A US bankruptcy court trustee discloses plans to shut down Infowars and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5B in lawsuit judgments that Alex Jones owes (Dave Collins/Associated Press)

Mediagazer: A US bankruptcy court trustee discloses plans to shut down Infowars and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5B in lawsuit judgments that Alex Jones owes (Dave Collins/Associated Press)

Top News:

Washington Post:

WaPo and The News Movement, in which Will Lewis holds a stake, agreed in recent months to pursue brand partnerships; TNM made two major pitches involving WaPo— William Lewis holds a stake in a start-up that has reached a deal with The Post to collaborate.
Discussion: The Atlantic, Politico, Financial Times, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @obrien_kat@mastodon.world, @davidbeard@threads.net, Diane Ravitch's blog, @farhip, @ianshapira, @dastonerl, @davidrlurie, @zackstanton, @noahshachtman@threads.net, @yonetteajoseph@threads.net and The Daily Beast

Discussion:

Anne Applebaum /
The Atlantic: Readers Don't Trust Dirty Tricks

Jack Shafer /
Politico: For Post's Lewis, Credibility Dies in Silence Financial Times: Washington Post publisher Will Lewis retains links to PR firm that bears his initials

Dan Gillmor /
@dangillmor@mastodon.social: Bezos is ultimately (justly, since he's the owner) responsible for the ongoing mess at the Washington Post. — But it would be smart for some news organization to look deeply into the role of former Microsoft (and Gates foundation) senior executive Patty Stonesifer. … @obrien_kat@mastodon.world: The tabloidization of everything is terrible for society, and the Washington Post shouldn't go down that path. — By @anneapplebaum — https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... #journalism #democracy #washingtonpost — [image]

Dave Beard /
@davidbeard@threads.net: “Whenever Lewis attempts to ignore the fire burning under him by stiffing the press, it only pours nitromethane on the story and encourages reporters to widen their search for answers. You don't have to be a PR executive to figure this out.” - Jack Shafer, @politico

Paul Farhi /
@farhip: And once again, the @washingtonpost's publisher is MIA when his own reporters come knocking: “Lewis declined to respond directly to a list of questions about his business interests and how he has managed potential conflicts.”

Paul Farhi /
@farhip: How many ways can @WashingtonPost publisher William Lewis challenge the paper's traditional ethics and standards? Well, here's a new one: an investment in a company that has done business with the Post, creating a potential conflict with his Post role: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Ian Shapira /
@ianshapira: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... “Lewis declined to respond directly to a list of questions about his business interests and how he has managed potential conflicts.” @dastonerl: @ianshapira Will Lewis the networker “Dear Friend,” he wrote in his Jan. 27 newsletter, “I feel immensely privileged to have had two parties thrown in my honour this week. ... It was a pleasure to meet so many pillars of Washington's political and media communities.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... @davidrlurie: Lewis, and it appears, the Washington Post, are in business with the Qataris, the leading mass propagandists for Hamas, and owners of Al Jazeera. Washington Post publisher retains ties to past business ventures https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Zack Stanton /
@zackstanton: Hmm. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... [image]

Noah Shachtman /
@noahshachtman@threads.net: Does this seem kosher to you? https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Yonette Joseph /
@yonetteajoseph@threads.net: Nice to see Wapo going hard on this line of reporting. A digital start-up launched by Washington Post publisher William Lewis entered into a deal with The Post that allows the two companies to pursue deals together. Lewis still holds a financial stake in the firm, the News Movement, which he co-founded in 2020. …

Norman Pearlstine /
The Daily Beast: Why Jeff Bezos Is Failing The Washington Post

RELATED:

The Atlantic:
Scrutiny of Will Lewis' past is essential because WaPo's credibility has been built upon readers' trust that its reporters don't engage in deceptive practices

Discussion:
@nxthompson: “Threats against journalists are rising. The Post and other newsrooms should defend the values and practices that produce journalism in the public interest, and that cynical forces would like to see swept away.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...

Jill Geisler /
@jillgeisler: Important read: @clearing_fog: 📝 The fact that WaPo CEO Will Lewis and others used hacked/stolen data to create damaging stories about people at a Murdoch outlet in the UK is relevant for another reason: There is credible evidence that the “Hunter laptop” story from Murdoch's NYPost was the exact same thing.

