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 …
Josh Kosman / New York Post:
Sources: Sinclair, the dominant owner of regional sports networks in the US, made an offer to acquire NBCUniversal's seven regional sports networks — Sinclair Broadcasting Group, already the nation's dominant owner of regional sports networks, has made an offer to acquire NBCUniversal's …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, The Streamable and FTVLive
Devlin Barrett / Washington Post:
DOJ has begun arresting those who attacked reporters or damaged their equipment during the US Capitol riot — Nearly six months after the U.S. Capitol riot, the Justice Department has begun arresting a new category of alleged criminals — those who attacked reporters or damaged their equipment …
Discussion:
Raw Story, @ryanvizzions, @markfollman, @plalor, Axios and The Verge
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How Isabel Fall published, and unpublished, a sci-fi story reclaiming a transphobic meme, receiving praise and then harsh Twitter censure that upended her life — Isabel Fall's sci-fi story “I Sexually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:
A Faster No, @thelincoln, Brent and Michael …, @mskellymhayes, @lastpositivist, @christapeterso, @sevensixfive, @tauriqmoosa, @zoeyorkwrites, @magdarine, The Border Crossing, @taylorlorenz, HITC, @s_m_i, Men Yell at Me, @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
Austen Goslin / Polygon:
Riot Games, maker of League of Legends, releases an album of lo-fi beats, letting gamers stream their sessions with music without fear of DMCA copyright strikes — Vi from League of Legends stars in an animated video about relaxing — Riot Games' latest music project is an album of chill lo-fi beats for players to relax/game to.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, SlashGear, NME, Dot Esports, Engadget, Bloomberg and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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, @justinbaragona, @justinbaragona, People.com, Decider, ABC News, @cmclymer, @goldengateblond, @ryangrim, Page Six, @mariashriver, @politicalelle, @michaeldickson, @theview, @deggans, @billyeichner, @fredtjoseph, @williamader, @cliffschecter, Page Six, @briebriejoy, @lesliestreeter, @aisleseat, @oliverdarcy, @chasemit, @filmfatale_nyc, @coreyptownsend, @angryblacklady, @discourse_blog, The Daily Beast, Page Six, Daily Mail, 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, New York Daily News, The Wrap, PARADE Magazine, Vanity Fair, TVLine, The Independent, People.com, Decider, The Sun and Fox News
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:
@stphnfwlr, @stphnfwlr, @domeniconpr, @justinhendrix, @stphnfwlr, @iowapublicradio, @stphnfwlr, @stphnfwlr, @stphnfwlr, @nprpolitics, @npr, @carigervin and National Review
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:
@oliverdarcy, CNN, @ajitpai, @ajitpai, Supreme Court of the United States, Reason, Reason, Fox News and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
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
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