Top News:
Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Twitter says over the next week it will adjust users' follower counts to no longer include locked accounts, dropping Twitter's combined follower count by ~6% — Perhaps a healthier Twitter is one with smaller follower counts—even if that comes as a blow to your ego. That's what the company is hoping, anyway.
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, @keithweed, VentureBeat, Twitter, Ad Age, USA Today, The Verge, @benimmo, Los Angeles Times and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook will roll out news shows for Facebook Watch from July 16, with the lineup including shows from CNN, Fox News, Quartz, Bloomberg, Univision, ATTN:, Mic — Facebook will launch a slate of video shows on its video platform, Watch, on July 16. — Why it matters: The tech giant …
Discussion:
@juddlegum, Facebook Watch, Tubefilter, The Wrap, Engadget, @mcclatchy, @xeni, @newsmary, @lpolgreen, @cwarzel and @kevinroose, more at Techmeme »
Georg Szalai / Hollywood Reporter:
Writing in the BBC's annual report, the corporation's Chairman David Clementi says British content faces a threat from the “west coast of America” — The U.K. public broadcaster in its annual report says BBC Worldwide, which after the end of the fiscal year was merged with its production arm …
Discussion:
The Guardian
RELATED:
Washington Post:
UK watchdog gives Facebook a preliminary fine of about $664,000, the maximum allowed, for letting Cambridge Analytica access data about millions of people — Facebook is staring down its first fine for allowing Cambridge Analytica to improperly access data about millions of people …
Discussion:
Information Commissioner's …, Media Matters for America, @donie, @kevinroose, Adweek, CNNMoney, The Verge, The Daily Caller, @amy_siskind, @profcarroll, @katestarbird, @sivavaid, @justinhendrix, @donie, BBC, CNNMoney, The Hill, @themediaisdying, @stevekopack, Engadget and @carolecadwalla, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Steven Perlberg / BuzzFeed:
Sources: Sinclair to launch STIRR, a new streaming VOD app, which would include a 24/7 news channel, TV shows, movies, and sports, by year-end — The local TV giant expects to release the streaming app this year, according to sources familiar with the project.
Discussion:
The Hill, FierceCable and @amy_siskind
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Mark Halperin and John Heilemann are in negotiations over material for a follow-up “Game Change” book and TV-mini series, most of which Halperin holds — Until their split last year, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann were the golden boys of American political journalism.
Discussion:
@dankennedy_nu, Mediaite, @grahamdavida and @owillis
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube TV went down during a crucial World Cup match, the second such outage since it went down during an NBA game in May — YouTube TV, Google's internet-delivered subscription TV service, was hit with nationwide outages — right in the middle of the 2018 World Cup semifinal match between England and Croatia.
Discussion:
Deadline, TechCrunch, @youtubetv, Fortune, Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, SBNation.com, The Verge, 9to5Google, The Big Lead and Mashable, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Hagi / Hazlitt:
Ex-Vice journalist and Canadian writer Sarah Hagi recounts her experience of being laid off from a large media company — When I need comfort and familiarity, I cycle through five or so different movies I've seen at least a half dozen times each. Nora Ephron's 1998 classic You've Got Mail is a frequent go-to.
Discussion:
@mattdpearce and @nicole_soojung
Joe Mayes / Bloomberg:
21st Century Fox Inc. boosts its bid for Sky TV, offering £14 per share and valuing the company at £24.5B, topping Comcast's offer of £22B — - Offer is now 12 percent higher than Comcast's bid for Sky — Sky is part of a wider battle between Comcast and Disney
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Fortune, Broadcasting & Cable, The Wrap and Reuters
Lucia Moses / Digiday:
The relationship between The New York Times and Facebook has been fraught, with the Times' CEO Mark Thompson repeatedly attacking the social network — Facebook has been taking fire from all sides lately, but few have been more outspoken and consistent of late than Mark Thompson, CEO of The New York Times.
Discussion:
@jason_kint, @bmorrissey and @digiday
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Penrose Studios, which makes narrative-based VR content, raises $10M Series A led by TransLink Capital with Marc Benioff, Will.i.am, and others participating — It's been an interesting past few years for the virtual reality industry and while there is still plenty for insiders to pin …
Discussion:
VentureBeat and Variety, more at Techmeme »
Syria Direct:
At least 270 Syrian journalists and media activists are trapped in rebel-held sections of southwest Syria as Russian-rebel reconciliation deal unfolds — Displaced Syrians along the Syrian border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in July. Photo by Mohamad Yusuf/AFP.
Discussion:
syja.org, Anadolu Ajans Güncel Haberler and Committee to Protect …