Mediagazer: Vizio launches WatchFree, a free, ad-supported streaming service powered by Pluto TV that offers access to over 100 channels (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

3:50 PM ET, August 2, 2018

Top News:

Now that Facebook and other platforms have become “digital arms dealers”, Mark Zuckerberg takes a crash course in free speech and propaganda, at a public cost — They have weaponized social media, and we are all paying the price. — Let me first state that I actually …

Discussion: @cynthiablee, @hotlinejosh, @kimzetter, @spacekatgal, @kimmaicutler, @hdurzy, @ferrasvinh, @mims, @dearsarah, @haniawhitfield and @dpfunke

John Haltiwanger / Business Insider:

In response to a question from CNN's Jim Acosta, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders refuses to say “the press is not the enemy of the people” — - White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to answer a question from CNN's Jim Acosta about whether …

Discussion: @acosta, TVNewser, Mediaite, The Wrap, @ashleyrparker, CNN and Washington Post

Jason Schwartz / Politico:

In July, the White House held three press briefings, totaling 56 minutes altogether, a continuation of a declining trend with five in June, and nine in May — July's three briefings, during which the press secretary took questions for a combined 56 minutes, tied a low for any month during the Trump presidency.

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders used a debunked story about the hunt for bin Laden to disparage media accuracy in Wednesday's press briefing

Discussion: Variety, CNN, Multichannel News, Mediaite, @jimlaporta and @presssec

Campbell Brown / Facebook Media:

Facebook extends its Local News Accelerator through the end of the year, launches a $3.5M Membership Accelerator program to help outlets with membership models — Today, we're excited to announce an additional $4.5 million investment in programs that support news publishers.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Adweek, Wall Street Journal and @jcstearns

Los Angeles Times:

Sources: Les Moonves told CBS board members months ago of an LAPD investigation into an alleged sexual assault; board hired an outside law firm to investigate — CBS board members learned several months ago that the Los Angeles Police Department had investigated an alleged sexual assault …

Discussion: Business Insider, Slate, CNBC, VICE News and Hollywood Reporter

Joanna Tan / CNBC:
CBS says it is hiring two law firms to investigate allegations in the media against Leslie Moonves, CBS News, and cultural issues at all levels of the company

Discussion: The Wrap, Business Insider and BuzzFeed News

Tara Bitran / Variety:
USC School of Cinematic Arts suspends Les Moonves from its board of councilors and says it will discuss further action in October

Discussion: HuffPost, Crain's New York Business, Deadline, Fortune, Ad Age, The Wrap, mailchi.mp, Variety, @dylanbyers, Hollywood Reporter, HuffPost, Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Music Group is buying Uproxx Media Group, which publishes HitFlix, Dime, and Uproxx.com; BroBible will not be part of the sale — The digital media company publishes brands like entertainment news site HitFlix, sports site Dime and Uproxx.com. — Digital publisher Uproxx Media Group …

Discussion: Variety, Wall Street Journal and Music Business Worldwide

Jon Levine / The Wrap:

The New York Times issues a statement standing by Sarah Jeong, its new editorial board hire, after criticisms arise of her old tweets blasting “white people” — The New York Times is facing backlash about its latest hire to its editorial board, Sarah Jeong, after multiple old tweets about …

Discussion: @nytimespr, New York Times, Mediaite, The Mary Sue, @lpolgreen, @benshapiro, National Review, @jamilsmith, National Review, @elilake, @davidafrench, @zackbeauchamp, @davidafrench, The Federalist and The Daily Caller

The Information:

Sources: Google is developing a news aggregation app for use in China that will comply with the country's strict censorship laws — Google is developing a news-aggregation app for use in China that will comply with the country's strict censorship laws, part of a plan to re-enter …

Discussion: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, 9to5Google, Fortune, Mashable, New York Times, MediaNama, Beyond Search, TechNode, Entrackr, @moltke, @amir, Vanity Fair, Techdirt and The Intercept, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Iles / Civil:

Civil delays token sale from August 13 to September 18 and announces daily webinars to explain the token sales process as it seeks consumers, not speculators — I'm sharing an important update today: The CVL token sale will now begin on Tuesday, September 18.

Discussion: @mattcoolidge, @vivian, @digitalnoah, @digitalnoah and @mattcoolidge

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

AMC Networks' Q2 revenue rose to $761.3M for profits of $106M, a 3% YoY growth, thanks to shrinking losses at its international operations — AMC Networks said second-quarter profit rose 3% as the owner of cable networks like AMC and IFC narrowed operating losses at its international operations.

