Mediagazer: How Joe and Anthony Russo turned franchise development into a science, creating universes of film, TV, and more for paid streaming services' growing appetites (Lucas Shaw/Bloomberg)

NBC says the opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics drew a combined audience of 17M across broadcast and streaming in the US, down ~36% from the 2016 Games — Tokyo's kickoff came a year late and without fans because of the Covid-19 pandemic — The kickoff of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo drew …

Discussion: Deadline, Deadline, @austinkarp, Variety, @jbflint, @peerign, Axios, @jbflint and @lil_buts

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Sources: Universal Pictures has teamed up with Peacock on a $400M deal for a new Exorcist trilogy — The deal, expected to be announced this week, is for more than $400 million and is a direct response to the streaming giants who are upending the film industry's economics.

Discussion: /Film, @lucas_shaw, ScreenRant, Collider, @lancestlaurent, @samuelaadams, Variety, The Streamable, The Wrap, The Playlist, @brooksbarnesnyt, IndieWire, Gizmodo, Rolling Stone and Bloody Disgusting!

The Daily Beast:

Futurism, the tech and culture outlet previously owned by Singularity University, is acquired by Recurrent Ventures, which bought MEL magazine last month — The buyer, Recurrent Ventures, has recently scooped up other popular niche outlets like MEL, Popular Science, Outdoor Life, and more.

Discussion: @weareyourfek, @jon_christian, @jaredbkeller, @weareyourfek, @maxwelltani and Talking Biz News

Steven Perlberg / Insider:

Leaked memo: NYT hires Bloomberg Businessweek's Peter Coy and NYT Magazine writer-at-large Jay Caspian Kang for its secret newsletter project to rival Substack — - The Times has hired Jay Caspian Kang and Peter Coy for its newsletter project, according to a leaked memo.

Discussion: Talking Biz News, @perlberg and @ebruenig, Thanks:@thekenyeung

Prospect:

Alan Rusbridger, the former EIC of the Guardian, has been appointed as the next editor of monthly current affairs magazine Prospect — The former editor-in-chief of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, has been appointed the next editor of Prospect, the monthly magazine which is a must-read …

Discussion: @prospect_clark, @arusbridger, @sarahhelm1, @montie, @womaninhavana, @daaronovitch, @benchu_ and @jamesrbuk

Lauren Harris / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A with the co-founders of Local Live(s), a live storytelling project that worked with six US newsrooms last year, on humanizing reporters through live events — The Local Live(s) project launched amid the pandemic, partnering with newsrooms to host live online events in which journalists talk about their work.

Discussion: @cjr, @cjr and @cjr

Theo Wayt / New York Post:

Now-deleted job posts for neighborhood watch app Citizen showed it offered to pay people $25/hour in NYC and LA to livestream crime scenes and other emergencies — Want to make $200 a day in New York City? Rush to the scene of a murder, a three-alarm fire or a traffic accident — then pull out your phone and start shooting.

Milly Martin / Journalism.co.uk:

Tortoise, the slow news publication started in 2019, says it now has 110,000 members, with half of new members coming from member referrals — The member-centred approach at Tortoise helped readers to feel connected and empowered against the backdrop of loneliness and gloom

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

How Joe and Anthony Russo turned franchise development into a science, creating universes of film, TV, and more for paid streaming services' growing appetites — Joe and Anthony Russo went from making movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to creating their own worlds. Amazon's Citadel will test their vision.

Discussion: @lucas_shaw and @lucas_shaw

Bradley Hope / The Guardian:

An investigative journalist describes the precautions he takes to securely report stories in a world of privatized computer and phone intrusion — When I heard my number was on a leaked data list, I wasn't surprised. Reporters have never been more vulnerable

Discussion: American Press Institute, @dangillmor, @spj_tweets and @ltabb

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

Analysis: of the 20 largest US newspapers, only 7 are now led by a white man while twelve are led by a woman, a POC, or both, and one top job is vacant — Among the 20 biggest dailies, nearly two-thirds of their newsrooms are run by a woman or a person of color (or both).

Gene Maddaus / Variety:

A Brazilian judge has granted Starz a temporary restraining order blocking the launch of Disney's streaming service under the Star+ brand in Brazil on Aug. 31 — Starz has succeeded in blocking Disney from launching a streaming service in Brazil under the name “Star Plus.”

Discussion: The Wrap, Olhar Digital and @richlightshed