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Hollywood's Executive Pay Surges

Despite thousands of layoffs and an upcoming writers strike, executives in the entertainment industry saw their 2022 compensation packages rise, many driven by large stock awards. This year's executive pay reporting season differed from last year, where several bosses joined the nine-figure club, and stars Endeavor's Ari Emanuel and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. However, compensation packages for a majority of media and entertainment executives analyzed by The Hollywood Reporter exceeded the 2022 median pay of $22.3 million tracked by the Equilar 100. Netflix's Reed Hastings led the Hollywood pack with a 2022 compensation package worth $51.1 million, while Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish saw a 60% bump.

The disclosures of higher CEO compensations in regulatory filings in March and April have made the contrast with layoffs and the start of the writers strike more vivid. As investors push for streaming profits amid economic headwinds, entertainment companies have been showing the door to thousands of staff while showing their top executives the money. The optics of mass layoffs are not good if CEOs and other top brass get raised compensation, and some media stocks finished 2022 down sharply, often underperforming the S&P 500 stock index, which itself recorded its worst year since 2008.

The pay packages of media sector executives have long been considered high compared to other industries, which means CEOs and boards might now face more public scrutiny. While compensation packages were generally unaffected by last year's pandemic-induced economic uncertainty, it remains to be seen if 2023 pay will fall as many media companies took a hit to close out 2022 due to streaming subscriber growth cooling off and the advertising market weakening.

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More on Entertainment News

• ​The new trailer for Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" has been released, showcasing an all-star cast and Nolan's signature visionary direction in the biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer's team's work in developing nuclear weapons during the early 1940s. The movie will feature Cillian Murphy's first lead role in a Nolan film, with Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, and Leslie Groves Jr. among the star-studded cast, and is set to premiere in July. Don't miss out on this must-see historical drama event of the summer.

Twitter purging inactive accounts

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has announced that all inactive Twitter accounts will be purged, potentially causing drops in follower counts. The company's new policy considers a user inactive if they fail to log in "at least every 30 days," a change from the previous policy of every six months. The announcement comes after Musk threatened to reassign NPR's Twitter account if it stopped posting tweets. While Twitter users wonder how the change will affect suspended accounts and those belonging to deceased individuals, some are hopeful that Twitter's decision might make long-inactive desired usernames available.

The new inactive account policy of Twitter has caused concerns among users as it could lead to a drop in follower counts for accounts with no activity for several years. Twitter quietly updated the policy within the past few weeks. The announcement, made by Twitter CEO Elon Musk, comes just days after his threat to reassign NPR's Twitter account if it stops posting tweets. It remains unclear how the new policy will impact suspended accounts and handles held by deceased users. However, some hope that Twitter might make unused usernames available, though the company has so far not indicated it would do so.

The change to Twitter's inactive account policy is likely to cause a wave of reactions among Twitter users as some anticipate the loss of followers on their accounts. While some users look forward to the possibility of using long-inactive coveted usernames, it remains uncertain if Twitter has plans to let users claim inactive usernames.

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More on Tech News

• ​Dashlane introduces passwordless login technology, allowing users to access their accounts through a four-digit PIN, facial, or fingerprint recognition. This technology eliminates the use of master passwords and can be accessed on multiple devices using a passcode or QR code. Dashlane's future plans include offering more options for securing accounts without a master password.
• ​Bluesky, a decentralized social network alternative to Twitter, backed by Jack Dorsey, has gained over 375,000 downloads and become one of the most popular social media apps in the Play Store within two months of closed beta. Built on its own protocol for account portability and customization of moderation and algorithms, Bluesky offers user control and decentralization as an alternative to centralized social media platforms.

Headline Roundup

EU Cancels Israel Event: The EU delegation in Israel has cancelled its Europe Day diplomatic reception because of the planned participation of far-right Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir. In a Twitter post, the delegation stated that “we do not want to offer a platform to someone whose views contradict the values the EU stands for”. Ben-Gvir is a hardline Jewish settler in the West Bank with past convictions for support of "terrorism" and incitement against Palestinians. He is regarded as a provocateur and has called for the displacement of Palestinians. The EU’s act of protest against Ben-Gvir could cause a diplomatic dispute between Israel and the EU. Relations between the two have already been strained over Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank.

Russia Launches Fresh Attacks: Russia has launched a wave of drone and missile strikes in Ukraine, resulting in air raid sirens being sounded throughout the country. The capital, Kyiv, saw explosions and five individuals were injured in the "biggest" kamikaze drone attack. In addition, one individual was killed in the southern Odesa region, where the Red Cross disclosed that their humanitarian aid warehouse was hit by a missile attack. This became the fourth attack in eight days on Kyiv and occurred just one day before Russia celebrates Victory Day. Since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, there is a baseless effort to compare the conflict with World War Two. With a counter-offensive widely expected, Moscow has intensified its air attacks, which lasted over four hours and saw Iranian-made Shahed kamikaze drones swarm across the country.

