Top News:


Netflix reports Q2 membership growth of 5.2M, 1M less than forecast, and a profit of $384M, up from $65M last year; stock down 13% after hours — Video site blamed faulty internal forecasting, not business reasons like price increases — Netflix Inc. missed its own forecasts …
Discussion:
NPR, The Wrap, The Wrap, Gizmodo, New York Times, CNBC, Variety, Business Insider, CNNMoney and netflixinvestor.com, more at Techmeme »


FCC's Ajit Pai has “serious concerns” about Sinclair Broadcast Group's acquisition of Tribune Media, worried Sinclair has kept control of “divested” TV stations — Ajit Pai said he is concerned about so-called “side-car deals” that would allow Sinclair Broadcast Group …


Roku unveils Roku TV Wireless Speakers that use company's Roku Connect platform to link-up with Roku-powered smart TVs over WiFi, coming in October for ~$200 — The first speakers to use the new Roku Connect platform are also Roku's first foray into the speaker market


Ecuador's new president encourages investigative journalism and pledges to reform the country's repressive Communications Law, but reporters still work in fear — Lenín Moreno, now the president of Ecuador, as a candidate in 2016. Photo: Agencia de Noticias ANDES/Micaela Ayala V/flickr.


Weinstein Co. Closes $289 Million Sale to Lantern Capital — A Texas private equity firm has closed its $289 million acquisition of the Weinstein Co., and will seek to revive the studio that was driven into bankruptcy by Harvey Weinstein's sex assault scandal.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, TVWeek.com, Hollywood Reporter, Dallas Morning News, Vanity Fair and IndieWire


Inside the world of self-published romance on Amazon Kindle Unlimited, where authors collaborate and compete to game Amazon's algorithm — To cash in on Kindle Unlimited, a cabal of authors gamed Amazon's algorithm — On June 4th, a group of lawyers shuffled into a federal court in Manhattan …


The Daily Mail's incoming pro-Europe editor Geordie Greig, who replaces Paul Dacre, faces challenges grappling with the Mail's Brexiteer past and readership — The Daily Mail tabloid encouraged a vote for Brexit. Will a new, pro-Europe editor make readers change their minds—or unsubscribe?


Profile of Zachary Stoner, an independent music journalist and YouTuber in Chicago who covered the city's neglected black communities before being killed in May — I weighed the possibility of being killed for writing this. Seriously. I know that shedding light on or speaking …
Discussion:
@aaschapiro and @jessicajerreat


Facing competition from streaming services like Netflix, Alaska's two Blockbuster stores close, leaving just one store in Bend, Oregon — The Blockbuster video store in Bend, Ore., stands steely and determined, defending itself against the expanding forces of digital streaming services like Netflix and HBO …
Discussion:
IndieWire


Sources: Comcast unlikely to make another bid for 21st Century Fox's movie and TV assets, focusing instead on a bid for UK's Sky TV — - Comcast was in a bidding war with Disney over movie and television assets owned by Twenty-First Century Fox. — Sources tell CNBC's David Faber …
Discussion:
Business Insider, Politico, Reuters, CNET and New York Post


Pinterest to transfer ownership of Instapaper to Instant Paper, Inc., a new company owned and operated by the developers who have run Instapaper since 2013 — Today, we're announcing that Pinterest has entered into an agreement to transfer ownership of Instapaper to Instant Paper, Inc. …
Discussion:
Boing Boing, VentureBeat, Adweek, Engadget, MediaPost, @pkafka, The Verge, MacStories, TechCrunch and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »


The BBC's Local News Partnerships scheme generates 3,600 stories a month for its network of local papers, radio, TV stations, independent news sites and the BBC — The BBC has widened its definitions of national news to include such apparently mundane themes as potholes in the road …
Discussion:
HoldtheFrontPage and paulwiltshireblog