8:10 AM ET, May 23, 2025
May 23, 2025
7:55 AM
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Melania Trump releases an audiobook of her memoir with her “official AI voice” created by ElevenLabs, available exclusively on the ElevenReader app
7:20 AM
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Redbird Capital Partners buys the Telegraph at a £500M valuation, ending nearly two years of ownership limbo; IMI will take a minority investment
5:55 AM
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
Similarweb: ChatGPT sent 243.8M visits to 250 news and media websites in April, up 98% from January; 83% of OpenAI's referral traffic went to news sites
May 22, 2025
10:25 PM
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Lionsgate Studios reports Q4 revenue up 22% YoY to $1.1B and a $21.9M net income, vs. a $47M loss a year ago, in its first earnings report since the Starz split
9:45 PM
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Many CBS News staffers say they view Wendy McMahon's abrupt resignation as an indicator that CBS will settle the $20B lawsuit filed by President Trump
7:15 PM
Adrià Calatayud / Wall Street Journal:
Publicis acquires Captiv8, a marketing platform that connects influencers and brands; a source says the acquisition is valued at $150M
4:45 PM
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Filing: Disney sues YouTube, claiming breach of contract after YouTube hired longtime Disney executive Justin Connolly as its global head of media and sports
3:50 PM
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Adelaide launches the AU Ecosystem, a marketplace for media buyers and sellers to transact based on the quality of media using Adelaide's Attention Unit metric
3:20 PM
New York Times:
Sources: the US FTC is investigating whether Media Matters illegally colluded with advertisers; Elon Musk sued the advocacy group in 2023
3:00 PM
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Netflix is launching House of Streams, a reality TV show in which eight content creators compete for bitcoin, with a live chat feature for viewer interaction
2:25 PM
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Politico union members say AI tools used by the outlet, including live news summaries, violate their contract and are taking the dispute to arbitration in July
1:40 PM
The Mozilla Blog:
Mozilla plans to shut down Pocket, the read-it-later service it acquired in 2017, on July 8, and Fakespot, which helps identify unreliable reviews, on July 1
12:20 PM
Washington Post:
Kimi Yoshino, who has led The Baltimore Banner for 3.5 years as its first editor-in-chief, is joining The Washington Post as managing editor, starting July 7
12:00 PM
NBC News:
The White House removes official transcripts of Trump's public remarks from the government's website, replacing them with selected videos of his appearances
11:45 AM
Committee to Protect Journalists:
Five major US-based press freedom orgs launch the Journalist Assistance Network to provide legal and safety resources to journalists and newsrooms in the US
10:40 AM
Tom Garry / The Guardian:
Sources: Disney signs a five-year deal to stream Women's Champions League matches on Disney+ in multiple European broadcast territories, including the UK
10:05 AM
Helen Davidson / The Guardian:
The Hong Kong Journalists Association says it has been subject to “random” tax audits, along with at least eight independent outlets and at least 20 journalists
8:55 AM
Peter White / Deadline:
Danish podcast service Podimo hires Amazon's Georgia Brown as CCO as part of its push into English language content; Podimo has 1M+ paying subscribers
8:10 AM
David Folkenflik / NPR:
The EU says it will give $6.2M in emergency funding to RFE/RL, after Trump withheld its funding; Sweden pledged $2M, but those funds have yet to arrive
7:45 AM
Anthony Hughes / Bloomberg:
Austin-based CTV ad platform MNTN raises $187M in its IPO, selling 11.7M shares at $16 each, the top of its $14 to $16 range, and giving it a ~$1.24B market cap
5:05 AM
Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:
Sources: Disney CEO Bob Iger and ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic asked The View hosts to tone down their political rhetoric, particularly about Trump
May 21, 2025
7:35 PM
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: NBCUniversal made an offer to take over MLB rights after ESPN opted out of continuing its contract, but is offering far less than ESPN currently pays
5:30 PM
Ashifa Kassam / The Guardian:
More than 90 European EICs and publishers call on the EU to act over proposed Hungarian legislation that could ban media organizations that get foreign funding
4:35 PM
Richard Headland / Press Gazette:
The Economist details its new engagement model, assigning different weightings to content types like narrated articles and podcasts, to reduce subscriber churn
3:35 PM
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Epic v. Apple: Spotify says its recent update supporting web payments has resulted in “a significant increase in iOS users upgrading to a Premium subscription”