Adrienne LaFrance /
@adriennelaf: The great @mccrummens won a Pulitzer for her investigative work at the Washington Post. Here's her latest, on how Will Lewis lost the newsroom, and why it matters: https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... [image]

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@threads.net: Yes. And the Murdochians must go. @_eileenie_@threads.net: The controversy around Lewis is not some small matter of different journalistic methods. The reputation of the Post newsroom has been built upon readers' trust that reporters do not pay sources, much less steal documents, hack computers, or engage in other deceptive news-gathering practices …

Lydia Polgreen /
@lpolgreen@threads.net: A sort of “savvy” take has emerged that American journalists take themselves too seriously and a bit of British cheek would help shake them out of their torpor. This is a helpful antidote to that lazy POV: https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...

Edward Luce /
Financial Times: The story we're missing on the Washington Post

Dan Kennedy /
Media Nation: Why Lewis' checkbook journalism in the U.K. will taint The Washington Post

David Folkenflik /
NPR: After uproar over ethics, new ‘Washington Post’ editor won't take the job

Wired:

Some TikTok creators are hosting their own town halls with third-party candidates like RFK Jr., bypassing mainstream media and often platforming conspiracies— TikTok creators are hosting their own town halls with third-party candidates, bypassing mainstream media and platforming conspiracies.

Discussion:
@kellymakena

Discussion:

Makena Kelly /
@kellymakena: RFK Jr. won't be on the debate stage this week, but he's all over TikTok Live. A group of creators has been hosting live town halls with third-party candidates on TikTok, bypassing the media and platforming conspiracies. https://www.wired.com/...

RELATED:
New York Times:

CNN is in charge of every aspect of Thursday's Biden-Trump debate, a major shift from previous years; rival channels will leave CNN's on-air watermark untouched— One network is in charge of every aspect of the Biden-Trump debate, a major shift from previous years. Tens of millions of viewers are expected to be watching.

Discussion:
Politico, Gizmodo, The Hill, @scarylawyerguy, Poynter, @farhip, @nminow@c.im, @matthewkeyslive, @markjacob16, @bristei, @fcchambers, @jeremymbarr, @kairyssdal, @ronfilipkowski, New Yorker, Mediaite and Los Angeles Times

Discussion:

Isabella Ramírez /
Politico: What to know about the first 2024 presidential debate — Unlike previous debates, there will be no studio audience.

Matt Novak /
Gizmodo: How to Watch the Presidential Debate Between Donald Trump and Joe Biden This Week @scarylawyerguy: CNN could have fact checkers in Tapper's ear to do real time corrections or run a crawl at the bottom of the screen throughout the debate. Instead, they're fine letting Trump lie in real time knowing few people will stick around for the post-debate corrections. 🙃

Paul Farhi /
@farhip: Dunno which is the better rule in the @CNN presidential debate: the lack of a studio audience or the moderators' ability to cut off the microphone of whichever candidate doesn't have the floor.

NellMinow /
@nminow@c.im: The writer Nell Minow, a daughter of Newton N. Minow, who devised the first televised events in 1960, noted in an interview that TV networks are ultimately commercial enterprises. “Let's face it: they have shareholders, and they operate as a business,” she said. …

Matthew Keys /
@matthewkeyslive: NEW: Fox News says it will air a simulcast of CNN's Presidential Debate on Thursday, June 27. The network will produce its own pre-debate and post-debate coverage.

Mark Jacob /
@markjacob16: CNN will fact-check the debate when it's over and everyone has switched to another channel.

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: CNN's requirements to simulcast its 6/27 presidential debate are really onerous, says report in newspaper that declines to note it's controlled by the same family that owns Fox News.... https://nypost.com/... @fcchambers: @kairyssdal Sports commentators can pull up facts like “The last left-handed batter to score a double at home in the bottom of the third when down five runs against the Mets after a rain delay was Dave Lipschitz in 1972” in REAL TIME. And CNN can't fact-check in real time?

Jeremy Barr /
@jeremymbarr: Fox News announces it will be carrying CNN's presidential debate next Thursday, joining ABC News The official name for the presentation will be “FOX News Democracy 2024: CNN Presidential Debate,” which is kind of a mouthful.

Kai Ryssdal /
@kairyssdal: And herein lies the problem “David Chalian, CNN's political director, said that Thursday's live debate “is not the ideal arena for live fact-checking.” Instead, Ms. Bash and Mr. Tapper would focus on “facilitating the debate between these candidates, not being a participant in

Ron Filipkowski /
@ronfilipkowski: Trump agrees to a CNN debate and then his surrogates constantly whine that CNN is hosting the debate.

Evan Osnos /
New Yorker: What Can We Expect from the Biden-Trump Debate?

