Top News:
Washington Post:
The dearth of TikTok videos on Hong Kong protests offers a glimpse of how China could shape the perception of real-world events by US and global audiences — Hong Kong unrest features prominently on most social media, but not on TikTok — A search for “#hongkong” on Twitter reveals …
Discussion:
@sarahfrier, @craigsilverman, @profcarroll, @jorge_guajardo, @matthewstoller, @jchengwsj, @jchengwsj, @mattdpearce, @markseibel and @parmy, more at Techmeme »
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What's New in Publishing:
A look at TopBuzz, the English version of ByteDance's Chinese AI-powered news aggregator Toutiao, that rose from 1.8M MAUs in Nov. 2017 to 23M MAUs by Oct. 2018 — The MIT Technology Review called it “the insanely popular Chinese news app that you've never heard of.”
Discussion:
@mattnavarra and @rkellett, more at Techmeme »
Stephen Battaglio / Los Angeles Times:
Netflix acquires the global rights to Seinfeld for five years, starting in 2021 when Amazon and Hulu's rights expire; Hulu was paying $150M a year for US rights — Netflix has fired back in the battle for popular network sitcoms by landing the global streaming rights to “Seinfeld.”
Discussion:
Variety, New York Times, Ars Technica, Business Insider, The Wrap, The Streamable, CNN, Vanity Fair, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, The Playlist, The Week, @megancgraham, The Verge and CNET
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Since CJR and The Nation announced Covering Climate Now in July to spur focused climate crisis coverage, over 250 news outlets have committed to the effort — New York (CNN Business)More than 250 news outlets around the world have committed to Covering Climate Now. — What is it?
CBC News:
Facebook says it is planning changes to tool allowing advertisers to rewrite news story headlines after UK's Conservative party altered a BBC headline in an ad — BBC article used in ad with a changed headline that contradicted article content — Advertisers on Facebook are able …
Discussion:
CNET, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Endeavor, Ari Emanuel's entertainment company, seeks to raise $600M+ at a valuation of ~$8B in its IPO — The entertainment company's IPO is now expected this fall. — Endeavor hopes to raise $600 million-plus in its initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities …
Discussion:
SEC.gov, Financial Times, The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, CNBC and @edmundlee
Max Willens / Digiday:
The Daily Beast says cutting the cost of Beast Inside by 65% over the past 15 months to $35/year has led to conversion rates 5x that of initial $100/year — Since The Daily Beast launched its membership program, Beast Inside, last summer, the IAC-owned news brand has managed to improve …
Allyson Chiu / Washington Post:
NYT corrects story with new Kavanaugh allegation, says full account from upcoming book notes that friends of woman involved say she does not recall the incident — When the New York Times revealed a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh this weekend …
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, Fox News, The Wrap, @alxthomp, The Nation, New York Magazine, Mediaite, @howardkurtz, @sulliview and @daviduberti
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Ken Meyer / Mediaite:
New York Times gets heavily criticized over a now-deleted tweet that described sexual assault as “harmless fun”
New York Times gets heavily criticized over a now-deleted tweet that described sexual assault as “harmless fun”
Discussion:
@dkiesow, @nytimespr, The Hill, Raw Story, @jeremymbarr, Fortune, @erickfernandez, HuffPost, @jeffjarvis, Poynter, @adamparkhomenko, @cliffschecter, @atrupar, @yashar, @schemaly, @atrupar, @brianbeutler, @3vansutton, @turtletears, @drmistercody, @realsaavedra, DNA India, Daily Mail, BizPac Review, Boing Boing, Fox News, New York Post and Raw Story
BBC:
The Guardian apologizes for publishing an editorial that originally said that ex-UK PM David Cameron had only felt “privileged pain” over the death of his son — The Guardian has apologised for saying David Cameron had only felt “privileged pain” over the death of his son.
Discussion:
The Guardian, BuzzFeed, @markdistef, @markdistef, @markdistef, HuffPost UK, The Times & The Sunday Times, The Week and Bookseller News
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Bloomberg says roughly two-thirds of its subscribers convert from site visits, 25% from its app, and around 8% from Apple News — Bloomberg Media is on track to double its digital subscribers by the end of the year, with revenue from subscribers reaching double-digit percentage …
John Eggerton / Broadcasting & Cable:
FCC votes 3-2 to approve the $7.1B merger of Nexstar and Tribune, 214 days after it was announced, in a deal creating the largest TV station group in the US — Meld creates nation's largest broadcast group — The FCC has approved the merger of Nexstar and Tribune, essentially putting …
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, Reuters and @matthewkeyslive
James Warrington / CityAM:
UK government drops probe into Saudi investments in Evening Standard and Independent, after regulators conclude the deal didn't warrant further inquiry — The government has decided not to pursue a probe into Saudi investments in the Evening Standard and the Independent, despite concerns they could harm freedom of expression.
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Financial Times and GOV.UK