X CEO Linda Yaccarino yesterday slammed the Wall Street Journal while repeatedly dismissing its recent report that accuses the social media company of threatening to sue advertisers that didn't buy ads on the platform.

• When I asked her in an interview whether the report was true at an Axios event in Cannes, France, Yaccarino dodged, responding, "Does anyone still read that publication?"
• "I saw on the beach that they were giving it away for free this morning. So that probably says something," she added.

Why it matters: X has been trying to revitalize its advertising business, which took a significant hit after Elon Musk bought the company in 2022.

• Yaccarino, who was considered a top ally to big brands when she led NBCUniversal's advertising department, has become a more vocal critic of the advertising community since assuming the top role at X.

Zoom in: The Journal report alleges X owner Musk and Yaccarino pressured advertisers, including Verizon, Ralph Lauren and Pinterest, to spend on its platform by threatening lawsuits.

• The outlet, which cited conversations with at least two dozen sources, said at least six companies struck ad deals after receiving lawsuit threats or pressure from X.
• Yaccarino said the facts were "painfully absent" from the story, noting that it didn't mention a current government probe into advertising groups or a Republican-led House Judiciary Committee report published last year that argues a now-defunct ad coalition used "shadowy corporate coordination" to silence conservatives.
• The Journal story mentioned both the FTC investigation as well the House Judiciary Committee's investigation into the now-disbanded ad trade group.
• "What was also surprising to me, really disappointing, was that there were no named sources, and there were some random third parties that commented," Yaccarino said. "And what is really, you know, interesting to me, is that, you know, is that where journalism has us today?"

The other side: Earlier today, I asked the Journal's editor-in-chief Emma Tucker about Yaccarino's comments. She said the news organization is getting used to being gaslit by CEOs and people in power in response to its journalism.

• "First of all, Linda Yaccarino said nobody reads the Wall Street Journal, and also that's news to me, because — you know — we have nearly 5 million subscribers now ... I'm surprised at her take on that," she said
• Secondly, people can say what they want, "but it's not going to affect our approach to journalism," she said. "We cannot think about the consequences of the stories we publish, and many of the stories we publish do upset political leaders or CEOs ... We have to not think about the consequences of that we publish if you think the story is worth telling."
• A WSJ spokesperson said separately in a statement to Axios following Yaccarino's interview that it stands by its reporting, "which is well-sourced, reliable and factual, no matter how inconvenient it may be."

The big picture: Lawsuits have become a bigger part of X's strategy to navigate advertising challenges.

• Last year, X filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers, a major advertising trade group, and its industry coalition called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. The lawsuit proved effective as WFA discontinued GARM a few months later.
• It also sued the progressive watchdog group Media Matters for defamation after the group released a report that X says misrepresented the amount of hate speech users encounter on its platform. That lawsuit has been scheduled for trial next year.
• X sued the consumer advocacy group Center for Countering Digital Hate, but a judge tossed that case.

Candle Media co-CEO Kevin Mayer today said the Blackstone-backed media company plans to sell or IPO its individual brands rather than the overall company.

Why it matters: Candle's original plan was to operate and exit its portfolio of media companies under the single Candle Media brand.

• "We had intended for Candle to be an integrated operating company with different audience verticals all approaching it in similar ways and it really hasn't happened," Mayer told me at an Axios event on Tuesday in Cannes.
• "We're now more or less ... three independent companies now that are operating in different ways," Mayer said.

Zoom in: Candle teased this shift last year when it reorganized its business to separate its animation and live-action content businesses. Today, the company is anchored by three main brands:

• Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine and its live-action studios.
• Children's entertainment company Moonbug.
• Social publisher ATTN.

The bottom line: Each of Candle Media's core brands has a different value proposition which makes them easier to sell and grow separately, per Mayer.

• Moonbug, which creates and distributes "CoComelon" and "Blippi," could grow to become a bigger IP holding company, be acquired by an entertainment or tech company, or pursue an IPO.
• ATTN has leaned into its identity as a branded content agency. Mayer, who briefly served as CEO of TikTok, said one of its biggest clients is TikTok where they "make TikToks about TikTok for TikTok."
• Hello Sunshine has grown through a flywheel of products, services and social media, Mayer said, for its brands like The Home Edit. But it's been harder for other studios in its portfolio to create that same flywheel effect.

The gossip:

• Battle for Antibes: Michael Kassan's 3C Ventures threw a blowout bash at the luxurious Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes with support from Disney, iHeartMedia and Condé Nast. The party, which was well-attended by most C-suite insiders at Cannes Lions, occurred the night before MediaLink's annual bash at the same location.
• Creators crash: There were more creators, celebrities and influencers at this year's Cannes Lions Festival than ever before. Big Tech firms and agencies eager to show off their access to advertisers flew over dozens of household names, including Alix Earle, Jake Shane, Bethenny Frankel, and others to participate in programming and events.
• The rosé bubble: The uncertainty plaguing the advertising industry has been mostly ignored this week, as brands continue to spend millions of dollars on high-end displays and beachfront cabanas to woo Madison Avenue executives.

