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:
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New York Times:
Sources: Paramount proposed to pause its merger with WBD because the company thought going to a trial was the fastest way to complete the deal — A flurry of negotiations last week cleared the way for an antitrust court battle with states that could determine the fate of the two iconic media giants.
Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, BMI, Media Play News, CNN, TV Tech, Forbes, International Business Times and The Wrap
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
The suspension of the Paramount/WBD merger lengthens limits on WBD's ability to pursue asset sales or some content deals and postpones promised cost savings — The companies can't combine yet, meaning promised cost savings and strategic moves are on hold while rivals push ahead
Natalie Korach / Status:
Eight antitrust experts assess what Paramount's pause on WBD acquisition means, which side it benefits most, and where the merger is headed over the next year — The pause is the latest update in what is shaping up to be one of the most consequential antitrust trials Hollywood has faced in decades, with the saga far from over.
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:
Columbia Journalism Review, CNN, HuffPost, New York Post, Variety, The Hollywood Gossip, Raw Story, The Independent, Mediaite, Poynter, TMZ.com, twitchy.com, Rolling Stone, RADAR, PinkNews, Associated Press, New York Times, Us Weekly, The Gateway Pundit, @defiantls, @billkristol, Joe.My.God., The Guardian, The Daily Caller, @lutherlowe, @cspan, @acyn, @nicksortor, @emkenobi, @acyn, Just Jared, Straight Arrow, TV Insider, ZeroHedge News, @rpsagainsttrump, @cnnpr, Salon, @newsguy.bsky.social, Deadline, @bristei, @bristei, @rapidresponse47, The Dean's Report, @ashleyvotesblue.bsky.social, @janetskwatson.bsky.social, Townhall, Crooks and Liars, Diane Ravitch's blog, C-SPAN on YouTube, Daily Mail, NPR, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Breitbart, Financial Times, The Hill, RedState, GB News, CBC News, Al Jazeera, The Independent, Axios, Advocate, Staff Stories, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, Wall Street Journal, One America News Network, MS NOW, WAGA-TV, FOX 11 Los Angeles, ABC News, Washington Post, The Hill, Associated Press, Twin Cities, CBS News, Time and Reuters
Inside Radio:
Nielsen plans to discontinue its radio and TV audience-ratings measurement services for TV and radio in Puerto Rico at the end of 2026 — Nielsen plans to discontinue measuring radio and TV audiences in the Puerto Rico market in December 2026. That means the island of 3.2 million people …
Discussion:
TheDesk.net, Pedro Javier González on LinkedIn and HispanicAd.com
Dominic-Madori Davis / TechCrunch:
London-based European Technology Network, a TBPN-like show livestreaming 5x a week on YouTube and X, raised a $1.6M seed round from Axel Springer and others — The European answer to TBPN is here and ready to go live five days a week, starting June 27. — Luke Knight and Ronan Chambers …
Discussion:
Sifted, Telegraph, @lukeknight, @etnshow and @elktalkstech
Michael Savage / The Guardian:
A UK-backed probe finds journalists self-censor coverage of right-wing protests, Trump, and trans issues over safety fears, as newsrooms “normalize” the risks — Government-backed investigation finds risks are normalised amid ‘a narrowing of the public conversation’
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
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:
Quartz, CNN, Awful Announcing, Benzinga, The Hill, TechCrunch, CoinGape, Netflix Tudum, @newsguy.bsky.social, Front Office Sports, The Wrap and Deadline
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.
Melos Ambaye / Bloomberg:
US microinfluencers, or those with less than about 100K followers, can now earn enough from brand deals to rival middle-class salaries, but they face precarity — A growing tier of microinfluencers is proving that loyal audiences, affiliate links and brand deals can rival — or exceed — traditional office pay.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, @business, The Daily Wire and @simonowens.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
CNBC, The Indian Express, The Guardian, Financial Times, The Asia Business Daily, @mitrapredator, @jasveer10, Drop Site News, Implicator.ai, Financial Post, @maitreyabhakal, @jyotsnamohan, @prempanicker, @chetanecostani, The Economist, Al Jazeera, Reuters, NPR, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and PBS NewsHour
