Former Discovery Executive Dee Forbes Resigns as Director General of Irish Broadcaster RTE Over Talent Payment Scandal

The studios are putting on a united front when it comes to the striking scribes and actors, but Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global dust-up over who really has the streaming rights to Eric Cartman and the South Park gang shows no signs of settling down.

BBC News viewers rushed to social media to show their support to Cliver Myrie after appearing to spot him getting emotional after his colleague Huw Edwards was named as the high-profile star facing allegations over payments for sexually explicit images.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Peter Webber has signed on to direct the wartime thriller “Irena Sendler.” It tells the true story of Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who defied the Nazis and organized a team of young women to smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust. Casting is currently underway and production is expected to start in Poland later this year or early in 2024.   The script was penned by Agatha Dominik, Brian Pittman & Rachel Long, Stuart Hazeldine, and Jeff Most. The film will be produced by Most (“The Crow”), BAFTA Award winning and Academy Award winning producer Ewa Puszczyńska (“Cold War,” “Ida”), Jeff Rice (“Lone Survivor,” “A Private War”), Armory Films’ Christopher Lemole and Tim Zajaros (“The Peanut Butter Falcon,” “Mudbound”), andGolden Globe winning producer Gareth Wiley (“Match Point,” “Vicky Christina Barcelona”) of Phoenix Wiley.

BBC Director General Tim Davie has admitted that complaints procedures could be improved amid questions over how the UK broadcaster responded to allegations that one of its top presenters paid a young person for sexual images.

Kevin Bakhurst, the newly appointed director-general of Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE, has stood down the company’s entire executive board following a pay scandal involving the broadcaster’s lead presenter.

Naman Ramachandran Kevin Bakhurst took charge as the new director general of Ireland’s national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) on Monday and his first act was to stand down the executive board and replace it with a temporary interim leadership team. RTE has been rocked with scandal in recent weeks for overpaying presenter Ryan Tubridy. The matter led to the suspension and subsequent resignation of RTE director general Dee Forbes, a former high-level Discovery executive and the Irish government ordering two separate reviews into the scandal. In an email to staff on Monday morning, Bakhurst, who had a previous stint as managing director of news and current affairs and deputy director general at RTE from 2012-2016 and was with U.K. media regulator Ofcom and the BBC earlier, laid out a no-nonsense approach.

Manchester United football director John Murtough is holding extensive talks with Atalanta over a possible deal for striker Rasmus Hojlund.

Naman Ramachandran After a scandal that rocked Ireland in recent days over national broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTE) overpaying presenter Ryan Tubridy, the country’s government has ordered two separate reviews into the scandal. The matter led to the suspension and subsequent resignation of RTE director general Dee Forbes, a former high-level Discovery executive. On Tuesday, Ireland’s Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D., announced that she will be commissioning an independent, root and branch examination of RTE composed of two separate and parallel reviews: a review of governance and culture; and a review of contractor fees, human resources and other matters.

From one imaginary world to another, “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig is further building her movie-making resume.

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett’s girlfriend, Madison Carter, has paid an emotional tribute to her late partner on social media.

Ryan Mallett’s girlfriend, Madison Carter, shared a heartfelt tribute to the late athlete days after he died at age 35.

Jesse Armstrong and Danny McBride will have some individual independence to celebrate this holiday weekend.

Vanessa Bryant just landed a massive win in her lawsuit against BodyArmor, one of Kobe Bryant’s significant investments. The court awarded her a whopping $1.5 million in a case she bravely picked up after her husband’s passing. As you may know, Kobe invested $6 million in BodyArmor back in 2013, and when Coca-Cola bought the company years later, he made a cool $400 million in the sale.

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett debuted a new romance weeks before his death at age 35.

The Prince of Wales has arrived in Aberdeen as part of a tour of the UK to announce an initiative aimed at ending homelessness

The BBC’s highest-paid presenter Gary Lineker was suspended and swiftly reinstated in March during an impartiality meltdown that rocked the British broadcaster.

Former EastEnders actor turned adventure documentary maker Ross Kemp just revealed that he almost made a TV show diving down to the Titanic wreckage in a submersible owned by OceanGate.This revelation follows the tragic news announced on Thursday that the five passengers aboard the Titan sub - which was owned by diving company OceanGate - had perished during their recent expedition. In terms of daredevil Ross, who has made plenty of other nail-biting diving documentaries, the decision to go ahead with the Titanic exploration was called off by the production company behind his other shows.

EXCLUSIVE: James DuBose, the former Fox Soul General Manager, is launching his own AVOD platform, In The Black Network, a streaming service that highlights Black voices and original stories. 

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Warner Bros. Discovery is negotiating to sell around half of the storied Warner studio’s film and TV music-publishing assets for approximately $500 million, three sources confirm to Variety. The news was first reported by Hits. While it is unclear exactly which assets are on the table, one source says that the rights to “slightly less than half” of the catalog, with a price of around $500 million, are likely to go to a major label, with Sony said to be in the lead. The catalog is believed to include music from such films as “Purple Rain,” “Evita,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Rent” several “Batman” films and many more titles, as well as songs included in iconic films such as “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca” — iconic titles to be sure, but again, it is unclear exactly which rights are in play. Top attorney Allen Grubman is said to be overseeing the deal for Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Zenia Mucha, who spent two decades as Disney’s top spokesperson before leaving the company in 2021, has been hired at TikTok. She’ll serve in the newly formed role of chief brand and communications officer and will be responsible for TikTok’s global marketing and communications strategies. Mucha’s hiring is part of a larger shakeup at TikTok. Vanessa Pappas is stepping down as the company’s chief operating officer and Adam Presser, the current chief of staff, has been promoted to head of operations. “Given all the successes reached at TikTok, I finally feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions,” Pappas said in a note to staff.  “I know the company has a very bright and stable future under the strong leadership of Shou Chew and our executive team, I will be here to support him, the leadership team and all of you during this transition by taking on an advisory role for the company.”