Brendan Carr, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, claimed on Friday that President Trump is winning his battle with the “fake news media,” The Hill reports. Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Carr said: “Look at the results so far. PBS defunded. NPR defunded. Joy Reid, gone from MSNBC. Sleepy-Eyed Chuck Todd, gone. Jim Acosta, gone. John Dickerson, gone. [Stephen] Colbert is leaving. CBS is under new ownership, and soon enough CNN is going to have new ownership as well.”

Netflix raised the price of its standard ad-free plan to $19.99 per month last week, reflecting how the model has changed, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While streaming platforms offer users the ability to avoid most ads, advertising has become increasingly important. With the standard plan $4.50 more than it was when introduced three years ago, the ad tier is a better value.

Versant, the parent company of CNBC and MS NOW, is one of several suitors in talks to buy the Vox Media podcast network, producer of around 40 podcasts, The New York Times reports. Podcasts are only one of Vox Media’s businesses attracting potential buyers. Others are the Vox portfolio of websites, including Vox.com, The Verge and Eater, and New York magazine. 

Tennessee is mulling a bill that would require children who make money from social media to put those funds into a trust account that they could access when they reach adulthood, The Tennessean reports. The bill would affect children ages 14-17. Those under 14 would be prohibited from monetizing their videos. 

Nielsen has named Seth Ladetsky as head of global sports, the Sports Video Group reports. In addition, Trevor Fellows will lead Nielsen’s advertiser and agency relationships and Matt Devitt, who previously held that role, will oversee Nielsen’s national publisher accounts. Amilcar Perez, chief revenue officer, Nielsen Global Audience Measurement, to whom they will report, says: “Nielsen has become a one-stop-shop for our clients, fueling every part of the media process from planning to measurement and outcomes."

TikTok launched its latest NewsFront showcase by highlighting a two-month old joint venture with USDS and promising greater things to come for advertisers, including richer storytelling formats, Marketing Dive reports. “What’s standing here today, I am genuinely proud to say, is the strongest, most secure, most creative platform we have ever built,” said Khartoon Weiss, vice president and general manager of global business solutions at TikTok.

The Trump administration has settled a lawsuit alleging that three federal agencies coerced social-media platforms to suppress posts on COVID-19 and the 2020 presidential election, USA Today reports. The attorneys general of Missouri and  Louisiana were among the plaintiffs. The Surgeon General's office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are prohibited from placing pressure on the platforms to remove protected speech. 

Allen Media Group (AMG) has formed a strategic partnership with Anoki to deploy Anoki ContextIQ across its streaming portfolio, including live news, weather, sports and premium entertainment, the firm announced at the IAB NewFronts event in New York, according to MediaPlayNews. The partnership “enables brands to invest in our content with confidence — strengthening the economic foundation that sustains trusted journalism, diverse media ownership, and the communities we serve,” says Byron Allen, founder and CEO of Allen Media Group. 

The two verdicts against social media giants are part of a  growing backlash against the companies, and could lead to federal legislation, The New York Times writes in an analysis. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) and Richard Blumenthal (D) Connecticut, called for legislators to pass their Kids Online Safety Act.   

Stakeholders in the broadcast and media industry have not yet settled on the question of what the risk is from an artificial intelligence bubble, judging by a recent roundtable, NCS reports. One participant was Charlie Dunn, executive vice president, products, Telestream. “We believe that there is certainly the possibility for prices to get reset when the companies making the large investments have to start showing returns that match the speculation,” Dunn said. “We don’t believe that a reset will lead to an overall collapse of the use of AI based on the impact of the technology.”