Survey of 1,004 Chicago-area residents: 62% frequently use a smartphone to consume local news, just 9% read printed newspapers and magazines often, and more (Stephanie Edgerly/Local News Initiative)

Mediagazer: Survey of 1,004 Chicago-area residents: 62% frequently use a smartphone to consume local news, just 9% read printed newspapers and magazines often, and more (Stephanie Edgerly/Local News Initiative)

Top News:

Reuters Institute:

A survey in six countries shows 32% of respondents think human editors check AI outputs before publishing them; many haven't made up their minds yet about AI— Based on an online survey focused on understanding if and how people use generative artificial intelligence (AI) …
Discussion:

Charlesarthur /
The Overspill: Start Up No.2232: Google search algorithm leaks, the AI disinformation problem, spying on the ICC, Chinese GPT spam?, and more

Trevor Mogg /
Digital Trends: Few people are using ChatGPT and other AI tools regularly, study suggests

Claes de Vreese /
Claes de Vreese on LinkedIn: This report from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows the big differences in public knowledge about and usage of generative AI. …

Federica Cherubini /
Federica Cherubini on LinkedIn: How do people think about the use of generative AI in news and society? — The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published today a new report that looks at this question. …

Mitali Mukherjee /
Mitali Mukherjee on LinkedIn: How do people think #generativeAI will transform journalism and society as a whole? Our latest work at Reuters Institute for the Study …

The Guardian:

News Corp Australia reorganizes its mastheads into free, subscription-based tabloids, and prestige titles, as the EIC of news.com.au Lisa Muxworthy is let go— Staff told some people will ‘regrettably leave our business’ as media empire is reorganised into three divisions

Discussion:
Mumbrella, Sydney Morning Herald, Crikey, @farrm51, @johnbuckley_ and @amelizajane

Discussion:

Nathan Jolly /
Mumbrella: ‘People will regrettably leave our business’: News Corp dumps editors, restructures publishing teams

Daanyal Saeed /
Crikey: ‘Outrageous and stupid’: First major redundancies revealed as News Corp swings axe

Malcolm Farr /
@farrm51: From SMH on News Corp overhaul. In effect, Australia's largest employer of journalists has adopted a national model, which it hopes will enable it to complete the transition from a print to a fully digital media company.

John Buckley /
@johnbuckley_: NEW: News Corp stalwart Nicholas Gray a winner in restructure as union awaits details of job cuts via @CapitalBrief https://www.capitalbrief.com/ ...

Financial Times:

Letter: Vivek Ramaswamy calls for BuzzFeed to axe staff, focus on video, and hire new voices, like Tucker Carlson, after raising his stake in BuzzFeed to 8.3%— Former US Republican presidential candidate urges media group to hire from ‘across the political spectrum’

Discussion:
Vivek Ramaswamy, Axios, Business Insider, City A.M., Bloomberg, @benmullin, @mattzeitlin, @tomgara, The Wrap, @pkafka, @mattgertz, Fox Business, The Guardian, @james.tartarus.org, @chrisgeidner, New York Post, @rafat, The Information, @willystaley, @kenbensinger, @jamesrbuk, Variety, @briannachesser, Deadline, New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:
Vivek Ramaswamy: To the Board of Directors of BuzzFeed, BuzzFeed has lost its way. The company was a pioneer …

Kerry Flynn /
Axios: Vivek Ramaswamy calls for job cuts at BuzzFeed

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: Here's Jonah Peretti's response to Vivek Ramaswamy: “Based on your letter, you have some fundamental misunderstandings about the drivers of our business...” And Vivek's letter: “BuzzFeed has lost its way.” [image]

Matthew Zeitlin /
@mattzeitlin: Seems pretty clear Vivek is trying to do elon twitter to what remains of BuzzFeed

Tom Gara /
@tomgara: Vivek to BuzzFeed: “The silver lining is that your competitors' records are equally bad”

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Vivek Ramaswamy Calls for New Buzzfeed Board Members, Heavy Cost-Cutting After Major Investment

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: So Vivek Ramaswamy has a long list of BuzzFeed demands (tldr: turn it into Elon Twitter 2.0, which...) but no explanation of how he wrenches Jonah Peretti's control of the company away so 🤷 ♂️. [image]

Matthew Gertz /
@mattgertz: Also don't sleep on wealthy right-wingers doing hostile takeovers of media outlets, perhaps with the feds pressuring companies to sell to them. https://x.com/...

