Sam Davis, managing editor of The Baltimore Sun, is retiring and will be succeeded by Tricia Bishop, currently director of opinion and features content (Lorraine Mirabella/Baltimore Sun)

Mediagazer: Sam Davis, managing editor of The Baltimore Sun, is retiring and will be succeeded by Tricia Bishop, currently director of opinion and features content (Lorraine Mirabella/Baltimore Sun)

Top News:

The Daily Beast:

In a company-wide email, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller announces the sale of Gizmodo to European digital media company Keleops— ANOTHER ONE — The sale will keep the tech website's entire staff intact, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller wrote in a company-wide memo obtained by The Daily Beast.
Discussion: Variety, MediaPost, Boing Boing, New York Times, The Wrap, Adweek, @danackerman, @asilbwrites, @jaycodon, @ernie@writing.exchange, @justinbaragona, @tomgara, @pkafka and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Tech-News Site Gizmodo Sold to European Media Firm Keleops, Which Says It Will Retain Entire Editorial Staff

Ray Schultz /
MediaPost: Gizmodo Is Sold To European Group

Rob Beschizza /
Boing Boing: Gizmodo, famed gadget blog, sold to French media company

Katie Robertson /
New York Times: Gizmodo Sold to European Media Company

Benjamin Lindsay /
The Wrap: G/O Media Sells Gizmodo to European Tech Media Company Keleops

Mark Stenberg /
Adweek: Gizmodo Acquired by French Media Firm Keleops

Dan Ackerman /
@danackerman: As a former Editor-in-Chief of Gizmodo, despite the unknowns, this can't be anything but a positive for the amazing Giz staff. But now with the “G” and and the “O” of G/O Media gone, what will that company call itself?

Amanda Silberling /
@asilbwrites: was the O for onion, and if so, does that mean G/O Media is just / Media

Jacob Donnelly /
@jaycodon: Jalopnik, Kotaku, Quartz, The Root, and The Inventory are all that remain at G/O Media.

Ernie Smith /
@ernie@writing.exchange: The company known as G/O Media no longer owns G nor O. — https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ...

Justin Baragona /
@justinbaragona: NEW: G/O Media has just sold Gizmodo to European digital media company Keleops Media. Below is the memo to staff from Jim Spanfeller: [image]

Tom Gara /
@tomgara: All the prestigey newsrooms run by Brit editors, Axel Springer striding the digital landscape like a colossus, French guys buying Gizmodo - who has the courage to write the take we all need: the Europeans are simply better at news media, they posess a certain je ne sais quoi

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: G/0 CEO Jim Spanfeller says new owner promises to “keep Gizmodo's entire staff intact”. Remaining G/O sites: The Root, Quartz, Kotaku and Jalopnik.

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: Tech news site Gizmodo sold to European company

The Guardian:

Heavy-handed moves by The Washington Post's new publisher, Will Lewis, have alienated and angered some of its talented staff; a course correction is in order— When Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013, he said he wanted to give the storied but struggling newspaper the “runway” it needed to take off in the digital age.

Discussion:
Press Watch, @jayrosen_nyc@threads.net, @ichinoy, @jayrosen_nyu, @froomkin, @brizzyc, @jayrosen_nyc@threads.net, @davew@mastodon.online, Vanity Fair, Associated Press, @karaswisher, @ichinoy, NPR, Columbia Journalism Review, New York Post, MediaPost, Media Nation, Fox News, Mediaite, Poynter and NOTUS

Discussion:

Dan Froomkin /
Press Watch: Beware the Tory takeover of the Washington Post

Jay Rosen /
@jayrosen_nyc@threads.net: The Washington Post should become “the first elite newsroom to abandon the both-sides and pox-on-both-your-houses reporting style and instead actively warn readers...” That's @froomkind's argument. And he used to work for the Post. https://presswatchers.org/...

Ira Chinoy /
@ichinoy: Also, in such a high-quality newsroom, if you can't foster respect for the leadership from the bottom up, it's a lost cause.

Jay Rosen /
@jayrosen_nyu: The Washington Post should become “the first elite newsroom to abandon the both-sides and pox-on-both-your-houses reporting style and instead actively warn readers...” That's @froomkin's argument. He used to work for the Post. https://presswatchers.org/... [image]

Dan Froomkin /
@froomkin: The great @sulliview reports that publisher Will Lewis totally bombed on Monday.

Carrie Brown /
@brizzyc: “Journalists don't delude themselves that newsrooms are democracies; they know they don't get a vote. But successful newsrooms aren't dictatorships, either.”