Greek pilot appeals sentence: Babis Anagnostopoulos, a helicopter pilot, who famously tried to blame his wife's death on burglars, has launched an appeal claiming that the crime was committed in the heat of the moment. He was given 27 years in jail after being found guilty of suffocating his British wife Caroline Crouch as she slept. The initial sentencing was two years after Caroline's death, and Anagnostopoulos has claimed that it was not premeditated and that he regrets the crime. The couple's 11-month-old daughter, Lydia, was discovered next to her mother's lifeless body. The next session is scheduled for 30 May, with the court set to hear the case from the beginning with new evidence considered.

Mining Groups Launch ReSource

Mining groups Glencore and IXM have partnered with Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) to launch ReSource, a project aimed at providing battery "passports" for electric cars. The passports will contain data such as the origin and environmental footprint of the batteries. The move is partly driven by an EU requirement for all new electric batteries over 2kWh in size to have their own passport by 2027. The passports could also benefit the reputations of the mining companies involved.

ERG has faced controversies in the past, with Eurasian Natural Resource Corporation (ENRC) accused of bribery, fraud and corruption. ENRC was delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2013, and legal action against journalists, investigators and the Serious Fraud Office followed. ERG was incorporated in Luxembourg in 2013 as the new parent company of ENRC. It operates the world's biggest cobalt mine and is keen to dig the minerals required for batteries.

ERG CEO Benedikt Sobotka has hailed the increase in demand for batteries as "one of the most staggering growth stories in the history of mankind". Sobotka has also tried to pre-empt criticism of the battery passport, which is being built using blockchain technology for transparency. Campaigners have questioned whether industry-controlled schemes can provide true transparency, however. The Global Battery Alliance, which includes ERG, cites ReSource among its battery passport solutions.

More on Business and Economy

• ​Australia's Labor government plans to include 14.6 billion Australian dollars in their federal budget for cost-of-living relief, targeted at low-income families, small businesses, and pensioners. The aim of the plan is to ease price pressures and inflation without adding to it, with a focus on mitigating cost-of-living pressures. The budget also includes 11.3 billion Australian dollars for wage rises for aged care workers and additional taxes on tobacco and oil and gas producers.
• ​Apple's growth plans in India are being hampered by declining smartphone sales, despite the company growing its market share. Research indicates that demand for cheaper handsets from companies like Xiaomi and Realme has taken a significant hit from the tough economic environment, which is causing problems for India's rural economy.
• ​Muslim dating app Muzz, which has close to nine million users, is fighting back against industry giant Match Group's trademark claims, with founder Shahzad Younas accusing Match Group of trying to stifle competition. Younas has spent nearly $2m defending his company against Match Group's allegations and has called on regulators to intervene in the dispute. The legal wrangling highlights the debate about fair competition and access to consumers in the $8.9bn global dating market.

Benin Bronzes Restituted by Germany

Germany has returned the first of 20 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria after the artifacts were looted by British colonialists in 1897. In a visit to Abuja, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock explained that "it was wrong to take them, and it was wrong to keep them". However, recent developments have sparked concerns that the Nigerian public may not have access to the returned bronzes, which have been transferred to Oba Ewuare II, the current head of the former royal family of the Benin Empire. While some worry that this could change plans for the returned artworks to be housed in institutions like the Edo Museum of West African Art, which will be opened in stages starting in 2024, others are optimistic that the works will eventually be available to the public in a museum.

While Swiss scholar Brigitta Hauser-Schäublin criticized the German government for making an agreement with Nigerian authorities that was too "lightly worded", Germany stands by its decision to restitute the sculptures. According to a spokesperson for State Minister of Culture Claudia Roth, "the right thing to do is still to return looted art to the places that today represent the people and culture from which this art was once stolen". The German Foreign Office also expressed a similar sentiment and stressed Nigeria's autonomy, adding that the Nigerian government was "of course free to decide how to deal with these objects".

The Benin Bronzes are some of the most important works of art on the African continent, made of bronze, ivory, and other precious materials. Many hope that the recent restitution will not only recognize the injustice of the colonial past but also close open wounds by returning cultural identity that was stolen.

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More on African News

• ​Zimbabwean activist and writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga, has been acquitted of organizing anti-government protests in 2020. The High Court ruled that she had not committed any offense in the first place. Dangarembga, a fierce critic of the government, has been fighting against corruption and demanding reforms for years.
• ​Senegal's presidential candidate, Ousmane Sonko's eligibility is in question after receiving a six-month suspended sentence in a libel case and further legal charges. With underemployment and poor economic prospects fueling discontent among Sonko's youth supporters, the ruling could lead to political unrest as the 2024 election approaches and President Macky Sall's suspected plan to reset his mandate is put in motion.
• ​The complex history of South African choral music genre, Mbube, is highlighted through the exploitation of its creator, Solomon Linda, who was paid just $2 for a few hundred records, despite subsequent adaptations becoming globally famous. However, Beyoncé's recent inclusion of the original Mbube in Black Is King may mark a turning point in the fight for recognition and justice for the original creators of the song and its genre, shedding light on the ongoing struggle for black creators to secure credit and payment for their work in the industry.

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