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 …
Discussion:
Variety, New York Times, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, CNBC, NBC News, Joe.My.God., Associated Press, IGN, @danielnmiller, The Daily Wire, @balancecrafting, World of Reel, Axios, Wall Street Journal, @normeisen.bsky.social, @azalben.bsky.social, The Wrap, NPR, CBS News, Forbes, @balancecrafting, Media Play News, @brianstelter, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @markruffalo, CNN, Gizmodo, US District Court, Northern District of California, Barrett Media, @jimsciutto, Front Office Sports, Newser, Cord Cutters News, Cosmic Book News, Business Insider, @katzish.bsky.social, @tedstew, @bedoyausa, San Francisco Chronicle, @balancecrafting, UPI, @newjerseyoag, @mgsiegler, The Contrarian, KTLA, New York Post, The A.V. Club and r/MediaMergers
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.
RELATED:
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, Raw Story, Techdirt, Racket News, Ars Technica, The Post Millennial, The Status Kuo, Twin Cities, American Prospect, Poynter, @timobrien.bsky.social, emptywheel, Matea Gold on LinkedIn, @dennycarter.bsky.social, CNBC, Law Dork, Society of Professional …, 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, Lawyers, Guns & Money, @trumpstaxes.com, 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
Alyssa Ray / The Wrap:
At the rescheduled WHCA dinner, Trump praised the press corps' response to the April shooting before insulting journalists and celebrities who criticized him — “[Collins] shouldn't get the award. It was a fake,” the president rails in his White House Correspondents' Dinner speech
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, Townhall, ABC News, @cnnpr, Washington Post, Daily Mail, MeidasTouch, Variety, Al Jazeera, @bristei, Advocate, The Hill, Mirror, New York Post, RedState, The Independent, @bristei, FOX 11 Los Angeles, CBC News, Axios, C-SPAN on YouTube, @rapidresponse47, Deadline, One America News Network, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, @rpsagainsttrump, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, Wall Street Journal, Staff Stories, GB News, Twin Cities, Straight Arrow, CBS News, Washington Times and Fox News
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, Netflix Tudum, @newsguy.bsky.social, The Wrap, Front Office Sports and Deadline
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, @artisny.bsky.social, Deadline and Variety
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, Streaming Better, Cord Cutters News, Decider, The Streamable, @ejgertz.bsky.social and @phillysky.bsky.social
Akriti Sharma / Bloomberg:
As student protests spread across India, Narendra Modi turns to Reels, swapping his trademark cinematic videos for self-recorded messages aimed at Gen Z — As student protests spread across India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned to Meta Platforms Inc.'s Instagram Reels …
Corbin Bolies / Variety:
Patreon lays off 20% of its employees, or 93 people, citing a “painful” restructuring due to “profound” changes in the creator economy over the past six months — Patreon, the creator-focused monetization platform, said on Thursday it was laying off 20% of its employees …
Discussion:
Patreon, Engadget, Digital Music News, The American Bazaar, RuntimeWire, The Indian Express, Music Ally, Nairametrics, Financial Express, TechCrunch, 404 Media, San Francisco Business Times, Business Insider, The Wrap, ABC News, The Verge, @lexroman.com, @scriptor.bsky.social, @hrbrmstr@mastodon.social, @samleecole.bsky.social and thesource.com
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
