Mediagazer: Sources: NPR lays off 10 journalists, including some veteran reporters, and gives buyouts to at least 18 news staffers to save $8M amid federal funding cuts (David Folkenflik/NPR)

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Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

YouTube launches new Premium podcast features, including an AI-powered recommendation tool, an “Auto speed” setting, and a new on-the-go listening mode — YouTube announced on Thursday it's introducing new podcast features for Premium users, including an AI-powered recommendation tool …

Discussion: YouTube Official Blog, 9to5Google and Brewers Association

Andrew Romero / 9to5Google:

YouTube adds a “custom feed” to its home page that lets users prompt it to create a constantly refreshing feed, available to signed-in US users with history on — YouTube isn't exactly replacing the traditional search bar, but it is supplementing it with a way to watch a …

Discussion: Thurrott, PCMag, Digital Trends, Livemint, The Verge, Mashable, Social Media Today and Android Authority

David Folkenflik / NPR:

Sources: NPR lays off 10 journalists, including some veteran reporters, and gives buyouts to at least 18 news staffers to save $8M amid federal funding cuts — NPR has laid off 10 journalists, including some veteran reporters, in an attempt to save money and reorganize the newsroom.

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

The Telegraph, The Sun, The New York Post, and others published a hoax story claiming Thai police dressed in drag to arrest a drug dealer, based on an AI image — UK and US news outlets have fallen victim to an AI-generated hoax after publishing reports that Thai police dressed in drag to arrest a drug dealer.

Brian Stelter / CNN:

Filing: CNN sues Perplexity in New York for allegedly unlawfully copying and distributing CNN content, after failing to agree on terms with Perplexity in 2025 — CNN is suing Perplexity, accusing the AI company of unlawfully copying and distributing CNN's content.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, Bloomberg Law, The Verge, Insurance Journal, Crypto Briefing and Reuters

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Reactor, which says its AI platform can generate video in real-time with near-zero latency, emerges from stealth with a $59M Series A led by Lightspeed — Existing generative AI models are built on batch processing: You give the system instructions; it runs computations; then spits back the results.

Discussion: PR Newswire and Pulse 2.0, more at Techmeme »

Casey Newton / Platformer:

Meta's Oversight Board says Meta agreed to increase its funding by $13M, ensuring that it will be funded through 2028, reversing a planned decrease in funding — After months of uncertainty, the company's oversight body has a new lifeline — This post is for paying subscribers only

Discussion: Reuters and Oversight Board, more at Techmeme »

Reuters:

Trump refiles his $10B defamation lawsuit against Dow Jones, News Corp, Murdoch, and others over a WSJ article asserting his name was on a 2003 Epstein letter — President Donald Trump on Wednesday refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10 billion in damages against the Wall Street Journal …

Discussion: The Guardian, Deadline, MS NOW, NewsMax.com, Wall Street Journal, The Independent, KRDO, Bloomberg, Raw Story and Mediaite

Mariella Moon / Engadget:

Last.fm says it is now an independent company again, 19 years after being acquired by CBS, and plans to keep its current team and continue the service as normal — Don't worry: It will keep your profiles and scrobbles. — Last.fm is an independent company again, it has announced on its forum …

Discussion: Consequence, Music Ally, Last.fm Support Community and Pixel Envy, more at Techmeme »

Loree Seitz / The Wrap:

Unscripted producer Wheelhouse acquires Anomaly Entertainment, best known for delivering a slate of unscripted programs for Discovery's annual Shark Week — Anomaly has produced 40 shows for Discovery's annual Shark Week — Unscripted producer Wheelhouse has acquired Matthew Kelly …

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, C21Media, Variety and Deadline

Amanda Meade / The Guardian:

Sources: Reuters news executive Simon Robinson is expected to be appointed news director of Australia's ABC, replacing Justin Stevens, who resigned on Wednesday — Hugh Marks refuses to confirm or deny to Senate estimates that he threatened to terminate Stevens if he didn't resign

Discussion: Reuters, TV Blackbox, ABC, Mumbrella, Mediaweek, Variety and The Guardian

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media, Laurie Segall's Mostly Human Media, and BFD launch a 13-part true crime series, Searching for Mr. Deepfakes, on TikTok — Laurie Segall is betting she can build a new model for true-crime investigations, one that doesn't have to rely on documentary structures or the hour-long conventions of broadcast TV.

Discussion: Tubefilter, Press Gazette, @bristei, @bristei.bsky.social, Adweek and Meredith & The Media