Jay Rosen /
@jayrosen_nyc@threads.net: Read Margaret Sullivan on the lit fuse at the Washington Post. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... @davew@mastodon.online: @Mediagazer Democracy dies in darkness isn't a slogan. It's their mission statement

Charlotte Klein /
Vanity Fair: “I Can't Sugarcoat It Anymore”: Will Lewis Bluntly Defends Washington Post Shake-Up

David Bauder /
Associated Press: With its top editor abruptly gone, The Washington Post grapples with a hastily announced restructure

Kara Swisher /
@karaswisher: This by @davidfolkenflik covers the sitch there fairly. One add: 1. Creating a needlessly hot mess does not make any more money for a place that needs it. And 2. This has been a failure of the top execs & Bezos & not the journalism, so slapping the news staff was boneheaded.

Ira Chinoy /
@ichinoy: I worked @washingtonpost, where I helped build the data journalism program. These are accomplished, hardworking professionals. They don't need to be told to “get with the program.” The Post ownership can't find an impressive American journalist to run the news? Won't end well...

David Folkenflik /
NPR: New CEO of ‘The Washington Post’ puts former colleagues in power

Jon Allsop /
Columbia Journalism Review: The Brits are coming. Again.

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: Washington Post staffers clash with CEO at all-hands meeting after top editor exits: ‘Get with the program’

Ray Schultz /
MediaPost: ‘The Washington Post’ Shakeup: Exec Editor Buzbee Out

Dan Kennedy /
Media Nation: Post notes: Buzbee's departure, diversity concerns and a squishy-soft profile Fox News: WaPo boss sounds alarm over dwindling audience in heated staff meeting: ‘People are not reading your stuff’

Alex Griffing /
Mediaite: 'Can't Sugarcoat It': Washington Post CEO And Staff Reportedly Throw Down in Fiery Meeting After EIC's Abrupt Exit

TechCrunch:

TuneIn partners with Discord, bringing TuneIn's full free live radio and podcast library to Discord's Activity app directory— Audio streaming service TuneIn is teaming up with Discord to bring free live radio to the platform. This is TuneIn's first collaboration with a social platform …

Discussion:
Sherri Hendrickson on LinkedIn, @buckwilson, @discord, RadioInsight and Richard Stern on LinkedIn

Discussion:

Sherri Hendrickson /
Sherri Hendrickson on LinkedIn: I'm thrilled to share something I've been working on for almost a year- TuneIn is now available for listening on Discord ! …

Buck /
@buckwilson: Excited and proud of the work our team has done to enable TuneIn and other such Apps to run in Discord. Just a reminder: you don't have to be in a Voice Call to launch it! @discord: There's a new way to listen to music, podcasts, and news with your friends. The newest Activity on Discord, TuneIn Radio & Podcasts, is now available! [image]

Lance Venta /
RadioInsight: TuneIn Launches Within Discord

Forbes:

Sources: TikTok accounts, including brands and celebrities like CNN and Paris Hilton, are getting hacked via a zero-day exploit that only requires opening a DM— The compromised accounts include CNN and Paris Hilton — and all users have to do to be hacked is open a DM, according to company sources.

Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, BleepingComputer, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Gizmodo, Engadget, New York Post, @ebakerwhite, BGR, Wired and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Matt Novak /
Gizmodo: Big Name TikTok Accounts Reportedly Hacked Via DMs

Lawrence Bonk /
Engadget: Malicious code has allegedly compromised TikTok accounts belonging to CNN and Paris Hilton

Ariel Zilber /
New York Post: Hackers break in to TikTok accounts belonging to Paris Hilton, CNN in ‘zero day’ attack

Emily Baker-White /
@ebakerwhite: Update: we've learned that an official Sony account has also been affected. https://www.forbes.com/...

Jacob Siegal /
BGR: TikTok warning: Your account can be hacked just by opening a DM

Dell Cameron /
Wired: TikTok Hack Targets ‘High-Profile’ Users via DMs

James Hale /
Tubefilter: Trump gets on TikTok

Axios:

The WSJ introduced a multimillion-dollar brand advertising campaign on June 3, its first major brand campaign in years, focused on broadening subscriber appeal— - This is the Journal's first major brand campaign in years. … - The campaign tagline, “It's Your Business,” is meant to …

Discussion:

Eric Newcomer /
@ericnewcomer: @Kantrowitz i presume billboards are to get new readers @pressgazette: The Wall Street Journal is launching a major multi-million brand advertising campaign amid changes and layoffs in the newsroom. It's focused on broadening subscriber appeal to a wider set of professionals with the tagline “It's Your Business” https://www.axios.com/...

