Top News:
Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters:
Tronc has confirmed it is selling the Los Angeles Times and a number of other newspapers to billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500M in cash — (Reuters) - Tronc Inc (TRNC.O) said on Wednesday it would sell some newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, CNBC, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, New York Times, @gerryfsmith, Deadline, @rachelking, CNNMoney, Fast Company, Business Insider, Fortune, The Week, @latlands, CNNMoney, @mollyesque, @jackshafer, Press Gazette, 89.3 KPCC, @chrismegerian, @bencjacobs, @kevinding, @billshaikin, @byrosenberg, @kenvogel, @petersterne, @jbflint, @mayorofla, @brianstelter and @gabekahn
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Ken Doctor / Nieman Lab:
Analysis of LA Times deal: factors that led to sale now, speculation on Soon-Shiong 's future strategy, a look at price, and a theory on a future Gannett role — Tronc is getting a big premium for its flagship asset, and the Times is getting a return to private, local ownership.
Discussion:
The New York Observer, @sduncovered, @jayrosen_nyu, @laobserved, @scribeguy, @latlands, @markjacob16, @mattdpearce, BloombergQuint, NPR, New York Times, Fortune, Politico, Mediawire, Splinter, LA Observed, @jayrosen_nyu, Variety, KTLA, NPR and Editor & Publisher
Meg James / Los Angeles Times:
Tronc forms new company, Tribune Interactive, with Ross Levinsohn as its CEO and ex-LA Times EIC Lewis D'Vorkin as its chief content officer — Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Times from its parent company Tronc, restoring local ownership …
Hollywood Reporter:
Disney is developing a number of Star Wars series for its streaming service, CEO Bob Iger said during an earnings call on Tuesday — Disney CEO Bob Iger tells investors that the company is close to revealing at least one of the producing teams behind one of the projects.
Discussion:
StarWars.com, Slate, Tubefilter, The Playlist, Vanity Fair, @americanstnick, Deadline, The A.V. Club, /Film, CinemaBlend, Press Association, io9 and Variety
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Peter Kafka / Recode:
Streaming service ESPN Plus launching next month at $4.99/mo; sources say it won't have ESPN cable channels' content, which still requires ESPN subscription
Discussion:
Adweek, Fast Company, Polygon, Pocket-lint, Forbes, The Wrap, AppAdvice.com, Mashable, TechCrunch, Slate, CNNMoney, CNBC, Associated Press, The Verge, CNBC, @spingriffey, 9to5Mac and Broadcasting & Cable, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Snapchat says it generated $100M in revenue for Discover's publishing partners in 2017, up from $58M in 2016 and $10M in 2015 — Snapchat says it generated $100 million in revenue for content partners on Discover in 2017, up from $58 million in 2016 and $10 million in 2015.
Discussion:
Recode, Wall Street Journal and @matildegiglio
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Wall Street Journal:
Snapchat is launching to tool to let TV networks pipe snippets of live broadcasts directly into the app, starting this Saturday with NBC's Olympics coverage
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Ad Age, The Next Web, @ctrlzee, @mathewi, @georgia_wells, @kerrymflynn, AppAdvice.com, 9to5Mac, Bloomberg and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Claire Atkinson / NBC News:
Newsweek Media Group's head of sales resigns, and a source says the company has lost “hundreds of thousands” in ad commitments since reports it bought traffic — The Newsweek Media Group is reeling. — Ed Hannigan, the company's head of sales, resigned on Tuesday.
Discussion:
@jaysunsilver, @jasonabbruzzese, @rachelcbrody, @claireatki, Splinter and Talking Biz News
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Reddit bans r/deepfakes, which was devoted to making AI-powered porn using celebrities' faces, and updates site-wide rules regarding “involuntary pornography” — Reddit has banned the r/deepfakes subreddit that's devoted to making AI-powered porn using celebrities' faces …
Discussion:
Mashable, Motherboard, New York Magazine, Engadget and reddit, more at Techmeme »
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Samantha Cole / Motherboard:
Pornhub says it's banning AI-generated fake porn videos because they're “nonconsensual”, yet such “deepfake” videos are still available via site search results
Discussion:
The Verge, Engadget, Engadget, The Guardian, Fast Company, The Next Web, Mashable, The Daily Dot, The Verge and Trusted Reviews, more at Techmeme »
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed:
Russian trolls posed as black activists on Tumblr and generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content — Tumblrs run by Russian trolls generated hundreds of thousands of interactions with anti-Hillary Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders content.
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Vice Media missed its 2017 revenue target of $805M by $100M+, largely due to its Viceland TV channel; co-president Creighton unlikely to return to role — Digital media company misses revenue forecast; shareholders push company to turn a profit — Vice Media is facing uncertainty …
Discussion:
@sknthla, @annehelen, @iankar_, @simonowens, @keachhagey, @srabil, @asharma, Fast Company and @raju
Anna Washenko / RAIN News:
RadioPublic launches Paid Listens, guarantees participating podcasters $20 CPM for every listen via its iOS and Android apps — Podcast company RadioPublic has adopted a new service for show creators to get paid for their work. The approach is designed for podcasts that don't have the scale …
Discussion:
RadioPublic, @evoterra, @mattervc and Fast Company
Local News Lab:
Democracy Fund announces two new funds in NJ and NC totaling $2M to support local news ecosystems and seek long-term solutions for public-interest news — Democracy Fund establishes two new local funds — Local news is critical to a healthy democracy, and we believe that the future of local news is local.
Discussion:
@democracyfund, @melaniesill, @jcstearns and @jcstearns
Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed:
A look at 29 Facebook pages and sites of fake news publishers, which are using Instant Articles to help completely false stories load faster and earn revenue — While some mainstream publishers are abandoning Facebook's Instant Articles, fake news sites based overseas are taking advantage of the format …
Discussion:
@profcarroll, @craigsilverman, @firstdraftnews, @niemanlab, @janelytv and @craigsilverman
Christine Wang / CNBC:
21st Century Fox beats Q2 targets with $8B in revenue, up 5% YoY, as higher affiliate, syndication, and ad revenue boost cable revenue, up 11% YoY — Twenty-First Century Fox reported earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street expectations on Wednesday. — The stock edged slightly higher in extended trading.
Discussion:
Variety, Ad Age, Broadcasting & Cable, Hollywood Reporter, 21st Century Fox and /Film
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