Top News:
Rebecca Traister / The Cut:
Despite diversity in presidential candidates, punditry still belongs to guys who give us mediocre analysis, grotesque speech on women, and cluelessness on race — In past weeks, the curtain has officially been raised on the vast and diverse field of candidates for the Democratic nomination …
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr, @brooklynmarie, @missykurz, @ronmwangaguhung, @ronmwangaguhung, @_waleedshahid, @juliaturner, @brizzyc, @lollardfish, @page88, @jayrosen_nyu, @bostonjerry, @jayrosen_nyu, @media_evan, @greta, @steve_katz, @k8iedid, @bostonjerry, @thecut, @nkingofdc, @jerrysaltz, @tasneemraja, @clarajeffery, @meredithblake, @sifill_ldf, @benmathislilley, @socalmom, @bostonjerry, @mattdpearce, @ericgeller and @froomkin
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
UK competition agency launches investigation into how Google and Facebook collect and use user data and if they've abused their power to dominate the ad market — Competition watchdog to investigate potential abuse of power and control of user data — The UK competition watchdog has launched …
Discussion:
GOV.UK, MediaPost, The Drum, CNET and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Dom Phillips / The Guardian:
Report: Brazilian federal police have requested a probe into the finances of The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald after he reported leaks from a corruption inquiry — Federal police reportedly asked money laundering unit to investigate the ‘financial activities’ of the US journalist
Discussion:
Freedom of the Press …, @tennyssandgren, @chris_arnade, @ggreenwald, @freedomofpress and @torproject
Kali Hays / WWD:
Sources: W staffers were first given one day to sign on to work for Future, later extended to two; all contracts stipulate a three-month “introductory period” — Goodbye Condé Nast and “Summer Fridays.” Hello a “revenue-comes-first” editorial outlook. — Saoirse Ronan on W's cover in 2019
Discussion:
@mattbruenig, Jezebel, @zielina, @mattdpearce, @itstheannmarie and @amguarnieri_
Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:
A look inside Fox Nation: a fresh misconduct claim, issues about hosts' political activities, and scrutiny of leader John Finley, who faced a 2011 HR complaint — The network said it has “resolved” a claim that host Britt McHenry leveled against co-host Tyrus. She has hired an employment lawyer.
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr, @maxwelltani, @existentialfish, @media_evan, @bluechoochoo, @jeremymbarr and Mediaite
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
A look at the measures WSJ has implemented to fight deepfakes, including forming a 21-person team for detecting them and holding training sessions for staff — To combat the growing threat of spreading misinformation ahead of the U.S. 2020 general election, The Wall Street Journal has formed …
Discussion:
@jonathanstray, @rjcc and @digiday
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Breitbart News has continued to lose advertisers and traffic, bottoming out at 4.6M unique visitors in May, down from 17.3M at the start of 2017, per Comscore — In January 2017, Breitbart.com was flying high. Donald Trump, the candidate it had backed during the 2016 campaign, was sworn in as president.
Discussion:
@daviddtss, @nigmanoname, @chuckrossdc, @kurtbardella, @thesarcasmshow, @slpng_giants and @mlcalderone
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Univision has hired Morgan Stanley and investment bank LionTree to explore strategic options, including a possible sale — The company has retained investment banks Morgan Stanley and LionTree to explore its options — Univision Communications Inc. is exploring strategic options including …
Discussion:
Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, Reuters and Los Angeles Times
Tara Lachapelle / Bloomberg:
Box Office Mojo: $5.62B of tickets have been sold in H1 2019, a 10% fall YoY; Disney drove one third of ticket sales, not including 21st Century Fox movies — Disney's streak of blockbusters hasn't yet reversed a tough year for the box office and cinema chains such as AMC Entertainment.
Discussion:
@cartoonbrew
Ciara Linnane / MarketWatch:
BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield says legacy media companies that are reclaiming content for direct-to consumer streaming services are taking the wrong approach — Direct-to-consumer streaming services miss the point that content is just a small part of the equation, says BTIG's Richard Greenfield
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
A look at the last months of satire startup Thud, meant to be become Elon Musk's “intergalactic media empire”, which received $2M from Musk before he backed out — Elon Musk never required him to make money. That made the meeting Cole Bolton had last December particularly hard …
Discussion:
Newser, @gabrielroth, @reckless, Gizmodo, @tasharobinson, @trumpery45, @jasonroeder and @ashleyrcarman
Tess Bonn / The Hill:
In a survey of 1,000 American adults, 33% said the news media was “the enemy of the people” while 67% said it was an important part of democracy — One-third of Americans say the news media is “the enemy of the people,” according to a new Hill-Harris X poll survey.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller and Mediaite