Bron Maher /
Press Gazette: Guardian CEO Bateson ready to ‘do a deal’ with AI companies ‘on the right terms’

Samuel Scott /
@samueljscott: @sarafischer ... It always seems that the solution is every business problem is “More growth!” — even if that means diluting a strong brand with high pricing power to appeal to more people.

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: WSJ starts multi-million dollar ad campaign

John Podhoretz /
@jpodhoretz: Yeah. Terrible to try and get customers rather than continue to employ third-rate hacks.

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: NEW: @WSJ plans multi-million brand campaign amid newsroom changes — The campaign focuses on broadening the Journal's subscriber appeal to a wider set of business professionals, not just a small subset of finance investors or C-suite executives More on @axios

Alex Kantrowitz /
@kantrowitz: WSJ has been doing rolling layoffs of journalists this year and now is doing a multi-million dollar brand campaign including billboards, TikTok and “high impact digital signs.” C'mon. https://www.axios.com/... [image] @bobbybigwheel: Ask a political operative what they would do if a candidate told them they wanted to lay off staff so they could pay for more billboards @stevenjduffield: In other words, they're looking to dumb it down with trendy topics, not the subjects that cause people to subscribe to the WSJ. Less serious news; more opinion disguised as news. [image]

Matt Rosoff /
@mattrosoff: Huh. Hard to think of a business brand that has wider appeal and recognition.

Press Gazette:

ITN signs a deal with OpenOrigins to protect its video archive from AI and license content; videos will be validated and secured using blockchain tech— Broadcast news production company ITN has become the first UK news organisation to announce a deal seeking to safeguard its archive from the threat of AI.

Discussion:

Brecht Declercq /
Brecht Declercq on LinkedIn: #Fakenews sources often piggyback on the #credibility that reputable news channels have painstakingly established over the years. …

Zaffrin O'Sullivan /
Zaffrin O'Sullivan on LinkedIn: Many of you know that I joined ITN earlier in the year, stepping into my first General Counsel role. …

Tami Hoffman /
Tami Hoffman on LinkedIn: Finally able to share details of a new ITN partnership with OpenOrigins to protect our historic archive of news footage. … @endersanalysis: Rachel Corp, CEO, @ITN - Today I can announce an exclusive partnership with a company called OpenOrigins, to anchor our archive and give a link to every video we have, linked to blockchain, for verification @MediaTelco2024 [image]

Max Goldbart /
Deadline: UK News Networks Will Not Be Able To Counter Deepfakes On General Election Day, Says Head Of ITN

New York Times:

Sean Combs has sold his majority stake in Revolt, the media company he founded; the largest shareholder group of the company is now made up of employees— After a wave of lawsuits accusing Mr. Combs of sexual assault, the two are “completely separated and dissociated from each other,” the company's chief executive said.

Discussion:

Ethan Shanfeld /
Variety: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sells Majority Stake in Revolt as Employees Become Largest Shareholder Group of the Media Company

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sells stake in Revolt — a company he founded — amid alleged sex assaults

Jordan Hart /
Business Insider: Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs sells off his entire stake in Revolt, the media company he founded

Dylan Smith /
Digital Music News: Breaking: Diddy Relinquishes Ownership Stake In Revolt Amid Continued Controversies — Employees Are Poised to Become the ‘Largest Shareholder Group’

Andre Woolery /
Andre Woolery on LinkedIn: Today is a momentous day. REVOLT, a Black-owned media empire is now majority EMPLOYEE OWNED. I'll say it again so it can sink in …

Janelle Griffith /
NBC Bay Area: Sean Combs sells stake in Revolt, media company he founded

Baltimore Sun:

Sam Davis, managing editor of The Baltimore Sun, is retiring and will be succeeded by Tricia Bishop, currently director of opinion and features content— The Baltimore Sun's longtime managing editor is retiring and will be replaced by a 24-year veteran of Maryland's largest news organization, Baltimore Sun Media said Tuesday.

Variety:

WBD increases the price for Max's ad-free version from $15.99 to $16.99 per month and the Ultimate ad-free tier from $19.99 to $20.99 per month— Warner Bros. Discovery has increased the price for its ad-free versions of streamer Max just ahead of HBO's “House of the Dragon” Season 2 premiere on June 16.

