Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
A Paramount shareholder lawsuit claims David and Larry Ellison made an illegal deal with Trump in trade for approval of the WBD merger, promising to revamp CNN — Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison and his tech billionaire dad Larry Ellison have been sued by a Paramount shareholder …
Discussion:
Chancery Court of the state of Delaware, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, @mleeds2048.bsky.social, @freedom.press, @leftocorangehater.bsky.social, Free Press Action Fund Feed, The Wrap, Freedom of the Press …, Baller Alert, NewsMax.com, Annotated DC, The A.V. Club, The A.V. Club, Bloomberg Law, Raw Story, Columbia Journalism Review, MS NOW, New York Magazine and r/MediaMergers
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Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Paramount agrees to a request from 12 states, led by CA, to link their federal antitrust case in the WBD merger to an existing Paramount+ subscriber lawsuit — Paramount has agreed to a request from 12 states to link their federal antitrust case to a pre-existing suit brought by Paramount+ subscribers.
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Sources: execs expect a judge to grant a temporary restraining order delaying the Paramount-WBD merger; Paramount still expects to close the merger before Q4
Sources: execs expect a judge to grant a temporary restraining order delaying the Paramount-WBD merger; Paramount still expects to close the merger before Q4
Discussion:
Deadline, Deadline, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, Inverse, @richlightshed, Media Play News, MediaPost, Broadband TV News, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, The A.V. Club, Writers Guild of America West, StockStory, LightShed Partners, Fox Business, Barrett Media, Fast Company, The Streamable and The American Bazaar
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Brendan Carr proposes repealing the national ownership cap, which restricts amassing TV stations that cover more than 39% of households, and sets an Aug. 6 vote — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is proposing a repeal of the national ownership cap, which restricts broadcasters from amassing stations …
Discussion:
Breitbart, Ars Technica, Inside Radio, TVREV, Roll Call, Variety, Los Angeles Times, Radio & Television …, @lucas_shaw, Newser, Poynter, Matthew Keys on LinkedIn, @jeremymbarr, FCC, The Hill, The Verge, CNN, Reuters, Politico, TV Tech, Blockonomi, The Wrap, Barrett Media, Bloomberg, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck and Bloomberg Law
Corey G. Johnson / ProPublica:
Ethics disclosures show 7 out of 10 FCC commissioners since 2016 have accepted Kennedy Center tickets worth thousands courtesy of CBS or its parent company — Reporting Highlights — Expensive Gifts: Despite regulating broadcast media, FCC commissioners have accepted pricey tickets …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Staff Stories, @billspaced.com, The Hollywood Reporter, @cdarwin@c.im, @coreygjohnson.bsky.social, Media Play News, @lauren@mastodon …, Gadget Review, NextDraft, TheDesk.net, Mediaite, @portiamcgonagal.bsky.social, The Wrap, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @bstnboy.bsky.social, US District Court, Northern District of California, @nicolefcarr.bsky.social, @andrewlevesque.bsky.social, @alanpringle@mstdn.social, @schwanksta.com, @ProPublica@newsie.social and New Republic
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
The NYT filed a motion Wednesday to quash DOJ subpoenas of three of its reporters demanding they disclose their sources, following coverage of Air Force One — The Justice Department is seeking to compel grand jury testimony as part of an investigation into Times reporting on the president's new Air Force One jet.
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David A. Graham / The Atlantic:
Acting AG Todd Blanche has shown he's willing to stifle the free press, through subpoenas of WSJ, NYT, and WaPo reporters and a search of a WaPo reporter's home
Acting AG Todd Blanche has shown he's willing to stifle the free press, through subpoenas of WSJ, NYT, and WaPo reporters and a search of a WaPo reporter's home
Discussion:
Poynter, The Hill, TheGrio, New York Post, The Contrarian, Associated Press, Florida Politics, PBS NewsHour, Talking Points Memo, UPI, New Republic, NPR, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, NOTUS, @jbendery, New York Times, Fox News, MS NOW, Semafor, CBS News, @theatlantic, @jonlemire, @steadystate2025, @dagtoddblanche, RADAR, Courthouse News Service, Wall Street Journal, Media Matters for America, @attorneynora.bsky.social, @dankennedy.net, HuffPost, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post and CNN
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Versant plans to overhaul its free streaming service, dropping the “Fandango At Home” branding in favor of a streamlined “Fandango” name and adding new features — The Versant-owned media company is adding content, changing the brand name and adding new features …
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Animation Magazine and Cord Cutters News
GTLN:
The Georgia Trust for Local News purchased The Macon Telegraph and The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer from McClatchy; The Macon Melody will merge with The Telegraph — Deal will revitalize local journalism in Middle, West and South Georgia — Dublin, Ga. - The Georgia Trust for Local News today purchased …
Ariel Zilber / New York Post:
Layoffs hit Altice USA's News 12 operations around NYC; source: at least three dozen employees across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Westchester, and Connecticut were cut — An earthquake hit local broadcast journalists across the New York metropolitan area this week as News 12 carried out sweeping layoffs …
Discussion:
@jamesqueallylat, @ftmarkets, @petersterne, FTVLive, @benbrodydc, Financial Times, FTVLive and 06880
Riddhi Setty / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at Privacy Act lawsuits against the government that result in journalists being subpoenaed to reveal their sources, and their impact on press freedom — Catherine Herridge, a former Fox News reporter, is being compelled to pay $800 a day until she reveals confidential sources.
The Associated Press:
Microsoft adds funding to the AP Fund for Journalism, enabling APFJ to provide 10 local newsrooms in Washington state with AP elections coverage and resources — AP Fund for Journalism (APFJ) today announced funding from Microsoft to strengthen the local news ecosystem in Washington state ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Discussion:
Emily Brown on LinkedIn and The Associated Press on LinkedIn
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
A US federal judge rules the State Department engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by denying visas to researchers studying misinfo and disinfo — Last year, the Marco Rubio-run State Department announced that it would start denying visas to people who worked …
Discussion:
ZeroHedge News, @masnick.com, @jzb@hachyderm.io and @robertscotthorton.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Mizy Clifton / Politico:
Ofcom launches a probe into TikTok over Online Safety Act compliance, citing doubts about the effectiveness of using age inference to determine users' ages — The online safety watchdog is worried about TikTok's use of “age inference” to guess users' ages.
Discussion:
Reuters, The Guardian, Deadline, The Sun Malaysia, The Independent, BBC, The Sun, Mirror, TimesLive, Ofcom, Ofcom, ISPreview UK, Mashable and Anadolu Ajansı …
