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5:40 AM ET, May 12, 2026

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Byron Allen is taking a majority stake in BuzzFeed, investing $120M, and will become CEO; Jonah Peretti will move to a new role as president of BuzzFeed AI  —  BuzzFeed announced it has entered into a transaction agreement with Allen Family Digital, an affiliate of Byron Allen's family office …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Trump privately complained to acting AG Todd Blanche about media leaks tied to the Iran war; the WSJ has received subpoenas for records of reporters  —  President Trump privately complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about media leaks in the wake of the Iran war last month …
Scott Nover / Washington Post:
President Trump nominates Kari Lake, whom he tasked with dismantling USAGM and VOA, as US ambassador to Jamaica; a judge ruled in March she illegally ran USAGM  —  Lake was tasked with dismantling the U.S. Agency for Global Media and Voice of America, and became embroiled in contentious legal battles.
Bill Adair / Nieman Lab:
A look at the NYT's Wirecutter, which increased its staff from ~80 in 2019 to 180 today and more than tripled its traffic to 15M monthly readers in recent years  —  “One thing we've never figured out how to do is make a video of an air purifier test because it is so boring.
New York Times:
A look at Israel's efforts to influence Eurovision, as some broadcasters pushed to ban Israel from the music competition and threatened to boycott the event  —  Israel's efforts to influence Eurovision's vote were broader and started years earlier than previously known.  —  TIMES INVESTIGATION
Eliot Chen / The Wire China:
Six years after a US-China tit-for-tat cycle of journalist expulsions, the number of US journalists in China is dwindling, making it harder to cover the country  —  When President Donald Trump travels to China next week for his summit with Xi Jinping, a swarm of reporters will accompany his entourage.
Discussion: Talking Biz News
Ruth Fowler / Wired:
A Hollywood writer recounts working as an “AI trainer” for companies like Mercor, as AI gig work becomes the “new waiting tables” for entertainment workers  —  For screenwriters like me—and job seekers all over—AI gig work is the new waiting tables.
Max Tani / Semafor:
Julie K. Brown's special Pulitzer citation after a previous snub shows how the awards are struggling to keep up with public sentiment and shifting media habits  —  The Pulitzers this year revived an old internal disagreement among the guardians of journalism's top award over reporting on Jeffrey Epstein …
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Peacock launches two unscripted microdramas made by Bravo, the first time that a major US streaming platform has added microdramas  —  It's about time that the microdrama trend has gone mainstream.  —  As microdrama apps like ReelShort and DramaBox quietly rake in billions …
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Netflix for allegedly spying on consumers by collecting their data without consent, and designing its platform to be addictive  —  Netflix (NFLX.O) was sued on Monday by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who accused the streaming company of spying on consumers …
David Folkenflik / NPR:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution CEO Andrew Morse steps down after a three-and-a-half-year tenure, to be succeeded by Cox Media executive Paul Curran  —  Andrew Morse had helped usher ABC, Bloomberg and CNN into the digital age.  In January 2023, he turned his sights on Atlanta …
 
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 More News: 
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Some high-profile publications have migrated from Substack to rivals like Ghost and Beehiiv citing Substack's high fees and increased focus on social features
Alison Weissbrot / Adweek:
WPP US president Michael Houston will step down and transition to a new role as senior adviser; WPP will not backfill Houston's role
Yash Roy / Bloomberg:
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy faces criticism for filming a reality show for The Great American Road Trip, sponsored by companies regulated by the DOT
 Earlier Picks: 
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Sony Music Group, via its JV with Singapore's wealth fund GIC, agrees to buy Recognition Music Group's catalogue of 45K+ songs from Blackstone in a ~$4B deal
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Letter to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro: the FCC's Democratic commissioner Anna Gomez says ABC has been a victim of a “coordinated campaign of censorship and control”
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Fox reports Q3 revenue down 8.6% YoY to $3.99B, a profit of $175M, down from $354M YoY, cable revenue up 5% YoY to $1.74B, and ad revenue down 21% to $1.56B
Discussion: Fox and Variety
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
NBC plans a game show based on the NYT's Wordle, hosted by Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie; NYT and Jimmy Fallon will be production partners
Sean Keach / The Sun:
TikTok is rolling out TikTok Ad-Free, a £3.99-per-month subscription for UK accounts aged 18 or older “over the coming months”, after testing the option in 2023
 

 
From Techmeme:

Axios:
Sources say Anthropic struggles to speak President Trump's language; a Trump administration official says it “screwed us” after failing to “honor” a cyber EO

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Fox says it obtained a $12B loan for the ~$22B Roku deal; existing Fox shareholders are expected to own ~73% of the combined company and Roku shareholders ~27%

Samantha Subin / CNBC:
Salesforce agrees to acquire AI customer service platform Fin, formerly Intercom, for ~$3.6B, in a deal expected to close in Q4 of its 2027 fiscal year
 
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