Top News:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Sources: Ozy Media co-founder Samir Rao impersonated a YouTube exec on a Goldman Sachs call ahead of a $40M deal; Rao is back at Ozy after time off — The digital media company has raised eyebrows for its claims about its audience size for years. Then came the strange voice on the phone.
Discussion:
@carloswatson, @mcmoynihan, @banikarim, @caseynewton, @mattzeitlin, @matt_levine, @katie_robertson, @hamiltonnolan, @melissajourno, @jasonschreier, @pkedrosky, @hshaban, @dgisserious, @hayesbrown, Gawker, Today in Tabs, @lachlan, @bubbaprog, @sruhle, @hilella, @bendwalsh, @rafat, @felixsalmon, The Wrap, @davidmackau, @seanspicer, @annehelen, @krystalball, @caseyjohnston, @owillis, @moorehn, @sonnybunch, @brianstelter, @davidfolkenflik, @timodc, @s_m_i, @rmac18, @oliviasolon, @geedee215, @jbarro, @chsommers, @craigsilverman, @jodyavirgan, @edmundlee, @nick4iezos, @foxcahn, @cliffordlevy, @nickbilton, @lwoodhouse, @sonnybunch, @dandrezner, @maxseddon, Mediaite, @trungtphan, @nickconfessore, @banikarim, @grahamstarr, @esaagar, @vincemancini, @moorehn, @nickconfessore, @netw3rk, @joshuatopolsky, @digitalshields, @danprimack, @justinsink, @tonyromm, @davidfolkenflik, @jimwaterson, @modernistwitch, @bydanielvictor, @genepark, @banikarim, @danprimack, @genepark, @paultassi, @pkafka, New York Post, @lea, @kevinmdraper, Boing Boing and The Wrap
Todd Spangler / Variety:
TikTok says it now has 1B MAUs — TikTok says it has crossed a key milestone: The social video app claims it now counts more than 1 billion monthly active users. — TikTok is the successor to Musical.ly, the short-form video app that was acquired by Chinese internet giant ByteDance in 2017 …
Discussion:
TikTok, GeekWire, Fortune, CNBC, Engadget, @yoda, Input, Gizmodo, @liahaberman, @cyberomin, communicateonline.me, @carnage4life, The Verge, TechCrunch, Tubefilter, Bloomberg, @tanayj, @joshelman, Wall Street Journal, @kelsaywhat, Adweek, @kerrymflynn, @tiktokcomms and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
YouTube says it will cut YouTube TV's fee by $10/month and drop NBCUniversal channels if it can't reach a deal with NBCU by September 30 — Another carriage fight has burst into public view: NBCUniversal on Sunday said it was notifying customers with YouTube TV that more than 14 of its networks …
Discussion:
YouTube Official Blog, The Streamable, The Verge, 9to5Google, @lukebk, @pkafka, Hollywood Reporter, TechCrunch, @nbcphiladelphia, Pocketnow, @dsilverman, Gizmodo, Too Much TV Newsletter, @xpangler, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, Fast Company, @chrisbarnestech, Light Reading, 9to5Google, MediaPost, Cord Cutters News and Awful Announcing
Sara Guaglione / Digiday:
Axios Local plans to expand into 11 new markets by Q3 2022, for a total of 23, and says its 14 newsletters have about 400K subscribers — Axios is popping up local news-focused newsletters across the country, with ambitious plans to be in 23 markets in 2022.
Discussion:
@raju, @spguaglione, @michelemclellan, @djtweets and @ted_williams
The New York Times Company:
NYT launches The New York Times Corps, a talent pipeline program where journalists give early college students career guidance over a multi-year period — The New York Times is launching a first-of-its-kind talent pipeline program for early-college students to receive career guidance from Times journalists over a multiyear period.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @marclacey, @migold, @pr_johnson, @rar, @benedictevans, @theotypes, @theotypes, @alexlaughs, @jessicalessin, @cliffordlevy, @mickimaynard and @wudanyan
Tatiana Cirisano / Billboard:
NMPA drops its $200M copyright lawsuit against Roblox and strikes a partnership with the company to let NMPA members reach individual music licensing deals — A week after signing a long-awaited agreement with Twitch, the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) has struck a deal with Roblox …
Discussion:
Forbes, musically.com, The Verge, Engadget, @billboard, Music Business Worldwide, Variety and PC Gamer, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Spotify begins a campaign to win more advertisers, rebranding its ad business as Spotify Advertising, focusing on SMBs, and expanding its podcast marketplace — The audiostreaming company wants to appeal to new advertisers and publishers in a new campaign titled “All Ears on You”
Discussion:
@sjgoldstein, insideradio.com and TechCrunch
James Hercher / AdExchanger:
Google says it will no longer use last-click attribution as the default conversion model in Google Ads, and will default to “data-driven attribution” instead — “Because of how we've been improving and training our data-driven attribution models, we've eliminated [that] previously existing requirement,” she said.
Discussion:
The Keyword, Digiday, @adsliaison, @zachcoelius, @scottcowley, MediaPost, MarTech, @zambros_it, @jameshercher and The Drum, more at Techmeme »
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
A look at episodic story services like Amazon's Kindle Vella; Apptopia says combined IAP revenue of top 7 services grew 50% YoY to $12M/month in May and July — - Amazon's Kindle Vella spotlights the growing market for episodic stories, designed for mobile devices, unfolding as larger narratives over time.
Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Sources: MSNBC staff are worried over its direction under Rashida Jones, fearing that she's gearing up for a costly and potentially disastrous battle with CNN — MSNBC staffers are panicking over the direction of the left-leaning news network under newly minted President Rashida Jones …
Discussion:
@lebassett
Travis Bernard / TechCrunch:
TechCrunch renames its membership product to TechCrunch+ and says it plans to expand it to most major startup ecosystems in the world next quarter — Extra Crunch has a new name — We're changing the name of our membership product to TechCrunch+. We're doing so for a few reasons …
Discussion:
@dasjoshua, @yoda, @travisbernard, @alex, @michellemanafy and @ron_miller
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
UK-based live events app Dice raises $122M Series C led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, source says at a $400M valuation, with Tony Fadell and others participating — Japanese group and ex-Apple designer Tony Fadell invest in Dice as ticket sales signal recovery
Discussion:
TechCrunch, PR Newswire, Billboard and @tfadell
Output Producer, CA — 
China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — 
Senior Assignment Editor, DC — 
Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — 
Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — 
Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — 
Local Government Reporter, IA — 
Research Director, CA — 
Immigration Enforcement Reporter — 
Presque Island Reporter, ME — 
Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — 
AI Content Editor, WA — 
Legislative Reporter, TN — 
Editorial Assistant, Remote US — 
Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — 
Government & Politics Editor, WA — 
Business & GA Reporter. VT — 
Sports Reporter, WA — 
Energy Reporter, TX — 
Senior Reporter, SC — 
Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — 
Reporter, WI — 
Political Newsletter Writer, CO — 
Jackson Reporter, MS — 
Music Editor, AZ — 
Breaking News Reporter, NV — 
Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — 
Reporter II - Technology, Remote — 
Editor, Remote US — 
City Reporter, WA — 
Executive Editor, OR — 
Education & Budget Reporter, CA — 
Senior Writer/Editor, FL — 
Media Editor, Remote — 
