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, @benmullin, Hollywood Reporter, @kevinmayer, @arlanwashere, @reesew, @tomstaggs, @sweetlikeali, Business Wire, @richlightshed, @stuloeser, @wsj, @miriamgottfried, @jyarow, @sherman4949, @benmullin, @loudmouthjulia, ScreenRant, Vanity Fair, Us Weekly, Tubefilter, Axios, Fast Company, New York Post, TechCrunch, The Streamable, Insider and The Wrap
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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 …
Discussion:
@jpmanga and @kerrymflynn
Leonard Greene / New York Daily News:
A staffer sues Fox News saying Andrew Napolitano sexually harassed him and Larry Kudlow made racist and sexist remarks; Fox has “parted ways” with Napolitano — Fox Business host Larry Kudlow repeatedly made racist and sexist remarks during staff meetings and even blocked …
Tony Maglio / The Wrap:
Discovery says it has 18M subscribers, most on Discovery+, reports Q2 net income of $672M on revenue of $3.06B, up 21% YoY; US ad revenue grew 12% YoY to $1.1B — Discovery surpassed financial expectations in the second quarter of 2021, when advertising sales and growth at Discovery+ made for a solid three-month period.
Discussion:
Variety, Variety, The Wrap and nexttv.com
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 …
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 — The White House has teamed up with TikTok stars, while some states are paying “local micro influencers” for pro-vaccine campaigns.
RELATED:
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, @rohini_sgh, @alex, @iyad_elbaghdadi, @oliviasolon, @drewharwell, @oliviasolon, @evan_greer, @evacide, @kimzetter and Beyond Search
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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
French intelligence agency confirms Pegasus spyware was found on the phones of three journalists, at TV station France 24 and investigative outlet Mediapart
Discussion:
@snowden, @adam_k_levin, @brooklynmarie, @kevincollier, @drewharwell and @davidakaye, more at Techmeme »
Miranda Sawyer / The Guardian:
Some podcasters worry about the impact of huge investment into the industry, led by Spotify and Amazon, especially on indie shows — As big spenders such as Amazon and Spotify fill our ears with more commercial, celebrity-driven fare, can grassroots, diverse shows survive?
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
A look at CTInsider.com, a Hearst freemium initiative that pools the resources of its Connecticut newspapers, targeting 50K digital subscriptions by early 2022 — Most news outlets cut back to service only metro areas during the Great Recession. That's changing in South Carolina, Arkansas and, now, Connecticut.
Discussion:
@ferrarohearstct, @poynter, @poynter, @wendy_met, @poynter and @mandyhofmockel
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 Wrap, The Streamable, ResetEra, Deadline, Business Wire and Los Angeles Times
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, @rauggmoss, @awinston, @thedailybeast, @theyoungturks, @eyesontheright, The A.V. Club, @nandoodles, @anthonylfisher, @lukeobrien, @mlcalderone, Today in Tabs, @beccalew, @thedailybeast, @thetomzone, @silvermanjacob, @blackamazon, @jasonintrator and @mobute, Thanks:@ants000
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
A look at Fuck You Pay Me, a Glassdoor-like service where creators can review brands they have worked with and share ad rates — Fed up with the imbalance between online influencers and brands, Lindsey Lee Lugrin and Isha Mehra created a platform to change that.
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, @rafat, Too Much TV Newsletter, @sarafischer and MediaPost