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, Axios, New York Post, Hollywood Reporter, Fast Company, TechCrunch, The Streamable, Insider, The Wrap, Business Wire, @benmullin, @stuloeser, @wsj, @miriamgottfried, @jyarow, @sherman4949, @benmullin and @loudmouthjulia
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, @drewharwell, @oliviasolon, @iyad_elbaghdadi, @evacide, @kimzetter, @evan_greer and @oliviasolon, 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
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, @silvermanjacob, @blackamazon, @jasonintrator, @thedailybeast, @anthonylfisher, @thetomzone, @mobute, @beccalew, @lukeobrien and @mlcalderone, Thanks:@ants000
Amanda Meade / The Guardian:
YouTube issues strike, suspends Sky News Australia for a week over its videos denying COVID-19 existence, promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin — Digital giant issues strike after channel posted videos denying the existence of disease and encouraging people to use discredited medication
Discussion:
Sky News Australia, @skynewsaust, @profterryhughes, @risj_oxford, @maynereport, @pandemic_times, What's New in Publishing, @picardonhealth, @ggreenwald, @stopfundinghate, @elisethoma5, @swearyanthony, @kmac, @imranajmain, @mjrowland68, @julia_zemiro, @alankohler, @paulnudeisbest, @meadea, @mrkrudd, New York Post, @earleyedition, @endemicprepared, @sophiemcneill, The Wrap, newslaundry.com, Reuters, Mediaweek, @mehreenfaruqi and @maynereport, more at Techmeme »
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:
ScreenRant, Variety, @variety, @startrek and The Wrap
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.
Discussion:
Common Dreams, Free Press, @stphnfwlr, @jkelly3rd, @daniel_kraft, @staceynycdc, @drsherrypagoto, @jeremarketer, @brettkelman and @brianstelter
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:
News Corporation and @sarafischer
Cath Clarke / The Guardian:
A new documentary follows three journalists from Khabar Lahariya, India's only all-women news outlet, as they report on rural issues through a feminist lens — India's only all-women news organisation is the subject of an award-winning documentary. The film-makers explain their inspiring courage and energy
Discussion:
@shantanub, @niemanlab, @raju, @sameerhashmi and @chriselliott57
Jon Porter / The Verge:
YouTube trials Premium Lite subscription for €6.99/month, offering ad-free viewing across all major platforms, currently available in Europe — Currently being piloted in parts of Europe — Google is piloting a more affordable premium subscription tier for YouTube …
Discussion:
The Streamable, UPI, Cord Cutters News, XDA Developers, @tomwarren, MacRumors, @danishkh4n and 9to5Google, more at Techmeme »
Nieman Lab:
Interviews with 200 news professionals in the US and EU shed light on crime reporting, as US newsrooms embrace empathy toward wrongdoers like some EU newsrooms — When suspects' names appear in crime stories, their lives may be broken and never put back together.
Discussion:
@jeffcanoy, @kimbui and @jimmacmillan
Maya Wolfe-Robinson / The Guardian:
Report: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok failed to act on 84% of posts spreading anti-Semitism reported via their own complaint systems — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and TikTok failing to act on most reported anti-Jewish posts, says study
Discussion:
The Times of Israel, @blackamazon, @madisonkittay, @ccdhate, @gerrarrdus, @ld_birdywatcher, @rlux and @dethveggie, more at Techmeme »