Bradford Betz /
Fox Business: Vivek Ramaswamy pushes for BuzzFeed board seats, says company has lost its way

Callum Jones /
The Guardian: Vivek Ramaswamy uses Buzzfeed stake to demand staff cuts, conservative hires

James Aylett /
@james.tartarus.org: Focus on video, eh? I hadn't realised it was 2015 again. [embedded post] @chrisgeidner: Having to choose sides here is both easy and depressing. Fuck Vivek. (But also, get that Pulitzer out of your mouth, Jonah. You gutted the newsroom after using hundreds of us to gain value/credibility/prestige for your company.)

Ariel Zilber /
New York Post: Vivek Ramaswamy demands BuzzFeed hire Bill Maher, Tucker Carlson, Charles Barkley and Aaron Rodgers

Martin Peers /
The Information: Politician-Turned-Activist Ramaswamy Pursues BuzzFeed

Willy /
@willystaley: That's cool. I bought 9 percent of BuzzFeed and I'm going to call for it to become Skate Grantland.

Ken Bensinger /
@kenbensinger: Strange that Vivek makes zero mention of HuffPost in his activist letter to the BF board, instead focusing on BuzzFeed News, which doesn't even exist anymore.

James Ball /
@jamesrbuk: Suspect Ramaswamy doesn't really realise all of the BuzzFeed journalistic operation and most of the HuffPost ones were jettisoned long ago. Does he know what he's actually bought into?

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Pro-Trump Investor Vivek Ramaswamy Says BuzzFeed Should Make ‘Large-Scale’ Layoffs and Hire Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Aaron Rodgers

Brianna Chesser /
@briannachesser: He realizes that shifting (back) to video is more expensive than listicles, right? Go ruin your own thing.

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: New BuzzFeed Investor Vivek Ramaswamy Asks For Big Changes & Apology

Benjamin Mullin /
New York Times: BuzzFeed Clashes With Vivek Ramaswamy

Business Insider:

Americans' visits to movie theaters have been falling since the early 2000s, coinciding with broadband internet growth; Hollywood is reacting by raising prices— - Hollywood had a miserable Memorial Day weekend — one of the worst it has had in decades. — But this shouldn't be a surprise …

Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, Los Angeles Times, @bsdtectr.bsky.social and @tvgrimreaper

Discussion:

Mary McNamara /
Los Angeles Times: Hollywood's high-pressure expectations game has created a box office doom loop @bsdtectr.bsky.social: Executives always take the wrong lessons in these situations. [embedded post] @tvgrimreaper: Somebody please check me, but I'm pretty sure that per-capita visits to movie theaters have been falling for closer to a century.

RELATED:

The Hollywood Reporter:

Comscore: Memorial Day weekend box office grossed an estimated $128.3M, a 29-year low, excluding 2020 and 2021, and down ~37% YoY; Furiosa led with just $32M— Overall revenue for the four-day holiday also hits a 29-year low as the early summer calendar suffers from an unprecedented absence …

Discussion:
New York Times, Variety, The Wrap, The Hill, @patrickbigpix, Albert Fong on LinkedIn, Paul Dergarabedian on LinkedIn, Los Angeles Times, Steve Siskind on LinkedIn, Washington Post, IGN, JoBlo, NBC News, Associated Press, Screen Rant, CNN, The A.V. Club, The Wrap, Business Insider, Deadline, Screen Rant, ComingSoon.net, Forbes and IndieWire

Discussion:

Brooks Barnes /
New York Times: ‘Furiosa’ Is a Box Office Dud, Adding to Hollywood Woes

Rebecca Rubin /
Variety: Box Office: ‘Furiosa’ Just Barely Beats ‘The Garfield Movie’ in Disastrous Memorial Day Weekend — the Worst in Decades

Jeremy Fuster /
The Wrap: 4 Reasons Why the Memorial Day Box Office Was So Awful and What it Means for a Struggling Theatrical Business

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Hollywood suffers rough holiday weekend at box office

Patrick Goldstein /
@patrickbigpix: Really a stretch to blame Hollywood's Memorial Day weekend box-office fiasco on strike-related delays instead of total lack of audience interest in mediocre movies: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...

