Top News:
Manori Ravindran / Variety:
To cut costs, HBO will cease producing HBO Max originals in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands, and Turkey and will also remove some HBO Max content — As the media conglomerate looks to recalibrate its streaming priorities, it will no longer produce originals in the Nordics …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, Engadget, @nickandmore, Hollywood Reporter, @richlightshed, @kaludiasays and @ballmatthew
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
NPR ends its 33-year tradition of reading the US Declaration of Independence on July 4, instead discussing the meaning of the phrase “all men are created equal” — Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep typically celebrates July 4th with an annual reading of the Declaration of Independence to his loyal listeners on NPR.
Discussion:
The Wrap, New York Post, Fox News, @nprinskeep, @leilafadel, @grahambrewer, @nprinskeep, @sarahmccammon, @nprinskeep, @allisonlcarter, @smotus and NPR
Angela Fu / Poynter:
The Aspen Times suffered a staff exodus after its new owner, Ogden, quashed coverage of a defamation lawsuit by billionaire Vladislav Doronin against the outlet — Ogden's decision not to cover a billionaire's lawsuit against The Aspen Times has sent the paper — and the town — spiraling
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, @irenegentle, @spj_tweets, @jeffjarvis, @poynter and @xshularx
Elizabeth Aubrey / NME:
David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash's music returns to Spotify, after they removed it in February in solidarity with Neil Young's Joe Rogan protest — Of the news, David Crosby said: “I don't own it now and the people who do are in business to make money”
Discussion:
Complete Music Update and Variety
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
As NESN and Sinclair-owned Bally Sports launch streaming offerings, regional sports networks envision a hybrid DTC and pay TV model for the foreseeable future — NESN and Sinclair-owned Bally Sports are the first out of the gate, but as the pay TV bundle declines, RSNs are looking …
Discussion:
@mtfiii, @erik_hayden and @jeremymevansesq
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Analysis: since the UK's 2019 general election, GB News has paid £48,266 total to MPs for TV presenting gigs, behind LBC, which paid out £60,725, 98% to one MP — Sitting MPs have received almost £50,000 from presenting gigs on GB News since its launch a year ago …
Discussion:
@paullewismoney and @fascinatorfun
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
A Q&A with Votebeat EIC Chad Lorenz and co-founder and CSO Alison Go on changing from a pop-up to a permanent newsroom, measuring impact, elections, and more — “How do you produce journalism that strengthens elections? That's the question that runs through my mind every day."
Discussion:
@niemanfdn, @spj_tweets, @niemanlab, @niemanlab, @hughdellios and @sewellchan
Alexandra Topping / The Guardian:
In a reversal, the BBC says it received six complaints against DJ Tim Westwood, including one referred to the police; Westwood is accused of sexual misconduct — Corporation reviewing six complaints, raising questions over what it said in public about presenter accused of sexual misconduct
Discussion:
BBC, @bolabankz, @jimwaterson, @sophiasgaler, @janinegibson, Deadline, @bbcbreaking, @mwolferobinson, @david_challen, @janinegibson, @aljwhite, Bloomberg, @jimwaterson, @jane__bradley and Variety
Press Gazette:
DMGT relaunches Mail+, giving users access to exclusive Daily Mail print content, podcasts, and more for £10.99 per month — The publisher of the Mail brands has relaunched its paid digital edition service Mail+ after editor Ted Verity took the reins of a more unified operation.
Discussion:
@timgatt, @hayley_barlow, @eduardosuarez and @pressgazette
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
The JCPA, a US bill that would let news sites negotiate as a bloc with Google and Facebook, poorly addresses the digital ad market's domination by huge players — In response to the very real pressures that online news outlets are facing, Congress continues to believe the very flawed Journalism Competition …
Discussion:
@eff
Matthew Leimkuehler / The Tennessean:
The Copyright Royalty Board upholds a nearly 44% bump in streaming royalties for songwriters after Spotify, Amazon, Google, and Pandora appealed the ruling — Songwriters earned a stalled victory Friday in their ongoing battle for higher streaming royalty pay.
Voice of America:
Turkey's media regulator blocks access to VOA and Deutsche Welle's Turkish-language online content after the outlets declined to apply for licenses as requested — The heads of Voice of America and Germany's Deutsche Welle on Friday criticized actions by Turkey's media regulator to block access to their content.
Discussion:
@jessicajerreat, Le Monde.fr, Financial Times, Medya News, Agence France-Presse, Daily Sabah, DW.COM, Turkey Purge, Middle East Eye, Medya News, Reuters, Global Voices, Associated Press, Hürriyet Daily News, DW.COM, Committee to Protect …, Advanced Television, Politico, Broadband TV News and USAGM
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
NBCUniversal plans to shut down its Olympic Channel, launched in July 2017 devoted largely to content associated with US Olympic athletes, on September 30, 2022 — A second NBCUniversal sports cable outlet is getting ready to finish its game. — NBCUniversal has notified cable …
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, MediaPost and The Wrap
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen: Stranger Things had 7.2B viewing minutes for May 30-June 5, the highest weekly total for any streaming title since rankings began almost two years ago — The Netflix series surpasses 7 billion minutes of viewing time in the United States for the week of May 30-June 5.
Discussion:
CBR, SlashFilm, Hollywood Reporter, NME, Collider, @erikreichenb4ch, Variety, @tvgrimreaper and UPROXX