Discussion:

Emma Roth /
The Verge: Max raises prices across its ad-free plans

Etan Vlessing /
The Hollywood Reporter: Max Raises Price for Ad-Free Subscriber Tier

Bevin Fletcher /
StreamTV Insider: Warner Bros. Discovery increases prices for ad-free Max subscriptions

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Max rolls out price increase on ad-free tiers of service

Brandon Schreur /
ComingSoon.net: Max Price Increase Announced for Ad-Free Tiers

Denise Petski /
Deadline: Max Hikes Prices For Ad-Free Plans Effective Immediately

Matt Tamanini /
The Streamable: Warner Bros. Discovery Announces Max Price Increase, But It Won't Apply to All Subscribers

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: 🤑 Summer stream-flation https://www.axios.com/... #axiosmediatrends [image]

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Max Hikes Prices on Ad-Free Tiers @variety: Existing subscribers will be notified 30 days in advance of their plan renewing and see price increases starting from their next billing cycle on or after July 4. The ad-supported price remains the same at $9.99/month or $99.99/year. https://variety.com/...

Samantha Bergeson /
IndieWire: The Max Price Increase Is Here, Just in Time for ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2

Joe Flint /
@jbflint: Stating the obvious but goal here is to get more subscribers to drop ad-free and sign up for lower price commercial version of platform. Me, I'll pay the extra $1.

Lawrence Bonk /
Engadget: Max just raised subscription prices again

Ryan Schwartz /
TVLine: Max Is Raising Prices, Effective Immediately — How Much It'll Cost to Stream Without Ads

Christi Carras /
Los Angeles Times: Warner Bros. Discovery is raising Max prices. Here's how much it'll cost you

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Max Streaming Service Raising Subscription Prices

Phil Nickinson /
Digital Trends: The ad-free options for Max are getting more expensive

Jordan Valinsky /
CNN: Spotify is hiking its prices again

CNBC:

Paramount leadership presents a plan that includes job cuts, a potential streaming JV, and divesting non-core assets if a sale of the company doesn't happen— The current leadership of Paramount Global presented a go-forward plan at the company's annual shareholder meeting Tuesday in the event a sale of the company doesn't happen.

Discussion:

Rachel Curry /
Observer: Paramount Skirts Anticipated Merger Announcement with David Ellison's Skydance Media Financial Times: Shari Redstone leaves investors guessing as Paramount and Skydance agree merger terms

Lauren Hirsch /
@laurenshirsch: Tidbit w @BenMullin Paramount has moved tomorrow's employee town hall to June 25. $para “Given the ongoing speculation regarding potential M&A, we want to be able to speak to you with as much candor and transparency as possible. By moving the date, our hope is to do just that”

Alexandra Canal /
@allie_canal: Shari Redstone says she recognizes the CEO office is not traditional but is “confident” that the structure will enable the execs “to move quickly to implement best practices throughout the company”

Etan Vlessing /
The Hollywood Reporter: Paramount Leaders Unveil “Shared Vision” Amid Takeover Offer

Alex Sherman /
Alex Sherman on LinkedIn: Paramount Global controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has a deal in front of her to merge Paramount with Skydance Media .... …

Sahil Patel /
The Information: Paramount Leaders Outline Plan to Cut Costs, Explore Streaming Joint Ventures

Dawn Chmielewski /
Reuters: Paramount Global's co-CEOs to lay out strategy for shareholders

Richard King /
Richard King on LinkedIn: It's sad to see these stalwarts of American pop culture on the precipice of financial ruin. Paramount was founded in 1912....has $14 billion in debt …

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Paramount Global's current leadership will unveil three strategic pillars: *Explore a JV with Paramount+ *Cut $500m in costs including job cuts *Divest non-core assets All done with attention on returning company to investment grade rating

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Paramount mulls streaming JV, job cuts as merger talks loom

Alexandra Canal /
@allie_canal: The CEO office did not comment on deal speculation but did announce $500M in cost savings: - Prepared to move ‘quickly’ on cost reductions - Targeting real estate, marketing, technology & other corp. categories - ‘Just the beginning’ of cost reductions

Chris Morris /
Fast Company: After months of talks, Paramount and Skydance have reportedly agreed to a merger

Dow Jones Newswires:

Canada's broadcast regulator orders foreign streaming services with C$25M+ in sales to contribute 5% of Canadian sales to help fund local content from Sept. 1— OTTAWA—Canada's broadcast regulator on Tuesday said foreign streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Spotify and Amazon Prime Video …

Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, CBC News, @jackshafer, Reuters and Media Play News

Discussion:

Etan Vlessing /
The Hollywood Reporter: Streaming Giants Ordered By Canadian Regulator to Pay for More Local Movie and TV Content

Jack Shafer /
@jackshafer: “Audio streaming services operate on thin margins and 5% of revenue will have a major impact that will result in either exiting the market or sharp increases to consumer prices,” said Michael Geist, an internet-law professor at the University of Ottawa.

