeera, Courthouse News Service, Reuters, Associated Press, Notes From Poland and Bloomberg
Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
Regal Cinemas charged $50 for opening-night tickets to Dune: Part Three in premium formats, as the industry adopts airline-style audience segmentation — Theaters raising prices for most avid moviegoers despite complaints from Hollywood studios — One of the best selling points of a night …
Discussion:
@dangillmor@mastodon.social, Entrepreneur, The US Sun and The Independent
