SiriusXM will launch Mediaite's Press Club, a weekly show on events and people in media and politics, on June 8, hosted by Mediaite Editor Aidan McLaughlin (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

Mediagazer: SiriusXM will launch Mediaite's Press Club, a weekly show on events and people in media and politics, on June 8, hosted by Mediaite Editor Aidan McLaughlin (Brian Steinberg/Variety)

Top News:

New York Times:

Sources: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis criticized Sally Buzbee's judgment in publishing a May 2024 article about a UK phone-hacking lawsuit that involved him— Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Washington Post, objected to coverage of a legal development involving him in a phone hacking case.
Discussion: SFGATE, Media Nation, NPR, Talking Points Memo, @drewmagary, @pkafka, @paulvieira, @benmullin, @katie_robertson, @harrymccracken, @nick_field90, @sulliview, @peterjukes, @karaswisher@threads.net, @tvhilton, @farnazfassihi, @edmundlee, @emilybell, @eisingerj, @nick_field90, @rcmacleod, @eisingerj, @janecoaston, @fredvultee, @silvermanjacob, @farhip, @kevinmdraper, @davidbeard@threads.net, @geisler_jill@threads.net, @davidbeard@threads.net, @jswatz_tx@threads.net, The Wrap, @kennysmith@mstdn.social, Digiday, @edmundlee@threads.net, @mattdpearce@threads.net, Puck, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @ChrisBoese@newsie.social and @rogerford.org

Discussion:

Drew Magary /
SFGATE: The Washington Post is about to embrace the darkness

Dan Kennedy /
Media Nation: Media notes: Will Lewis' unethical ask, Biden is still old and Hub Blog is back

David Folkenflik /
NPR: ‘Washington Post’ publisher tried to kill a story about allegations against him. It wasn't the first time.

Josh Marshall /
Talking Points Memo: The Brass's Take on the Shake Up at WaPo

Drew Magary /
@drewmagary: You should be paying attention to what's going on at the Washington Post, because it's very, very bad. https://www.sfgate.com/...

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: Shout out to @maxwelltani for reporting on the smoke before this week's events. https://www.semafor.com/...

Paul Vieira /
@paulvieira: “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff.” https://www.nytimes.com/...

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: scoop: Former Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee clashed with its chief executive, Will Lewis, over her decision to publish a story that included allegations he was involved in attempts to cover up the phone-hacking scandal w/ @katie_robertson https://www.nytimes.com/...

Katie Robertson /
@katie_robertson: SCOOP w/ @benmullin: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis and editor Sally Buzbee clashed over an article about a phone-hacking lawsuit mentioning him in the weeks before she abruptly departed, contributing to tensions between the two https://www.nytimes.com/...

Harry McCracken /
@harrymccracken: Never good news when the CEO chimes in on a particular story in the works, even if it doesn't involve him. (Trust me, I know.)

Nick Field /
@nick_field90: “Mr. Lewis told Ms. Buzbee the case involving him did not merit coverage, the people said. When Ms. Buzbee said The Post would publish an article anyway, he said her decision represented a lapse in judgment and abruptly ended the conversation” https://www.nytimes.com/...

Margaret Sullivan /
@sulliview: ‘Mr. Lewis told Ms. Buzbee the case involving him did not merit coverage’ https://www.nytimes.com/...

Peter Jukes /
@peterjukes: Phone Hacking - the unresolved spectre which hangs over so many senior Murdoch executives - now haunts US news rooms

Kara Swisher /
@karaswisher@threads.net: Technically, this is called the Sally Shiv. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Tom Hilton /
@tvhilton: Someone should lose his job over this, and I'm not naming names but his initials are Will Lewis. And if you're still stumped, here's a hint: he never should have been hired in the first place.

Farnaz Fassihi /
@farnazfassihi: Stunning but not surprising from Murdoch orbit. Will Lewis clashed with the Washington Post editor over coverage of his role in the News Corp phone hacking scandal. So he pushed her out and replaced her with his buddies. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Edmund Lee /
@edmundlee: Hooboy ... @washingtonpost CEO Will Lewis told (now former) editor Sally Buzbee that a story she planned to run naming him as a possible party to a suit involving phone hacking, did not merit coverage. Nice reporting @BenMullin @katie_robertson https://www.nytimes.com/...

