Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine has been sold to a company led by ex-Disney execs and backed by PE giant Blackstone, sources say at a ~$900M valuation — Firm led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs plans to acquire other content companies
Discussion:
Variety, ScreenRant, Hollywood Reporter, @benmullin, Business Wire, Vanity Fair, New York Post, Fast Company, Us Weekly, Axios, Tubefilter, The Wrap, @loudmouthjulia, @jyarow, @arlanwashere, @reesew, @benmullin, @miriamgottfried, The Streamable, @stuloeser, @wsj, @sherman4949, TechCrunch, @richlightshed and Insider
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Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
In an interview, Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, who just bought Hello Sunshine, say Blackstone vowed to provide them with $2B for acquisition of content suppliers — The $900 million acquisition of Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine by private equity giant Blackstone is a big step toward …
Olivia Solon / NBC News:
Female journalists and activists share how they were targeted and harassed by authoritarian regimes through hack-and-leak attacks using the Pegasus spyware — Ghada Oueiss, a Lebanese broadcast journalist at Al-Jazeera, was eating dinner at home with her husband last June when she received …
Discussion:
@oliviasolon, Beyond Search, @iyad_elbaghdadi, @oliviasolon, @drewharwell, @oliviasolon, @evan_greer, @evacide and @kimzetter, more at Techmeme »
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Kim Willsher / The Guardian:
French intelligence agency confirms Pegasus spyware was found on the phones of three journalists, at TV station France 24 and investigative outlet Mediapart — Announcement is first time an independent and official authority has corroborated Pegasus project findings
Discussion:
@adam_k_levin, @kevincollier and @drewharwell, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
While social media companies attract attention for vaccine misinformation, researchers say local media has been a powerful conduit for anti-vaccine messaging — Facebook and other social media have been under scrutiny for vaccine misinformation, but local outlets have also sometimes been active.
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Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
The White House and some states are teaming up with influencers on TikTok and Instagram to encourage vaccine uptake in young people and counter misinformation
Discussion:
Chicago Sun-Times, Breitbart, @taylorlorenz, @nickcho, @brandonrichards, @berthahidalgo and @taylorlorenz
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Twitter partners with Reuters and the AP, who will provide context and highlight links from trusted sources for Trends, Moments, Search, and more — Twitter announced today it's partnering with news organizations The Associated Press (AP) and Reuters to expand its efforts focused …
Discussion:
Twitter, Mediaite, Editor and Publisher and @larakate, more at Techmeme »
Robert Silverman / The Daily Beast:
A deep dive into Tim Pool's career, from livestreaming Occupy to jobs at Vice before spotlighting extremists and white nationalists on YouTube and his website — OFF THE DEEP END … A former darling of Occupy Wall Street, Tim Pool has racked up more than a billion views and millions …
Discussion:
@bobsaietta, @jaredlholt, @jaredlholt, Today in Tabs, @silvermanjacob, @blackamazon, @thedailybeast, @nandoodles, @anthonylfisher, @thetomzone, @beccalew, @lukeobrien, @mlcalderone, @jasonintrator and @mobute, Thanks:@ants000
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Profile of Alex Kurtzman, who has a $160M, five-and-a-half-year deal to develop the Star Trek franchise at Paramount+, a key project to boost the small service — “He's our future,” one CBS Studios executive said of Alex Kurtzman, who has a lucrative contract to expand the “Star Trek” …
Discussion:
@variety, @viacomcbs, ScreenRant, @startrek, Variety and The Wrap
Todd Spangler / Variety:
News Corp says it will pay $1.15B in cash to buy the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) from S&P Global and IHS Markit — News Corp, the news and media conglomerate headed by Rupert Murdoch, will pay $1.15 billion in cash for the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) …
Discussion:
Business Wire, Too Much TV Newsletter, MediaPost, @rafat and @sarafischer
Jon Porter / The Verge:
YouTube trials a Premium Lite tier for €6.99/month in Europe, giving viewers ad-free viewing on the web, iOS, Android, smart TVs, and game consoles — Currently being piloted in parts of Europe — Google is piloting a more affordable premium subscription tier for YouTube …
Discussion:
ResetEra, ScreenRant, MediaPost, XDA Developers, UPI, @tomwarren, @danishkh4n, Cord Cutters News, The Streamable, Tubefilter, 9to5Google and MacRumors, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
AT&T officially completes its DirecTV spinoff, of which it still owns 70%; DirecTV will focus on satellite TV and streaming, which it will brand DirecTV Stream — Satellite TV company unveils new corporate branding as it launches as a standalone video company.
Discussion:
The Streamable, ResetEra, Deadline, Business Wire and Los Angeles Times
Dave Jamieson / HuffPost:
Sources: Washingtonian Media CEO has called staffers, held meetings, and otherwise pressured employees to vote no on the upcoming NLRB election — Employees received personal calls from the magazine's CEO urging them to vote “no” and a slideshow meant to sow doubt about the NewsGuild.
Discussion:
@jayshams and @kalinanewman
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