Mediagazer: Universal's F9 collects $70M in North America and $405M globally in its opening weekend, the biggest start for a movie since 2019's Star Wars (Rebecca Rubin/Variety)

4:00 PM ET, June 28, 2021

Top News:

A eulogy for Hong Kong's free press, as the closure of Apple Daily and arrest of journalists signals a dark new chapter — Apple Daily was a flawed symbol for media rights. But its closure marks a dark new chapter in Hong Kong. — On the morning of July 1, 2020, newsstands across Hong Kong had a conspicuously uniform appearance.

Helen Davidson / The Guardian:

Local media reports Hong Kong police arrested former senior Apple Daily journalist Fung Wai-kong at the airport as he attempted to leave for the UK — Fung Wai-kong is seventh senior figure from publication to be arrested in two weeks — Hong Kong police have arrested …

Discussion: Associated Press, NBC News, Committee to Protect …, Al Jazeera, @jessiepang0125, @jessiepang0125, @hk_watch, The Times, Bloomberg, @jessiepang0125, @jackhhazlewood, @kenroth and Axios

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Right Wing Watch, a watchdog group that monitors disinfo and violent rhetoric from far-right media outlets, says it has been permanently banned from YouTube — Right Wing Watch has been banned while the right-wing extremists they merely exposed via the platform continue to publish misinformation on YouTube.

Discussion: @rightwingwatch, The Wrap, @originalspin, @egavactip, @robertmaguire_, @clearing_fog, @ggreenwald, @jesselehrich, @goodasyou, @justinbaragona, @ryanlcooper, @ehananoki, @parkermolloy and @krystalball

@kerrymflynn:

Insider becomes the latest digital publisher to unionize its newsroom after CEO Henry Blodget emails staff that the union, representing ~300 staff, won the vote — Insider CEO Henry Blodget emailed staff today with a “welcome” to Insider union, declaring votes were counted and the union won. “We look forward to working with our team's representatives...” @InsiderUnion represents about 300 US editorial employees https://twitter.com/...

Discussion: nyguild.org, @markstenberg3, @kimrrenfro, @bethanybiron and @kerrymflynn

Financial Times:

A collective of almost 30 Danish media companies will meet on Friday for their first general assembly to discuss making Facebook and Google pay for news — Test of collective bargaining approach in seeking copyright payments from Google and Facebook — Denmark's media industry is pioneering …

Discussion: @rasmus_kleis, @marklittlenews, @ftbrussels and @charispapaev

Katelyn Fossett / Politico:

Interview with four female DC editors on the post-Trump newsroom, harassment of women journalists and reporters of color, women in leadership, and more — In one part of Washington, women are in charge like never before: Four of the largest newsrooms in D.C.—the Washington Post, Politico …

Discussion: @niemanlab, @mackenziemays, @katelynfossett, @michaelkruse, @haleaziz, @seungminkim, @zackstanton and @politico

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube gets 10-year naming rights to the upcoming 6,000-seat theater at LA's Hollywood Park Complex, in the company's first naming-rights deal — YouTube has clinched its first naming-rights deal. — The 6,000-seat performance venue at the Hollywood Park sports and entertainment complex in Inglewood …

Discussion: The Wrap, Forbes, MediaPost, 9to5Google, Los Angeles Times, Engadget, Tubefilter, Deadline and Hollywood Reporter

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:

Universal's F9 collects $70M in North America and $405M globally in its opening weekend, the biggest start for a movie since 2019's Star Wars — The only thing stronger than family? The box office debut of “F9,” the latest entry in Universal's “Fast & Furious” saga.

Discussion: Variety, /Film, Yahoo Entertainment, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, ComingSoon.net, Digital Spy, Forbes, The A.V. Club, Sky News, The Wrap, Deadline, IGN and Devdiscourse News Desk

Jackson Ryan / CNET:

Inside the intense debate among Wikipedia editors to include the coronavirus lab leak theory on COVID-19 pages, as the theory has gained more media attention — Building a better encyclopedia requires consensus and neutrality, but behind the scenes, editors wrangle with the pandemic's most contentious question.

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @evelyndouek, @jeskillings, @dctrjack, @dvanboom and Wake TF Up Weekly Newsletter

Mark Kleinman / Sky News:

Source: Manchester-based LadBible, a youth-focused digital outlet, is exploring a possible partial sale or London flotation, valuing the company at £350M-£400M — The Manchester-based youth content group is working with Zeus Capital on a review of strategic options, Sky News learns.

