Business of Media
Russia frees Evan Gershkovich and others in biggest prisoner swap since cold war
The largest prisoner swap between Russia and the US since the cold war has taken place, as 16 people were freed from Russian custody including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Several other foreign citizens held in Russia and numerous Russian political prisoners were also freed, reports The Guardian’s Shaun Walker and Andrew Roth.
The exchange took place at Ankara airport on Thursday in a complicated operation in which planes arrived from and departed to multiple countries.
Among those returning to Russia was the assassin Vadim Krasikov, who has been held in a German prison since 2019 for the murder of a Chechen exile in Berlin. Additionally, several deep-cover Russian “illegal” spies arrested in Norway and Slovenia were swapped, along with Russians held on criminal charges in US jails.
Jubilation inside The Wall Street Journal after Gershkovich is freed
Early Thursday, Ella Milman and Mikhail Gershkovich sat to eat at the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington before a day of celebration — a day they had been waiting to arrive for 16 months, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Katie Robertson.
They were joined by their daughter, Danielle, her husband, and executives from Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. Shortly, the family would be dropped off blocks away at the White House, where it expected to receive confirmation that the couple’s son, Evan Gershkovich, a foreign correspondent for The Journal, had been released from detainment in Russia as part of a prisoner swap involving seven countries.
BBC head says he will look at all options to claw back pay from Huw Edwards
The BBC’s director general, Tim Davie, has said the corporation will “look at all options” for recovering pay from the disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards, The Guardian’s Eleni Courea.
Davie said the corporation was exploring the possibility of legal action to claw back some of its payments to Edwards, who continued to be paid for five months after his arrest. He admitted this week to accessing indecent images of children.
Before he resigned in April citing medical issues, Edwards was paid between £475,000 and £479,999, according to the BBC’s latest annual report. He received a £40,000 pay rise in 2023-24. The public pays £169.50 a year for the BBC licence fee.
Mystery bidder for Paramount Global raises questions
Parties involved in evaluating offers for Paramount Global have raised questions about the legitimacy of Apex Capital Trust’s bid for the company, one source familiar with the matter told Reuters, reports Dawn Chmielewski.
Apex issued a press release Wednesday, claiming it had submitted a $43 billion all-cash offer to purchase Paramount, challenging a deal reached with David Ellison‘s Skydance Media.
Steven Weiss of Rubenstein Public Relations, whose name and contact appeared on Apex Capital Trust’s press release announcing the offer, told Reuters Wednesday morning via email, “Yes, this is real.”
Don Lemon sues Elon Musk and X for canceling partnership deal
Don Lemon is suing Elon Musk and X for breach of contract after the owner of the social-media platform canceled a short-lived partnership deal following a testy interview, report The Wall Street Journal’s Alyssa Lukpat and Joseph De Avila.
Lemon and X cut an agreement for the former CNN host to produce content on the platform after he was let go from the network. The complaint, which Lemon’s team said was filed Thursday in California Superior Court, said X agreed to pay Lemon $1.5 million and a cut of advertising revenue in a one-year deal. But X and Musk never intended to fulfill the deal, the complaint alleges.
Murder, misinformation and frenzies: the dark side of TikTok
As with other social media apps, video-sharing app TikTok has evolved since its launch in 2016. Initially, the platform focused on lighthearted lip-syncing and dancing videos, which just eight years on seems incredibly quaint, reports Nine Publishing’s Kylie Northover.
Now the app has become, essentially, a business tool for companies and influencers, and it’s a very different beast. TikTok users see videos that aren’t necessarily from other people they follow or know, which has given rise to an incentivising culture that spurs creators to be more competitive with what they’re posting.
For this compelling – if not comprehensive – BBC documentary, Marianna Spring, the channel’s disinformation correspondent (what a job title), spent a year investigating some of the app’s harmful behaviour and the subsequent real-world consequences, in particular when TikTokkers involve themselves in real-world crime cases.
News Brands
Steve Jackson’s new role at Daily Mail after Channel Seven scandal
Controversial journalist Steve Jackson, who had been laying low after being ditched by NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb as her chief spin doctor, has popped up in a surprising new place: Daily Mail Australia, reports News Corp’s Angira Bharadwaj.
Jackson has had a tumultuous year after a public falling out with journalist Taylor Auerbach and being let go from his plum gig as Webb’s media boss after revelations his appointment came at the recommendation of Police Minister Yasmin Catley’s chief of staff.
The tiny private Catholic college making a big impression at Sky News
A small private Catholic college in western Sydney is punching above its weight at Australia’s largest and most conservative news channel, Sky News, reports Nine Publishing’s Calum Jaspan.
Campion College has developed a close relationship with sections of Sky News Australia, particularly its digital department, with alumni links for its very small student base leading to a comparatively large cohort at the network, while receiving regular promotions across Sky’s on air programming.
The college offers subjects on Western history, civilisation, literature and philosophy, and is supported by a host of conservative figures, including mining billionaire Gina Rinehart.
Podcasts
Spotify ends deal with Inspired Unemployed podcast
Larrikin social media duo The Inspired Unemployed have been dropped by streaming service Spotify, reports News Corp’s Tamaryn McGregor.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the streaming service opted not to renew Matt Ford and Jack Steele’s The Inspired Unemployed podcast for another season, with the third set of episodes scheduled to wrap up at the end of the month.
A spokeswoman for Ford and Steele said “the podcast is currently in its third season and no current beyond that”, with multiple other sources also confirming the deal with Spotify would be no longer.
Netflix to wrap up Squid Game
Netflix has surprised viewers by announcing that its biggest ever show, Squid Game is coming to an end, reports News Corp’s Joshua Haigh.
A new teaser has revealed that the long-awaited second season will finally be released on Boxing Day.
The streaming giant, whose reality spin-off is already returning next year, also revealed the show has been renewed for a third and final season, to air in 2025.