David Gilmour /
Mediaite: Ex-Clinton Advisor: If ‘Really Old’ Candidates Are A Problem ‘Everyone Is Out of Luck’ No Matter Who Wins Election

Bloomberg:

Sources: BuzzFeed is struggling to sell Hot Ones owner First We Feast, which is profitable and has ~$30M revenue per year; interested parties balk at $70M price— - Several parties are interested but balk at $70 million price — Proceeds of about $50 million would help company pay off debt

Discussion:
Business Insider, The Desk, @tomgara, @pkafka, @ernie.tedium.co, @thejidetaiwo, @lucas_shaw, @webbarr, @drinksthethings.bsky.social and @kevdgrussing

Discussion:

Peter Kafka /
Business Insider: BuzzFeed really needs a ‘Hot Ones’ deal

Tom Gara /
@tomgara: Vivek can reboot Hot Ones as a debate show and each time the sauce gets spicier the guests have to change his mind about an increasingly conservative opinion

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: Hot Ones is a hit for BuzzFeed. But BuzzFeed needs $120 million by December, so make an offer. Next q: Where does BuzzFeed get the rest of the cash it needs? https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Ernie Smith /
@ernie.tedium.co: Complex purchase, complex sale [embedded post]

Lucas Shaw /
@lucas_shaw: Trouble behind the scenes at Hot Ones, the internet's favorite talk show. https://www.bloomberg.com/... @webbarr: seems like a no brainer... what am I missing here? Netflix / Beast (expand demos) / a24 / Fox (Tubi) / hmmm

Tony /
@drinksthethings.bsky.social: amazing that a website that gets $30 million in revenue per year can't be sold for a little over 2x that price. great media landscape we have here [embedded post]

Kevin D. Grüssing /
@kevdgrussing: So Buzzfeed might actually kill Hot Ones just as it gets popular by either killing it off because it asked for too much or to sell it to someone who'll replace Sean Evans which thus will kill the brand.

RELATED:

Axios:

Filing: Vivek Ramaswamy's BuzzFeed stake grew to 8.9%; sources: Ramaswamy recently met Jonah Peretti and wants Patrick Bet-David and two others on the board— - Ramaswamy has continued to increase his stake, this morning disclosing that it's risen to 8.9%.

Discussion:
@theclubmember04, @claytravis and @danprimack

Discussion:
@theclubmember04: It will be interesting to see what @VivekGRamaswamy does with his Activist stake in $BZFD @BuzzFeed Why such interest in a media company? https://www.axios.com/...

Clay Travis /
@claytravis: Impressed with @VivekGRamaswamy's ideas on BuzzFeed. We need more of a marketplace of ideas in media. Appreciate him putting forward @patrickbetdavid @cbalfe & me as board nominees. PBD and Chris are both super successful media guys and great dudes too: https://www.axios.com/...

New York Times:

Interviews with ~12 media executives, such as Brian Roberts, John Malone, Barry Diller, and Ted Sarandos, about the future of streaming, bundling, ads, and more— Who will survive? Die? Thrive? And how? We talked to nearly a dozen top media executives and asked them to predict what lies ahead.

Discussion:

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: Streaming war shifts gears: profitability takes center stage (NYT)

David Satin /
The Streamable: Would ‘Spotify for Hollywood’ Satisfy the Demand for Aggregated Streaming?

Elizabeth Newman /
Elizabeth Newman on LinkedIn: As the media landscape evolves, it's important to remember that there is no substitute for a great story, well told. It all starts on the page! …

David Vogler /
David Vogler on LinkedIn: Churn, Baby, Churn. — I've spent the better part of my career either building SVODs or making content to stream on SVODs. …

William /
William on LinkedIn: The New York Times has become the Streaming Wars historian recently. Focused on lost leadership, fruitless competition, expensive tech distractions and lessons ripping it apart. …

Robbie Kellman Baxter /
Robbie Kellman Baxter on LinkedIn: I'll admit it. — I subscribe to Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Hulu, Apple, Peacock, Max, and Paramount+. — But the average American subscribes to 4 streaming services at an average of $61/month. …

Stuart Coxe /
Stuart Coxe on LinkedIn: This is a buzzy article about the titans who lead the streaming companies. By the way, they are all white men, which is sort of odd in 2024. …

Dave Mark /
@davemark@mastodon.social: On the magic number of subs a streaming service needs: — “But those subscribers want lots of options, and the costs of making enough programming can be enormous. As a result, a streaming service's profitability depends in large part on how many paying subscribers are needed before those TV shows and movies become cost-effective.” …

Associated Press:

A US bankruptcy court trustee discloses plans to shut down Infowars and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5B in lawsuit judgments that Alex Jones owes— A U.S. bankruptcy court trustee is planning to shut down conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars media platform and liquidate …

