A Dutch court convicts and sentences six men in connection with the murder of celebrity crime reporter Peter R. De Vries on an Amsterdam street in July 2021 (Seb Starcevic/Politico)

Mediagazer: A Dutch court convicts and sentences six men in connection with the murder of celebrity crime reporter Peter R. De Vries on an Amsterdam street in July 2021 (Seb Starcevic/Politico)

Top News:

New York Times:

Sources: Shari Redstone was irked that Skydance's revised Paramount terms reduced National Amusements' value from $2B to $1.7B, affecting her family's holdings— There were several hitches in the last week as Skydance, Paramount and its parent company, National Amusements, reached the final stages of negotiations.
Discussion:

Jessica Toonkel /
Wall Street Journal: Redstone's National Amusements Ends Deal Talks With Skydance

Oliver Darcy /
CNN: Why Shari Redstone called off talks with David Ellison's Skydance on Paramount deal

Lucas Shaw /
@lucas_shaw: The last 6 months in Paramount: Shari Redstone picked David Ellison/Skydance as her preferred buyer, largely ignored entreaties from other interested parties, and then decided she didn't want to sell to Ellison. The Wrap: Chaos at Paramount: An Uncertain Future Looms After Shari Redstone Pulls the Plug on Skydance

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: How the Paramount deal died: Shari's lawyers emailed the special committee just as they were planning to vote — she was miffed that Skydance had lowered the value of National Amusements from $2 billion to $1.7 billion. W/@LaurenSHirsch $PARA https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]

Callum Jones /
The Guardian: Paramount tycoon Shari Redstone pulls the plug on proposed Skydance merger

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: No Deal: Shari Redstone Ends Talks On Skydance Offer for Paramount Global

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: National Amusement's Shari Redstone Ends Acquisition Talks With Skydance Media

RELATED:

Wall Street Journal:

National Amusements ends talks with Skydance; sources: Shari Redstone will likely seek a sale of just National Amusements, without including Paramount directly— Redstone likely to pursue sale of National Amusements, the family company that controls Paramount, with other potential bidders

Discussion:

Anthony Carmen /
@nthonycarmen: Big day for The Town listeners @empirecitybo: My guess is that Shari Redstone will just take @ParamountPics completely off the market. She never wanted to sell in the first place.

Jessica Toonkel /
@jtoonkel: Sources tell me that Redstone rejected the Skydance merger before Paramount's independent committee of directors could vote Tuesday afternoon $PARA https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Shari Redstone's National Amusements Says It Has Ended Talks With Skydance About Paramount Merger

Meg James /
@megjameslat: Paramount Global sale collapses after Shari Redstone pulls support for David Ellison's Skydance deal. Eleventh hour drama adds to the challenges facing media company. https://www.latimes.com/...

Julia Alexander /
@loudmouthjulia: This book is going to be so damn good. @richlightshed: @MattBelloni Hard position for a $PARA board member — if you vote for Skydance, even if you truly believe it creates superior long-term value, the near-term dilution ensures you will be spending a lot of time in Delaware Court [image]

Matthew Belloni /
@mattbelloni:

Tim Baysinger /
@tim_bays: Absolutely bonkers

Anthony D'Alessandro /
Deadline: David Ellison Thanks Skydance Team As Paramount Merger Talks End; Sets Sights On “Building A Next Generation Content Company On Our Terms”

Joe Flint /
@jbflint: Add another chapter! National Amusements ends slow dance with SkyDance from @jtoonkel

Anthony Pascale /
TrekMovie.com: Paramount/Skydance Deal Officially Dead; Yet Another Bidder Emerges

Sahil Patel /
The Information: Shari Redstone's National Amusements Ends Sale Talks with David Ellison's Skydance

Phil Santiago /
@philthepill.wtf: Can't wait for Paramount to eventually be owned by the company behind Cuisinart. [embedded post]

Lillian Rizzo /
CNBC: National Amusements stops discussions with Skydance on Paramount deal, sources say

The Hollywood Reporter:

