Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
Source: JPMorgan Chase is acquiring The Infatuation, a restaurant discovery service that bought Zagat from Google in 2018 — Deal is the bank's latest effort to cater to big spenders who like to travel and dine out — America's biggest bank is buying the company behind the Zagat brand.
Discussion:
@kh, @chrismessina, @jnsilva_, @mediaevan, @iateitmyway, @tanyadua, @schmooey, @sujayjaswa, @caleweissman, @tomgara, @bmorrissey, @rafat, @houseofstang, @swodinsky, @swodinsky, @musa, @swodinsky, @hreins, @mignano, @ariannahuff, @rafat, @silviakillings and @zachhonig, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon launches the Fire TV Omni Series, its first smart TVs, starting at $410 and shipping in October — Amazon is officially in the TV set business. — After years of selling Fire TV devices that plug into third-party HDTVs and teaming with TV makers for Fire TV-based products …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, CNBC, Adweek, About Amazon, Ars Technica, Gizmodo, @lanceulanoff, ZDNet, The Streamable, FierceVideo, Cord Cutters News, TV Technology, The Desk and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Luke Winkie / On Posting:
Decaying publications like Spin, Newsweek, and Deadspin are denied dignified deaths by investors, who sometimes even try to harvest NFTs from the remains — It should be impossible to read Spin in 2021. The URL should either redirect to an elegiac 404, or a tasteful archive of the magazine's glory years.
Discussion:
@matt_kiser, @tcarmody, @michellemanafy, @bmorrissey, @niemanlab, @kenwheaton and @luke_winkie
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: BuzzFeed's revenue rose by 50%+ in Q2 2021, and its planned acquisition of Complex Networks plus its planned merger with a SPAC remain on track for Q4 — Advertising revenue rose compared to the pandemic-hit quarter a year ago. — BuzzFeed says that its revenue rose by more than 50 percent …
Discussion:
Variety, Wall Street Journal, Deadline, @buzzfeedpr and Business Wire
A.J. Katz / TVNewser:
CNBC signs a new deal with Jim Cramer, which includes daily written and video content and a new subscription product, CNBC Investor Club with Jim Cramer — CNBC announced Jim Cramer has signed a new multi-platform deal with the network. In addition to his on-air duties for Mad Money …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News, Variety, The Wrap, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Ozy Media names investor and board member Marc Lasry as chairman; Lasry intends to grow its investor base and pursue acquisitions — Marc Lasry, the billionaire businessman and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, has been named chairman of OZY Media, the digital-first media and entertainment company founded in 2013 by CEO Carlos Watson.
Discussion:
@tomgara and @sarafischer
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
ESPN has hired Marcel “Celly” Chappell and acquired the social media accounts tied to his company, BallerVisions, which is known for high-school sports content — ESPN viewers regularly tune in to hear about the exploits of national teams like Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Lakers and St. Louis Cardinals.
Discussion:
@editoredge
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
Institute for Nonprofit News launches a consortium of more than 50 newsrooms to cover issues in rural America, starting in 2022 and lasting at least two years — The Institute for Nonprofit News regularly surveys its member newsrooms about their needs. What their members say they need most?
Discussion:
@sarahscire, @bridgetthoreson, @emilyroseman1, @ruraled, @adriana_lacy and @attorneynora
Jake Kanter / The Times:
Sources: BBC is expected to confirm ex-HuffPost UK editor Jess Brammar to the top news role overseeing BBC's domestic and international channels — The BBC is expected to confirm the appointment of Jess Brammar, a former deputy editor of Newsnight and editor of HuffPost UK …
Discussion:
The Week, @josephstash, @jamesrbuk, @edmorrish, @pickardje, The Independent, @jfwduffield, @aljwhite and @matt_walsh
Richard J. Tofel / Second Rough Draft:
Vice touts its reader demographics and traffic figures, but seems to have lost its edgy editorial vision, making it sound like a run-of-the-mill media business — Revisiting what David Carr saw, and why it may have been lost. — Welcome to Second Rough Draft, a newsletter about journalism in our time …
Discussion:
@dskok and @blackamazon
Joshua Yaffa / New Yorker:
Russian journalists labeled foreign agents by the state discuss their uncertainty about whether to leave the country, hopelessness, and the future of their work — Since April, ten media outlets and twenty journalists have been targeted by the state. — The journalists at Proekt had expected some sort of state-sanctioned attack.
Discussion:
@newyorker, @freedomofpress, @yaffaesque and @alfonslopeztena
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Marie Claire, which Hearst sold to Future Media in May, ends its US print edition, offering print subscribers Hearst's Harper's Bazaar as a replacement — Women's magazine Marie Claire is ending its US print edition after 27 years, The Post has learned. — The magazine, which was sold …