Top News:
Dave Gershgorn / The Verge:
The maker of a new documentary about Anthony Bourdain says he used AI to re-create Bourdain's voice and synthesized the audio of three quotes from the TV host — ‘We can have a documentary-ethics panel about it later’ — In a new documentary, Roadrunner, about the life and tragic death …
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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.
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Ted Johnson / Deadline:
US surgeon general issues his first advisory, reserved for urgent public health threats, seeking action from journalists and others against vaccine misinfo — As the rate of Covid-19 vaccination slows and cases rise again, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called on tech platforms …
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NPR, CNN, CNN, Insider, HHS.gov, Free Press, Reason, @christineromans, @cnn, Reuters, Mediaite, The Western Journal, Al Jazeera, @peterhotez, @peterhotez, New York Post, Forbes, CNBC, @ideagov, @peterhotez, @mediawise, @weese_scott, @bruceaheyman, @masclab, @datadrivenmd and Surgeon General of the United States, more at Techmeme »
Sam Levin / The Guardian:
Citizen Lab says government hackers using spyware from an Israeli company created sites impersonating news outlets, with names including Euro News and CNN 24-7 — Researchers say web domains masquerading as activist, health and media groups are used by governments to hack targets
Discussion:
Washington Post, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, Financial Times, CNBC, @ericgarland, @skirchy and @amaramarasingam, more at Techmeme »
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 …
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Brian Steinberg / Variety:
ESPN has long fed content to other parts of Disney's empire, but as Disney made more rights deals and streaming's impact has grown, more sharing is on the way — An increasing amount of what ESPN does isn't going to be seen on good ol' ESPN. — “Sunday Night Baseball” …
Discussion:
@bhofheimer_espn, Too Much TV Newsletter, @tsoh_investing, @espnpr, @espnpr, @richlightshed and @richarddeitsch
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Genvid raises $113M to build out interactive live gaming events, hires Cindy Holland, ex-Netflix VP for original content, to advise on strategy and acquisitions — Genvid wants to bootstrap a new category of large-scale interactive games that unfold in real-time — based on well-known movie, comic book or gaming franchises.
Discussion:
Fast Company, YouTube, @ballmatthew, Protocol and @lux_capital, more at Techmeme »
Kim Masters / Hollywood Reporter:
Sources: Netflix fired three senior film marketing executives who worked for VP Jonathan Helfgot after they were found secretly grumbling about bosses on Slack — Three senior staffers were let go after the streamer discovered they were secretly griping about management, including chief marketing officer Bozoma Saint John.
Sharon Pruitt-Young / NPR:
Jury rejects a mental illness plea from the Capital Gazette shooter, who killed 5 employees; he will be sentenced to prison, not a psychiatric hospital — The gunman who admitted to a shooting attack on the newsroom of Maryland's Capital Gazette three years ago has been found criminally responsible for the massacre of five people.
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.
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Mark Savage / BBC:
UK parliament's DCMS committee calls for 50/50 music streaming royalties split between labels and artists, instead of the 16% artists receive now — The music industry is weighted against artists, with even successful pop stars seeing “pitiful returns” from streaming, a committee of MPs has said.
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide, AppleInsider and The Cadence