Top News:
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:
@lucas_shaw, Collider, ScreenRant, @lancestlaurent, /Film, @samuelaadams, Variety, The Streamable, The Wrap, The Playlist, @brooksbarnesnyt, IndieWire, Gizmodo and Rolling Stone
Wall Street Journal:
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 …
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
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
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:
@perlberg, @ebruenig, @lucas_shaw and Talking Biz News, Thanks:@thekenyeung
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
Max Fisher / New York Times:
Analysts and US officials say the disinformation-for-hire industry is booming, as influencers get approached by back-alley firms to spread falsehoods — Back-alley firms meddle in elections and promote falsehoods on behalf of clients who can claim deniability, escalating our era of unreality.
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.
Discussion:
The Verge, @mrtoodamnchris, @brainnotonyet, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, @lachlan, @hshaban, @taylorlorenz, @vermontgmg, @flexlibris, @charlesflehman, @joshuaogundu, @jubileedj, @theo_wayt, @gadyepstein, @harrysiegel, @gothbotalice, @ryanlawler, @sub8u, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Mike's List, Factual Dispatch and Insider
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:
@spj_tweets, @cjr, @cjr and @cjr
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
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:
@richlightshed, Olhar Digital and The Wrap
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