Discussion: MediaPost

John Eggerton / Multichannel News:

FCC OKs apprenticeship program giving established broadcasters waivers on ownership rules if they mentor minority-owned stations; Jessica Rosenworcel objects — Pai calls it action, ‘finally’; Rosenworcel calls it too little for too few — The FCC has voted to approve, with one strong dissent …

Discussion: Radio & Television … and @fcc

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Vizio launches WatchFree, a free, ad-supported streaming service powered by Pluto TV that offers access to over 100 channels — Think there are too many streaming services? How about one more? Today, Vizio says it's launching its own streaming service called WatchFree that will be available …

Discussion: Variety, The Verge, SlashGear, TechRadar.com, Engadget and MediaPost

Washington Post:

Activists accuse Facebook of suppressing free speech after it removed an event listing it said was part of a disinformation effort with possible ties to Russia — SAN FRANCISCO — Left-leaning political activists accused Facebook of suppressing free speech when the social media giant removed …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Hill, The Hill, @washingtonpost, @tonyromm, @lizzadwoskin, @statedeptspox, @notmynypd, @notmynypd, @notmynypd, MediaNama and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 3:50 PM ET, August 2, 2018.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Energy & Commodities Editor, Tokyo — Bloomberg

Politics Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Consumer Brands Reporter, GA — AJC

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Product Editor, CA — CalMatters

Indigenous Affairs Editor, Sydney — Guardian US

China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — Reuters

Bangor Reporter, ME — Bangor Daily News

Commerce Editor - Health, Remote US — Yahoo

Sports Editor, MI — Detroit News

Managing Editor, Remote US — Velo

Lex Writer, London — FT

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More News:

Bloomberg:
Sources: Univision chairman Haim Saban is considering stepping down and would like Tribune CEO Peter Kern to replace him

Milan Schreuer / New York Times:
Belgian government now requires ~1K journalists living there to pay the €50 cost of the biannual background check of those covering European Council summits

Discussion: @frde2059

Nick Statt / The Verge:
Apple's plans to cut apps out of its affiliate program may shut down independent iOS news sites like TouchArcade and AppShopper

Discussion: Engadget, Kotaku, @markgurman, @toucharcade, @markgurman and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
TVEyes will ask the Supreme Court to review a case it lost against Fox News in a decision that favored copyright over fair use in sharing of TV clips

Discussion: Plagiarism Today and @eriqgardner

Earlier Picks:

Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Spotify has removed some episodes of “The Alex Jones Show” for violating policies around hate speech, but the podcast is still available on the service

Discussion: Washington Post, MediaPost, The Verge, Bloomberg, The Hill, Variety, @nymag, Mashable, Gizmodo, Fortune, Boing Boing, The Wrap, The A.V. Club, @lucas_shaw, The FADER, @fraying, Business Insider, Reuters and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:
Sources: Condé Nast plans to put Brides, Golf Digest, and W up for sale after losing $120M in 2017 due to a sharp decline in ad revenue from print

Discussion: New York Post, @robingivhan, @nytimesbusiness, Ad Age, Adweek, Fashionista, The Business of Fashion, @tomgara, @edmundlee, @nbj914 and The Wrap

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The emergence of the gun-loving QAnon conspiracy theorists at a Trump rally is dangerous; Trump should stop the anti-media rhetoric at these rallies

Discussion: Mediaite, Poynter, The Hill, NPR, The Federalist, TVNewser, HuffPost, RealClearPolitics, New York Times, The Daily Caller, @danrather, Washington Post, @ennisnyt, @michaelskolnik and @theplumlinegs

Justin Kroll / Variety:
Source: Nicole Kidman is in talks to play Gretchen Carlson in upcoming movie about disgraced ex-Fox News Chief Roger Ailes

Discussion: Hollywood Reporter, Film School Rejects, @nycsouthpaw, Deadline, The Wrap, /Film, Mashable, TVNewser, The Playlist, ScreenRant, Business Insider, IndieWire, Collider and @mrsamherbst

From Techmeme:

Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Sources: Tim Cook approved a plan to double the AI chip budget for John Giannandrea's team in 2023, but CFO Luca Maestri cut the increase to less than half that

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
OpenAI plans to retire GPT-4, launched in March 2023, from ChatGPT on April 30, to be “fully replaced” by GPT-4o; GPT-4 will remain available via OpenAI's API

Erin Woo / The Information:
Source: Google cuts hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices unit, which works on Android, Pixel, and Chrome, after offering buyouts in January 2025

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