Top News:
Brian Welk / IndieWire:
After backlash, animator Jorge R. Gutierrez drops plans to make an AI-generated animated series called Punky Duck for Amazon MGM Studios' GenAI Creators' Fund — “My intent was to showcase artists, both new and seasoned, both inside and outside the studios, driving this new tech,” the director said on X.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, @mexopolis, Advanced Television, @jameshamiltonwriter.com, @thereal-aridynamic …, Deadline, @therochasays, The A.V. Club, @runwithskizzers.bsky.social, The Wrap, 80 Level, @kaseygifford.bsky.social, Animation Magazine, NBC News, @thebillywest, Variety, Los Angeles Times, AfroTech, Fast Company and C21Media
CNBC:
Q&A with Brendan Carr, who discusses Disney's claim that the FCC's early TV license renewal orders chill free speech and says the orders are about DEI — Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-12PM ET) today, Friday, May 29.
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Michael Calderone / New York Magazine:
Q&A with the FCC's Anna Gomez on the FCC's “policymaking by mob”, the high likelihood of a Disney win against the FCC, the risks of foreign investment in media — When Disney settled with Donald Trump for $15 million over his defamation suit against ABC News' George Stephanopoulos …
Discussion:
CNBC, @gypsyrights.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, @calderone.bsky.social, fcc.gov and TVNewsCheck
George Winslow / TV Tech:
In a public note, the FCC reminds broadcasters of public interest obligations and stresses that the agency can enforce rules and possibly take away licenses
Discussion:
@agomezfcc, The Daily Signal, The Register, FCC, Radio Ink, Inside Radio, @jonathanuriarte, @brendancarrfcc, Radio World and Radio & Television …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
ABC submits license renewal applications for its eight local TV stations to the FCC as ordered by the agency but says FCC's order violates the First Amendment
Discussion:
The Wrap, Ars Technica, Breitbart, The Wrap, MS NOW, Washington Times, CNN, TechRadar, Fox News, Politico, Barrett Media, @brendancarrfcc, Reuters, TV Tech, Financial Times, TheDesk.net, Newser, Cord Cutters News, Washington Examiner, New York Times, NewsMax.com, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Inside Radio, Raw Story, CNBC, Radio & Television …, Wall Street Journal, The A.V. Club, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg
Jem Aswad / Variety:
UMG rejects the $64B acquisition offer from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, saying the deal is not in the best interests of UMG, shareholders, and stakeholders — The board of Universal Music Group has rejected an unsolicited $64 billion takeover offer from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital, the company announced on Friday.
New York Times:
Just the News founder John Solomon says he is being vetted for a short-term White House role; source: he would lead a task force to declassify documents — John Solomon said he was being vetted for a role as a “special government employee,” a status given to part-time, outside advisers to the federal government.
Discussion:
@pbump.com and Raw Story
Michael Crowley / New York Times:
China ordered the expulsion of NYT reporter Vivian Wang in February; a source says the US revoked the visa of a Chinese national working for Xinhua in response — The Trump administration ejected a Chinese journalist amid fresh concerns about Beijing's growing pressure on foreign correspondents.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Mediaite
McKinley Franklin / The Hollywood Reporter:
2026 News & Documentary Emmys: HBO/CNN's Prime Minister won best documentary; ABC won the most news awards at eight, followed by Nat Geo's seven and CNN's four — The documentary winners were handed out at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on Thursday night, where Michael Ian Black hosted.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Al Jazeera Media Network, FRONTLINE | PBS, The Associated Press, Gold Derby, CNN, Barrett Media, HuffPost, TV Insider, Variety, Al Jazeera, Variety, BBC, Talking Biz News, TVNewsCheck, The Hollywood Reporter, ProPublica, Gold Derby, Latin Times, ABC7 and The Guardian
Meir Orbach / CTech:
