Top News:
The Daily Beast:
Sources: NYT's Karen Crouse has been suspended and won't cover the Olympics for NYT, after she wrote a story about Michael Phelps, with whom she has a book deal — After her ethical conflict was revealed, Crouse was yanked off the paper's Olympic coverage team and taken off the swimming beat, multiple sources told The Daily Beast.
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
The Athletic is raising annual subscription prices from $52 to $72, the first raise since its 2016 launch; monthly subscription rates will stay the same — Sports-journalism upstart The Athletic, which has reportedly been considering potential mergers, is raising the cost of an annual subscription …
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @kerrymflynn and @richlightshed
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Lionsgate acquires a 20% stake in Spyglass Media and the vast majority of its ~200 feature film titles, another sign of content's increasing value — Lionsgate has acquired the vast majority of the Spyglass Media Group's feature film library of approximately 200 titles and formed …
Discussion:
The Streamable, C21Media, MediaPost, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, /Film and The Wrap
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 …
Discussion:
@daveweigel, New Yorker, @markberman, Variety, @seanmburns, Today in Tabs, Washington Post, @ottaviabourdain, @hels, @grady_booch, @bosnerdley, @actnormalorelse, @ninadschick, NPR, Immerse, @tinch, @mathewi, @bonniemcfarlane, @artimusfoul, @variety, @iwriteallday_, @dvdty, @variety, @dfriend, @blackamazon, @reckless, @hels, @harrymccracken, @dashingcripple, @poniewozik, @cd_hooks, @jennyyangtv, @apark2453, @boringstein, @craig_rangoon, @caseyjohnston, @austin_walker, @scottwamplerbmd, @furioursus, @variety, @variety, @lollardfish, @threepointone, @john__sadler, @dadvansss, @xor, @risingaction, @jsidman, @ashleylynch, @taylorjoyanyas, @doubleemmartin, @coldbrewedtool, @richardlnewby, @greg_jenner, @dancow, @briankoppelman, @fansince09, @jasondashbailey, @lucyeverleigh, @ldbahr, @guylodge, @jbenton, @daveweigel, @gregobr, @craigsilverman, @mathewi, @mathewi, @sonnybunch, @mattdpearce, @ayeshaasiddiqi, @walshfreedom, @dmschulman, @imranzomg, @somebadideas, New York Post, IGN, Insider, Input and IndieWire, more at Techmeme »
Reuters:
Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui has been killed in Afghanistan; Afghan official says he was caught in the crossfire of a clash he was covering — Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on Friday while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near …
Discussion:
CNN, @edclowes, Associated Press, @alexcrawfordsky, @anjalib_, @reuterspictures, Reuters, @jerrydunleavy, Mediaite, @oneillyatescbc, @billfoxla, @marknyt, @laurenbohn, The Guardian, The Indian Express, The Hill, Axios, @newsedjane, @reuterszengerle, BBC, Why Journalism Matters, New York Times, Politico, @saitomri, @leahmillis, @rcallimachi, Scroll.in, newslaundry.com, Committee to Protect …, Insider, The Wrap, Daily Herald, International Press Institute and The Week
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Automattic, owner of Tumblr, buys podcast app Pocket Casts from a public radio collective that includes NPR, which reportedly lost $800K on it last year — A new home for the popular podcast app — Pocket Casts has a new owner. Automattic, which runs WordPress.com and recently purchased Tumblr …
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Barb: GB News had zero viewers during some broadcasts this week, after a boycott prompted by a presenter taking the knee in solidarity with England soccer team — Channel label Guto Harri's on-air gesture in solidarity against racist abuse suffered by the England team ‘unacceptable’
Discussion:
The Hill, @jimwaterson, @latentexistence, @welshdalailama, @stayeuropean, @sarahludford, @siobhanbenita, @johncleese, @otto_english, @jolyonmaugham, @rbnmckenna86, @nearlythere19, @jimwaterson, The Drum, The Independent, @gbnews, @gbnews, Conquest of the Useless, @gbnews, Metro and Mediaite
RELATED:
Beatrice Verhoeven / The Wrap:
HFPA approves draft bylaws that forbid acceptance of promotional materials or gifts from studios, publicists, actors, and others; a final vote is in August — Members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will no longer be allowed to accept gifts or other promotional items.
Discussion:
Variety and Hollywood Reporter
T.A. Frank / New York Magazine:
Q&A with ex-NYT reporter Barry Meier on his book Spooked, about the industry of private spies and how they feed reporters scoops, including the Steele dossier — To pick the worst press failure of the past half-decade would be a daunting assignment, but the coverage of the Steele dossier would have to be high on any list.
Discussion:
@williams_paige, @c_cgottlieb, @bgrueskin, @ggreenwald, @elisestefanik, @kimfcoleman, @larryoconnor and Fox News
The Daily Beast:
Pro-Trump cable network OANN plans to launch a Spanish-language sister network later this fall — “We think they need it,” OAN founder Robert Herring said of Latino viewers he believes want a MAGA propaganda outlet geared towards them. … Pro-Trump right-wing cable outlet One America News …
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Sources: NBC News' Kasie Hunt is moving to CNN, which offered her a salary between $1M and $1.5M/year as it seeks to hire talent for its streaming programming — CNN has snatched Kasie Hunt, the Capitol Hill correspondent long viewed as a rising star at NBC News, as part of an aggressive bid …
Discussion:
New York Post, @kenwheaton, @colbyitkowitz, Mediaite, @jentaub, @variety, The Wrap and TVNewser
The Guardian:
Extinction Rebellion protestors found guilty of blocking the printing presses of major UK papers, as judge finds they caused the papers to lose an estimated £1M — Judge says demonstration was ‘peaceful’ but impacted Murdoch, Mail, Telegraph and Standard titles
Discussion:
@xrislington and The Sun