Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: AT&T is again exploring a DirecTV sale and is in talks with PE firms for a deal that could value it below $20B; AT&T bought DirecTV for $49B in 2015 — Telephone giant in discussions with private-equity bidders for satellite-TV business wounded by shift to streaming services
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Nielsen: ~23.8M viewers watched Trump's speech for the Republican National Convention across 13 networks, versus 24.6M who watched Biden's speech on 12 networks — New York (CNN Business)President Trump's Thursday night convention speech making the case for his reelection was lower-rated …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, @brianstelter, Los Angeles Times, Slate, New York Times, @benmullin, The Wrap, @ajkatztv, @twitterdata, @twitterdata, Wall Street Journal, Axios, @alexcsinger16, @neverdotard, @rebeccaballhaus, Associated Press, @scottjenningsky, @twitterdata, The Hill, Our Equilibrium, @grynbaum, @twitterdata, Washington Post, Forbes, MediaPost, NBC News, Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast, The Wrap and Insights - Nielsen
Dave McNary / Variety:
California sets rules for slowly opening indoor movie theaters with limited capacity based on coronavirus prevalence and positive test rates in counties — Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced strict guidelines for indoor movie theaters in California to reopen in the coming months.
Discussion:
@gavinnewsom, Deadline, @billfoxla, @robertgarcialb, @thewrap, /Film, The Wrap, Orange County Register and Deadline
RELATED:
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
As movie theaters slowly reopen across the US, studio research suggests most Americans aren't ready to return to cinemas despite new safety procedures — Big-budget films are being released for the first time since March, but the willingness of people to sit inside a closed room with strangers for several hours is still uncertain.
Discussion:
Variety
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
DMG Media says Mail Online's iOS revenue could fall by 75% due to Apple's privacy changes but some publishers see upside in ending Google and Facebook dominance — Mail Online has threatened to delete its iPhone app because of a new privacy policy from Apple that threatens to eat into its advertising revenues.
Discussion:
BuzzFeed News, Wall Street Journal, @bendreyfuss, @b_fung, @dinasrinivasan, @robenfarzad, 9to5Mac, MediaNama and @pkafka, more at Techmeme »
Tim Peterson / Digiday:
TikTok confirms publishers can apply for Creator Fund payments; sources: pubs need to have at least 10K followers and 10K views over the last 30 days — TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer may be jumping ship three months after joining the company, but some publishers are preparing to hop aboard …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn, CNBC, @xpangler, MediaNama, @neilcybart, @loudmouthjulia, @loudmouthjulia and @loudmouthjulia
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Roku, approaching ~40% of broadband household penetration in the US, now often holds an upper hand in negotiations with streamers like HBO Max and Peacock — In virtual deal talks over the past several months, Roku execs have delivered a basic message — in not so many words …
Discussion:
@ericjhonsa, @lanceulanoff, @knieriemen, @richlightshed, @scottporch and Gizmodo
Louise Matsakis / Wired:
Citizen Lab: between January and May 2020, China censored over 2,000 terms related to coronavirus on WeChat to control the narrative about China and the disease — In China, the messaging platform blocked thousands of keywords related to the virus, a new report reveals.
Discussion:
Memex 1.1
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Sources: Comcast is pitching X1 software powering its set-top boxes and Flex streaming hardware as a potential operating system to smart TV manufacturers — Comcast wants to turn the software running on its set-top boxes into an operating system for smart TVs, Protocol has learned …
Discussion:
@markgray, Gizmodo, @richlightshed, @robpegoraro, TheStreet and FierceVideo
Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
Voting rights advocates say Google declined to remove ads with “active and blatant disinformation” about voting by mail; Facebook removed similar ads last week — Google has declined to remove ads from a shadowy group echoing President Trump's misleading claim …
Discussion:
@tonyromm, @guycecil, @bylenasun, @robpegoraro, @reptomcoleman, @gunnergale, @jvagle, @patrickjmchugh, @pollerphoto and Protocol, more at Techmeme »
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
A federal judge allows Sarah Palin's defamation lawsuit against NYT and former Opinion Editor James Bennet to go forward; the suit stems from a 2017 editorial — A federal judge rejects the paper's summary judgment motion and sets a trial for February. — Sarah Palin will proceed to trial …
Chico Felitti / BuzzFeed News:
Over 20 former staffers and contractors of Globo Condé Nast in Brazil say Daniela Falcão, managing director of Edições Globo Condé Nast, created a toxic culture — “Humiliation was a constant,” one employee said. “Someone was always coming out of the bathroom with their face puffy from crying.”
Discussion:
@buzzfeednews, @stephaniemlee, @jbflint, @buzzfeednews and @carriecourogen
Output Producer, CA — 
China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — 
Senior Assignment Editor, DC — 
Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — 
Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — 
Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — 
Local Government Reporter, IA — 
Research Director, CA — 
Immigration Enforcement Reporter — 
Presque Island Reporter, ME — 
Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — 
AI Content Editor, WA — 
Legislative Reporter, TN — 
Editorial Assistant, Remote US — 
Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — 
Government & Politics Editor, WA — 
Business & GA Reporter. VT — 
Sports Reporter, WA — 
Energy Reporter, TX — 
Senior Reporter, SC — 
Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — 
Reporter, WI — 
Political Newsletter Writer, CO — 
Jackson Reporter, MS — 
Music Editor, AZ — 
Breaking News Reporter, NV — 
Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — 
Reporter II - Technology, Remote — 
Editor, Remote US — 
City Reporter, WA — 
Executive Editor, OR — 
Education & Budget Reporter, CA — 
Senior Writer/Editor, FL — 
Media Editor, Remote — 
