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SEC filing: Elon Musk notified Twitter he wants to end the merger agreement, claiming it didn't provide him the info he requested; stock is down 6%+ after hours — Billionaire Elon Musk wants to end his deal to buy Twitter, according to a letter sent by a lawyer on his behalf to the company's chief legal officer Friday.
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Sources: WWE's Vince McMahon agreed to pay $12M+ over 16 years to four women formerly affiliated with WWE, over claims of sexual misconduct and infidelity — The longtime chief of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. secured nondisclosure agreements to keep secret allegations of sexual misconduct and infidelity
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WON/F4W, @carlbeijer, @wsj, @wsj, @justinbaragona, @wsj, @benfritz, The Sun, TVLine, The Week, Defector, CNBC, Mediaite, TMZ.com, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, Deadline, Insider, The Comeback, POST Wrestling, New York Post, ComingSoon.net, The Wrap and Bloomberg


Rappler says Maria Ressa has lost her appeal against a conviction for cyber libel but the outlet says she will seek further legal remedy — Peace prize winner and veteran journalist faces lengthy jail sentence — Philippines' Nobel peace prize winner, Maria Ressa, has lost her appeal …


The NFL's Roger Goodell confirms that streaming service NFL Plus will start this season and says the league will pick a Sunday Ticket streaming partner by fall — It could arrive in time for next season — The NFL is working on its own direct-to-consumer streaming service, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC in an interview.
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CNBC, @sherman4949, Variety, Awful Announcing, @sportstvratings, @tvgrimreaper, @cnbc, @mediumbuying, @xpangler, New York Post, Engadget, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac, Sports Illustrated, Deadline, ProFootballTalk and Next TV


AZ makes it illegal for people within 8 feet of law enforcement activity to record police, with exceptions for those involved; Gannett, others opposed the bill — People will no longer be allowed to take close-range recordings of Arizona police under a new bill signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday.
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Washington Post, @mattyglesias, @drewharwell, @donnaimamtx, @freedomofpress, @mizzcreme, @mrglenn, @katiephang, @azcentral, Insider, Reason, @n1n2w3, @adi_max07, @justinlawguy, @karmaonesixone, The Hill and The Guardian


Tucker Carlson dodged Ben Smith's questions with ease in an interview during Semafor's pre-launch event by deflecting, lying, and attacking the questioner — Semafor founder Ben Smith's much-ballyhooed Thursday interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson was, predictably, a total shitshow.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Micah Sifry, @emmacarew, @jamesfallows, Washington Post, @abdallah_fayyad, @annamerlan, @jamesfallows, @alexanderrusso, @mlsif, @silvermanjacob, @silvermanjacob, @arthurschwartz, @amyspitalnick, @karlbode, @anildash, @emmacarew, @jeffjarvis, @ylichterman, @vwpickard, Vanity Fair, @emilybell, @lainnafader, @luisassardo, @jeremylittau, @nberlat, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, @mlcalderone, @mickeleh, @stanhope_v, @ourobororoboruo, @hanaatameez, @semaforben, @wesleylowery, @wesleylowery, @wesleylowery, @jamesfallows, @mlsif, @mjkea, @vwpickard, @stevemullis, @jakelahut, @jeffjarvis, @jamespmanley, @wesleylowery, @mattgertz, @froomkin, The Daily Beast, Press Gazette, Gawker, Mediaite and The Hill


Streaming showrunners for Netflix, Apple TV+, and others discuss the lack of transparency around metrics and compare their experiences with linear TV — For decades, television creators had a pretty good way of finding out if their show was a hit: They could look at the Nielsen ratings …


How Israel has attacked Palestinian journalists: since 2000, IDF has killed at least 30 journalists, per RSF, and MADA documented 368 Israeli violations in 2021 — “This was not a one-time incident. Palestinian journalists have long been subjected to arrests and attacks," Haya Abushkhaidem writes
Discussion:
Al Jazeera and The Intercept


Tencent's WeChat closes Bloomberg's Daybreak financial news account, accusing it of violating Chinese regulations; other Bloomberg WeChat accounts remain up — Trams and cast-iron postboxes speak to the history of the city, while delicacies such as fishballs and egg waffles are street food essentials …
Discussion:
Talking Biz News and @niubi


Cinedigm announces Cineverse, a new AVOD service offering 15+ free ad-supported linear streaming channels and more than 46K VOD titles, launching in late August — Matchpoint Blueprint 2.0 uses AI and machine learning to enhance viewing experience — Cinedigm said it will use an enhanced version …
Discussion:
Cinedigm, TVTechnology and The Streamable


The Chernin Group raised $1.3B in its third round of funding to invest in tech and media, following a $710M raise in 2019 — Exit Content Preview — The Chernin Group has raised $1.3 billion in its third round of funding, the company said in an email.
Discussion:
@efeng and @kerrymflynn


CoComelon's managing director says it wants to expand beyond North America and Europe, cater to kids as old as eight, and venture into gaming — Exit Content Preview — Moonbug Entertainment, owner of popular children's series like “CoComelon,” plans to grow its international business …
Discussion:
@kerrymflynn


David Shipley, top editor of Bloomberg's opinion section, is named editor of The Washington Post editorial page, managing 80+ staffers starting after Labor Day — The longtime editor at Bloomberg will succeed the late Fred Hiatt as the first leader of the section hired from outside of The Post.
Discussion:
@nickkristof, @janinedigi, @ron_fournier, @washpostpr, Poynter, @nytegan, @danbarrynyt, @david_darmofal, MediaPost, @johnauthers, @byheatherlong, @washingtonpost, @natbullard, @timobrien, @joshrogin, @asymmetricinfo, Puck, @jackshafer, @charlesmurray, @helaineolen, @ghoshworld, @nick_field90, @froomkin, @froomkin, New York Times and The Hill
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