Top News:
The Information:
Sources: US subscriber growth at Disney+ has slowed sharply, with 38M total subs in North America as of early July, compared to 37M at the start of February — U.S. subscriber growth at Disney's Disney+ streaming service slowed sharply in the past few months, according to internal data reviewed …
Wall Street Journal:
Gettr has ties to Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, who is involved with GTV Media Group and other disinformation networks in the US; sources: Gettr raised $30M — Political operative says his free-speech-focused platform has secured financial support from entity close to fugitive Chinese businessman
Discussion:
Fox News, @jmichaelwaller, VICE, @davepell, Gizmodo, The Independent, Axios, @keachhagey, Raw Story, Mother Jones, Bloomberg, The Daily Beast, Vox, Yahoo Finance, Politico, Variety and The Sun, more at Techmeme »
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Politico:
Former Trump spokesman Jason Miller leads GETTR, a Twitter-like service that bills itself as a “non-bias social network”, in the newest pro-MAGA tech venture
Former Trump spokesman Jason Miller leads GETTR, a Twitter-like service that bills itself as a “non-bias social network”, in the newest pro-MAGA tech venture
Discussion:
Slate, @lorenzofb, Garbage Day, @petridishes, The Sun, @alexstamos, @fenrir_71, @sarafischer, @daveweigel, Fast Company, @brandyzadrozny, @karaswisher, @thismyshow, @dandrezner, @missanabeem, @jason_kint, @skoczela, The Daily Beast, Techdirt, Mediaite, Jezebel, Gizmodo, Hollywood Reporter, Insider, The Wrap and Boing Boing
Emily VanDerWerff / Vox:
How Isabel Fall published, and unpublished, a sci-fi story reclaiming a transphobic meme, receiving praise and then harsh Twitter censure that upended her life — Isabel Fall's sci-fi story “I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter” drew the ire of the internet. This is what happened next.
Discussion:
@tauriqmoosa, The Border Crossing, @mskellymhayes, @thelincoln, @lastpositivist, @zoeyorkwrites, HITC, @christapeterso, @sevensixfive, @magdarine, Men Yell at Me, @taylorlorenz, @s_m_i, @nataliesurely, @mskellymhayes, @poniewozik, @erinmurphyslaw, @erinmurphyslaw, @quinnae_moon, @millbot, @dsilvermint, @jamessurowiecki, @erinmurphyslaw, @rinchupeco, @davidgross_man, @mechapoetic, @mechapoetic, @mechapoetic, @jakkugerblin, @leemandelo, @pandershirts, @maidensblade, @carmenmmachado, @saratantlinger, @alexanderchee, @cnlester, @kierongillen, @bananafitz, @thelindsayellis, @emilyvdw, to here, from here and One Man & His Blog
Columbia Journalism Review:
Interviews with 60 Americans in spring 2020 found most distrusted media but watched TV news more than usual and trusted their abilities to corroborate reports — Imagine dozens of Americans of different political and socioeconomic backgrounds in a room, looking for common ground.
Discussion:
@jnelz, @cjr, @cjr, @janebsinger and Local News Lab
Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:
Sen. Warren asks CFTC to probe Google's “Project Bernanke”, a secret program that allegedly gave Google's own ad-buying system an edge by leveraging past bids — Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on a federal watchdog to investigate Google for alleged abusive behavior in advertising …
Discussion:
@senwarren and The Verge
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
How The Georgia Star News, a site launched after the 2020 election as part of pro-Trump Star News Network, pushes election misinfo, aided by talk radio shows — If you don't follow politics in Georgia closely - or even if you do - you might be forgiven for not knowing much about The Georgia Star News.
Discussion:
@carigervin, @stphnfwlr, @iowapublicradio, @domeniconpr, @stphnfwlr, @justinhendrix, National Review, @stphnfwlr, @stphnfwlr, @nprpolitics and @npr
Elizabeth Wagmeister / Variety:
Meghan McCain to depart The View at the end of the season after nearly four years — Meghan McCain is departing “The View,” after nearly four years on the ABC daytime show, Variety has confirmed. — As the panel's resident conservative talking head, McCain regularly sparred with her co-hosts …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Poynter, People.com, @justinbaragona, @justinbaragona, Decider, ABC News, @cmclymer, @ryangrim, Page Six, @goldengateblond, Page Six, @mariashriver, @politicalelle, @michaeldickson, @theview, @deggans, @billyeichner, The Daily Beast, @fredtjoseph, @williamader, @cliffschecter, @briebriejoy, @lesliestreeter, @aisleseat, @oliverdarcy, @chasemit, @filmfatale_nyc, @coreyptownsend, @angryblacklady, @discourse_blog, Page Six, CNN, The Sun, theweek.com, Jezebel, New York Times, UPI, Decider, TVNewser, The Hill, The Wrap, TVLine, Insider, The A.V. Club, Page Six, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, Mediaite, Daily Mail, New York Daily News, The Wrap, PARADE Magazine, Vanity Fair, TVLine, The Independent, People.com, Decider, The Sun and Fox News
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
The Village Voice has hired former CEO of Hampton's lifestyle publication Dan's Papers, Steven McKenna, as CRO, with plans to launch a print edition next year — The Village Voice, which has been hard to find on newsstands since 2017, has hired the former CEO of Dan's Papers with bold plans …
Discussion:
Digital Journal
Helena Horton / The Guardian:
After a backlash, BBC removes an educational page from BBC Bitesize, its website for schoolchildren, that claimed there are “benefits” of climate change — Study website made claims including warmer temperatures ‘could lead to healthier outdoor lifestyles’
Discussion:
Gizmodo and @robintransition
Esther Kezia Thorpe / Media Voices Podcast:
Defector, the employee-owned site launched nine months ago by former Deadspin staffers, now has 39K paying subscribers; ~95% of revenue comes from subscriptions — “Stick to sports”. An edict that caused a mass editorial exit from G/O Media-owned Deadspin toward the end of 2019.
Discussion:
@film_girl and bookforum.com, Thanks:@estherkeziat
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Justices Gorsuch and Thomas call for review of 1964 NYT v. Sullivan ruling that made it harder for public figures to claim libel, citing modern media landscape — Justice Neil M. Gorsuch added his voice to that of Justice Clarence Thomas in questioning the longstanding standard for public officials set in New York Times v. Sullivan.
Discussion:
Reuters, @oliverdarcy, @ajitpai, @ajitpai, Fox News, Supreme Court of the United States, CNN, Reason and Reason
Jonathan Zittrain / The Atlantic:
A look at link rot, and projects like Perma, which are trying to give authors of enduring documents like scholarly papers a way to preserve links permanently — Sixty years ago the futurist Arthur C. Clarke observed that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Discussion:
@margarita, Um sobre Zero, @noethematt, @petersuber, @margarita, @internetarchive, @nxthompson, @margarita, @mmejen, @valaafshar, @heghoulian, @thesiskar, @samvilkins, @grimmelm, @drewsthatdude, @lljohnston, @exploreheroic, @anjacks0n, @prof_gabriele, @againstgop, @film_girl, @zittrain, @adriennelaf, @paulg, Latest Newsletters, Memex 1.1 and Financial Times