Sports Illustrated rights holder Minute Media lays off 12% of staff and reverses its ~$200M deal to buy VideoVerse, an AI platform to extract sports highlights — The unicorn says restructuring reflects push for efficiency and long-term growth amid changes in the media market …
Discussion:
Front Office Sports, @stephapstein, Awful Announcing, Barrett Media, @layoffai and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
Max Tani / Semafor:
An interview with Nick Bilton on working in TV news for the first time, building 60 Minutes' digital presence, having support from David Ellison, and more — The News — “My job is going to be rethinking how we tell stories in a completely new way,” Nick Bilton, who was tapped …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, Breaker, Read Max, Poynter, @lachcartwright, Puck, MediaPost, Today in Tabs, @banikarim, How Things Work, Raw Story, The Hollywood Reporter, @justin_vogt, The Wrap, @davidfolkenflik, @maxwelltani, @jakelahut, @holmesjosh, @benshapiro, @neeratanden, @jeffjarvis, @tvgrimreaper, @neeratanden, @lulumeservey, @andydehnart.com, @freddydeknatel.bsky.social, Variety, Newsbusters, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, CBS News, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, New York Magazine, Radio & Television …, Fox News, New York Post, Axios, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Business Insider, Forbes, Mediaite, Showbiz411, Deadline, New Republic and New York Times
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Bari Weiss ousted two senior 60 Minutes executive producers, Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega
Discussion:
Status, CNBC, HuffPost, Defector, Deadline, Variety, @grynbaum, The A.V. Club, U.S. Home, New Republic, nahj.org, Forbes, CNN, Hollywood Life, Raw Story, The Bulwark, twitchy.com, The Wrap, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, Barrett Media, @grynbaum, Reality Tea, @acosta, @richarddeitsch, @jnicholsonindc, @drewharwell.com, @aidnmclaughlin, @grynbaum, Wall Street Journal, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @sherman4949, @benmullin, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, @dylanbyers, @passantino.bsky.social, Mediaite, @cachiporra.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, LGBTQ Nation, Showbiz411, Just Jared, Advocate, Straight Arrow, Newser, New York Sun, @brucedlittle.bsky.social, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, @wajali.bsky.social, Washington Post, Reuters, HotAir, @tomleykis.bsky.social, @bristei.bsky.social and Los Angeles Times
ElevenLabs:
ElevenLabs launches Dubbing v2, which it says preserves the original speaker's emotion, tone, and pacing across 90+ languages while staying synced to content — Today we're launching Dubbing v2, our revolutionary new AI dubbing model. — For the first time, the emotion and performance …
Discussion:
@altryne, @0xaneri, @elevenlabs, @samuelroy_, @carles_reina, @lukeharries, @surkopu, @angy_knill, @rehensina, @vaibhavsisinty, @wesroth, @mokusa09, @jenniferhli and @kayvonjafar, more at Techmeme »
James Faris / Business Insider:
Internal doc: Disney plans to bring Hulu's content and features to Disney+ by year's end, and to decommission the Hulu app after users have transitioned — Disney's streaming tech teams are working to make the stand-alone Hulu app obsolete, though the company says “there are no current plans to sunset” it.
Discussion:
VICE, PCMag, The Wrap, The Streamable, 9to5Google, Media Play News, Pocket-lint, Tom's Guide, Cord Cutters News, @akw.bsky.social, Digital Trends, TheDesk.net, AdExchanger, 9to5Mac, Cord Cutters News and Collider
Kari McMahon / A Media Operator:
Lookout Local, which launched in 2020 and now has two sites, expects its Santa Cruz, CA, site to be profitable by year-end and plans to have five sites by 2028 — Lookout Local launched as a local news outlet in Santa Cruz, Calif., during the pandemic. This year, it's expected to hit profitability.
Discussion:
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter
Holly Bishop / The Independent:
A BBC Question Time episode featured a panel with AI-generated historical figures like Churchill, intended to show AI images' “hyper-real and persuasive” nature — - BBC Question Time aired a special episode on AI, featuring a panel composed of AI-generated historical figures.
Discussion:
@carolecadwalla, @thewittjones, @bbcquestiontime, @realwrongguy, thenational.scot and TVBEurope, more at Techmeme »
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