Q&A with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on his new docuseries Up For Debate: The Evolution of Sports Media, streaming on ESPN+, his motivation for the series, and more (Alex Kirshner/GQ)

Mediagazer: Q&A with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on his new docuseries Up For Debate: The Evolution of Sports Media, streaming on ESPN+, his motivation for the series, and more (Alex Kirshner/GQ)

Top News:

GQ:

Q&A with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on his new docuseries Up For Debate: The Evolution of Sports Media, streaming on ESPN+, his motivation for the series, and more— The reigning king of sports media discusses his new docuseries, his upcoming contract negotiations, and his pick for the next Disney CEO.

Washington Post:

Hacked emails and documents: top editors of US-focused news website The Grayzone received funding from Iran's Press TV, as well as Russia's RT and Sputnik— Misinformation experts say an overlap in funding underscores concern that the spread of falsehoods and propaganda online is entering …
Discussion: @charliearchy@mstdn.social, @jasonmbrodsky and @josephmenn

Discussion:
@charliearchy@mstdn.social: The Grayzone is a foreign influence operation, and not a very well disguised one. — https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Jason Brodsky /
@jasonmbrodsky: Recently unearthed documents reveal that leaders of @TheGrayzoneNews have received money from both #Russia's and #Iran's government media outlets. In Iran's case it's IRIB & PressTV, which are under U.S. sanctions. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Washington Post:

Content creators are amassing audiences of thousands on Twitch by covering political news and raising funds for Palestinians, as other platforms eschew politics— Dozens of content creators are leveraging the live streaming app to raise funds for Palestinians, circumventing political content bans on other platforms.

Discussion:
@taylorlorenz and Tubefilter

Washington Post:

The Times Guild leaders say NYT, while rolling out expanded bio pages for staff, made “petty” cuts to the language in which staffers extolled their Guild work— After rolling out expanded bio pages designed to ‘bolster trust with readers,’ the Times excised language in which staffers extolled their work with the Guild

Discussion:
Business Insider

Discussion:

New York Times:

How TikTok influencers helped a self-published author sell 1M+ copies of her book, including ~700K on the TikTok shop, showing how TikTok changed book marketing— Keila Shaheen's “The Shadow Work Journal” shows how radically book sales and marketing have been changed by TikTok.

Discussion:

Ian Rosales Casocot /
@sandwichspy: Everyone trying to figure out how TikTok works for books... https://www.nytimes.com/...

Maddy /
@worrierprincess: this absolutely proves that traditional book publishing is cooked right? right? https://www.nytimes.com/...

Linda Secondari /
Linda Secondari on LinkedIn: This very interesting NYT piece on how a self-published author leveraged TikTok to sell 1M books directly in the US is just another example of how #publishing is changing. …

Washington Post:

YouGov: the news sources Americans say they trust the most aren't always used most heavily; YouTube and Facebook are often sources for news but not trusted much— That's particularly true among Republicans. — Americans in 2024 again have a source of news that they agree is reliable …

Discussion:
YouGov

IndieWire:

The Tribeca Festival and OpenAI plan to feature five short films made using OpenAI's text-to-video tool Sora on June 15— “Nanny” director Nikyatu Jusu is among the five filmmakers who created a film for the festival using the tech. — Post — Short films generated by artificial intelligence …

Discussion:
Bloomberg and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Bloomberg:

LA-based Webtoon, owned by South Korea's Naver, files for a US IPO; sources: the online comics platform could seek to raise up to $500M at a $3B-$4B valuation— Los Angeles-based Webtoon said in a filing Friday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that South Korean internet company Naver …

Discussion:
@ca_ecostrategy, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Reuters and The Korea Times, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Caleb Anderson /
@ca_ecostrategy: @business Webtoon Entertainment's US IPO is an exciting move! Seeing digital comics grow is fantastic. ☺️ US Securities and Exchange Commission: FORM S-1 — As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2024.

