Top News:
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Daily Beast EIC Noah Shachtman named EIC of Rolling Stone, starting in August; Daily Beast executive editor Tracy Connor will serve as interim EIC — Noah Shachtman, an experienced online journalist with a newsy sensibility, will lead the pop music bible founded in 1967.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @marcatracy, @noahshachtman, @shaneharris, @emmacarew, @benjysarlin, @samstein, @samstein, @djrothkopf and @mlcalderone
Bloomberg:
Netflix hires ex-Facebook and EA exec Mike Verdu as VP of game development; source: Netflix plans to offer games as a new programming genre within the next year — Netflix Inc., marking its first big move beyond TV shows and films, is planning an expansion into video games and has hired …
Discussion:
The Streamable, New York Post, Reuters, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, MediaPost, Financial Times, Input, The Bamboo Splinter, NME, @tomwarren, @s_m_i, @gavinpurcell, @doomassistme, @davidwildgoose, @chrismlacy, @lucas_shaw, @thomastkalinske, @faris, @imranzomg, @benjisales, @stephentotilo, @paultassi, @ballmatthew, @chrismlacy, IGN, PC Gamer, Protocol, 9to5Mac, ScreenRant, AppleInsider, CNBC, Front Office Sports and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Charter signs a carriage deal under which it will distribute ViacomCBS's Paramount+, Pluto TV, BET+, and Noggin as well as its linear channels — ViacomCBS and Charter Communications, the No. 2 U.S. cable operator, have struck a new multi-year carriage deal that includes distribution for streaming services.
Discussion:
The Streamable, Variety and Radio & Television …
Associated Press:
Renowned Dutch crime reporter Peter R De Vries, who was shot last week in Amsterdam, has died — THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Peter R. de Vries, the renowned Dutch crime reporter shot last week in a brazen attack in Amsterdam, has died, Dutch media reported Thursday citing a statement from his family.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Committee to Protect …, @mayajrodriguez, Forbes, The Sun and The Independent
New York Times:
VC interest in companies that provide digital tools for creators is up; The Information estimates VCs have invested $2B in 50 creator-focused startups this year — The online influencer culture is starting to draw serious interest from big venture capital firms.
Discussion:
Insider, @vincechag, @taylorlorenz and Terms of Service w …
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
NYT has posted its second recent editor's note about a conflict of interest: Karen Crouse wrote a story about Michael Phelps, with whom she is writing a book — In the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics, New York Times sports reporter Karen Crouse last month wrote a story on the enduring influence …
Discussion:
New York Times, @erikwemple, @andrewmarchand, @erikwemple, Awful Announcing and bookforum.com
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
MSNBC renames its streaming channel on Peacock to The Choice and will add programming, including a show featuring debriefs with WaPo journalists — Mika Brzezinski, Nicolle Wallace and Jonathan Capehart are among the MSNBC anchors taking on new programming duties — but not on MSNBC.
Discussion:
The Streamable and TVNewser
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will pay $1B to creators by the end of 2022; creators can earn money using Instagram or Facebook tools or by hitting milestones — Facebook is setting up a program to pay $1 billion to creators through the end of 2022, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive …
Discussion:
About Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, @mosseri, Variety, The Drum, Vox, Protocol, @melissajpeltier, @nbashaw, Understanding TikTok, the mesha tribe, @emmalbriant, @dennishegstad, @msyoungprofess, @facebook, @jetscott, @mattbelloni, @jarroddicker, @coopercooperco, @gatamchun, @admaniexplains, @taylorlorenz, @kantrowitz, @kerrymflynn, @taylorlorenz, @matt_pc, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @kashhill, @taylorlorenz, @kerrymflynn, Input, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, Adweek, Ad Age, The Hollywood Reporter, CNBC, After School and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
NBCU says it closed a record-setting upfront with $500M for Peacock; sources say ad commitments were over $7B and Peacock CPMs are 50% higher than Hulu's — NBCUniversal has closed a record-setting upfront, improving over 2019 levels with an overall advertising haul described by insiders as comfortably north of $7 billion.
Discussion:
Ad Age and nexttv.com
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
India-based Inshorts, an aggregator app that summarizes news articles in 60 words, raises $60M, sources say at a $550M valuation — Indian startup Inshorts, which operates an eponymous news aggregator service, has raised $60 million in a new financing round as its two-year-old bet …
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:
Reuters, Justice News, @alinejadmasih, BBC, Committee to Protect …, CNN, @rashaalaqeedi, @joel_schectman, @abc, @alinejadmasih, @arash_tehran, @jrezaian, @mikepompeo, @negarmortazavi, @middleeasteye, @carlosvecchio, @dojnatsec, New York Times, @zainaerhaim, @lunasafwan, @alaneyre1, @samanarbabi, @julietmosesnz, @benweisernyt, @baldingsworld, @bariweiss, @nickkristof, @mehdirhasan, @danieldimartino, @ezraacohen, @mollyjongfast, @omid_m, @jason_kint, @ksadjadpour, Al Jazeera, @rayhanasat, @yasmohammedxx, @elliecohanim, @kambizf, @dy1anonymous, @reptenney, @smohyeddin, The Guardian, Politico and The Hill
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Twitter says it will retire Fleets, its stories-like service, on August 3 after low adoption — A fleeting moment for Fleets — Say goodbye to Fleets, the row of fullscreen tweets at the top of the Twitter timeline that expire after 24 hours. The ephemeral tweet format is shutting …
Discussion:
@twitter, Twitter, MediaPost, @alexeheath, Ad Age, @thean1meman, @delia_cai, @film_girl, @backlon, The Drum, @scottlincicome, @jeff_gluck, @tanayj, @baekdal, @gabrtv, @kevinakwok, @twittersupport, @caseynewton, @ow, @pkafka, @howardlindzon, @robbiebarstool, The Indian Express, @alexhern, @shortformernie, @reckless, @harrymccracken, @tomwarren, @kurtwagner8, @ow, @taylorlorenz, Mumbrella, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, The A.V. Club, Mediaite, One Man & His Blog, The Week, ScreenRant, Input, Bloomberg, The Wrap and Variety, more at Techmeme »