Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
CBS and Viacom to merge in a ~$30B all-stock deal, creating ViacomCBS Inc.; Shari Redstone will be chair and Bob Bakish will be president and CEO — Companies seek greater scale to survive in a media landscape dominated by major tech companies and bulked-up rivals.
Discussion:
New York Times, CNBC, Deadline, Talking Biz News, Ad Age, Variety, CNN, Deadline, Fast Company, Ad Age, Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Verge, CNN, Variety, Variety, Deadline, The Streamable, Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Bloomberg, @stevekovach, Associated Press, @benmullin, Fortune, ViacomCBS Inc., @benmullin, @backlon, @keithboykin, @pkafka, @jbflint, @trekfan4747, @benmullin, @matthewkeyslive, @jbflint, @umairh, @wsj, @tvmojoe, @edmundlee, @techjournalist, @benmullin, The Wrap, Awful Announcing, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The A.V. Club, Washington Post, Engadget, 9to5Mac and The Guardian
RELATED:
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Interview with Joe Ianniello, president and acting CEO of CBS, who will be named chairman-CEO of CBS after the Viacom-CBS transaction is complete — Joe Ianniello was seen as the odd man out once members of the CBS and Viacom boards got serious about merger discussions this past spring.
Discussion:
Multichannel News, The Wrap and Broadcasting & Cable
Tom Jones / Poynter:
Layoffs hit GateHouse newsrooms: five at the Oklahoman, two at the Palm Beach Post, two at the Cape Cod Times; many non-newsroom staff have also been laid off — Last week, GateHouse and Gannett announced their intent to merge and form the largest newspaper chain in the country, a consolidation designed to save money.
Discussion:
New York Post, Boston Business Journal, New York Post, @apantazi, @dankennedy_nu and @henderson_mark
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
NYT says deputy Washington editor Jonathan Weisman has been demoted and will no longer oversee the team covering Congress or be active on social media — New York (CNN Business)Jonathan Weisman, the deputy Washington editor for The New York Times (NYT), has been demoted after a pair …
Discussion:
Poynter, New York Times, @marcatracy, Vanity Fair, @_waleedshahid, @farhip, @_waleedshahid, @karenkho, @maxwelltani, @janrobinjackson, @oliverdarcy, Jezebel, @pareene, @mottel, @blackamazon, @gothamgirlblue, @thedailybeast, @drphilgoff, @andrewperezdc, @craigsilverman, @tracybeanz, The Wrap, @mlcalderone, The Hill, Politico, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner and Mediaite
Jane Lytvynenko / BuzzFeed News:
Detailed post about Epstein's death was on 4chan 38 minutes before officials announced it; NYC Fire Department investigating if a first responder is responsible — The New York City Fire Department is investigating whether a first responder posted about Jeffrey Epstein's death …
Discussion:
@profcarroll, CBS News, The Daily Dot, Breitbart, Rolling Stone, CNET, Mediaite, Gizmodo, The Hill, Business Insider, Boing Boing and New York Post
RELATED:
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
The Twitter-fed misinformation disaster following Epstein's death makes a case for slow news consumption, where readers disengage from breaking news
Discussion:
Vox, @janecat60, @b52malmet, @tefomohapi, @dabeard, @emilybell, @mathewi, The Verge, VICE, Fox News and The Daily Beast
Taylor Lorenz / The Atlantic:
Behind the rise of “twinfluencers” on social media, as content produced by twins continues to explode in popularity on YouTube and Instagram — Why so many famous YouTubers and Instagram stars are twins — You're not imagining it: Influencers really are multiplying.
Discussion:
The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Tim Peterson / Digiday:
Document shows YouTube is testing a members-only video feature, which will allow publishers to upload SVOD videos to YouTube without cannibalizing subscriptions — This article is part of the Digiday Video Briefing, which features must-reads, confessionals and key market stats.
Hollywood Reporter:
Netflix is quickly expanding its global property portfolio, which includes 30+ offices and studios, as it ramps up its global content production — From sizable investments in studio facilities to high-end office spaces in some of the world's priciest neighborhoods, the company is quickly building …
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy openly threatens to fire employees engaged in union organizing, which would violate federal labor laws — Dave “El Presidente” Portnoy, founder of media company Barstool Sports, really, really hates unions. Now he's made explicit threats to fire employees …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @aoc, @annamerlan, @xpangler, @nyslabor, @nyslabor, Breitbart, Deadspin, Rolling Stone, Business Insider and Fox News
RELATED:
Tom Ley / Deadspin:
The editorial staff of The Ringer announces it has formed a union with WGA East and seeks voluntary recognition from management
Discussion:
@howardbeck, @oneunderscore__, @ringerunion, The Wrap, @kevinmdraper, @ringerunion, @rodger, @jasonschreier, @yourmandevine, @jbenton, @latguild, @onlxn, @haleymlotek, bookforum.com and Nieman Lab
Axios:
A look at the sports streaming landscape, which is growing more competitive even though the rights to major sports are tied up in long-term linear TV contracts — The battle to become the next big sports streamer is underway, but unlike the entertainment streaming wars …
CNN:
Washington Post executive editor responds to Bernie Sanders' suggestion that Bezos influences coverage, calling it a “conspiracy theory” — (CNN)The executive editor of The Washington Post hit back at Sen. Bernie Sanders' suggestion that the paper's coverage of the presidential candidate …
Discussion:
@dwdavison, @trinitymustache, @rmc031, @b_fung, @sulliview, Reason, Fox News, The Wrap, Politico, NPR, Politico, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Poynter and Washington Post
Darren Samuelsohn / Politico:
While Mueller's inquiry has concluded, the universe of podcasts, pundits, journalists and others focused on the Russia probe has continued to expand — In mid-July, four months after Robert Mueller delivered his investigative findings to the attorney general, a podcast called “The Report” aired its very first episode.
Discussion:
@ddiamond, @politico, @lawfareblog and @benjaminwittes
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Twitter to soon let users follow interests, starting with sports, and create separate timelines for different topics; topics will be curated by Twitter using AI — A new way to explore interests on Twitter — Twitter will begin letting users follow interests, the company said today …
Discussion:
Variety, iDownloadBlog.com, @dtunkelang, @caseynewton, @living_marble, Engadget, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, CNET and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
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