• McDonald’s Corp. reportedly laid off hundreds of corporate employees across several divisions in the United States and abroad last week as part of an organizational restructuring effort. The fast-food giant also offered some staffers continued employment at the company with reduced compensation packages and title changes, according to people familiar with the matter. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Twitter Inc. added a “government funded” label to the accounts of select media outlets that receive public sector support, including NPR News and BBC, sparking renewed tension between the Elon Musk-owned platform and some of its most engaged users: members of the media industry. The updated designation comes days after Twitter initially imposed a “US state-affiliated media” label on NPR’s main Twitter account without explanation or warning. (Axios)
• Advertising, public relations and related industry employment fell by 2,100 jobs in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the largest monthly drop in more than two years. (Ad Age) However, a new report from S&P Global Ratings predicts ad spending will grow 2.8% in 2023, marking a slight bump from its earlier forecast of 2.6%. (Marketing Brew)

Americans Are Starting to Lose Interest in Remote Work

Morning Consult

Twitter fails to report some political ads after promising transparency

Jessica Piper, Politico

The platform started accepting political ads again in January.

The NewFronts Evolves Amid a Changing Marketplace—but Is It Enough?

Mollie Cahillane and Bill Bradley, Adweek

The IAB shakes up its annual digital content event as some buyers question its relevancy.

Paramount Explores Sale of Majority Stake in Noggin Streaming Service

Joe Flint and Jessica Toonkel, The Wall Street Journal

Potential sale comes as entertainment conglomerate looks to prioritize Paramount+, Pluto TV streaming platforms.

Inside Disney it’s ‘Revenge of the Creatives’ and ‘Shields Up!’ against outside foes as returned CEO Bob Iger is taking no prisoners

Claire Atkinson, Insider

Inside the Mouse House, staff are dubbing the firings the “Revenge of the Creatives,” a Star Wars-inspired reference to Chapek’s efforts to install omnipotent data-driven executives at the center of the company and take budget oversight away from content executives.

Sean Spicer Leaves Newsmax, Ending Nightly Show After Three Years

Ted Johnson, Deadline

Spicer, who served as Donald Trump’s first White House press secretary, said it was “my honor to be part of the Newsmax team and I’m grateful for my time there. With all of that under my belt, it is time for me to move on to a new challenge, a new adventure and a new opportunity to serve the American people.”

In Fox-Dominion defamation trial, jury to weigh executives’ role

Helen Coster and Jack Queen, Reuters

One of the most closely watched U.S. defamation cases in decades is set to begin on Thursday as a Delaware court picks a jury to decide whether Fox News should pay Dominion Voting Systems $1.6 billion for spreading election-rigging falsehoods.

Super Mario Bros. smashes records with massive box office debut

Sara Fischer, Axios

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” blew past expectations in its weekend debut, bringing in a whopping $377 million in global box office sales and $204.6 million in domestic sales between Wednesday and Sunday, per Comscore.

Why Elon Musk Contends Twitter Can Disrupt the Media Business

Tim Higgins, The Wall Street Journal

As Elon Musk sees it, he is now in competition with the news business.  In recent days, Mr. Musk jabbed on Twitter at the New York Times and National Public Radio and weighed in on the accuracy of certain news outlets. And Twitter began limiting how Substack Inc. integrates with the social-media company after the digital-newsletter platform announced it was preparing a social-media rival.

The rebellion against the TikTok ban

Morgan Chalfant, Semafor

TikTok is looking a little less alone in Washington these days. With talk of a ban on the social media giant growing louder among lawmakers, resistance to the idea has begun to emerge in Congress and on cable news thanks to an odd-bedfellows coalition of progressives, libertarians and MAGA-approved Fox News pundits. 

With latest hit Lemon8, ByteDance again learns from the China playbook

Rita Liao, TechCrunch

Lemon8’s sudden rise is reminiscent of TikTok’s early-day growth. At the time Vine had already pioneered short video sharing in the U.S., but TikTok took the media format to the next level through its content recommendation algorithms, a system that had proven immensely successful in China for its sister app, Douyin.

Substack founders fire back at Twitter over restrictions and rules that ‘change on a whim’ 

Jay Peters and Emma Roth, The Verge

Substack’s founders say this serves as a reminder of why writers need a platform that ‘puts them in charge, that rewards great work with money, and that protects the free press and free speech.’

Substack says Twitter is no longer throttling links to newsletters

Nilay Patel, The Verge

Searching for “Substack” still results in a search for “newsletter,” though. This is the dumbest chapter in content moderation history.

Tecovas Won’t ‘Go Gently’ In First Brand Campaign

Fern Siegel, MediaPost

Western apparel company Tecovas, known for its handmade cowboy boots, has kicked off its debut national campaign: “Don’t Go Gently.” The new tagline and platform, courtesy of Austin, Texas-based Preacher, is the first since the agency won the account in November 2022.

How NBA Tunnel Walks Became Fashion Marketing Moments

Robert Cordero, Business of Fashion

The pre-game arena entrance is now a big business as more basketball players craft their personal brands, with the likes of Burberry, Thom Browne and Marni angling to dress athletes.

Some customers are complaining the new olive oil-infused Starbucks drink is making them run to the bathroom

Ramishah Maruf, CNN

“It is one of the biggest launches we’ve had in decades,” Brady Brewer, Starbucks’ chief marketing officer, told CNN. Former CEO Howard Schultz said in an interview with Poppy Harlow that it will “transform the coffee industry,” and be “a very profitable new addition to the company.” But what the company may not have taken into account: Some customers say it’s making them have to run to the bathroom.

These Tech Workers Say They Were Hired to Do Nothing

Te-Ping Chen, The Wall Street Journal

Amid layoffs, former workers in tech are venting about jobs with little to do; ‘hoarding us like Pokémon cards.’

1 in 3 people would quit for a 4-day workweek job, according to a new report

Jennifer Liu, CNBC

The four-day workweek is gaining momentum, and people say they’re willing to quit to have it. A majority, 61%, of workers say they’d rather have a four-day workweek than the traditional five, and 33% say they’d quit their job to for one with a shortened week, according to a Monster survey of 868 workers conducted in March.

Annual corporate investment in AI is 13 times greater than a decade ago

Clarisa Diaz, Quartz

A new report from Stanford University tracks M&A and other funding for artificial intelligence.

Home-based workers became younger, more diverse in pandemic

Mike Schneider, The Associated Press

People working from home became younger, more diverse, better educated and more likely to move during the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Work From the Office, Get Laid Off at Home

Sarah Kessler et al., The New York Times

McDonald’s temporarily closed its corporate offices this week so it could lay off workers virtually. Was that a good idea?