Top News:
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Filing: Paramount and state AGs agree to freeze the WBD merger until an antitrust trial occurs or until June 2027; a preliminary injunction hearing is canceled — Paramount announced Friday afternoon that its takeover of CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, will be delayed for many months …
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Michael Birnbaum / Washington Post:
Trump says he supports subpoenaing reporters in leak probes and that reporters should be forced to reveal the source of the leaked SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe — Hours before addressing the White House press corps, the president endorsed using subpoenas against reporters in national security leak investigations.
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New York Times, MS NOW, Truthout, NOTUS, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Above the Law, CNBC, The Boston Globe, Thought Catalog, Fox News, Al Jazeera, CBS News, The Guardian and Mumbrella
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Associated Press:
The DOJ withdraws subpoenas that would have forced three NYT reporters to testify about sources, after a federal judge criticized the DOJ for sloppy legal work — Criticized by a federal judge for sloppy legal work, the government on Thursday withdrew subpoenas that would have compelled three …
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, New York Magazine, Racket News, Raw Story, Techdirt, @timobrien.bsky.social, Poynter, The Post Millennial, Ars Technica, American Prospect, The Status Kuo, emptywheel, Matea Gold on LinkedIn, @dennycarter.bsky.social, CNBC, Law Dork, UPI, @bennet.senate.gov, @aclu.org, ABC News, US District Court, Southern District of New York, @dianaresists.bsky.social, @flingjore.com, PoliticusUSA, The Bulwark, @jonesmurphy@mastodon.social, @hammancheez.bsky.social, Newser, NBC News, MS NOW, @3dogz.bsky.social, Society of Professional …, @trumpstaxes.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner, @freedomofpress@social …, Straight Arrow, Deadline, @greatplainsgrandpa …, The Independent, @nanakim.bsky.social, The Hill, @dbnewtondoors.bsky.social, @rosesbloom24.bsky.social, Axios, @rgoodlaw.bsky.social, The Wrap, @timkarr.bsky.social, @chrisgeidner.bsky.social, @chrisgeidner.bsky.social, Law.com, @innercitypress.bsky.social, New Republic, New York Magazine, Reuters and CBS News
Natalie Korach / @nataliekorach:
Memo: HuffPost EIC informs staff that ~15 editorial jobs will be cut, the first layoffs under new owner Byron Allen, and executive editor Kate Palmer is leaving — Scoop: Byron Allen has begun his first round of layoffs since acquiring the BuzzFeed properties, with HuffPost staffers being notified of 15 editorial cuts Thursday [image]
Discussion:
Status, @matthewkeyslive, @fitzador.bsky.social, @jvl.bsky.social and TheDesk.net
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Facebook plans to test a full-screen “immersive video” player when users open the app, replacing the newsfeed, in select international markets this year — The social platform says it will test a video-first look for users when they open the app in select countries, potentially bringing it to the U.S. next year.
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Kalshi asks Netflix to take down a trailer for Instadocs: The Prediction Games, saying it falsely suggests users placed bets in Nevada, where Kalshi is blocked — In a cease-and-desist, the company takes issue with the trailer falsely suggesting that Kalshi is violating a court order barring it from operating in Nevada.
Discussion:
CNN, The Wrap, Netflix Tudum, Deadline, @newsguy.bsky.social and Front Office Sports
Brian Stelter / CNN:
The WHCA dinner goes forward Friday night with tighter security, a smaller guest list, and ongoing tensions as Trump's administration tries to weaken news media — Media Donald Trump Gun violence Human rights — Friday's rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner will be smaller …
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Todd Spangler / Variety:
WBD sues Amazon, accusing it of a “lawless employee shopping spree” to poach WBD employees who are under contract, including HBO marketing veteran Pia Barlow — In its lawsuit, WBD alleged that “Amazon has chosen to ride on the coattails of other well-established Hollywood mainstays …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, Variety and @artisny.bsky.social
James Faris / Business Insider:
Internal docs: Paramount+ plans to launch a free tier for movies and shows in Q3, requiring users to register via email — Paramount+ is looking to level up by making more of its content free. — Paramount's flagship streamer plans to expand access to movies and shows available …
Discussion:
Deadline, MobileSyrup, @ejgertz.bsky.social, Streaming Better, Decider, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News and @phillysky.bsky.social
Munsif Vengattil / Reuters:
Delhi High Court rules OpenAI's use of ANI content to train ChatGPT wasn't copyright infringement as the news agency didn't show ChatGPT reproduced its reports — An Indian court said on Friday that OpenAI's use of news agency ANI's content to train its ChatGPT service did not amount to copyright infringement.
Discussion:
Moneycontrol, MediaNama, Financial Express, Inc42, Chat GPT Is Eating the World, Live Law India, The Indian Express, Reuters and BMI, more at Techmeme »
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
QVC and HSN hosts vote to unionize and join SAG-AFTRA, an organizing drive fueled by concerns around generative AI — About 80 percent of participating presenters supported joining the performers' union SAG-AFTRA. … During the election, 37 hosts voted to join the national performers' union …
Discussion:
Philadelphia Business Journal and The Wrap
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
How special-edition popcorn buckets designed for major movies became lucrative; AMC Theatres estimates they will generate $100M in revenue this year — Fans of “The Odyssey,” the summer blockbuster directed by Christopher Nolan, could choose between two popcorn buckets …
Discussion:
Entrepreneur, @elvialimon, KTLA, @dannygroner.bsky.social, CinemaBlend and PC Gamer