2:45 PM
Ira Boudway / Bloomberg:
Ampere: sports made up 12% of newly commissioned TV docs in Q2, up from 3% in Q1 2019, as the number of first-run unscripted shows rose from <600 to ~1.3K
1:40 PM
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Google tests bringing ads to AI Mode, both below responses as well as “integrated into” them, and expands ads in AI Overviews to desktop in the US
1:10 PM
Andrew Romero / 9to5Google:
AI videos from Google's Veo 3, which features synchronized audio as well as crisper, more detailed video, are both impressive and terrifying
12:45 PM
Betsy Morais / Columbia Journalism Review:
Several women attest to Pulitzer winner and author Wesley Lowery's pattern of predatory behavior toward young women in journalism between 2018 and 2024
11:55 AM
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
DirecTV and Tribeca Festival partner to launch a streaming hub for films, festival talks, and behind-the-scenes content as one of DirecTV's FAST channels
9:55 AM
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Live Nation, which is facing a US DOJ antitrust probe, adds Trump ally and the newly installed President of the Kennedy Center Richard Grenell to its board
9:10 AM
The Wrap:
Atlas sues Comscore for allegedly leveraging its monopoly on box office data to “suppress competition” and forcing Atlas to shut down its CinemaCloudWorks app
8:15 AM
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
Channel 4 unveils its Creative Investment Fund to invest in production companies as part of a move to in-house production; the UK broadcaster has £111M in cash
7:25 AM
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Every, which runs an online magazine, released an AI-powered word processor, and advises media companies on using AI, raised $2M from Reid Hoffman and others
6:50 AM
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: under Kristi Noem, the DHS has significantly expanded the use of polygraph exams to identify employees suspected of leaking information to the media
6:15 AM
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
How animation startup Toonstar uses its AI tools to make animated content up to 90% cheaper than traditional methods; its YouTube series has 30M weekly viewers
5:50 AM
CNBC:
Google announces new video and image generation models Veo 3 and Imagen 4, alongside a new AI filmmaking tool Flow and expanded access to Lyria 2
5:15 AM
Killian Faith-Kelly / Press Gazette:
An interview with Jonathan Nunn, founder of Vittles, a newsletter about food that has 84,000 subscribers, on the decision to launch a biannual print magazine
May 20, 2025
9:00 PM
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
The ad-supported web is dying and may be replaced by the agentic web, on which web native digital payments, including micropayments, are viable
6:00 PM
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
A look at some of the projects looking to raise money from Democratic megadonors as party strategists try to “find the next Joe Rogan”
5:15 PM
Matt Grobar / Deadline:
Darren Aronofsky's AI-focused studio Primordial Soup partners with Google's DeepMind to produce three short films
4:40 PM
Julian Wyllie / Current:
PBS furloughs 25% of PBS Kids staff after the Department of Education canceled the Ready to Learn grant at the start of May 2025
3:40 PM
Saleah Blancaflor / Adweek:
IAB releases its updated Terms for Digital Advertising Agreements and opens a 60-day public comment period until July 21; IAB last updated its T&Cs in 2010
3:25 PM
Matt Stevens / New York Times:
LA mayor Karen Bass issues an executive directive to streamline city processes, lower filming costs, and ease shoots at well-known city-owned locations
2:20 PM
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Antenna: ad tiers made up 46% of US subscriptions at SVOD platforms offering ad-free and ad-supported plans at the end of March 2025, up from 39% in March 2024
1:30 PM
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
The Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a supplement featuring an AI-generated guide to summer books that do not exist
12:35 PM
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Three US senators send Shari Redstone a letter questioning whether Paramount is engaging in bribery by settling Trump's lawsuit to influence merger approval
12:10 PM
Sara Fischer / Axios:
At The Moment Media launches to give execs the ability to pay for their video coverage and says it's a complement to traditional journalism and not a competitor
11:10 AM
Anita Komuves / Reuters:
Over 80 editors from European news outlets sign a petition opposing Hungary's proposed legislation that would restrict foreign-funded media and rights groups
10:30 AM
Max Tani / Semafor:
MSNBC hires Marcus Mabry, CNN Worldwide's SVP of digital editorial and programming, to serve as its SVP of Content Strategy
10:15 AM
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
ITV tells staff it plans to cut 220 jobs in a major daytime overhaul, which includes scaling back shows and moving Good Morning Britain to ITV News producer ITN