Emily Bell /
@emilybell: There are network effects within networks. If you are an ‘entourage’ exec like Will Lewis (ie you bring a long train of people with you rather than working with what's in place) the tribal effects are strong - and work against diversity. You can blame Rupert Murdoch for that too/

Jesse Eisinger /
@eisingerj: *That was my attempt to put it in language Will Lewis might understand. Actually, it may have accelerated Buzbee's exit from the WaPo. Lewis is worried his role in one of the biggest UK media scandals was facing further exposure: https://www.nytimes.com/...

Nick Field /
@nick_field90: Exactly an hour after this damning report about Lewis, Dylan Byers published his own Buzbee-damning piece, along with the allegation that the Times piece was an attempt to get ahead of his https://x.com/... [image]

Riley MacLeod /
@rcmacleod: Maybe... don't be in charge of journalism if you don't like journalism, bro? [image]

Jesse Eisinger /
@eisingerj: READ THE STORY WOT GOT BUZBEE FIRED* By @sarahellison & colleagues: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Jane Coaston /
@janecoaston: Which British news executives weren't involved in phone hacking, is this like how every British detective series has a choir competition episode

Fred Vultee /
@fredvultee: Pesky phone-hacking scandal!

Jacob Silverman /
@silvermanjacob: Someone being sued in a phone hacking case shouldn't be running a newspaper. (Besides the fact that this new three silo structure sounds bad!) https://www.nytimes.com/...

Paul Farhi /
@farhip: Hoo boy. If events are accurately described here, this is a massive conflict of interest. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Kevin Draper /
@kevinmdraper: Will Lewis tells Post reporters “people are not reading your stuff” yet cares deeply when Post reporters have the temerity to write about him and a major court case he is involved in: https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]

Dave Beard /
@davidbeard@threads.net: Would the @WashingtonPost publisher be added to a list of executives who UK plaintiffs argued were involved in a plan to conceal evidence of criminal phone hacking? It's not a story; don't cover it, the publisher told editor Sally Buzbee, who departed the Post abruptly.

Jill Geisler /
@geisler_jill@threads.net: Journalistic independence is essential for for trustworthy journalism. Editors defend it, sometimes at great personal cost. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Dave Beard /
@davidbeard@threads.net: Without fear or favor:

John Schwartz /
@jswatz_tx@threads.net: pro tip: if a source tells you a story about them is not really a story, well, it's really a story. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Stephanie Kaloi /
The Wrap: Exited Washington Post Editor Clashed With CEO Over Coverage of His Ties to Murdoch Scandal

Kenny Smith /
@kennysmith@mstdn.social: Though it was not the cause of the Post's changes, it surely did not help their internal dynamic. — From: @Mediagazer — https://mstdn.social/...

Sara Guaglione /
Digiday: The Washington Post's EIC succession plan shakes up newsroom, but does little to curb marketers' news avoidance

Ed Lee /
@edmundlee@threads.net: Hooboy ... @washingtonpost CEO Will Lewis told (now former) editor Sally Buzbee that a story she planned to run naming him as a possible party to a suit involving phone hacking, did not merit coverage. Nice reporting @benjaminmullin @katie_rob https://www.nytimes.com/... @mattdpearce@threads.net: My sympathies with all the Washington Post journalists who are getting confirmation right now that they have better ethics and news judgment than their CEO.

Dylan Byers /
Puck: ‘Post’ Mortem — The real and surprising story behind Sally Buzbee's departure from The Washington Post.

Dan Gillmor /
@dangillmor@mastodon.social: 1. Washington Post CEO came from the Murdoch empire. — 2. He has been implicated in the (still not fully unraveled) UK “phone hacking” scandal that exemplified the sleaziness of the Murdoch empire. — 3. He told Post editor not to publish a story containing references to his alleged involvement. …

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: Will Lewis at work: — Clash Over Phone Hacking Article Preceded Exit of Washington Post Editor https://www.nytimes.com/...

