Top News:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
A look at ABC News' 24-hour Fourth of July programming marathon for the US' 250th anniversary, which it calls “the longest commercial broadcast in history” — From a light show and Brandi Carlile performance at the Statue of Liberty to a July 4 bash in Nashville …
Peter Walker / The Guardian:
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says she and her department will stop using X because the site favors “abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate” — Culture secretary says her department will stop using platform, citing concerns over far-right content fuelling violence and division
Discussion:
BBC, @lisanandy, Variety, Telegraph, @glynmoody.bsky.social, @shakethescales.bsky.social, @JugglingWithEggs@mstdn.social, @sjjh@hachyderm.io, @wirralexpat.bsky.social, @ChrisMayLA6@mastodon.me.uk, @ewanmg.bsky.social, @tommorris@mastodon.social, @CelloMomOnCars@mastodon …, GB News, Deadline, The Independent, Financial Times, Reuters, HuffPost, Al Jazeera, UKTN and Mirror
Matthew Weaver / The Guardian:
Three men have been found not guilty of murdering the journalist Lyra McKee in 2019; the New IRA claimed responsibility for the killing — McKee, 29, died after being hit by a bullet as she observed rioting in Derry in Northern Ireland in April 2019 — Three men from Derry have been found …
Stephanie Stacey / Financial Times:
Spotify removed 500K+ streams of Malcolm Todd's Earrings after a 70% surge in 24 hours sent it to #1 on Spotify USA and coincided with suspicious Kalshi wagers — Platform removes more than 500,000 streams of Malcolm Todd track ‘Earrings’ on concern traders propelled it to number 1
Discussion:
PCMag, The Hollywood Reporter, Mashable, Digital Music News, crypto.news, Gizmodo, CMU, CoinGape, The Crypto Times, The Block, Music Ally, The Next Web, Music Business Worldwide, Blockonomi, Bloomberg, Australian Financial Review, @annmlipton@esq.social, Wired, Consequence, @kechang_x, @xanyduwu, @kechang_x, @kechang_x, Kate Knibbs on LinkedIn, PYMNTS, The A.V. Club, Stereogum, CBS News, @paperhedgehog.bsky.social and Semafor
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
A look at the UK's role in the Paramount-WBD merger: Paramount has said it remains confident of avoiding a “ticking fee” that would start at the end of Q3 — When David Ellison met with the UK culture secretary on January 15, Paramount may have been in Netflix's shadow …
Discussion:
@toonhive, ScreenPower, Fortune, The A.V. Club and Cord Cutters News
John Koblin / New York Times:
A look at Outside Tonight, a YouTube-based late-night talk show from Julian Shapiro-Barnum, who hosted the successful web series Recess Therapy — Julian Shapiro-Barnum, best known for a social media series called “Recess Therapy,” has started an online-only late-night show.
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Midjourney wants Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. to reveal in court how they use AI across their companies; studios sued Midjourney in 2025 for infringement — The studios sued the AI image lab last year, accusing it of enabling massive infringement of their copyrighted characters.
Discussion:
Engadget, @filmbrainbmb.bsky.social, @theopriestley.net, Mandatory, RuntimeWire and The A.V. Club, more at Techmeme »
Dow Jones:
Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal partner with Delta Air Lines to offer free WSJ access to Delta SkyMiles members using Delta's Wi-Fi — Expanding its premium in-flight experience, Delta now offers SkyMiles Members direct access to The Wall Street Journal's trusted news, market insights and video journalism via Delta Sync Wi-Fi.
Discussion:
Delta News Hub, MediaPost, A Media Operator and Atlanta Business Journal
Yuras Karmanau / Associated Press:
A Belarus court sentenced journalist and YouTube host Kiryl Pazniak to 3.5 years in jail on charges of discrediting Belarus and forming an extremist group — A court in Belarus has convicted a journalist and sentenced him to 3 1/2 years in prison in the latest step against free speech in the country …
Discussion:
Viasna and @ifjglobal.bsky.social
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
The EU antitrust watchdog hits Vivendi with additional charges for its 2023 Lagardere purchase, saying Vivendi made the deal before getting approval — Vivendi (VIV.PA) was hit with additional EU antitrust charges on Friday related to its 2023 acquisition of publisher Lagardere (LAGA.PA) …
Associated Press:
After a short-term hold, SCOTUS denies former Fox News reporter Catherine Herridge's bid to stay an $800-a-day fine if she refuses to reveal a source — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to intervene after a judge ordered a former Fox News reporter to be fined $800 a day if she refuses …
Discussion:
Newser, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, SCOTUSblog, @flingjore.com, Washington Post, Politico, @freedom.press, TheDesk.net, Deadline, MS NOW, Bloomberg Law and r/Journalism
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Cascade PBS launches Local Public as a standalone public benefit subsidiary to offer streaming app tech to PBS stations across TVs, mobile devices, and web — Cascade PBS, the non-profit television station serving western Washington state, has spun out its technology division into a separate company …
Discussion:
Ben Werdmuller and @thedesk.net
