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| Boris Johnson |
Former British prime minister Boris Johnson, just a week after resigning from Parliament, has a new job: columnist for the Daily Mail. His new gig, which kicks off with a piece set to appear June 16, will provide the paper’s “erudite new columnist” with a platform he can use to inform readers of “exactly what I think about the world.” But the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, an independent public body set up to vet outside appointments in the two years after a politician leaves high office, says that Johnson didn’t inform them of his new position until half an hour before the Daily Mail posted its announcement—a “clear breach" of the rules, according to a spokeswoman. “We have written to Mr. Johnson for an explanation and will publish correspondence in due course, in line with our policy of transparency," she said. ACOBA does not have the power to force Johnson to turn down the new position.
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The Guardian is putting a stop to gambling advertising on all its platforms. “Our new policy will apply to all online advertisements on the Guardian’s website, app, audio, video and newsletters, as well as print advertisements in the Guardian and Observer and Guardian Weekly,” according to a June 15 op-ed from Guardian chief executive Anna Bateson. Lottery advertising, Bateson says, will not be included in the ban. “By taking a stand against gambling advertising, we believe we can offer a place for sport fans all over the world to enjoy world-class sports journalism free from advertising pushing betting, wagering or online casinos.”
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Twitter faces a lawsuit from the National Music Publishers’ Association on behalf of 17 music publishers that charge the platform of copyright infringement involving about 1,700 songs. The price tag on the suit could run as high as $250 million. The majority of the alleged infringement Twitter has been notified about is due to music videos, videos of live music performances, or other videos synchronized to copyrighted music. Twitter is accused of using the videos to increase the amount of time people spend on its site. The NMPA claims that Twitter has failed to remove infringing content even after being notified and has "continued to assist known repeat infringers with their infringement" without risk of them losing their accounts. While licensing deals between Twitter owner Elon Musk and several music companies stalled after his takeover of the platform, the problem stems from before the takeover.
Versant Media Group, the NBCUniversal cable TV spin-off, today reported its first financial results as 2025 revenues dipped 5.3 percent to $6.7B and standalone EBITDA dropped 9.1 percent to $2.2B.
Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing a spin-off of the Truth Social platform following the expected closing of its $6B merger deal with TAE Technologies... Condé Nast sells off Them, the digital LGBTQ-focused platform it launched in 2017, to Equalpride, publisher of Out, The Advocate, Out Traveler, Health PLUS Wellness and Pride.com... CBS News has parted ways with longevity influencer Peter Attia, one of the 19 contributors that editor-in-chief Bari Weiss brought on as part of her plan to present a wider variety of voices on the platform. 
Symbolic.ai forms a partnership with News Corp to begin using the company’s AI-native publisher platform in the newsrooms of News Corp publications to augment research, writing and publishing... Mediaite launches a newsletter that promises to give readers a summary of—media newsletters... The Fund for American Studies launches the Journalism Excellence Fellowship, a program that will provide promising young journalists the opportunity to work alongside top writers, reporters, and media professionals.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
