Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / Wall Street Journal:
NYT to acquire Serial Productions, maker of the podcast Serial; NYT also enters marketing and ad sales partnership with Serial sister company This American Life — The deal aims to further the newspaper's podcasting ambitions — The New York Times NYT -1.75% has reached an agreement …
Discussion:
CNN, Nieman Lab, Hot Pod News, Business Wire, @benmullin, @gerryfsmith, @alexlaughs, @benmullin, @andrumarino, @benmullin, @arlusk and Axios
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Fox says it's sold 90% of its ad inventory in its share of MLB games for the 2020 season, the latest sign that sports will lead TV through the financial crisis — Baseball advertising appears to have pivoted from a months-long slump to hitting above average.
Discussion:
CNN, CNBC, Sports Business Daily, Adweek and AppleInsider
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
New York Times names Meredith Kopit Levien as its next president and CEO starting September 8, succeeding Mark Thompson — She will succeed Mark Thompson, the executive who oversaw a transformation from print to digital, in September. — The New York Times Company on Wednesday named Meredith Kopit Levien …
Discussion:
@nytimes, Financial Times, @nickwingfield, @cliffordlevy, CNN, The Information, Variety, The Wrap, Business Wire, @kerrymflynn, @ejacqui, @loupas, @jeffjarvis, Talking Biz News, @lpolgreen, @kerrymflynn, @karaswisher, @gerryfsmith, @megancgraham, @jimwaterson, @sarafischer, @ericliptonnyt, @ylichterman, @adriana_lacy, @om, @tomgara, WWD, MediaPost, AdExchanger, Wall Street Journal, Adweek, Bloomberg and Axios
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review:
Media focus on Trump's “sober” or “somber” tone in Tuesday's briefing reflects a superficial obsession with style or wishful thinking about his leadership — What is it that people say about the definition of insanity? On Monday, President Trump said he would bring …
Discussion:
@thedailyshow, Press Watch, @jamesfallows, @jon_allsop, @jayrosen_nyu, @cjr, @heerjeet, @jamesfallows, @deborahblum, @jayrosen_nyu, @joshfoxfilm, @heerjeet, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @pwnallthethings, @eugene_robinson, @brianbeutler, @thedailyshow, USA Today, CNN, The Daily Beast, The Wrap, Fox News and New York Post
New York Times:
Current and former Hearst staffers speak out about a toxic environment, racial discrimination at Cosmo, and sexually offensive remarks by president Troy Young — At Cosmopolitan staff meetings, workers complain of discrimination and tokenism. Former employees say Hearst Magazines president Troy Young made sexually offensive remarks.
Discussion:
New York Post, @jaycatch, @delia_cai, @ivadixit, @emilybell, @megreenwell, @abbygardner, @jakeswearingen, @thompsonplaid, @adriennelaw, @jessicavalenti, @drrramina, @michelleruiz, @media_evan, @caroleradziwill, @laurenarankin, @jeffjarvis, @katie_robertson, @kristinamonllos, @annamerlan, @juliamanhattan, @maxapotter, @prachigu, @grynbaum, @rysimmons, @megancarpentier, @onesarahjones, @silviakillings, @gabrieljr and The Wrap
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: DOJ won't oppose Taboola's deal to buy Outbrain, which would give Outbrain shareholders $250M and 30% of new company's stock; deal faces UK hurdles — Department concludes combination of rival internet companies isn't likely to suppress competition
Discussion:
Adweek, The Verge, @katzish, @sophiekleeman, @wsjmarkets, @fmanjoo, @derekwillis, @andrewwrites and @parismartineau
Casey Newton / The Interface:
Sources: Kevin Roose's tweets on Facebook stories with the highest engagement per CrowdTangle worry the News Feed team, which favors “reach”-focused metrics — What news should people see when they come to Facebook? — In the old days, your answer might have been “whatever they want to see,” or even “who cares?”
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Sensor Tower: NBCU's Peacock streaming service was downloaded ~1.5M times across the US App Store and Google Play in its first six days, 25% more than Quibi — NBCU's Peacock appears to be having a somewhat better launch than Quibi did, based on data from app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Discussion:
Input and The Streamable, more at Techmeme »
Shaun Walker / The Guardian:
Over 90 journalists sign a letter protesting the firing of the EIC of Hungary's Index.hu, after the EIC was fired following his claims of political interference — Szabolcs Dull had recently publicly raised concerns about political interference at Index — The editor-in-chief …
Discussion:
In English cikkek, @shaunwalker7, @floragaramvolgy, @andraslederer, Balkan Insight, @daniel_freund and euronews
Sara Guaglione / MediaPost:
Forbes partners with Kerv Interactive to create branded and shoppable content for videos on Forbes.com to let advertisers market individual products in a video — Forbes is working with KERV Interactive, a digital ad video platform, to create branded and shoppable content on Forbes.com.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Nieman Foundation announces a new remote visiting fellowship, focused on advancing coverage of racial justice and public health issues in the US — These fellowships are open to a broad range of people. If you're wondering if you should apply, you should.
Discussion:
Foundation Posts Archive, @vidyakrishnan, @lizzieohreally, @mariaramirezny, @llerer, @paulsalopek, @niemanfdn and Talking Biz News
Jess Barnes / Cord Cutters News:
The Weather Channel's streaming service Local Now, which partners with Reuters, AP, Cheddar, and others to provide localized info, launches on Vizio smart TVs — The Weather Channel's free streaming service, Local Now, has officially launched on VIZIO SmartCast, giving viewers hyper-local content for free …
Discussion:
Multichannel News and The Streamable