Albert Fong /
Albert Fong on LinkedIn: Like most sequels, this one leaves many wanting. With the lowest box office results in nearly three decades, this Memorial Day weekend could be called “Wasteland”. …

Paul Dergarabedian /
Paul Dergarabedian on LinkedIn: Honored to have our Comscore, Inc. data and comments as part of Brooks Barnes excellent reporting for The New York Times …

Ryan Faughnder /
Los Angeles Times: What the Live Nation suit is really about (Hint: It's not Taylor Swift)

Steve Siskind /
Steve Siskind on LinkedIn: Furiosa, the heroine and the movie, both faced long odds in the at times treacherous entertainment landscape of 2024 …

Adam Bankhurst /
IGN: Furiosa Wins the Domestic Weekend Box Office But Has the Worst Memorial Day Opening in 30 Years

Chris Bumbray /
JoBlo: Memorial Day Box Office: Furiosa beats Garfield by under $1 million for the 4-day weekend

Lindsey Bahr /
Associated Press: ‘Furiosa’ sneaks past ‘Garfield’ to claim No. 1 spot over Memorial Day holiday weekend

Lewis Glazebrook /
Screen Rant: Furiosa's Box Office Opening Explained: What The Hell Happened With The Mad Max Prequel?!

Drew Gillis /
The A.V. Club: Furiosa barely ekes out victory over Garfield at the weekend box office

Jeremy Fuster /
The Wrap: ‘Furiosa’ Leads Worst Memorial Day Box Office Since the '90s With $32 Million Opening

Anthony D'Alessandro /
Deadline: ‘Furiosa’ Wins Awful Memorial Day Frame With $32M+, But ‘Garfield’ Will Bite Back Next Weekend - Tuesday Update

Hannah Gearan /
Screen Rant: Furiosa Box Office Narrowly Beats Garfield In Worst Memorial Day Weekend In Decades

Vansh Mehra /
ComingSoon.net: Furiosa Box Office Ties With Garfield but Misfires on Memorial Day Weekend

Tim Lammers /
Forbes: ‘Garfield’ Battles ‘Furiosa’ At Memorial Day Weekend Box Office With $32M Debut

Tom Brueggemann /
IndieWire: ‘Furiosa’ and ‘Garfield’ Fight for #1, but There Are No Winners

Vanity Fair:

A profile of Lisa Rubin, a corporate lawyer turned MSNBC legal correspondent, who has covered Trump's NY trial and has been on air 275+ times since January— The corporate lawyer turned correspondent is having a moment on the cable news channel, relaying all the daily drama from the camera-free courtroom.

Discussion:
@steve_vladeck, @brianstelter, @richardhudock, @lawofruby and @jayshams

Discussion:

Steve Vladeck /
@steve_vladeck: Love this @brianstelter story about @lawofruby—who, as anyone in our law school class could've told you, was always going to be phenomenally successful at something different.

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: “We have to bring all of those vivid details to people's living rooms. Everything that our eyes can ingest and our ears can hear, we have to recast for the audience at home. Because without it, all they have is, at best, a transcript and court sketches.” https://www.vanityfair.com/...

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: You've probably been following @LawOfRuby's coverage of the Trump trial. You probably don't know how she ended up on @MSNBC. So I profiled her for @VanityFair: https://www.vanityfair.com/... [image]

Richard Hudock /
@richardhudock: .@lawofruby has appeared on @MSNBC 275+ times since January. She has quickly become a go-to trusted and steady voice for breaking down the daily happenings inside 100 Centre Street. https://www.vanityfair.com/...

Lisa Rubin /
@lawofruby: Life and careers don't always move in a straight line. Thanks to @brianstelter for sharing my very wavy path to @msnbc: https://www.vanityfair.com/...

Press Gazette:

FT CEO John Ridding says news publishers “have leverage and should insist on payment” from AI companies and disintermediation is the industry's “biggest threat”— Financial Times chief executive John Ridding has told other news publishers they “have leverage and should insist on payment” from AI companies.

Discussion:
MediaPost, @mitalilive, @olifranklin, @ftpressoffice and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Mitali Mukherjee /
@mitalilive: ⁦@John_Ridding⁩ of ⁦@FinancialTimes⁩ - “The biggest risk to the industry today is disintermediation - separating readers from their publications.” #AI #journalism ⁦@NewspaperWorld⁩ #WNMC24 [image]

Oli Franklin-Wallis /
@olifranklin: Counterpoint: media companies should stop signing agreements with tech companies that are actively trying to replace them and put them out of business @ftpressoffice: FT Group CEO John Ridding speaking at #WNMC24 in Copenhagen today about the next wave of digital disruption: “This long running drama in news media can have a better ending...if the main actors play their parts right, and play them right now.” [image]

The 19th:

The 19th received a three-year, multimillion-dollar grant to advance its journalism from Melinda French Gates as part of her $1B initiative focused on women— The multi-year support will allow us to grow our journalistic ambitions and our audience, while investing in our long-term sustainability.

Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, Melinda French Gates on LinkedIn, @jason_kint, @jillgeisler, @slooterman, @jessicalessin, CNN, @errinhaines, Emily Ramshaw on LinkedIn, Fernanda Santos on LinkedIn, @19thnews, The Hill, @grace_panetta, Variety, The Information, @eramshaw, CBS News and The Wrap

Discussion:

Melinda French Gates /
New York Times: Melinda French Gates's Philanthropy Will Include Abortion Rights Associated Press: Who is getting part of Melinda French Gates' $1 billion in donations to support women and girls?

Melinda French Gates /
Melinda French Gates on LinkedIn: After a difficult few years of watching women's rights rolled back in the U.S. and globally, I feel a sense of urgency about doing more to alter this trajectory. …

Jill Geisler /
@jillgeisler: Great news!

Sara Luterman /
@slooterman: This is great news for continued high quality coverage of women's issues. I am so proud to work for @19thnews. 💪

Jessica Lessin /
@jessicalessin: It takes guts, passion and conviction to work in news and to support it in challenging times. So proud of @19thnews and grateful to @melindagates for the support as the 19th charges ahead! What a gift.

David Goldman /
CNN: Melinda French Gates explains why she resigned from the Gates Foundation — and what she'll do now

Jawn Staley /
@errinhaines: Good morning to everyone, but especially Melinda Gates 🙏🏾☀️🥹 https://19thnews.org/...

Emily Ramshaw /
Emily Ramshaw on LinkedIn: Pinch me: Melinda French Gates and Pivotal Ventures are making a multi-million dollar gift to @19thnews, part of her billion-dollar initiative to advance gender equity. …

Fernanda Santos /
Fernanda Santos on LinkedIn: Emily Ramshaw said it best: “Sometimes dreams do come true.” — We at The 19th are overjoyed to share that philanthropist … @19thnews: Big news! @melindagates and @pivotalventures are making a multi-million dollar grant to The 19th. https://19thnews.org/...

Nick Robertson /
The Hill: Melinda French Gates commits $1B to advance women, families

Grace Panetta /
@grace_panetta: It's a great day to be at @19thnews. So so thrilled about this grant from @melindagates @pivotalventures that will go toward sustaining the work of our nonprofit newsroom!! https://19thnews.org/...

Jack Dunn /
Variety: Melinda French Gates Commits $1 Billion to Support Reproductive Rights and Women Around the World

Emily Ramshaw /
@eramshaw: Pinch me: @melindagates and @pivotalventures are making a multi-million dollar gift to @19thnews — part of her billion-dollar initiative to advance gender equity. https://19thnews.org/...

Kelsie Hoffman /
CBS News: Melinda French Gates announces $1 billion donation to support women and families, including reproductive rights

Local News Initiative:

Survey of 1,004 Chicago-area residents: 62% frequently use a smartphone to consume local news, just 9% read printed newspapers and magazines often, and more— An examination of the public's interest in and reliance on local news, as well as consumption habits

New Yorker:

How a struggling actor duped friends and investors in a $690M+ Hollywood Ponzi scheme, claiming to buy cheap movie rights and sell them to major streamers— A struggling actor struck it rich in Hollywood—then the F.B.I. showed up. — Anyone who visited Zach and Mallory Horwitz in 2019 …

Discussion:
New York Post, @jalefkowit@vmst.io, @howelloneill@infosec.exchange, @eosnos, @newyorker, @franklinleonard, @xenocryptsite, @ewong, @dancow and @eosnos

Discussion:

Ariel Zilber /
New York Post: How a B-movie actor duped friends and family out of $690M for 'Hollywood's biggest Ponzi scheme'

Jason Lefkowitz /
@jalefkowit@vmst.io: “Even in Hollywood, where professional envy is as ubiquitous as dental veneers, people around Zach Avery were unusually puzzled by the divide between his success and his talent. 'He is the worst actor I've ever worked with,' a former colleague told me. Sharing a scene with Zach, he said, was like interacting with a banana. …

Patrick Howell O'Neill /
@howelloneill@infosec.exchange: Recommended long read: “The Biggest Ponzi Scheme in Hollywood History” — https://www.newyorker.com/...

Evan Osnos /
@eosnos: Fact-checking the real life of an imposter sounds like an idea from Kafka, but the truth will out, thanks to @newyorker checkers @jamilajaffrey, Ismail Ibrahim, and @yyinuoshi. @newyorker: .@eosnos details how the aspiring actor Zach Horwitz moved to Hollywood to pursue stardom and began operating a massive Ponzi scheme, bilking investors—beginning with his closest friends—out of hundreds of millions of dollars. https://nyer.cm/1MolFaI

Franklin Leonard /
@franklinleonard: The story is wild. The details are hilariously staggering. https://www.newyorker.com/... @xenocryptsite: Good article. Funny thing is, at the end, it mentions that this dude's story has already been on various shows and podcasts about scams. Does the demand for journalism about scammers outstrip the supply.

Edward Wong /
@ewong: The latest true-life yarn from @eosnos bringing us into the world of the American con artist. If you like Ripley, read this.

Dan Nguyen /
@dancow: Would watch a Netflix series about this guy who pretended to have millions of dollars in Netflix deals

The Guardian:

Push alerts from the BBC News app have become hugely influential in the UK; the app has an estimated 12M installs, with ~60% of its users getting notifications— With BBC news app alerts reaching as many as 7m Britons, parties are desperately trying to influence what gets pushed out

Discussion:

Esther Anatolitis /
@_esther: Yet another reason why commercial media in Australia consistently sets its sights on ⁦@abcnews⁩: https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Shashank Joshi /
@shashj: “Print newspaper front pages remain heavily analysed, but their reach has collapsed. Twenty years ago, the Sun still sold 3.5m copies a day. Now the biggest selling print newspaper is the Daily Mail, on 700,000 copies.” https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Mike Holden /
@mikeholden42: I'm sure we are a reassured that instead of the Sun pumping out partisan headlines, Laura K is doing it for the BBC instead.

Carl Baker /
@carlbaker: The push notifications people put up with amaze me. If an app starts giving the kind of nonsense you get from BBC Breaking, I uninstall it or disable notifications. But in my experience not everyone even knows that you can turn them off or customise... https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Sasha Scott /
Sasha Scott on LinkedIn: 'The most powerful person in British media during this election, in terms of having the most direct access to voters, is no longer the editor …

Jane Singer /
@janebsinger: The most powerful UK media person this election cycle? It's not the editor of News at 10 or a major newspaper. It's not a social media influencer. It's whichever journo is taking a turn behind the BBC News app, pushing alerts to millions of British phones. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Gordon MacMillan /
Gordon MacMillan on LinkedIn: This is interesting. The most influential service during the general election isn't a social media app or influencer, newspaper, or TV news—it's the BBC's breaking news alerts. …

Stephen Bush /
@stephenkb: Excellent piece on the BBC news app by @jimwaterson: https://www.theguardian.com/ ...

Phil Tinline /
@phil_tinline: Perhaps, when TV channels review the papers, they should mention the size of their readerships.

Axios:

The Daily Wire says it finished 2023 with a profit and more than $200M in revenue, with more than $22M from commerce, most from its line of shaving products— - “We launched Jeremy's Razors for the same reason we launched a general and kids entertainment business and a news …

Discussion:
@sarafischer, @kendallbaker, @ckrewson and @hitsamty

Discussion:

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: .@realDailyWire made $22 million from commerce in 2023, mostly selling razors and other bath products — Commerce is now 10% of its business — Company sees an opening in serving consumers with “anti-woke” branded goods https://www.axios.com/...

Kendall Baker /
@kendallbaker: “The Jeremy's Razors products are branded with the tagline, ‘shave woke-free.’ In its newest ad campaign, the company says its razors have been ‘radically redesigned so you can shave like a man, not a manifesto.’” 🤣🤣🤣

Chris Krewson /