Top News:
Tom Kludt / CNNMoney:
Source: Tronc exec Grant Whitmore meets with remaining NY Daily News staff, says he foresees no new layoffs and he's unaware of any plans to sell paper — As he takes over a newsroom that was just reduced by half, the New York Daily News' new top editor, Robert York, is asking his embattled staff for time to chart a new course.
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Michael Calderone / Politico:
NYC Mayor De Blasio and Governor Cuomo slam Tronc's decision to halve NYDN newsroom, as fears grow the city is becoming a local news “desert” — Tronc's decision to cut the Daily News newsroom in half comes amid growing concerns that New York City is underserved when it comes to covering courts, cops and local communities.
Discussion:
New York Post, Columbia Journalism Review, New York Times, @nikkiusher, @kylepope, @andrewyangvfa, Observer, The Wrap, Washington Post, @reporterjon, @chriscuomo, @mtdukes, @bazzinyu, @thedailybeast, @joshgreenman, Daily Wire, @timgrieve, @maragay, @brianefallon, @danielleiat, @pdberger, @jejohnson322, @jenn_budd, @matt_fortuna, @erinmdurkin, @davidshepardson, @aclayton33, @jamestaranto, @ryancormier, @etabery, @redsteeze and HuffPost
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed News:
Facebook says a livestream in which Infowars' Alex Jones made unfounded allegations that Special Counsel Robert Mueller rapes children did not violate its rules — Jones accused the special counsel of participating in child rape and pantomimed shooting Mueller. Facebook said the rant did not violate its community guidelines.
Discussion:
@cwarzel, Digiday, One Man & His Blog, @cwarzel, @cwarzel, Media Matters for America, ThinkProgress, @issielapowsky, @tomtomorrow, @jamesrbuk, @mckaycoppins, @davidfolkenflik, @jason_kint, @deborahblum, @lisatozzi, @terri_rupar, @amandamarcotte, @jason_kint, @monscience, @jeffjarvis, @dpfunke and @oliverdarcy
Mike Farrell / Multichannel News:
On earnings call, outgoing Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam says the company will not be spinning out Oath or making any content acquisitions — FiOs Loses 37K Video Customers in Q2 — Verizon Communications shed about 37,000 Fios video customers in the second quarter, more than double the 15,000 …
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AdExchanger
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Janko Roettgers / Variety:
BitTorrent confirms it has been acquired by blockchain startup Tron; filings suggest about $126M in cash was paid for the company — File sharing veteran BitTorrent has finally confirmed that it has a new owner: “We are excited to announce that Tron has officially closed its acquisition of BitTorrent …
Discussion:
The Official BitTorrent Blog, @bittorrent, The Next Web and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Lacey Rose / Hollywood Reporter:
Bill Simmons inks new deal with HBO, will continue to create sports-themed content from TV to films for the cable network — On the heels of his ‘Andre the Giant’ doc, Simmons is staying put with a pact focused on sports programming. — HBO will remain in the Bill Simmons business.
Discussion:
New York Post, Variety, Awful Announcing, Fortune and @sportsrapport
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Washington AG says Facebook signed legal agreement to change ad platform so third parties can't discriminate based on ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation — The agreement with Washington state forces Facebook to make nationwide changes — Facebook has signed a new …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Washington State, Engadget, Bloomberg and The Seattle Times, more at Techmeme »
Colin Lecher / The Verge:
Q&A with Sen. Ron Wyden, who co-wrote Section 230 of Communications Decency Act, on privacy, content moderation, First Amendment, and tech giants like Facebook — There may not be a lawmaker in Congress who has done more to shape the internet than Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR).
Discussion:
@jason_kint, @reckless, @brianforde, @fraying, @russellbrandom and @omarsultan
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Netflix is handling international distribution for the upcoming drama adaptation of the LA Times podcast Dirty John — Netflix has boarded two upcoming drama series, TNT's futuristic action thriller Snowpiercer, starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs, and Bravo's anthology Dirty John, headlined by Connie Britton and Eric Bana.
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The Playlist
John Hopewell / Variety:
Netflix is launching its first European production hub in Madrid, in bid to boost its “growing” library of Spanish-language content — New facility to target Spanish-language production — Netflix is launching its first European production hub in Madrid …
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Fast Company
Shan Li / Wall Street Journal:
Tencent signs a content licensing deal to translate and provide WebMD's healthcare content for Chinese audiences via WeChat and its QQ messaging app — Tencent will translate and adapt the content for Chinese audiences, as well as focus on diseases that are more prevalent in China
The Daily Beast:
Sources: Fox News employees have been attempting to plant negative stories about Kimberly Guilfoyle, accusing her of workplace misconduct and abuse — In the past few days, staffers at Fox News have waged a covert war and hostile whisper campaign against one of their most prominent former colleagues.
Discussion:
@johnny_joey, @thedailybeast, @johncardillo, @swin24 and The Daily Caller