In an email to staff, Skydance CEO David Ellison acknowledges Paramount merger talks have ended, and says that Skydance is “stronger” because of the talks— “I have great respect for the legacy of Paramount, value our ongoing partnership and wish them the best,” he added in the note …

Discussion:
Deadline, The Desk, Financial Times, CBS News, Variety, Reuters, New York Post, IndieWire, Advanced Television, The Wrap, The Verge and Los Angeles Times

Discussion:

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: Shari Redstone, Paramount End Merger Talks With Skydance As Two Sides Unable “To Reach Mutually Acceptable Terms”

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Skydance Media merger with Paramount appears dead

Todd Spangler /
Variety: After Paramount Merger Talks Collapse, Skydance CEO David Ellison Tells Staff: ‘We Are Stronger Because of This Process’

Dawn Chmielewski /
Reuters: Shari Redstone ends talks with Skydance for Paramount merger, source says

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: Shari Redstone kills Skydance bid for Paramount Global

Brian Welk /
IndieWire: Paramount-Skydance Isn't Happening — Shari Redstone just shut down what looked like a done deal.

Emma Roth /
The Verge: Paramount's rumored merger with Skydance is off

Rolling Stone:

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito suggests partisan funding of ProPublica is to blame for its coverage of the court, in a secret recording at a recent dinner— In a new, secret recording, the Supreme Court justice suggests partisan funding is to blame for coverage of justices' undisclosed luxury gifts

Discussion:
Poynter, CNN, The Daily Beast, @7im, @rollingstone, @eisingerj, @rollingstone, @markjacob16, @normornstein, @allysammarco@threads.net, @slackermom.bsky.social, @jstatepost@mstdn.social, @rollingstone, @eisingerj, @lawindsor, @justinelliott, @ernie.tedium.co, @macloo.bsky.social, @anatosaurus, @adamparkhomenko@threads.net, @JasonPerseus@mas.to, Mediaite, Boing Boing, Fox News, NewsNation, New Republic and New York Times

Discussion:

Ellen Rittiner /
CNN: Filmmaker reveals why she secretly recorded Supreme Court Justice Alito and his wife

Steven Lubet /
The Daily Beast: Was Clarence Thomas Fooling Us Then or Now?

Tim Dickinson /
@7im: New audio: Alito lashes out at @propublica for its **checks notes... Pulitzer-prize winning ** coverage of Supreme Court corruption https://www.rollingstone.com/ ... @rollingstone: In a new recording, Justice Samuel Alito lashes out at the news organization ProPublica, describing their news coverage of the Supreme Court as driven by political animus, insisting: “They don't like our decisions.” EXCLUSIVE: https://www.rollingstone.com/ ... [image]

Jesse Eisinger /
@eisingerj: Read for yourself and see if ideological billionaires lavishing secret gifts to Supreme Court justices (for decades in Clarence Thomas' case) are just “any little thing”: https://www.propublica.org/...

@rollingstone:
Alito continued, “ProPublica gets a lot of money, and they have spent a fortune investigating Clarence Thomas, for example. You know, everything he's ever done in his entire life.” 🔗 https://www.rollingstone.com/ ... [image]

Mark Jacob /
@markjacob16: Clarence Thomas takes $4 million in gifts (much of it secretly) and his right-wing pal Alito rips ProPublica for investigating “any little thing they can find.” These people are shameless.

Norman Ornstein /
@normornstein: Corrupt to the core. Partisan hack. Unfit to wear any judicial robe.

Ally Sammarco /
@allysammarco@threads.net: New Audio: Alito Bashes ProPublica for Reporting on Supreme Court Ethics https://www.rollingstone.com/ ... @slackermom.bsky.social: I don't give a shit what this corrupt MAGA asshole thinks about media coverage. He needs to be impeached along with Thomas for corruption. [embedded post] @jstatepost@mstdn.social: @Mediagazer — 🥥 Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is one bent mother redacted. 🥥

@rollingstone:
But Alito didn't stop there. He volunteered: “There are groups that are very well-funded by ideological groups that have spearheaded these attacks.” Asked to elaborate, Alito got specific. “ProPublica,” he said. More: https://www.rollingstone.com/ ... https://x.com/...