Discussion:
Mediaite and @rpsagainsttrump

Discussion:

Alex Griffing /
Mediaite: Alex Jones's Conspiracy Theory Empire to be Liquidated to Pay Sandy Hook Victims He Defamed

The Verge:

The RIAA files two copyright-infringement cases against the AI music services Suno and Udio; Udio was used to create the viral song BBL Drizzy— A group of record labels including the big three — Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records …

Discussion:
Fast Company, CNN, The Wrap, Reuters, Quartz, Music Technology Policy, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, Consequence, Engadget, @lucas_shaw, Billboard, Variety, @miasato.2@threads.net, @reckless1280@threads.net, @jason_koebler, 404 Media, Drew Thurlow on LinkedIn, Digital Music News, Rolling Stone, Music Ally, Wired, @carnage4life, Music Business Worldwide, CMU, @andybaio@xoxo.zone and @carnage4life, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Jessica Bursztynsky /
Fast Company: Record labels sue AI companies Suno and Uncharted Labs

Samantha Murphy Kelly /
CNN: Viral ‘BBL Drizzy’ AI Drake diss track company gets sued

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Recording Industry Association Sues AI Companies for Copyright Infringement

Britney Nguyen /
Quartz: Record labels are suing AI music companies for ‘en masse’ copyright infringement

Chris Castle /
Music Technology Policy: The Fire Next Time: Labels Bring the Heat against Suno and Udio for Responsible AI

Will Shanklin /
Engadget: Record labels sue AI music generators for ‘massive infringement of recorded music’

Lucas Shaw /
@lucas_shaw: 🚨 Record labels are suing two of the biggest music AI startups for violating their copyrights. @ashleyrcarman / @rachelmetz https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Kristin Robinson /
Billboard: Major Labels Sue AI Firms Suno and Udio for Alleged Copyright Infringement

Mia Sato /
@miasato.2@threads.net: New: The biggest music labels are suing two AI companies — Udio, the tool behind the viral BBL Drizzy song, and Suno, which has a Microsoft partnership https://www.theverge.com/...

Nilay Patel /
@reckless1280@threads.net: The entire AI industry rests on a copyright house of cards, part 204349 https://www.theverge.com/...

Jason Koebler /
@jason_koebler: Pretty amazing stuff from the Udio/Suno lawsuits. Record labels were able to basically recreate versions of very famous songs with highly specific prompts, then linked to them in the lawsuits. I made a short compilation here: https://www.404media.co/... [video]

Drew Thurlow /
Drew Thurlow on LinkedIn: In a surprise to no one, Suno & Udio are being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America® (RIAA) for copyright infringement. …

Paul Resnikoff /
Digital Music News: UMG, WMG, Sony Music File Litigation Against AI Music Services Suno and Udio for Massive Copyright Infringement

Ethan Millman /
Rolling Stone: AI's Most Ambitious Music Generators Accused of ‘Massive’ Infringement In New Lawsuit

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Labels body RIAA sues AI music firms Suno and Udio for copyright infringement

Kate Knibbs /
Wired: US Record Labels Sue AI Music Generators Suno and Udio for Copyright Infringement

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life: AI training data on copyrighted works then competing with those same workers is becoming a theme. We're already seeing in it happen with content marketers but it won't stop there. https://www.theverge.com/...

Daniel Tencer /
Music Business Worldwide: MAJOR RECORD COMPANIES SUE AI MUSIC GENERATORS SUNO, UDIO FOR ‘MASS INFRINGEMENT’ OF COPYRIGHT

Chris Cooke /
CMU: Suno and Udio's “lawless” behaviour cheapens human creativity with sound-a-likes and knock-offs says watershed RIAA lawsuit

Andy Baio /
@andybaio@xoxo.zone: A coalition of major record labels, including UMG, Capitol, Atlantic, Rhino, and Warner, is suing the two biggest AI music startups, Suno and Udio, for mass copyright infringement. This is the most well-funded defendant so far to try to stop commercial services from training AI models on their work, and looking to set a precedent that it isn't fair use. https://www.theverge.com/...

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life: The major record labels are suing two AI music companies for training their LLMs on copyrighted music. The companies responded by saying the music they trained their AIs on are “confidential business information”. 🙃 [image]

Bloomberg:

Sources: Netflix has discussed creating free versions of its service in some markets, namely in Europe and Asia, but is not considering a free plan in the US— While Netflix is the biggest streaming service in Hollywood, it is barely in the top 10 for advertisers.

Discussion:
The Streamable, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn and BGR

Discussion:

David Satin /
The Streamable: Netflix Reportedly Considering Free Plans in Some Countries; Could They Come to the United States?