Discussion: @cg_williams, @markkleinmansky and Bloomberg

Josef Adalian / Vulture:

Analysis of seven major streaming services shows Netflix remains the leader but newer services like HBO Max and Disney+ have momentum with original programming — Netflix's streaming supremacy is being challenged as never before. The digital TV universe has dramatically expanded …

Discussion: @ohmgee, @vulture and @nymag

Bloomberg Law:

Sources: US DOJ's antitrust investigators have increased scrutiny of Google's digital ad market practices in recent months, moving ahead with a Trump-era probe — Antitrust investigators at the U.S. Justice Department have stepped up scrutiny of Google's digital ad market practices in recent months …

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More News:

Nicole Lee / Engadget:
Sen. Ron Wyden proposes the Protect Reporters from Excessive State Suppression (PRESS) Act, to safeguard journalists' data from the government

Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBC News says it will make its Today news program available as a podcast, after making a live audio broadcast of Today available on a SiriusXM channel

Discussion: @mikelizun and @bristei

Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
YouTube TV gets a 4K Plus add-on package with downloads and unlimited streams for $20 more per month, and adds 5.1 Dolby surround sound for all subs for free

Discussion: TechCrunch, Variety, AppleInsider, MacRumors, FierceVideo, The Verge, Engadget and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »

Joshua Brustein / Bloomberg:
How rock photographer Larry Philpot uses Wikimedia Commons to legally extract settlements from his images of Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Ted Nugent, and others

Discussion: @lizzieohreally, @annemariebridy, @simonowens, @joshsternberg and @joshtpm

Reuters:
US journalist Nathan Maung, editor-in-chief of Kamayut Media, says he and others were tortured by Myanmar security forces before he was deported to the US

Discussion: @shoon_naing, CNN, @poppymcp and @tostevinm

Dave Cantor / Poynter:
Newsrooms should reassess their use of words around mental health like “crazy” or “insane”, which can result in mislabeling, stigmatization, and trivialization

Discussion: @griffithgreene, @timaree_leigh, @spj_tweets, @poynter and @poynter

Earlier Picks:

Ted Williams / Axios Charlotte:
Founder of The Charlotte Ledger, a local business newsletter that started as an experiment, says it now generates ~$12.5K/month in revenue from 2,000 paid subs

Discussion: @stockjabber, The Charlotte Ledger, @coreyhutchins, @jsonbecker, @ggreenwald, @ckrewson, Furry's Newsletter, Talking Biz News and @cristinabolling

Sid Bedingfield / Washington Post:
A look at the history of Black journalism and its longstanding activist tradition

Discussion: @jayrosen_nyu, @the_lorean, @nbcblk, @kirk_bado, @sidbedingfield, @brianstelter, @brianstelter, @nhannahjones, Columbia Journalism Review, @jayrosen_nyu, @nprjoeshapiro, @nhannahjones, @kat__stafford, Media Nation, Inside Higher Ed and Poynter

Josef Adalian / Vulture:
Interview with Conan O'Brien, who ended his 28-year run as host of a nightly talk show on June 24, on his career, his future project for HBO Max, and more

Shirin Ghaffary / Vox:
Google is showing a warning on some searches that it may not have reliable sources to show, usually on trending topics

Discussion: @searchliaison, @jonassickler, Mashable, The Keyword, The Verge, The Guardian, Beyond Search and The Fortt Knox Newsletter

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
AG Garland says he is planning an informal directive and new regulations to ban federal prosecutors from subpoenaing reporters or their phone or email records

Discussion: American Press Institute, @danielschuman, @jameeljaffer and @andy_geronimo

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
UK's largest commercial publisher Reach says it will hire an online safety editor, the first of its kind in UK, to tackle “endemic” abuse of its journalists

Discussion: @leonaoneill1, @annarileynews, @jeremyclifford9, @alisongow, @jenkean, @seyiakiwowo, @marklittlenews, @mrjohncrowley, @jonbir90, @davidbartlett1, @davidhiggerson, @kristian_walsh, @rasmus_kleis and Reach Jobs

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

Hannah Lang / Reuters:
Sources: a16z, Ripple, Kraken, and Circle are jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council, which is expected to set up a bitcoin reserve

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