David Ljunggren /
Reuters: Canada says online streaming services must hand over 5% of their domestic revenues

Axios:

CNN has started testing a registration wall that requires users to create an account or log in after they've read around 10 articles in a day— CNN has begun testing an expanded registration wall that requires heavy site users to create an account with a username and password …

Discussion:
@jackmarshall, @davidclinchnews and

Discussion:

Jack Marshall /
@jackmarshall: The real news around moves like this is why so late to the party on basic and established digital publishing tactics. Welcome to 2021!

David Clinch /
@davidclinchnews: “The registration gateway doesn't require payment, but it gives CNN access to first-party data that it could use to improve its ad products or eventually sell subscriptions.” Scoop: CNN's data push https://www.axios.com/... #MediaRevenue

Bloomberg:

Antenna: Spotify users are the least likely to cancel among major video or audio streaming services in the US, with a ~2% monthly churn rate, similar to Netflix— Its customers are the least likely to cancel among major video or audio streaming services. — Good afternoon from Chicago …

Discussion:
Inside Radio, Deadline, Sara G. Walker on LinkedIn, Music Ally, @lucas_shaw, The Information

Discussion:

Sara G. Walker /
Sara G. Walker on LinkedIn: “Netflix is the biggest paid streaming company by just about every metric. Its biggest competitor, as measured by customer loyalty, isn't another video service. …

Lucas Shaw /
@lucas_shaw: Spotify announced it is raising prices, as we first reported it would a couple months ago. Get ready for Spotify to raise prices regularly in the coming years. (As Netflix has in video.)

Lucas Shaw /
@lucas_shaw: People don't switch from one audio service to another. That happens ALL THE TIME in video, where people cancel and resubscribe depending on new shows. But that doesn't exist with audio, where every service offers a similar product. [image]

Martin Peers /
The Information: Spotify's Price Rise Makes Apple Music More Appealing

RELATED:

The Verge:
Spotify plans to raise US prices: Premium from $10.99 to $11.99 per month, Duo from $14.99 to $16.99, and Family from $16.99 to $19.99, after a July 2023 hike

Discussion:
Spotify, The Hill, @ccm_brett, @radnorcapital, @film_girl, 9to5Google, @alexweprin, @tomwarren, Engadget, The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, CBS News, Variety, Gizmodo, The Media Leader, Bloomberg, Micah Willbrand on LinkedIn, CNBC, Digital Trends, KTVX-TV, The Wrap, Music Ally, 9to5Mac and TechCrunch

Discussion:

Brett /
@ccm_brett: Spotify continues to gain market share on Apple Music and Amazon Music How important will YouTube Music be over the next five years? $SPOT [image] @radnorcapital: Spotify $SPOT is raising prices again in the US and the stock is up ~5%. Individual +$1 or +9% to $11.99, Duo +$2 or +13% to $16.99 and Family Plan +$3 or +18% $19.99. Given the stock reaction, this move was likely sooner and/or larger vs. expectations. At the risk of stating

Christina Warren /
@film_girl: Honestly, I'm going to have to consider charging the people who squat on my Spotify Family plan rent b/c this is like a $50 a year increase. Which is small but also WTAF. https://www.theverge.com/...

Ben Schoon /
9to5Google: Spotify is raising prices in the US; $12 for single accounts, $20 for Family

Alex Weprin /
@alexweprin: The price of individual plans is going up by $1 a month. Family plans? $3 a month.

Tom Warren /
@tomwarren: Spotify is increasing its US prices again. Premium, Duo, and Family plans are all getting price hikes — the second in one year https://www.theverge.com/...

Sarah Fielding /
Engadget: Spotify is raising the cost of Premium subscriptions, again

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Spotify to raise prices on Premium, Duo and Family plans

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Spotify Hikes Prices of Premium Plans Again as Streaming Inflation Continues

Khristopher J. Brooks /
CBS News: Spotify hikes price of memberships as it seeks to drive profits

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Spotify Raises U.S. Prices of Premium Streaming Plans for Second Time in One Year

Dua Rashid /
Gizmodo: Spotify Is Raising Prices Yet Again

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: Spotify hits users with another price hike in less than a year

Ashley Carman /
Bloomberg: Spotify Shares Jump on US Price Increase

Micah Willbrand /
Micah Willbrand on LinkedIn: Have talked a bit on food costs but not it's time for streaming chats. — Fascinating that a company which eliminated 20% of it's work force …

Ashley Capoot /
CNBC: Spotify raises prices of premium subscription plans

Phil Nickinson /
Digital Trends: Spotify is getting more expensive, again

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Spotify Raises Premium Plan Price for US Subscribers by 20%

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Spotify raises its subscription prices in the US again

Benjamin Mayo /