Niket Nishant /
Reuters: Online comics platform Webtoon reveals revenue growth, profitability in US IPO filing

Anna J. Park /
The Korea Times: Naver Webtoon's Nasdaq IPO expected to foster growth of webtoon industry

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Disney and Comcast's NBCUniversal hit an impasse in Disney's buyout plans for NBCU's 33% Hulu stake, with a significant disagreement over valuation— Companies are discussing a Disney buyout of Comcast's stake in streaming service; with a big valuation gap, the prospect of a court battle looms

Discussion:
Media Play News, @tvgrimreaper, The Information, The Desk, The Streamable and The Media Leader

Discussion:

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Disney, NBCUniversal Reportedly Can't Reach Hulu Valuation Agreement @tvgrimreaper: How much will Disney finally have to pay Comcast for their Hulu stake? I may not live long enough to find out!

Martin Peers /
The Information: AI Euphoria Disappears From Public Market

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Disney, Comcast still too far apart on Hulu's valuation

David Satin /
The Streamable: Disney, Comcast Negotiations Over Hulu Sale Hit Snag as Talks Near Finish Line

Mediaite:

Eric Bolling, formerly of Sinclair and Fox News and host of Newsmax's 8pm show The Balance, is leaving the network after three years— Eric Bolling has parted ways with Newsmax. — The veteran television host, who helmed the conservative network's 8 p.m. hour with The Balance …

Discussion:
Eric Bolling, @ericbolling, Adweek, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Beast, Deadline and The Wrap

Discussion:
@ericbolling: Important Announcement: Eric Bolling and Newsmax Part Ways [Press Release] https://ericbolling.com/...

Ethan Alter /
Adweek: Eric Bolling Parts Ways With Newsmax

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: Conservative commentator Eric Bolling exits Newsmax

Justin Baragona /
The Daily Beast: Ex-Fox News Star Eric Bolling Leaves Fox News Wannabe Newsmax

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: Eric Bolling Departs Newsmax After Three Year Run

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Eric Bolling Exits Newsmax

Bloomberg:

Sources: TikTok pauses plans to launch its e-commerce business in major European markets to focus on growth in the US where it's fighting the divest-or-ban law— - ByteDance halts plan to roll out shopping from Spain to Italy — Company aims to entrench itself in its most lucrative market

Discussion:

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Donald Trump Joins TikTok, App He Had Tried to Ban as President Citing ‘Credible’ Threat to U.S. National Security

Jahnavi Nidumolu /
Reuters: Donald Trump joins the TikTok video platform he once sought to ban

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life: It's an interesting commentary on the regulatory and commercial landscape in the EU that TikTok would rather focus on the US market where it's facing a ban than roll out marketplace features in Europe. [image]

Rob Beschizza /
Boing Boing: Donald Trump, who wants to ban Tik Tok, has joined Tik Tok: “It's my honor”

Shivani Kumaresan /
Benzinga: TikTok Halts European Expansion To Focus On US E-Commerce

Xiaoshan Xue /
Voice of America: Chinese short-form video service to crack down on ‘staged’ clips meant to mislead

Ashley King /
Digital Music News: Reuters Says TikTok Is Cloning Its Algorithm for U.S. App—TikTok Denies

Kaya Yurieff /
The Information: TikTok Pauses Shop Expansion Plans in Europe

Marta Biino /
Semafor: TikTok's reported cloning of algorithm for US raises questions on divestiture plans

Chris Cooke /
CMU: TikTok offered US government “kill-switch” in a bid to avoid sell-or-be-banned law, new report reveals

Sujita Sinha /
Interesting Engineering: ‘Misleading and inaccurate’: TikTok denies creating US-only algorithm

Richard Lawler /
The Verge: TikTok is reportedly splitting its source code to create a US-only algorithm

Semafor:

Details of CNN's ad packages for its Biden-Trump debate on June 27: a top-tier level with a $1.5M minimum, limits on spending by campaigns and PACs, and more— The Scoop — The Donald Trump-driven boom times are back for the business of American television — at least, for one night in June.

Discussion:
New York Post, Reuters, Adweek and Variety

Discussion:

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: CNN to buck tradition by putting commercial breaks in Biden-Trump debate: report

Trevor Hunnicutt /