Mediagazer: Publishers that collectively own nearly 400 local and regional newspapers sue OpenAI and Microsoft for scraping their products without permission or payment (Bloomberg Law)

Sources: the EU is set to approve Paramount's $111B WBD takeover provided the company accepts certain remedies, the details of which are still being worked out — David Ellison's media group is discussing remedies with Brussels in order to clear key regulatory hurdle

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Screen, BMI, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, The Wrap, Deadline, @nancylevinestearns …, Variety, Politico, @jamescdownie.bsky.social, @amandacarpenter.bsky.social, Blockonomi, Advanced Television and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Discussion: The Streamable and New York Post

Bloomberg Law:

Publishers that collectively own nearly 400 local and regional newspapers sue OpenAI and Microsoft for scraping their products without permission or payment — Publishers that collectively own and operate nearly 400 newspapers are suing OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp. for scraping their content …

Discussion: Neowin, Insider NJ, New Jersey Globe and The Verge

Adeel Hassan / New York Times:

Wikipedia editors vote to bar co-founder Larry Sanger from editing articles for canvassing outside users to sway internal votes, per the Wikipedia Foundation — A vote to bar Larry Sanger indefinitely from the volunteer community of Wikipedia came days after he submitted a proposal on “intellectual diversity.”

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Watts Up With That? and Gizmodo

Reuters:

Sources: Sky has agreed on terms to buy ITV's broadcast and streaming unit in a £1.6B deal, which will include ITV Studios acquiring Sky's Love Productions — Sky, the Comcast (CMCSA.O)-owned British pay TV group, has agreed on terms to buy ITV's (ITV.L) broadcast and streaming unit …

Discussion: Advanced Television, Variety, Deadline and TVBEurope

Jonathan Abrams / New York Times:

Fox, Bravo, BET, and other major networks are embracing microdramas; Omdia says the short-form video format made $11B in global revenue in 2025 — Major networks like Fox, Bravo and BET are translating shows to the short-form video format that last year made $11 billion in global revenue.

Bloomberg:

Sources: a Chinese court sentenced the former CIO of GroupM's Chinese operation to life in prison for taking ~$176M in bribes through rebate-driven deals — A former executive of WPP Plc, one of the world's biggest advertising companies, has been sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court …

New York Times:

A profile of NFL reporter Dianna Russini, who resigned from The Athletic after photos of her with the coach of New England Patriots prompted an internal probe — Dianna Russini had been busted. — It was January, and Ms. Russini — then the star N.F.L. reporter for The Athletic …

Ethan Millman / The Hollywood Reporter:

AI music startup Suno announces Spark, an incubator program for indie musicians that includes grants and marketing support, as it courts the artist community — The company said it'd give indie artists grants in the controversial company's latest bid to curry favor with the music community.

Discussion: Billboard

Financial Times:

Sources: Meta is accelerating plans to use LLMs to review content and ads, replacing ~50% of human review requests in 2026 and aiming for 90% by year-end — Facebook parent is accelerating plans to use large language models to review content and ads across its platforms.

Discussion: Blockonomi and The Decoder, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:

Court records: federal prosecutors have prolonged an appeal in former Deadspin editor Timothy Burke's criminal hacking case, leaving him in legal limbo — Federal prosecutors have prolonged a critical appeal over an unfavorable decision in a former journalist's criminal hacking case …

James Hibberd / The Hollywood Reporter:

Alex Cooper described reports alleging that her husband, Matt Kaplan, verbally abused Unwell Media staff as “lies” and part of “a smear campaign” against her — The podcaster suggested the allegations are false and adds that “women are held to a different standard.”

Discussion: People, @dumbjosh.bsky.social, Deadline, E! Online, Us Weekly and Just Jared

Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:

Sony Pictures Entertainment invests $100M in Cosm, a startup specializing in immersive, large-screen theaters, which has partnerships with NBCUniversal and WBD — Sony Pictures Entertainment is investing $100 million in Cosm, an operator of large-screen theaters that show films and sporting events.

Discussion: The Wrap, BMI, Sports Business Journal, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, Reuters, Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter