The Tribeca Festival and OpenAI plan to feature five short films made using OpenAI's text-to-video tool Sora on June 15 (Brian Welk/IndieWire)

Mediagazer: The Tribeca Festival and OpenAI plan to feature five short films made using OpenAI's text-to-video tool Sora on June 15 (Brian Welk/IndieWire)

Top News:

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.

RELATED:

Variety:
Sources: CNN plans to run ads during its June 27 debate between Biden and Trump, a break from tradition; networks using CNN's feed can also sell their own adsDiscussion:

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

Trevor Hunnicutt /
Reuters: Biden wants to talk abortion, Trump immigration in CNN debate

Jeffrey Clark /
Fox News: RFK Jr. accuses Trump, Biden and CNN of colluding to prevent him from upcoming debate

Rob Quinn /
Newser: Kennedy Campaign Claims CNN Debate Will Be Illegal

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:
The Streamable, The Desk, The Information, @tvgrimreaper and The Media Leader

Discussion:

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

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

Martin Peers /
The Information: AI Euphoria Disappears From Public Market @tvgrimreaper: How much will Disney finally have to pay Comcast for their Hulu stake? I may not live long enough to find out!

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:
@carnage4life, Benzinga, PYMNTS.com, Tubefilter, The Information and New York Times

Discussion:

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]

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

Sam Gutelle /
Tubefilter: TikTok wants its community to shop brands led by LGBTQ creators during Pride Month

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

RELATED:
Reuters: Sources: TikTok is working on a clone of its recommendation algorithm for its US users that may result in a version that operates independently of ByteDance

Discussion:

Matthew Connatser /
The Register: TikTok said to be working on US-specific version of its content algorithm for months

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

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

Jasmine Enberg /
Jasmine Enberg on LinkedIn: Behind the scenes, #TikTok may not be as confident that it will prevail in the legal battle against the divest-or-be-banned law in the US as it has been publicly. …

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

John Marshall /
John Marshall on LinkedIn: An interesting turn of events, not quite sure I'd trust this measure fully though...thoughts? Does anyone else think an interested party in the U.S. found a way to #profit from this deal? …

New York Times:

MSNBC, CNN, and other networks cut away from Trump's speech, which included false statements about his trial; ABC and CBS did not interrupt their regular shows— It was the latest example of journalists having to weigh the news value of a major political moment against the challenges …

Discussion:
Adweek, Richard Rosenthal on LinkedIn and @thaddeus.zone

Discussion:

Ethan Alter /
Adweek: Donald Trump's Post-Trial Press Conference Cut Short on Multiple News Networks

Richard Rosenthal /
Richard Rosenthal on LinkedIn: KEY POINTS: (1) News organizations cut short the live broadcast of Trump's lie-laden news conference; …

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, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Bloomberg:

Meta says 40M+ US and Canadian adults aged 18 to 29 use Facebook daily, the highest number in three years, reflecting efforts to win back younger users— - Feed now features a broader array of posts based on interest — More young adults are back on Facebook after years of declines

Discussion:
Engadget, Reuters, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter and Meta

Discussion:

Karissa Bell /
Engadget: Meta says the future of Facebook is young adults (again)

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:
The Korea Times, @ca_ecostrategy, US Securities and Exchange Commission and Reuters

Discussion:

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

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.

Variety:

Moonbug Entertainment names Courtney Holt, previously Spotify's head of studios and video, as managing director for the Americas, taking over from Andy Yeatman— Holt takes over the position from Andy Yeatman, who is departing Moonbug for an unspecified new gig.

Discussion:
Courtney Holt on LinkedIn, The Wrap, Deadline and Advanced Television

Discussion:

Courtney Holt /
Courtney Holt on LinkedIn: I'm super appreciative of the opportunity to continue to grow and lead within Moonbug Entertainment. …

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Moonbug Entertainment Promotes Global Music Head Courtney Holt to Americas Managing Director

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: ‘CoComelon’ And ‘Blippi’ Producer Moonbug Entertainment Ups Courtney Holt To Managing Director, Americas, As Andy Yeatman Exits

Financial Times:

Sources: a Paramount special committee approved the sweetened offer from Skydance; Paramount's board, chaired by Shari Redstone, will vote on the deal June 4— Final decision over Hollywood studio group rests with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone — A special committee …

Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, Reuters, The Desk, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times and Variety

Discussion:

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Paramount Special Committee Recommends Revised Offer From David Ellison's Skydance Media

NPR:

Salem Media is halting distribution of the film and book 2000 Mules and removing the film from its platforms; it apologized to a man who sued for defamation— The conservative media company behind the book and film “2,000 Mules,” which alleged a widespread conspiracy by Democrats to steal …

Discussion:

Oliver Darcy /
CNN: Right-wing media company Salem apologizes, stops distributing 2020 election conspiracy film ‘2000 Mules’ after lawsuit

Tom Dreisbach /
@tomdreisbach: @DineshDSouza ... According to a filing in Salem's case against its insurer, Salem settled Andrews' defamation case for a “significant [confidential] amount.” [image]

Tom Dreisbach /
@tomdreisbach: @DineshDSouza ... For our previous coverage debunking some of the film and book's claims: When D'Souza had to abruptly recall the book, but I got a copy anyway https://www.npr.org/...

Renee DiResta /
@renee.diresta@threads.net: Good. More of this. Hold the perpetrators of the Big Lie accountable — their lies about innocent people have profound costs. @nycsouthpaw: Salem has published a statement retracting Dinesh D'Souza's film 2000 Mules. From the wording, it looks a lot like it was compelled by a defamation settlement agreement. It is currently sitting beneath a Sebastian Gorka broadcast. https://salemnewschannel.com/ [image]

Tom Dreisbach /
@tomdreisbach: @DineshDSouza Some key context Salem is a co-defendant, along with Dinesh D'Souza and True the Vote, in a lawsuit filed by this voter, Mark Andrews. He is represented by lawyers with @protctdemocracy, which also represented the Georgia election workers who sued Rudy Giuliani for defamation.

Anne Nelson /
@anelsona: Here's a juicy thread about #CNP media companies Salem & Regnery and their little truthiness problem. #ShadowNetwork

Brian Beutler /
@brianbeutler: Weird how this keeps happening to Republicans and their allied media—and only them—given that both sides same.

Tom Dreisbach /
@tomdreisbach: @DineshDSouza ... Also notable: Salem is currently suing their media insurer for allegedly failing to pay for the costs associated with Andrews' “2,000 Mules” lawsuit. https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ... @mountainsstars: @nycsouthpaw Salem Media's Quarterly Report shows it sold Regnery Publishing (to Skyhorse Publishing) in December 2023. It also shows Salem and its subsidiaries are parties to multiple lawsuits and entered into a settlement agreement for one in March 2024. https://d1io3yog0oux5.cloudfront.net/ ... [image]

Stephen Silver /
@stephensilver: It takes a lot for a movie to be retracted completely, but 2000 MULES - based on nothing but lies from start to finish - clears that bar Associated Press: Publisher of ‘2000 Mules’ apologizes to Georgia man falsely accused of ballot fraud in the film

Phillip Nieto /
Mediaite: Salem Apologizes, Retracts Dinesh D'Souza's Debunked Election Fraud Movie ‘2000 Mules’

Tom Dreisbach /
@tomdreisbach: The publisher of @DineshDSouza's election conspiracy theory film and book “2,000 Mules” has issued an apology to a Georgia voter accused in the film of illegal voting in the 2020 election. “There will be no future distribution of the film or the book by Salem.” [image]

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:
The Daily Beast, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, @ericbolling, The Wrap and Media Matters for America

Discussion:

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

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

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: Eric Bolling Departs Newsmax After Three Year Run @ericbolling: Important Announcement: Eric Bolling and Newsmax Part Ways [Press Release] https://ericbolling.com/...

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Eric Bolling Exits Newsmax

Washington Post:

A look at Robert Allbritton's NOTUS, a nonprofit national politics outlet that employs 10 full-time fellows and is intended to act as a journalist incubator— When he was the owner of Politico, Robert Allbritton sat atop a farm system that hired scores of young reporters to work alongside veteran editors …

Discussion:

Kenneth P. Vogel /
@kenvogel: .@R_Allbritton has run news outlets (@politico, @7NewsDC, etc) that molded & propelled top reporters, like @maggieNYT @PamelaBrownCNN & @jdawsey1. Now he's started a nonprofit to train the next generation. In the process, @NOTUSreports is notching scoops https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Karl Bode /
@kbode@threads.net: former politico owner is building a new journalist mill where I assume people aren't paid much and are conditioned to avoid what's clearly the biggest problem with journalism today: wokeism https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Kyle Tharp /
@kylewilsontharp: NOTUS does not have a presence on TikTok, no presence on Instagram, no presence on Facebook, no YouTube strategy. Not sure who they're trying to keep informed, other than the DC reporters who follow their own reporters on Twitter. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... @structstories: “Talking to a ton of senior-to-mid-level execs in media, the constant refrain is: 'I can't find great people'”, says @R_Allbritton, who trained many of today's leading journalists at Politico. AI will do routine news & fluff. Journalists need to be great https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Herb Scribner /
@herbscribner: NOTUS is definitely a news org to watch these days. Lots of impressive work with immense talent in their newsroom. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Karl Bode /
@kbode@threads.net: It's hilarious how blind these brunchlords are to their own class bias most U.S. press coverage is corporatist, unapologetically pro-business, and reflects the center right bias of ownership a handful of journalists suggested a minor course correction, and ownership lost their fucking minds

Brad Bosserman /
Brad Bosserman on LinkedIn: What do you do after founding, building and selling POLITICO? If you're Robert Allbritton you're just getting started. …

Tinashe Chingarande /
@tchingarande: .@NOTUSreports got featured in the Washington Post, and I gave @jeremymbarr a kicker quote for the ages.💀 Happy reading!! https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Ron Fournier /
@ron_fournier: Big fan of ⁦@NOTUSreports⁩ and its top editor, ⁦@timgrieve⁩ https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Evan McMorris-Santoro /