Top News:
Michael Sainato / The Guardian:
The US OPM releases a draft NDA for federal workers to prevent leaks to journalists; the government would be entitled to all “royalties” received from leaks — The OPM released a draft NDA designed for federal agencies to use with new and existing employees
Discussion:
Washington Post, Mediaite, KTVZ-TV, Associated Press, @karlauerbach@sfba.social, Bloomberg, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, Courthouse News Service, Raw Story, @jcbua.bsky.social, The Hill, @fightingliberal.bsky.social, @kylegriffin1.bsky.social, @hellishchildren.bsky.social, @kimmasters.bsky.social, @bcfinucane.bsky.social, @michaelsderby.bsky.social, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, @Nonilex@masto.ai, Politico and New Republic
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
SpaceX filing: X's ad revenue was $1.8B in 2025, $1.7B in 2024, and $2.3B in 2023, below Twitter's $4B in 2021; X and Grok now have 6.3M active paid subscribers — SpaceX's IPO filing reveals ad revenue for X is still below what it was when Musk acquired Twitter, but it is growing again.
Discussion:
@ernie.tedium.co and New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Gary Lineker's Goalhanger launches Goalhanger Ventures, an arm to provide infrastructure and funding, and makes an investment in Charlie Tymon's Invisible Media — It has also struck a partnership with Backyard Cricket, a sports creator brand. — Invisible Media said its videos …
Tariq Panja / New York Times:
Sources: Fox is paying $485M for 2026 World Cup broadcast rights, an estimated $500M to $1B below market value, after FIFA moved to avoid litigation with Fox — A decision to stave off litigation between Fox and FIFA turned into a bonanza worth hundreds of millions of dollars in discounted World Cup rights to the broadcaster.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, Reuters, Sports Business Journal, PhoneArena, @anotherdancohen, The Drum and Australian Financial Review
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Tegna names Fox Television Stations veteran Patrick Paolini as CEO; former CEO Mike Steib stepped down in March after Nexstar announced its merger with Tegna — Paolini spent 26 years at the Fox stations, including most recently as EVP of ad sales, departing the company last week.
Discussion:
TV Tech, Radio & Television …, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, Washington …, Tegna, @benmullin, Variety, Barrett Media, The Hollywood Reporter and Reuters
Politico:
The US DOJ charges Thomas Pauken II, a US journalist who worked for Chinese state-run news outlets, for allegedly acting as an unregistered agent for China — The individual Pauken reached out to, who is not named in public court papers, “was not hired for the exact job he wanted …
Discussion:
International Business Times, Mail Online, NewsMax.com, @michael7ucci, @joshgerstein.bsky.social, @newsguy.bsky.social, @jaimi.bsky.social, Daily Caller News Foundation, @kaedotcom.bsky.social, @denisewu, @jerrydunleavy, @niubi and US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
UK private equity firm Goldenpeak acquires Ampere Analysis for an undisclosed fee, marking the entertainment analysis company's first institutional investment — Ampere Analysis today has a new owner and another research house in its stable. — Private equity firm Goldenpeak has acquired …
Discussion:
TVBEurope, C21Media, Broadband TV News, Advanced Television and Media Play News
Shannon Thaler Cherry / A Media Operator:
ProPublica launches its first in-house podcast, Paper Trail, an audio serialization of past investigations; filing: ProPublica had an $18.5M surplus in 2024 — ProPublica has entered the crowded podcast landscape. For an investigative newsroom whose donor base skews mostly white …
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
A look at Blooloop, a B2B publisher that has 11 staffers and covers the tourist industry; Muck Rack: it's the UK's ninth most-cited outlet in AI answers — Blooloop was launched 21 years ago and covers the visitor attractions industry globally. — A B2B newsbrand that was previously …
Discussion:
@pressgazette.co.uk
Financial Times:
Spotify co-CEO Alex Norström defends the company's expansion into AI-generated music, arguing that “controlled” products are superior to unregulated AI “slop” — Streaming app strikes deal with Universal allowing subscribers to create ‘controlled’ covers and remixes
Discussion:
PC Gamer, The Irish Times, Inc.com, Music Ally, Blockonomi, The Economic Times, The Guardian, iClarified and Futurism
Reuters:
Handelsblatt: the EU plans to fine Google a high triple-digit million euro amount as part of a 2025 probe over concerns it favors its own services in Search — The European Union is planning to fine Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google a high triple-digit million euro amount as part of an antitrust investigation …
Discussion:
ResearchBuzz, MediaPost, Benzinga, Mashable, @owa@mastodon.social, Neowin, SiliconANGLE, Silicon Republic, Reuters, ITPro and @justinhendrix.bsky.social
Lewis Parker / Kotaku:
Sources: Valnet issued new “Pay Per Session” contracts to TheGamer staff, including not paying writers if their articles do not exceed a minimum views threshold — Editors and writers at the Valnet-owned site TheGamer will now reportedly not be paid for their work if their articles do not accrue enough views
Michael Schneider / Variety:
CBS issued takedown notices to YouTube users over Stephen Colbert's return to public access series Only in Monroe, but says it will stand down after outcry — Yes, it's true, Paramount/CBS had been issuing takedown notices to YouTube users who were uploading bootleg copies …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Plagiarism Today, ScreenRant, The Desk on YouTube, LateNighter, @michellekinney, U.S. Home, Deadline, Washington Times, Poynter, Reality Tea, Boing Boing, @scottdagostino.ca, Page Six, @chiky_handlr, New York Post, Kotaku, @hammancheez.bsky.social, @rebeccaaguilar, @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, @tombunchofnumbers.bsky.social, Mediaite, @omgitsemilyward, @livelaughnot, @julieroginsky, @jonpaula, NME, @jimiadams.bsky.social, @laurenshirleyj.bsky.social, @adamrose.bsky.social, @crabapplejones.bsky.social, @socialmedialab.ca, kottke.org, @twstedtv.bsky.social, @bristei.bsky.social, @maxkennerly.bsky.social, Decider, WJBK-TV, Billboard, Us Weekly, Associated Press, E! Online, New York Times, Showbiz411, Consequence, Mother Jones, The Hollywood Reporter and Rolling Stone, more at Techmeme »
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Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
CBS says Colbert's Only in Monroe episode was financed and produced by CBS Studios but it has decided to stop issuing takedown notices “until additional review”
CBS says Colbert's Only in Monroe episode was financed and produced by CBS Studios but it has decided to stop issuing takedown notices “until additional review”
Discussion:
NBC News, TheDesk.net, @matthewkeyslive, The Detroit News, NPR, Boing Boing, Suggest, @justadude-69.bsky.social, Reality Tea, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, CNBC and Deadline