Chris Boese /
@ChrisBoese@newsie.social: Clash Over Phone Hacking Article Preceded Exit of Washington Post Editor — Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Washington Post, objected to coverage of a legal development involving him in a phone hacking case. — https://www.nytimes.com/...

Roger Ford /
@rogerford.org: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis apparently tried to kill a story about Washington Post CEO Will Lewis being named in Prince Harry's phone-hacking lawsuit. I don't understand how this is not disqualifying to run a major news organization. (Gift link.) www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/b...

New York Times:

A look at the now-shuttered news site BNN Breaking, which former staff say mostly published AI-generated content; Microsoft had licensed BNN content for MSN.com— The news was featured on MSN.com: “Prominent Irish broadcaster faces trial over alleged sexual misconduct.”

Discussion:
@structstories and The Desk, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:
@structstories: Fascinating glimpse of the inside of an AI-powered content mill, showing the ease with which these ‘newsrooms’ can be spun up (and shut down). AI makes it easier to produce low quality content, but content produced using AI is not inherently low quality, https://www.nytimes.com/...

OPB:

Rachel Smolkin, SVP of global news for CNN Digital, is leaving to become president and CEO of Oregon Public Broadcasting— today announced that Rachel Smolkin has been chosen as the next president and chief executive officer, bringing a veteran journalist focused on changing audience needs to lead the organization.

Discussion:
The Wrap, CNN, Deadline and @benmullin

Discussion:

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: CNN Senior VP Rachel Smolkin Exits Network for Oregon Public Broadcasting CEO Role

David Goldman /
CNN: CNN executive Rachel Smolkin named CEO of Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Verge:

Twitch announces a program in which DJs can use copyrighted music in streams by paying a fee; Twitch signed deals with UMG, WMG, Sony Music and indie labels— Livestreaming platform Twitch announced a new program aimed at DJs today that will allow creators to use copyrighted music in their streams by paying a fee.

Discussion:
TechCrunch, Music Ally, Music Business Worldwide and Twitch

Discussion:

Lauren Forristal /
TechCrunch: Twitch DJs will now have to pay music labels to play songs in livestreams

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Twitch strikes music licensing deals for livestreamed DJ sets

Murray Stassen /
Music Business Worldwide: Twitch strikes music licensing deals with all three majors and Merlin for DJ livestreams

Nieman Lab:

Climate Nexus, a communications firm that incubated The Water Hub and gave updates during UN climate meetings, is closing June 21; The Water Hub will continue— Last week, Zack Colman of Politico reported that Climate Nexus, a climate communications firm that's been a stalwart …

Discussion:
@raylongdc, @michael_shank, @timmcdonnell, @mollytaft, @shravya_ and Climate

Discussion:

D. Ray Long /
@raylongdc: Two links to their staff lists via their website and LinkedIn for those that want to connect with the Climate Nexus team: https://climatenexus.org/... https://www.linkedin.com/... #energytwitter

Dr. Michael Shank /
@michael_shank: So disappointing. As a director of media strategy there years ago, Nexus played a critical and unique role in so many key climate moments. Hope fiscally sponsored projects in the climate space do a better job prioritizing org health. Too many don't. Can't afford more of this.

Tim McDonnell /
@timmcdonnell: This is really a shame, @Shravya_ & co. were really so incredibly helpful for climate journalists. I literally don't know how we're going to survive a COP without them...

Molly Taft /
@mollytaft: many other things to say about this but i genuinely dont know how any climate reporters are going to cover COP this year

Molly Taft /
@mollytaft: this is in large part due to the amazing and tenacious @Shravya_ and any climate comms orgs who care about COP in the slightest would be so smart to snap her up right now

Shravya Jain-Conti /
@shravya_: @mollytaft Thank you all for the outpouring of support for us. And not to make light of the tremendous financial and career instability my colleagues and I will soon experience but my favorite sticky note speaks for me today [image]

Variety:

SiriusXM will launch Mediaite's Press Club, a weekly show on events and people in media and politics, on June 8, hosted by Mediaite Editor Aidan McLaughlin— Several upstarts are trying to take advantage of it. — SiriusXM will launch “Mediaite's Press Club,” a new weekly hour-long show …

Discussion:
Mediaite, @bristei and @aidnmclaughlin

Discussion:

Jamie Frevele /
Mediaite: Mediaite Launches Weekly Show on SiriusXM and YouTube

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: Dan Abrams' Mediaite will launch an hour-long ‘Press Club’ on SiriusXM, aimed at analyzing the week in media and politics. It's the latest example of upstarts cultivating media aficionados after the demise of CNN's ‘Reliable Sources’ TV program... https://variety.com/...