Jesse Eisinger /
@eisingerj: So everyone understands: -Donors get no say in which stories we do -Donors have no idea what stories we are working on -We hold any powerful actor accountable-left, right, Dem, GOP, or jus' plain greedy -We are rigorously fair. Nothing we reported was challenged for accuracy.

Lauren Windsor /
@lawindsor: EXCLUSIVE UNDERCOVER AUDIO feat. the debut of my colleague @Ally_Sammarco: Alito v @ProPublica Justice Alito rants on ProPublica and minimizes Justice Thomas' extraordinary ethics breaches as “any little thing they can find” [video]

Justin Elliott /
@justinelliott: Our story on Justice Alito taking a luxury fishing vacation paid for in part by a hedge fund billionaire who later had cases at the court: https://www.propublica.org/...

Ernie Smith /
@ernie.tedium.co: Personally I trust ProPublica over ProSecretDinnerRantica [embedded post]

Mindy McAdams /
@macloo.bsky.social: The bent Justice thinks everyone else is bent too. [embedded post]

Anat Shenker-Osorio /
@anatosaurus: Who needs a Pulitzer when you can have this praise? Congrats @propublica. Can't imagine higher esteem than angering a man who is taking our freedoms and ruling for billionaires.

Adam Parkhomenko /
@adamparkhomenko@threads.net: ANOTHER Alito audio has dropped. This time featuring my better half @allysammarco: Justice Alito rants on ProPublica and minimizes Justice Thomas' extraordinary ethics breaches as “any little thing they can find”

Jason Perseus /
@JasonPerseus@mas.to: Upset he got caught, not because the underlying conduct makes him a corrupt piece of shit. — 🤷 ♂️ — Surprise! — https://www.rollingstone.com/ ... #uspol #politics #uspolitics #scotus #supremeCourt

Tommy Christopher /
Mediaite: CAUGHT ON TAPE: Alito's Wife Made Jaw-Dropping Threats — Went On Anti-Pride Rant To Undercover Activist Boing Boing: Alito is even more radical than you think — Justice Alito isn't even pretending anymore. Fox News: ‘The View’ co-hosts say they're uncomfortable with Alito recordings, but concede someone has to ‘expose them’

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: Samuel Alito Caught on Tape Revealing His True Guiding Force

Washington Post:

The Baltimore Sun's union says the paper's new ownership has “tossed aside” ethical standards, reusing a below-standard Sinclair Broadcast Group story and more— “Ethical standards,” the Sun's union says, “have been tossed aside under new ownership.”

Discussion:
Popular Information, @washingtonpost, Washington-Baltimore …, @healthcarerenew, @jamieson, @strannik_reb45, @jamieson, @tvnuggetfinder, FTVLive and CNN

Discussion:

Judd Legum /
Popular Information: Sinclair injects deceptive attacks on Biden's age into dozens of local broadcasts @washingtonpost: The union representing the Baltimore Sun's journalists said articles that do not meet the Sun's standards have appeared on its website, including an op-ed by the Sun's co-owner likening the “transgender movement” to a “cancer.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... @healthcarerenew:

Dave Jamieson /
@jamieson: Sinclair's David D. Smith bought The Sun earlier this year, bringing “more crime and conservatism” to the storied paper https://www.npr.org/... @strannik_reb45: The fact that the new Baltimore Sun owner has been putting nakedly partisan articles in the paper isn't exactly unexpected - no one would ever accuse Sinclair of respecting news ethics - but @WBNG32035 was right to call it out. https://wbng.org/...