Lucas Shaw /
Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn: Speaking to executives at Cannes, they outlined 4 must-buys in video: Amazon, Comcast/NBCU, Disney and YouTube. …

Deadline:

Sony Pictures Networks India names Disney+ Hotstar content chief Gaurav Banerjee as its new Managing Director and CEO— Sony Pictures Networks India has named Disney+ Hotstar content chief Gaurav Banerjee as its new Managing Director and CEO. — He'll replace N.P. Singh …

Discussion:
Variety and WORLD SCREEN

Financial Times:

Sources detail growing tensions between Elon Musk and Linda Yaccarino, stemming from her struggle to steady X's financial health a year after being named CEO— Tensions between billionaire and his top executive have been rising as the platform's financial health has struggled

Discussion:
Observer, PRWeek, Fortune, The Overspill, @carnage4life, @goldman@threads.net, @aohnsman@threads.net, @timfullerton@threads.net, @georgebetak@threads.net, @emoltzen@threads.net, @sherrilynifill@threads.net, @keubikooriginal@threads.net, @juditpetho@threads.net, @esghound and Reuters

Discussion:

Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly /
Observer: X CEO Linda Yaccarino Reshuffles Inner Circle Amid Pressure From Elon Musk

Diana Bradley /
PRWeek: X appoints Nick Pickles to lead global communications

Christiaan Hetzner /
Fortune: Linda Yaccarino's right-hand man out at X as global operations chief reportedly given the sack

Charlesarthur /
The Overspill: Start Up No.2240: the UK mobile internet before data, AI pushes up US power demand, solar outpacing oil?, Hajj heat deaths, and more

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life: Twitter struggled as a business pre-Musk and X is an even worse one. Musk clearly hates advertising and advertisers while is unable to come up with compelling enough features to make subscriptions work. https://www.ft.com/...

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life: Musk is pressuring Linda Yaccarino to raise revenue and reduce expenses via more layoffs at X. Yaccarino recently fired a key exec because recent adult content policy changes spooked advertisers. Musk asked the CEO of Boring Company to review X's finances indicating lost faith [image]

Jason Goldman /
@goldman@threads.net: Good. Enjoy Hell.

Alan Ohnsman /
@aohnsman@threads.net: Musk taps the guy running a company he created that's going nowhere to fix one that he bought and is killing: “Steve Davis, a long-standing Musk ally and chief executive of his Boring Company, was brought in by the billionaire in April to review X's finances as well as performance management, said two people familiar with the matter.”

Tim Fullerton /
@timfullerton@threads.net: This was always Musk's plan with Yaccarino. Bring her in so he can scapegoat her for all the dumb things he has done to Twitter. The big question I have is why did she toss a very good career in the trash to go work for this clown?

George Betak /
@georgebetak@threads.net: “Yaccarino fired her right-hand man and head of business operations and communications, Joe Benarroch, this month, said three people familiar with the matter. Among other things, Yaccarino held Benarroch responsible for bungling the rollout of the platform's new adult content policy by failing to tell clients of the changes before it became public, two X employees said.”

Ed Moltzen /
@emoltzen@threads.net: The only shake-up that will work is an outright sale to a responsible party: https://www.reuters.com/...

Sherrilyn Ifill /
@sherrilynifill@threads.net: Because Musk is incompetent as the leader of a company. He can buy companies, invest in companies, dismantle companies. But he cannot successfully RUN a company. Why is it so hard for the wealthy to accept that other wealthy people can be incompetent? @keubikooriginal@threads.net: Yeah it's all her fault, Elon. Nothing to do with you telling your biggest customers to go f*ck themselves.

Judit Petho /
@juditpetho@threads.net: The news that should come as no surprise @esghound: The fate of Twitter, and of free speech online, rests in the hands of failed Tory politician Nick Pickles https://www.ft.com/... [image]

Vulture:

Q&A with Don Klees, Acorn TV SVP of programming, and Courtney Thomasma, AMC Networks EVP of streaming, on Acorn TV's success, FAST channel potential, and more— This story first ran in Buffering, Vulture's newsletter about the streaming industry. Head to vulture.com/buffering and subscribe today!

Discussion:
@tvmojoe and Joy Phillips on LinkedIn

Discussion:
@tvmojoe: Anglophiles Assemble! For this week's BUFFERING, I talked to two execs at @AcornTV, the niche streamer specializing in cozy mysteries and other programming from around the world. Included: Some scoop on the possible return of LONDON KILLS. Up now @vulture: https://www.vulture.com/...