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April Fool’s Day Ads Used To Be Fun, And Folks Loved Them. Not Anymore. What Happened?

“When we were less assaulted by news on a daily basis — and, crucially, when we had no access to social media — April Fool adverts did manage to make us laugh.” But our relationship with truth and misinformation wasn’t quite as fraught back then as it is in 2025. - Prospect (UK)

Why Did Hollywood Stop Making Conspiracy Thrillers?

Works like Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974) and Sydney Pollack’s Three Days of the Condor (1975) were rife with anxiety about the country’s future, unsure if change was possible. - The Nation

Do Studios’ First Amendment Rights Cover Hiring And Firing Actors?

The question is central to two wrongful dismissal lawsuits now before courts: those of Gina Carano, fired by Disney from The Mandalorian for social media posts which clashed with the public image Disney wishes to maintain, and Brent Sexton, dropped from Apple’s Manhunt for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. - The Hollywood Reporter

Republican Bill Targets Public Broadcasting Business Models

The “No NPR and PBS Act” would simply prohibit funding of either network. It mirrors a bill Ronny Jackson introduced in March 2023 that says federal funding could not be used to purchase programming or payment of dues for either one of the national networks. - InsideRadio

The Pair Of Episodes That Marked A Turning Point For “This American Life”

Revisiting the long-running series’s biggest misstep: the January 6, 2012, episode, “Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory,” and its sequel, “Retraction,” which aired two months later. - Literary Hub

What Would Happen To NPR And PBS If Republicans Cut Their Funding?

NPR can weather the funding cut, its document predicts, thanks in part to aggrieved listeners: Executives predict a sudden boom in donations if Congress defunds it, as listeners rush to defend their favorite programs. But they will likely give more in big-city markets. - The New York Times

BBC To Cut Spending On Content By Almost $200 Million

A plummet in international co-productions is one major factor that led to an expected surplus for the past year becoming a £33 million ($42.5 million) deficit. (That followed a £492 million/$634 million deficit the previous year.) So the BBC’s content budget has been reduced by £150 million to £2.5 billion ($3.222 billion). - Deadline

Hollywood Workers Protested AI. Now Hollywood Is Using AI

It was only two years ago that actors and writers shut down Hollywood with strikes demanding protections from AI. Now the technology is controversially creeping into TV, movies and video games. Two films honoured at the Oscars even used the technology. - BBC

Where Journalism Is Being Reinvented

What if this so-called “extinction-level event” isn’t the end of journalism but just the end of a certain kind of journalism? It’s a crisis, yes—for the people losing their jobs, for the old-school media barons, for the hedge funds. But for journalism as an institution? - The Walrus

A Musical About The End Of The World

The End has more than one meaning. On the surface, the title refers to the end of civilisation. But “the end” can also mean the purpose of something, like the meaning of life. As one of the songs on the film asks, how can we make a “life worth living”? - The Conversation

Roxane Gay And Debbie Millman Take Over Literary Magazine The Rumpus

Novelist and essayist Gay said, “The Rumpus was one of the first places where my writing found a significant audience, and it helped shape me into the writer I am today.” - Publishers Weekly

France May Finally Get Its MeToo Moment With The Depardieu Trial

"The women’s lawyers told the court he was an 'all-powerful' star who deliberately targeted junior women, who were in fear of being blacklisted if they spoke out. The court heard there was a 'system of impunity' around Depardieu, with film industry insiders staying silent.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Original Snow White Did Not Exactly Thrive In Hollywood

The movie did, but the actor who voiced the character? Ouf - not to mention the way the Mouse House treated both Adriana Caselotti and the actor who voiced Prince Charming (they had to sneak into the premiere, for instance). - Salon

Trump’s FCC Opens An ‘Investigation’ Into Disney And ABC

Because, you know, they’re not bending the knee on diversity. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

The Head Of Amazon’s TV And Movies Division Leaves, And Will Not Be Replaced

What’s going on at the tech and everything else giant? "The change shocked many employees inside the studio, including one group busy putting the finishing touches on Amazon’s presentation at the year’s biggest theater convention, CinemaCon.” - The New York Times

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