Dave Jamieson /
@jamieson: Baltimore Sun Guild says in a statement that under new owners The Sun has been publishing articles from Sinclair without notifying Sun staffers. ‘We are concerned that the nature of the relationship between Sinclair and The Sun has not been made clear to us or to our readers.’ @tvnuggetfinder: Now that the evil Sinclair empire (@komonews in Seattle) owns the Baltimore Sun, it is forcing the paper to publish content from its Channel 45 there. The Guild is not happy! Nor should they be. Their demands: https://www.facebook.com/...

Scott Jones /
FTVLive: More Sinclair Evil — Earlier this year, Sinclair executive chairman David Smith bought …

Chris Isidore /
CNN: UAW President Shawn Fain under investigation by federal monitor

Politico:

A Dutch court convicts and sentences six men in connection with the murder of celebrity crime reporter Peter R. De Vries on an Amsterdam street in July 2021— A Dutch court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced six men in connection with the murder of a well-known crime reporter and television presenter.

Discussion:
Deutsche Welle, RTÉ and Agence France-Presse

Axios:

Sources: WaPo CEO Will Lewis is floating Local+, a new offering for readers who want to pay extra for premium local content, including paid newsletters— - In pre-Bezos times, the Post made the world of Washington front and center, dedicating A1 columns to city hall and zoning disputes in the suburbs.

New York Times:

Apple News+, LinkedIn, Morning Brew, The Washington Post, and others are increasingly turning to games and puzzles to retain subscribers and attract customers— What's a five-letter word for an activity that media and technology companies are increasingly relying on to gain subscribers and keep them coming back?

Discussion:
@katie_robertson

Sydney Morning Herald:

Sources: News Corp Australia plans to cut up to 40% of its sales workforce, or about 80 roles, amid its ongoing restructuring— News Corp Australia will make up to 40 per cent of its sales workforce redundant, while editorial staff await their fate amid the media company's most significant restructure in more than a decade.

Discussion:
Crikey

Discussion:

9to5Google:

YouTube plans to roll out its Thumbnail Test & Compare tool to all creators “in the coming weeks”, letting them test video thumbnails “evenly” across audiences— YouTube is preparing to roll out a new thumbnail testing feature to creators, which means you'll …

Discussion:
Google Support and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Mississippi Today:

Pulitzer-prize winning Mississippi Today appeals to the Mississippi Supreme Court following a lower court order to turn over documents amid a defamation suit— A judge ordered our newsroom to turn over privileged documents regarding our Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporting.

Discussion:
@stevenldoyle, Committee to Protect …, @freedomofpress and Poynter

Discussion:

Steven Doyle /
@stevenldoyle: So let me get this right: A former governor of Mississippi is suing the newspaper that won a @PulitzerPrizes for incredibly important work. The suit is NOT because he alleges something was wrong. He wants to know who said what to a reporter. Ridiculous. https://mississippitoday.org/ ... Committee to Protect Journalists: Pulitzer-winning Mississippi Today appeals order to turn over confidential source material @freedomofpress: The Mississippi Supreme Court must protect journalist-source confidentiality, so journalists can hold the government accountable. https://mississippitoday.org/ ...

The Boston Globe:

Current and former staff at Boston public media outlet GBH criticize top salaries after 31 people were laid off; nine execs earned $300K+ in base pay in 2023— When GBH laid off nearly three dozen workers last month, chief executive Susan Goldberg cited flat revenue and rising costs that left …

Discussion:
@dankennedy_nu, @chipgoines, @aidanfitzryan, Inside Radio and Radio Ink

Discussion:

Dan Kennedy /
@dankennedy_nu: While @GBH was laying off 31, the high salaries of 16 top execs were left untouched. Top-paid host Jim Braude, who makes $345k, tells @aidanfitzryan: “We all would've been willing to take pay cuts to save costs if we had been asked.” #journalism #boston https://www.bostonglobe.com/ ...

Chip Goines /
@chipgoines: For an apples-to-watermelons comparison, I looked up how many @boston_police officers made over $300k last year. There's 50 officers (Commissioner Cox is under the threshold by 4 cents) making that much and many still earning over $250k. #bospoli https://www.bostonglobe.com/ ...

Aidan Ryan /