“When we recognized that people want to go out, that they want to be treated with good service in a good theater with good product, when we recognized that and gave them that, they just came back in hordes more than any other generation." - Deadline
Is this a trend? Are all these pictures related? Common sense, our trusted friend, tells us that life is random and arbitrary and that we’re mostly making it up as we go along. But the conspiracy theory is like a seductive interloper, sidling up to assure us that, actually, that’s not true at all. - The Guardian
Audiences see journalism as a profession that requires specialized training and ethical integrity, making AI seem to some like a “cop out.” One said about the use of AI: “You can do that as an 11-year-old. You don’t need the training for that if you’re going to use AI to generate your entire article.” - NiemanLab
Last month James Murdoch bought Vox Media’s flagships: New York magazine and its verticals (Vulture, The Cut, Curbed, Grub Street), the Vox Media Podcast Network, and Vox.com. Now Penske, which already owns (among others) Billboard, Variety, Rolling Stone, and Artforum, has purchased what’s left: Eater, The Verge, PopSugar, The Dodo, and others. - TheWrap
As with the BBC, Czech national TV and radio are funded by a license fee charged to every household with a television or radio. The current government wants to end that fee and fund public broadcasting directly from the state budget — something many fear would erode the networks’ independence. - Deutsche Welle
Analysts expect the fifth installment of Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story” franchise will pull in at least $150 million in the U.S. and Canada, with some predicting as much as $175 million — either of which would set a franchise record, topping the nearly $121-million opening of 2019’s “Toy Story 4.” - Los Angeles Times
“A £1 billion regeneration project to transform an industrial site in North London into a ‘landmark’ film and television studio site has been given the green light” — by a one-vote margin — “from Camden Council.” - The Standard (London)
“The U.K. public service broadcaster, will cut around 550 jobs, slash content spending by £80 million ($107 million) over two years and ‘review’ broadcast TV channels as part of a big cost savings push. … (The network is) also eyeing further job reductions in corporate and other areas (totaling) around 700.” - The Hollywood Reporter
Everything costs more in L.A., starting with labor, due to the high cost of living and elaborate union agreements. Other states and countries have developed crew bases of their own, are more solicitous of producers’ needs and offer more generous incentives. Producers are also under pressure from the audience to deliver ever more spectacular experiences. - Variety
Ever since the old Fox sold off most of its entertainment assets to Disney, Lachlan Murdoch — son of Rupert and CEO of Fox Corp. — has been using the money from that deal to rebuild his father’s TV empire for the streaming era. - Vulture (MSN)
“The University of Texas at Austin has dismissed Debbie Hiott as General Manager of KUT Public Media, ending the tenure of a … public media executive whose public dispute with university officials over the KUT Festival drew statewide attention and raised questions about the relationship between the university and its NPR-affiliated station.” - Inside Radio
“Opponents allege the Ellison family's acquisition of so many media properties — CBS News, CNN and Larry Ellison's stake in TikTok — threatens free speech and democratic society itself. Meanwhile, Paramount insists it's trying to save Hollywood, and that there are untoward political and racial motivations to kill its deal from far-left forces.” - TheWrap (MSN)
“Assembly Bill 2319, which passed the California State Assembly and is awaiting a vote in the State Senate, would establish a $100 million budget allocation that would give productions that do their post work in the Golden State a base tax writeoff equivalent to 35% of qualified spending,” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
“The National Public Radio affiliate WLVR, which broadcasts at 91.3 FM, has been sold outright to LVPM by the university, which announced the transfer on Thursday. LVPM, which has operated the station since entering into a partnership with Lehigh in 2019, will purchase the Federal Communications Commission license.” - The Morning Call (Allentown, PA) (MSN)
The transaction combines Fox’s sports, news, and entertainment content and the Tubi streaming service with Roku’s connected TV platform, The Roku Channel, first-party data and direct relationship with more than 100 million global streaming households, the deal partners touted. - The Hollywood Reporter