CNN:

The WSJ article on Biden's mental acuity relies largely on comments from Republican sources and Kevin McCarthy, who praised Biden's performance a year prior— The Wall Street Journal owes its readers — and the public — better. — The business broadsheet published and hyped …

Discussion:
@andykaczynski@threads.net, Mediaite, Talking Biz News, Poynter, @karlbode.bsky.social, @hadas_gold, Media Matters for America, Axios, @johnjharwood, @bgrueskin, @radiofreetom, @tomricks1, @jrothfeder, @jonfavs, @tvmojoe, Fox News, The Independent, Raw Story, HuffPost, New Republic, NewsNation, The Daily Beast, who13.com and Deadline

Discussion:

Andy Kaczynski /
@andykaczynski@threads.net: My colleague @oliverdarcy had issues with the WSJ's story on Biden's mental acuity. • It was primarily based on GOP sources, who have a vested interest in undermining Biden, while largely ignoring testimonies from Democrats. • The article selectively quoted GOPers like Kevin McCarthy and omitted comments from high-ranking Democrats like Pelosi. …

Alex Griffing /
Mediaite: 'Take That For What It's Worth': WSJ Reporter Says Credibility of Source In Biden Mental Fitness Article Is Questionable

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: WSJ's coverage of Biden's acuity takes criticism

Karl Bode /
@karlbode.bsky.social: The Wall Street Journal is a right wing corporatist rag owned by rupert murdoch, peppered with just enough quality reporting to maintain a veneer of respectability — so watching a lot of hand-wringing over HOW COULD THIS CLUMSY PIECE ABOUT BIDEN'S AGE HAVE HAPPENED is amusing [embedded post]

Hadas Gold /
@hadas_gold: .@siobhanehughes on CNN, responding to criticism they didn't include more Dem quotes in the WSJ story on Biden's mental acuity: “My job here is to be the agent of the reader. I am not here to publish the quote provided to me or us by every single Democrat. I just can't do that.”

Matt Gertz /
Media Matters for America: The Wall Street Journal's story about Biden “slipping” is comically weak

Dave Lawler /
Axios: WSJ takes on Biden's age, White House fires back

John Harwood /
@johnjharwood: not that long ago, the only way the WSJ would have published this story is if the lead examples/anecdotes about Biden “slipping” came from fellow Democrats speaking on-the-record

Bill Grueskin /
@bgrueskin: Biden clearly isn't as sharp as he used to be, but the WSJ doesn't do itself a lot of favors by starting its story about his decline with anecdotes from the current and former GOP speakers of the House, two men who are dedicated to defeating him in November. [image]

Tom Nichols /
@radiofreetom: There really is a weird double standard where the media can question Joe Biden's mental acuity because of his age, but when Trump says something completely batshit crazy there is no investigation into whether he is actually emotionally unstable or disordered in some way.

Thomas E. Ricks /
@tomricks1: WSJ vets not impressed by news article on Biden and aging: “Today's WSJ article on Biden never wd have made it thru the Washington buro & page 1 in present form before arrival of Murdoch editor last year. Only on the record quotes are from the current and past GOP speakers.”

Jeffrey Rothfeder /
@jrothfeder: When I was Natl News Editor at Bloomberg News we would not allow anyone with an axe to grind to go anonymous. If you have something contentious to say, put your name and face to it. Say it out loud. This is journalistic malpractice.

