Top News:
Orlando Sentinel:
Orlando Sentinel's editorial board says an impending takeover of Tribune by Alden Global Capital feels like “an existential moment for our newspaper's future” — The Orlando Sentinel's extensive coverage of Joel Greenberg started getting attention this week.
Om Malik / On my Om:
Unsplash, a startup that hosts freely usable images and was designed to upend behemoths like Getty Images, sells to Getty Images — Knowing of my growing distaste for the Facebookization of Instagram, Evgeny Tchebotarev, the co-founder of 500px, sent me an email about a new project from Crew, a freelancer-focused design company.
Discussion:
@unsplash, Unsplash, @ampressman, Data Operations, @olli101, @waskov6, @om, @givemefoxes, @bikehugger, @lukechesser, Digital Photography Review, Getty Images Press Room, Digital Information World, Hindustan Times, BetaKit, MUO, @readdanwrite, @davemark, @davewiner, @dangillmor and PetaPixel
Matt Grossman / Wall Street Journal:
HYBE, which manages K-pop's BTS, is buying Ithaca Holdings, the company behind artists and labels including Justin Bieber and Big Machine Label, for $1B+ — Deal would unite South Korean media company with Scooter Braun's Ithaca Holdings — The South Korean media company that manages K-pop group BTS …
David Agren / The Guardian:
An argument over press freedom erupted in Mexico after its president attacked a US human rights report that highlighted Mexico's failure to protect journalists — A growing row over press freedom has engulfed Mexico after the country's nationalist president maligned a routine US human rights report …
Discussion:
@agnescallamard, @statedept, @usmission2asean, @dawn_, @duncantucker, United States Department … and Fronteras
Tom McKay / Gizmodo:
WaPo published a piece revealing an anti-QAnon researcher's real name, when it learned he was writing for them under a pseudonym for safety, contrary to policy — One of the hosts of the anti-conspiracy theory podcast QAnon Anonymous is no longer so anonymous.
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Study: political polarization slowed in Palm Springs, CA, in July 2019 when the local paper, The Desert Sun, covered only local issues in its opinion section — Shifting the focus of a newspaper's opinion section from national (Trump! Pelosi! distant, scary!) to local (schools! development! …
Discussion:
@niemanlab, @lenny_mendonca, @mydesert, @julie_makinen, @gintautasd, @niemanreports, @jbenton, @jbenton and @julie_makinen
Danny Konstantinovic / The Business of Business:
Gumroad's CEO on the company's first 10 years, competitors like Patreon and Substack, the rise of the creator economy, and how app store “taxes” stifle growth — When you visit Gumroad's website, one of the first things you see is a simple promise. — “Gumroad makes it possible for you to: Escape your 9-5 desk job.
Discussion:
@efeng and @thebizofbiz, more at Techmeme »
Lauren Harris / Columbia Journalism Review:
An overview of the journalism crises happening globally, with significant closures and job losses in the US, Europe, Australia, India, and elsewhere — Early in the pandemic, media closures, layoffs, furloughs and salary cuts spread across the globe, encompassing the US, Canada, Mexico …
Discussion:
@ashkan, @vwpickard, @cjr, @cjr and jamlab
Rebecca Davis / Variety:
China's National Film Administration directs every cinema in China to schedule and promote at least two screenings of propaganda films per week, starting now — Every cinema in China must schedule and actively promote at least two screenings of propaganda films per week beginning this week until …
Discussion:
@luiz_fernando_j
Julia Alexander / IGN:
Nielsen: over half the most-watched streaming programs this week came from ViacomCBS, NBCUniversal, or Disney, but were watched on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video — Netflix's biggest helper is actually Criminal Minds and iCarly. — Talk to any Netflix executive, and they'll likely boast …
Discussion:
@ign, @nina_metz, @loudmouthjulia and @loudmouthjulia
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Voice artists are experiencing a surge in demand as Netflix and other streamers offer a broad range of programming from around the world in local languages — Wendel Bezerra, a voiceover artist in Sao Paulo, attained modest fame when he became the Portuguese-language voice of SpongeBob SquarePants a couple of decades ago.
Discussion:
@business, @christopherkay, @codaunite, @business, @lucas_shaw and @lucas_shaw
Neda Ulaby / NPR:
TRG Arts' analysis of box office sales: US dropped 86.1% from March 2020 to March 2021, UK dropped 89.3%, and Canada dropped 90.3% — Economic fallout due to the pandemic has been “catastrophic” for the performing arts, according to new data from the industry consulting group TRG Arts.
Discussion:
@curtainupbeer and @npr
Senior Data Journalist, NY — 
Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Team Editor - Opinion, ON — 
Assistant Correspondent, DC — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
Lead Business Reporter, TN — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
City Correspondent, London — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
Senior Political Reporter, DC — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Editor, Remote US — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