9:50 AM
Saskia Koopman / City A.M.:
Channel 4 says it will be the first UK broadcaster to bring video programming to Spotify later this week, with content from its youth-focused brand Channel 4.0
9:10 AM
Jake Tapper / @jaketapper:
Source: Paramount could settle with President Trump for as much as $30M to $50M
8:35 AM
Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:
Chuck Todd plans to launch Sunday Night With Chuck Todd with media startup Noosphere on June 1, featuring interviews at restaurants and bars in Washington, DC
8:00 AM
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Inside the US case against a North Carolina man who the government claims made $10M+ in royalties between 2017 and 2024 by using bot armies to stream AI tracks
5:35 AM
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Spotify says Apple approved an update to let users in the US buy individual audiobooks from its iOS app and see audiobook prices, after the Epic v. Apple ruling
4:50 AM
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
A look at Sky, seven years after Comcast's £31B acquisition, as the US media giant writes down Sky's valuation by 25% amid job cuts and losing exclusive shows
May 19, 2025
11:50 PM
Samantha Schmidt / Washington Post:
Journalists from El Salvador's top independent investigative news outlet El Faro say they have left the country amid Nayib Bukele's crackdown on dissent
9:20 PM
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
CBS News pulled a 60 Minutes segment on IRS job losses hours before airing, learning the IRS reversed the firings, and plans to broadcast it later with new info
7:25 PM
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
The Daily Wire names Mike Richards, former Jeopardy! producer, as president; he joined the company in December 2024 and will also serve as chief content officer
5:15 PM
Katie Hicks / Marketing Brew:
The Onion launches America's Finest Creative Agency, offering copywriting and creative strategy services for brands
4:20 PM
Todd Spangler / Variety:
SAG-AFTRA files an NLRB unfair labor practice charge against Epic's Llama Productions for using AI to recreate James Earl Jones' Darth Vader voice in Fortnite
3:45 PM
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: CBS News is considering new changes to the Evening News as Wendy McMahon exits and the program falls further behind its rival programs at ABC and NBC
3:10 PM
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Source: about 60 of the 500 VOA workers whose contracts were terminated by the USAGM are likely to be deported within the next month due to losing their jobs
2:30 PM
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Bluesky is allowing some accounts to link their Twitch or YouTube accounts to their profiles, displaying a red indicator and “live” badge when they're streaming
1:36 PM
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: Paramount Global co-CEO George Cheeks had a discussion with CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon on Saturday and asked for her resignation
1:10 PM
Jennifer Maas / Variety:
Netflix starts streaming new episodes of Peppa Pig in the US along with a “World of Peppa Pig” gaming app, as it focuses on kids and pre-K titles
11:45 AM
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
BBC Studios launches a reorganization, with a “Global Production” unit and “Unscripted Productions” division to capitalize on surging unscripted content demand
10:42 AM
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
Memo: CBS News President and CEO Wendy McMahon is stepping down from the network, saying “it's become clear the company and I do not agree on the path forward”
10:25 AM
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Netflix says Season 56 of Sesame Street will be available on Netflix “later this year”; Sesame Street had searched for a streamer since Max dropped it in 2024
9:35 AM
Max Tani / Semafor:
Vice renews Shane Smith's podcast for a second season after it got tens of millions of YouTube views, and launches the Vice News Collective for news influencers
8:25 AM
Richard Headland / Press Gazette:
The Times and Sunday Times launch online subscription sharing, after 76% of test users with “bonus accounts” said they were more likely to keep subscribing
7:20 AM
ITV News:
Gary Lineker says he will leave the BBC after Match of the Day on April 25 and apologizes for his now-deleted Instagram post criticized as antisemitic
7:05 AM
BBC:
Source: Gary Lineker is set to leave the BBC sooner than planned after a new social media antisemitism row; BBC executives believe he caused reputation damage
6:45 AM
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Q&A with YouTube Managing Director of US Partnerships Brian Albert on YouTube's NFL push and how it paid 3M+ creators $70B+ over three years across 20B videos
6:15 AM
New York Times:
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway re-sign their Vox Media deal using a novel revenue-sharing contract with no guaranteed payments, potentially earning them ~$70M
May 18, 2025