Top News:
Joyce Karam / The National:
DOJ charges 4 Iranian intelligence officials with conspiracy to kidnap a US journalist, citizen, and activist of Iranian origin and forcibly take her to Tehran — Accused men monitored and planned to kidnap US citizen of Iranian origin and take her to Iran, officials say
Discussion:
New York Times, U.S. Department of Justice, @alinejadmasih, @dojnatsec, The Guardian, NPR, @zainaerhaim, Insider, @ezraacohen, @yasmohammedxx, @lunasafwan, @samanarbabi, @elliecohanim, @bariweiss, @kambizf, Politico, @dy1anonymous, The Hill, @rayhanasat, @mollyjongfast, @jason_kint, @danieldimartino, @ksadjadpour, @baldingsworld, @reptenney, @alaneyre1, @nickkristof, @smohyeddin, @julietmosesnz, @omid_m, The Daily Beast, @mehdirhasan, The Indian Express and Reuters
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
Profile of Disney's powerful chief communications officer for 19 years, Zenia B. Mucha, who will leave in 2022; she was paid $4.9M in total 2020 compensation — For almost two decades, Zenia B. Mucha has been responsible for protecting the vaunted Disney brand and has held influence far beyond her official duties.
Discussion:
@brooksbarnesnyt, Variety, Deadline, @jpanzar, @ashleylcarter1, @jasonabbruzzese, @motormouthmedia, @blowryontv, @lucas_shaw, @evargastv, @ksheekey, @adamnagourney, @cityofthetown, @amy_disneypr, @sammy_roth, @kairyssdal, @natjarv, @richarddeitsch, @brentalang, @davidclinchnews, @russpitts, @eva_palmer, @dylanbyers, @shelbygrad, @mattdpearce, @billzanetti, Los Angeles Times and The Wrap
Washington Post:
Court documents show the Trump DOJ sought WaPo reporters' records in the last days of Barr's tenure, seeking to find sources of three stories in 2017 on Russia — Newly unsealed court documents show the Trump Justice Department sought a court order for the communications records …
Discussion:
New York Times, @kimzetter, @kenvogel, @matthewamiller and @katie_rcfp
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Emmy nominations: HBO and HBO Max gets 130, followed by 129 for Netflix and 71 for Disney+; NBC is the fourth most-nominated with only 46 nods — Netflix and the expanded world of HBO and HBO Max made it a duel this year in race to gather the most Primetime Emmy nominations overall.
Discussion:
/Film, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Wrap, The Streamable, Variety, The Wrap, Variety, Variety, Variety, @variety, Los Angeles Times, @charlierivkin, @kerrywashington, @debramessing, @bluestein, MediaPost, /Film, IndieWire, Observer, The Week, New York Post and Adweek
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Facebook employees detail a clash over CrowdTangle, a tool that showed high engagement with right-wing media, which was moved under the Integrity team in April — Executives at the social network have clashed over CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data tool that revealed users' high engagement levels with right-wing media sources.
Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Sources: in an employee meeting, Atlantic CEO said the magazine lost $20M+ in 2020, was on track to lose $10M this year, and would turn a small profit in 2023 — Nicholas Thompson, the chief executive of The Atlantic, gave a presentation to employees last month in which he disclosed …
Kaya Yurieff / The Information:
Substack to launch Substack Grow next month, a free six-session course over Zoom to help writers build a following and earn their first $1,000 — The top 10 publishers on Substack bring in more than $20 million a year in subscriptions, underpinning the newsletter platform's revenue growth.
Discussion:
LION Publishers, @rsingel, @bboy_izilla, @kyurieff, @norareed, @amir, @hamishmckenzie and @blackamazon
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Sources: indie film and TV studio A24 recently explored a sale, floating an asking price of $2.5B-$3B; Apple was among the companies that talked with the studio — A24 recently explored a possible sale, with the indie film studio floating an asking price of between $2.5 billion to $3 billion.
Discussion:
AppleInsider, /Film, @labuzamovies, @ryansgosling, @moderngurlzz, The A.V. Club, @variety, @variety, @jessehawken, @stellinitweets, Hollywood Forever, @papapishu and 9to5Mac
Laura Miller / Slate:
Q&A with Eric Nelson, executive editor of HarperCollins' conservative imprint Broadside Books, on campaigns to cancel the contracts of some conservatives, more — In recent years, the conservative imprints at the major New York publishing houses have been put under a microscope.
The Information:
Sources: LeBron James' entertainment business, SpringHill Company, is exploring a sale at a valuation that could reach $750M, and Nike is considering an offer — NBA superstar LeBron James' entertainment firm, SpringHill Company, is exploring a possible sale at a valuation that could reach $750 million …
Discussion:
Sportico, Variety, @awallenstein, @aagave, @lucas_shaw, @sizpatel, @lionelmedia, Business Wire and The Wrap
Sebastian Payne / Financial Times:
Sources: BBC Parliament faces significant cuts, with staffing levels cut to single figures, as the corporation seeks £1B in savings by March 2022 — Rolling coverage of party conferences will end in autumn along with special daily shows — The BBC's dedicated political channel …
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
In an internal memo, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro addresses the controversy involving Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols, calling it a “complicated personnel” matter — Jimmy Pitaro also addressed a controversy involving reporters Maria Taylor and Rachel Nichols and noted that he's planning …
Discussion:
Variety and Awful Announcing