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
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
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