Top News:

Sources: FTC is discussing a consent decree on the Omnicom-Interpublic merger, prohibiting the combined company from boycotting platforms over political content — The Federal Trade Commission is considering restrictions on Omnicom and Interpublic to prevent the combined company from refusing …
Discussion:
Reuters, @ryanbeckwith.bsky.social, @danprimack, @matthewstoller and @mattdpearce.com, more at Techmeme »

Tubi announces plans to distribute 20+ films funded on Kickstarter, starting in the fall, and to invest in Kickstarter's FilmStream Collective Fund — Tubi is partnering with Kickstarter to distribute more than 20 crowdfunded films. … Today, Tubi (which is owned by Fox) …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Deadline, @simondowens@threads.com, Streaming Better, Variety and Cord Cutters News

Sources: four senior BBC journalists have lodged ageism complaints as they face layoffs under plans to merge the BBC's Home and Foreign newsdesks — Several sources told Deadline that four senior journalists have lodged separate, but coordinated, age discrimination complaints after being shown the door.
Discussion:
@pressgazette.co.uk

Pinterest and affiliate shopping platform LTK announce a pilot program in which high-performing image posts on LTK will automatically be shared to Pinterest — High-performing posts from shopping platform LTK will automatically be shared to Pinterest.
Discussion:
ChannelX, PYMNTS.com and Social Media Today

Brazil's Supreme Court rules that social media companies are accountable for some types of user content seen as illegal, a decision that could result in fines — Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that social media companies must be held accountable for some types of content published …
Discussion:
Washington Post, @mathver.bsky.social, Bloomberg, Tech in Asia and Hacker News

CNN is expanding its podcast business by rebranding CNN Audio to CNN Podcasts and plans to introduce new talent and formats, including more video podcasts — The news network is rebranding CNN Audio as CNN Podcasts, as it develops new formats and shifts attention to new talent.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck and @dannygroner.bsky.social

TollBit: traffic from RAG bots, which scrape information in real time, to 266 websites, half of which are from news outlets, grew 49% from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025 — As consumers switch from Google search to ChatGPT, a new kind of bot is scraping data for AI. — People are replacing Google search …

Profiles of three employees at VOA's fact-checking unit, who fled Russia and are now among the many journalists losing their jobs under President Trump's orders — Three employees at Voice of America's fact-checking unit fled Putin's wrath and are now among the many journalists losing their jobs under Trump's orders.
Discussion:
@niemanlab.org, TVNewsCheck, @scottnover, @scottnover and @scottnover

Harvey Weinstein's rape charge retrial ends in a mistrial after the jury foreperson refused to return to the jury room due to threats from other jurors — “I feel afraid inside there. I can't be inside there,” the jury foreperson said Thursday. … The 12-person jury in Weinstein's trial …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, New York Sun, RADAR, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Screen, Extra, Washington Post, TMZ.com, Us Weekly, JONATHAN TURLEY, New York Post, NBC News, Reuters, Deadline, WNYW-TV, People, CBS News, Fox News, The Daily Caller, Consequence, New York Times, The US Sun and Just Jared

A look at Apple's vision for Apple TV+ and its film business, as Tim Cook says the company's $200M+ bet on the F1 movie is about more than selling iPhones — Apple CEO and Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton join forces on ‘F1 the Movie’ to take the tech giant's film business to new heights

A US judge rules that Amazon must face a proposed class action lawsuit by independent authors accusing it of monopolizing the audiobook retail market — Amazon.com (AMZN.O) must face a lawsuit by independent authors accusing the e-commerce giant of monopolizing the retail market for audiobooks …
Discussion:
Bloomberg Law

Small-town newspapers are shutting down due to the lack of a succession plan, not financial issues, in nearly a dozen US states, a growing problem — And it's not just about the money. — For more than a century, the McClusky Gazette has reported the news in a small town in the middle of North Dakota.
Discussion:
@sdp.bsky.social, @eastdakota, @eastdakota, TVNewsCheck and @newsguy.bsky.social