Jon Favreau /
@jonfavs: Well that's good to hear: “In on-the-record interviews, however, seven GOP senators who've met with Biden lately described him as cogent and well-versed on the issues they discussed.” https://www.politico.com/... @tvmojoe: As always, CNN's Oliver Darcy gets it exactly right about the fatal flaw of current mainstream media coverage of this election. Depressing, but right. If you don't already subscribe to his free Reliable Sources newsletter, you really should. [image] Fox News: Biden White House urged Democrats to call back Wall Street Journal as it reported on president's mental acuity

Maya Boddie /
Raw Story: Pence aide turns tables on WSJ over Biden exposé: 'Happy to discuss Trump's mental acuity

Corbin Bolies /
The Daily Beast: ‘Morning Joe’ Skewers WSJ Over ‘Shocking’ Biden Mental Acuity Story

TechCrunch:

Amazon acquires key assets of Indian video streaming service MX Player; a source says the deal values the streamer at <$100M, below its $500M valuation in 2019— Amazon has agreed to acquire key assets of Indian video streaming service MX Player from the local media powerhouse Times Internet …

Financial Times:

Regional UK news startup Mill Media, which offers online newsletters, plans to launch in London, as the Evening Standard scales back, and open a Glasgow office— Regional UK news start-up says there is an opportunity after years of savage cutbacks in local media industry

Discussion:
Mill Media and City A.M.

Discussion:

Joshi Herrmann /
Mill Media: Mill Media is expanding! We're hiring roles across five cities

New York Times:

Sources: Costco plans to stop selling books regularly at US stores year-round from January 2025, and will instead sell them during the holiday shopping period— The decision, which will be implemented in January 2025, could significantly impact publishers.

Discussion:

Bill Wolfsthal /
Bill Wolfsthal on LinkedIn: Really bad news for publishers, sales reps, ReaderLink, authors, and book lovers. For a generation Pennie Clark Ianniciello helped make Costco … @nytimes: Costco plans to stop selling books regularly at stores around the U.S., four publishing executives who had been informed of the warehouse retailer's plans said. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Mike Pearl /
@mikeleepearl.bsky.social: Oh no, wherever will I buy my $80 guides to fad diets and my box sets of hastily written faux reference books about the history of the Harry Potter-verse? [embedded post]

Matt Novak /
@paleofuture.bsky.social: “Costco's shift away from books came largely because of the labor required to stock books, the executives said. Copies have to be laid out by hand, rather than just rolled out on a pallet as other products often are at Costco.” [embedded post]

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@threads.net: I see this as commentary on mass culture: diminished value to Costco & its customers of best-sellers; the problem handling individual titles vs. books by the pallet. Bad for the industry but has no impact on almost all authors. Costco Plans to Stop Selling Books Year-Round https://www.nytimes.com/...

John Branch /
@johnbranchnyt@threads.net: As a former merchandise manager at Costco, and an author lucky enough to have books sold there, this makes me sad. Books were a huge seller years ago. But they were labor-intensive and a pain to stock. (Come to think of it, maybe I should have written this story.) https://www.nytimes.com/...

Katlyn Brieskorn /
WFLA-TV: Costco reportedly plans to stop selling books year-round

Nikkei Asia:

An analysis finds 90K+ images of popular anime characters on generative AI image sharing sites; ~2.5K images had multiple similarities to the original artwork— —An animator working for a Tokyo-based production company — “This Pikachu” was drawn by generative AI.

Discussion:
@hrfm_yamamoto and Nikkei Asia

Discussion:

Hirofumi Yamamoto /
@hrfm_yamamoto: We investigated massive generative AI images on copyright infringement in japanese anime. @kazuhiro_kida @NikkeiAsia @nikkeivdata Visual Investigation: AI anime flood https://asia.nikkei.com/...

Press Gazette:

How New Zealand's Stuff is using a sentiment tracker, which asks readers for their response to stories, and a softer explainer-style for contentious stories— New Zealand's Stuff “abandoned” the traditional inverted pyramid structure for its “most contentious” stories as part of its battle against news avoidance.

Discussion:
@pressgazette

Discussion:
@pressgazette: The Stuff newsroom has “abandoned the inverted pyramid for some of the most contentious stories and politics stories and planning stories, things that would often sew division, and taken more of a real-time explainer approach to structuring those stories” https://pressgazette.co.uk/...