Top News:
Brian Welk / IndieWire:
After backlash, animator Jorge R. Gutierrez drops plans to make an AI-generated animated series called Punky Duck for Amazon MGM Studios' GenAI Creators' Fund — “My intent was to showcase artists, both new and seasoned, both inside and outside the studios, driving this new tech,” the director said on X.
Discussion:
@mexopolis, The Hollywood Reporter, Futurism, Gizmodo, Advanced Television, @therochasays, @thebillywest, @jameshamiltonwriter.com, NBC News, @runwithskizzers.bsky.social, @kaseygifford.bsky.social, 80 Level, Animation Magazine, Deadline, @thereal-aridynamic …, The Wrap, Cartoon Brew, Variety, The Streamable, Los Angeles Times and Fast Company
Jem Aswad / Variety:
UMG rejects the $64B acquisition offer from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square, saying the deal is not in the best interests of UMG, shareholders, and stakeholders — The board of Universal Music Group has rejected an unsolicited $64 billion takeover offer from Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital, the company announced on Friday.
Lucas Manfredi / The Wrap:
Analysis: the top 18 Hollywood executives received $746M in combined compensation in 2025, a 51% YoY increase, as their pay gap with employees remains massive — One Los Angeles nonprofit is pushing for an “Overpaid CEO” tax — The top 18 Hollywood executives raked in a combined $746 million …
Discussion:
People Matters and Fast Company
New York Times:
Just the News founder John Solomon says he is being vetted for a short-term White House role; source: he would lead a task force to declassify documents — John Solomon said he was being vetted for a role as a “special government employee,” a status given to part-time, outside advisers to the federal government.
Discussion:
Raw Story and @pbump.com
John Koblin / New York Times:
Antenna: bundles make up 33% of new major streaming service subscriptions in the US, and 28% of all subscriptions, up from just 10% of new subscriptions in 2024 — Warner Bros. and Disney have been fierce rivals for decades. But like other entertainment companies, they both struggled …
Discussion:
How-To Geek, @ben_kaplan, @antennadata, The Streamable, Mashable, Dow Jones Newswires and Streaming Better, more at Techmeme »
CNBC:
Q&A with Brendan Carr, who discusses Disney's claim that the FCC's early TV license renewal orders chill free speech and says the orders are about DEI — Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-12PM ET) today, Friday, May 29.
Discussion:
The Daily Signal, The Wrap, Breitbart, Mediaite, Barrett Media, Grabien, Financial Times and Raw Story
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Michael Calderone / New York Magazine:
Q&A with the FCC's Anna Gomez on the FCC's “policymaking by mob”, the high likelihood of a Disney win against the FCC, the risks of foreign investment in media
Discussion:
@gypsyrights.bsky.social, CNBC, @calderone.bsky.social, TV Tech, NewsMax.com, fcc.gov and Radio & Television …
McKinley Franklin / The Hollywood Reporter:
2026 News & Documentary Emmys: HBO/CNN's Prime Minister won best documentary; ABC won the most news awards at eight, followed by Nat Geo's seven and CNN's four — The documentary winners were handed out at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall on Thursday night, where Michael Ian Black hosted.
Max Tani / Semafor:
An interview with Nick Bilton on working in TV news for the first time, building 60 Minutes' digital presence, having support from David Ellison, and more — The News — “My job is going to be rethinking how we tell stories in a completely new way,” Nick Bilton, who was tapped …
Discussion:
Status, Washington Post, CNBC, Curb Cuts, Axios, The Hollywood Reporter, @lachcartwright, Read Max, @banikarim, Today in Tabs, Puck, Raw Story, Poynter, CNN, The A.V. Club, @justin_vogt, @davidfolkenflik, @maxwelltani, @jakelahut, @holmesjosh, @benshapiro, @neeratanden, @jeffjarvis, @neeratanden, @tvgrimreaper, @lulumeservey, Reality Tea, @andydehnart.com, Mediaite, The Wrap, Variety, @freddydeknatel.bsky.social, Newsbusters, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, Straight Arrow, Radio & Television …, CBS News, @bgrueskin.bsky.social, New York Magazine, Associated Press, New York Times, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Guardian, Business Insider, Barrett Media, New York Post, Deadline and New Republic
RELATED:
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: Bari Weiss ousted two senior 60 Minutes executive producers, Tanya Simon and Draggan Mihailovich, and correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega
Discussion:
Status, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Columbia Journalism Review, HuffPost, Defector, nahj.org, @grynbaum, The Wrap, Hollywood Life, Forbes, U.S. Home, The Bulwark, @grynbaum, MediaPost, New Republic, @acosta, @richarddeitsch, @jnicholsonindc, @aidnmclaughlin, Deadline, @grynbaum, Variety, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @sherman4949, @benmullin, @grynbaum, @grynbaum, @dylanbyers, @drewharwell.com, @newsjennifer.bsky.social, @passantino.bsky.social, @cachiporra.bsky.social, The Daily Wire, Wall Street Journal, Just Jared, LGBTQ Nation, Advocate, Newser, New York Sun, @brucedlittle.bsky.social, San Francisco Chronicle, @wajali.bsky.social, Washington Post, Reality Tea, HotAir, @tomleykis.bsky.social, @bristei.bsky.social, Los Angeles Times, Us Weekly, Mediaite and RedState
Michael Crowley / New York Times:
China ordered the expulsion of NYT reporter Vivian Wang in February; a source says the US revoked the visa of a Chinese national working for Xinhua in response — The Trump administration ejected a Chinese journalist amid fresh concerns about Beijing's growing pressure on foreign correspondents.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Associated Press and Mediaite
Meir Orbach / CTech:
Sports Illustrated rights holder Minute Media lays off 12% of staff and reverses its ~$200M deal to buy VideoVerse, an AI platform to extract sports highlights — The unicorn says restructuring reflects push for efficiency and long-term growth amid changes in the media market …
Discussion:
@stephapstein, Front Office Sports, @layoffai, Barrett Media, Awful Announcing and New York Post
ElevenLabs:
ElevenLabs launches Dubbing v2, which it says preserves the original speaker's emotion, tone, and pacing across 90+ languages while staying synced to content — Today we're launching Dubbing v2, our revolutionary new AI dubbing model. — For the first time, the emotion and performance …
Discussion:
Deseret News, @rehensina, @kayvonjafar, @mokusa09, @surkopu, @wesroth, @angy_knill, @samuelroy_, @carles_reina, @lukeharries, @altryne, @0xaneri, @elevenlabs, @vaibhavsisinty and @jenniferhli
James Faris / Business Insider:
Internal doc: Disney plans to bring Hulu's content and features to Disney+ by year's end, and to decommission the Hulu app after users have transitioned — Disney's streaming tech teams are working to make the stand-alone Hulu app obsolete, though the company says “there are no current plans to sunset” it.
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