The product announcements:

• Disney and Amazon signed a deal to expand their partnership, allowing advertisers to reach audiences on Disney+, ESPN and Hulu. That data can be matched with browsing, streaming and purchase insights from Amazon ads to build campaigns.
• Meta added generative AI tools to its Advantage+ platform for advertisers including video highlights, Business AI's voice features, video generation tools in a testing phase, and an expanded audience for customer experiences.
• Netflix added Yahoo's DSP as an advertising partner for its ad-supported tier.
• Roku and Amazon signed a deal that will allow advertisers to place ads on the Roku Channel and Prime Video through Amazon's ad-buying platform.
• Reddit launched two new ad tools that help brands understand and showcase conversations happening on the platform.
• TikTok announced updates to its AI-powered creative tools, which will also be available on Adobe Express and WPP Open.
• Amazon added new insights on live shopping campaigns to its marketing platform.
• WhatsApp introduced ads for its Updates tab, in status and channels, as well as channel subscriptions.
• YouTube announced it is making it easier to hire creators with brands with a new "open call" feature on YouTube BrandConnect. Creators can respond to a creative brief with video content, which brands can then review, approve, promote and measure.

Nielsen today said that for the first time last month, streaming viewership in the U.S. eclipsed both cable and broadcast combined.

Why it matters: Streaming's assent has been rapid over cable in particular.

• When Nielsen first started measuring monthly TV consumption by medium in September 2021, cable represented 38% of viewership, while streaming only represented 28%.
• Last month, streaming represented 44.8% of all TV viewership, its largest share of viewing to date. Both broadcast and cable fell to near all-time lows.

Yes, but: TV watching is seasonal, especially for broadcast.

• During months with major sports championships and award shows — like the Super Bowl and the Grammys in February or March Madness and the Oscars in March — broadcast TV consumption tends to see a bump.
• Cable, on the other hand, continues to see a slow and steady decline as sports rights move out of the bundle and cord-cutting persists.

What to watch: The rise of free, ad-supported streaming services like PlutoTV, Roku Channel and Tubi, continue to boost streaming's growth. Those three firms collectively accounted for 5.7% of TV viewing last month.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's compensation will be "significantly" reduced after the company completes its split next year, according to an SEC filing yesterday.

Why it matters: The updated package comes days after WBD announced plans to split WBD into two publicly traded companies, parting its television networks from its streaming business.

• Zaslav is set to run the streaming and studios business after the separation.
• WBD's stock has fallen by more than 50% since the merger that is set to be unwound.

Zoom in: Zaslav's annual potential cash bonus was slashed from $22 million under the previous agreement to $6 million.

• The company said his package was reoriented toward "long-term incentives."

Tucker Carlson and his business partner, Neil Patel, recently bought out investors in their media company, Tucker Carlson Network (TCN), Axios has confirmed

Why it matters: The deal gives the pair complete independence and total control of the company they co-founded in 2023.

• "It's hard to claim you're independent when other people own your company, so we decided not to take investments or loans of any kind," Carlson told Axios in a statement.

Catch up quick: Carlson and Patel raised roughly $15 million for TCN from a group of investors in late 2023 after Carlson parted ways with Fox News.

• The pair have a long history, having co-founded the Daily Caller together in 2010. Patel currently serves as co-founder and CEO of TCN.
• The bulk of the cash raised for TCN came from 1789 Capital, which was founded by banker Omeed Malik to invest in "anti-ESG" companies.

State of play: 1789 Capital's investment is structured as a SAFE (simple agreement for future equity), Axios reported.

• The SAFE structure allowed Carlson to convert his investors' cash into equity if he later chose to raise more money at a set valuation.

Yes, but: When TCN became profitable more quickly than expected, they became less inclined to raise another round. And with no plans to sell the company, a buyout offered liquidity for existing investors.

Go deeper.

I asked Pinterest CEO Bill Ready at Cannes what trends he was seeing on the platform that could inform how we should be living our best lives this summer. Here's what he says is going viral:

🏡 "Martha Stewart aesthetic" searches have skyrocketed by 2,889% year over year, according to data from Pinterest's latest summer trend report. Users, especially Gen-Z, are looking for ways to up their hosting game with things like farm-to-table cooking and urban gardening.

🧘‍♀️"Digital detox ideas" and "digital detox vision boards" are trending up by 72% and 273%, respectively.

🌿 "Nature travel" and "rustic farmhouse interiors" are gaining traction as users look to save money through cheaper vacations and thrifted decor.