Top News:


Scarlett Johansson sues Disney for breach of contract over concurrent release of Black Widow to Disney+ and theaters; source: release could cost Johansson $50M+ — Star alleges simultaneous release of the latest Marvel movie in theaters and on Disney+ service was a breach of contract
Discussion:
@brooksbarnesnyt, Variety, ScreenRant, Mediaite, The Wrap, @labuzamovies, @gemofamara, @iwriteallday_, IndieWire, UPI, The Verge, @thecomixkid, @mariennemaid, @mgsiegler, @jonathanbarkan, Collider, CNBC, @immortaltech, @rodimusprime, @jay_roque, @812filmreviews, Axios, @richlightshed, The Illuminerdi, The Week, @loudmouthjulia, @lucas_shaw, @moviedeathblows, Gizmodo, What's On Disney Plus, @studioexec1, Decider, @eriqgardner, CNN, @arc_blog, @maxloomes, TechCrunch, Metro.co.uk, @labuzamovies, @jbflint, TV Insider, @loudmouthjulia, @richlightshed, @andruedwards, @nickusen, UPROXX, The Streamable, @browntable_ent, @rendy_jones, @loudmouthjulia, @hannaflint, @hollywood_labor, @richlightshed, @eriqgardner, Sputnik News, @richlightshed, The Playlist, @812filmreviews, @brooksbarnesnyt, @anthonycwalker, TVLine, New York Post, @jasonhirschhorn, @pkafka, @eriqgardner, @loudmouthjulia, @gracerandolph, @eriqgardner, Observer, @loudmouthjulia, @mattbelloni, @richardlnewby, @loudmouthjulia, Cord Cutters News, @clairewillett, @sepinwall, @jbflint, Rolling Stone, @variety, @labuzamovies, @leojtravis10, @eriqgardner, Insider, /Film, The A.V. Club, ComingSoon.net, Hollywood Reporter, CBS Los Angeles and Black Girl Nerds


MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell says he is pulling ads from Fox News after Fox rejected an ad for a symposium that would “prove” the 2020 election was stolen — Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, says Fox News refused to run ad promoting an event linked to claims of widespread election fraud
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Mediaite, Variety, The Wrap, The Hill, @jeremymbarr, Salon, @onefreshpillow, The Daily Beast, @nikkimcr, @jamesvgrimaldi, @joshtpm, @brianstelter, @anneapplebaum, @benjysarlin, @mattgertz and @jeremymbarr


New NPR ethics policy ends a blanket ban on journalists participating in marches or rallies, but in practice requires them to discuss specific cases with bosses — NPR rolled out a substantial update to its ethics policy earlier this month, expressly stating that journalists may participate …
Discussion:
@kellymcb, @adamserwer, @hannahcov, @emeriticus, @fispahani, @ashagony, @conor64, @anettenovak, @rebekahentralgo, @mazmhussain, @nelliebowles, @imillhiser, @lesliemac, @benshapiro, @levinejonathan, @maxabrahms, @dylanmatt, @rubensteinadam, @wesleylowery, @aaronsibarium, @wesleylowery, @laneyruckstuhl, @institute_trust, @swgoldman, @yair_rosenberg, @laurahelmuth, @abgutman, @yaf, @davidharsanyi, @jayrosen_nyu, @neontaster, @mehdirhasan, @mayachhabra, @nausheenhusain, @jannwolfe, @hafsaquraishi_, @wesleylowery, @becketadams, @rebekahentralgo, @awstar11, @chsommers, @nprpubliceditor, @jonathanchait, @sopandeb, @jbenton, @kellymcb, @mzhemingway, @wesleylowery, @sree, @thesarahkelly, @oliverashkleine, @jayrosen_nyu and Fox News


NBCU's Peacock has 54M total signups, up from 42M at the end of March, 20M monthly active users, and is planning a European expansion via Sky — Peacock has reached 54 million signups to-date, NBCUniversal's parent company Comcast revealed Thursday morning in its Q2 2021 earnings release.
Discussion:
Variety, Hollywood Reporter, @eriqgardner, MediaPost, @sharonwaxman, The Streamable, @mattdeco, @mukund, The Streamable and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:


News Corp Australia's Daily Telegraph ended a regular column from broadcaster Alan Jones, amid controversy over his COVID-19 and anti-lockdown comments — Veteran broadcaster rejects claims he ‘no longer resonates with readers’ — The Daily Telegraph has ended Alan Jones's regular column amid controversy …
Discussion:
Sydney Morning Herald, Crikey, @blakandblack, @peter_fitz, @mrkrudd, @georgehxanthis, Sky News Australia, @mfwitches, @btckr, Reclaim The Net and Mediaweek


The Bowie Blade-News, a 41-year-old weekly paper near Washington, DC, closed Thursday, 2 months after Alden Global Capital bought its parent, Tribune Publishing — Since Alden Global Capital bought the Tribune Publishing newspaper chain, newsrooms have shrunk and a Maryland weekly has shut down.


Substack buys Letter, a startup that allows people to send public notes to one another, to help Substack authors collaborate — Digiday has learned that the publishing platform has acquired Letter, a kind of public correspondence startup founded by Dayne and Clyde Rathbone.
Discussion:
@mikenayna, @mikenayna, @mikenayna, MediaPost, Substack, @abnormalreturns, @maxwillens, @hamishmckenzie, @maxwillens, Out of my mind and Flashes & Flames


Dish and WarnerMedia end a two-and-a-half-year TV carriage dispute, bringing HBO and Cinemax back to Dish TV; Dish customers can also get a discount for HBO Max — It looks like at long last, HBO and Cinemax are coming back to Dish. — A tweet from the Dish Answers account …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Verge, The Desk, FierceVideo, Cord Cutters News, Variety, Light Reading, nexttv.com, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter and Media Play News


Hulu + Live TV is rolling out the NFL Network on its $64.99/month plan starting today; NFL RedZone is available as part of a new $9.99/month sports addition — Good news for football fans just before the start of the NFL Preseason. — Hulu Live TV will roll-out NFL Network to their channel line …
Discussion:
Hulu, Awful Announcing, The Verge, nexttv.com and Cord Cutters News


NYT names Paula Szuchman to its newly created role of director of audio, which spans news and Opinion, as the outlet's audio teams near 100 people — Paula, a compassionate manager and creative and exacting editor who makes every story she works on better, will become the director of Audio, a new role that spans news and Opinion.
Discussion:
@patrickhealynyt, @photo_alice, @busta_ and Talking Biz News


By giving tax credits to support local news outlets, the Local Journalism Sustainability Act avoids direct federal aid that could hurt journalistic independence — Can government help solve the local news crisis? The notion sounds absurd, even dangerous.
Discussion:
@dankennedy_nu, @will_bunch, @jmhaigh, @dankennedy_nu and @vwpickard


Public inquiry into the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia finds the state should be held responsible as it fostered a culture of impunity — This led to a situation where a need was felt to push back at the negative impact the journalist's writing had on the government …