Top News:
Casey Newton / Platformer:
A critique of Ev Williams' 10-year tenure at Medium and how it got caught in the middle between Substack and well-funded publishers like BuzzFeed and Vice — How Medium got stuck in the middle. PLUS: Twitter sues Musk — Few tech CEOs can claim to have steered the course of online conversation more than Ev Williams.
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Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Medium founder Ev Williams is stepping down as CEO, to be replaced by Coach.me CEO Tony Stubblebine; Williams plans to start a new holding company/research lab — Mr. Williams, the company's founder and a co-founder of Twitter and Blogger, said in a post that he planned to start a new holding company and research lab.
Discussion:
@ev, @adamsinger, Ev Williams, American Press Institute, @kurtwagner8, @lanceulanoff, @goldman, @caseynewton, @joshelman, @anildash, Newslit Daily, @dlberes, @jeffjarvis, @rafat, @iankar_, @nbashaw, @mgsiegler, @mgsiegler, @ev, @kerrymflynn, @caseynewton and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Netflix is in talks with studios to amend contracts so it can offer their content on an ad-supported tier; some say studios will seek a 15%-30% premium — Streaming giant wants to amend deals, has begun talks with studios such as Warner, Universal and Sony
Discussion:
Reuters, @smtuffy, @jbflint, Digital TV Europe, @masasoncap, Broadband TV News and ExchangeWire.com
Jon Schleuss / The NewsGuild:
The Wired union reaches a first contract agreement with Condé Nast after planning to strike on Amazon Prime Days, and will vote to ratify it in the coming weeks — The WIRED union, a unit of The NewsGuild of New York, which represents more than 55 workers at the technology magazine …
Discussion:
@nyguild, @newyorkerunion, @gaberivera, bookforum.com and nyguild.org
Parker Molloy / Dame Magazine:
Mainstream “liberal” US news outlets have embraced, employed, and laundered conservative propaganda since the 2016 elections and show no signs of letting up — “Liberal media” is a myth. Since Trump's presidency, mainstream news has embraced, employed, and laundered conservative propaganda …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Reuters debuts Reuters Insight, a subscription research business for individuals making corporate strategy decisions, starting at $2,500 per year, per vertical — Reuters is launching a new subscription research business called Reuters Insight that will be geared toward individuals making corporate strategy decisions.
Discussion:
Talking Biz News
Greg Burns / Local News Initiative:
A look at the M&A activity at regional media chains, some of which are aggressively buying in small and mid-sized markets, creating several “newspaper barons” — During the heyday of print newspapers, big-shot media moguls were practically kingmakers, using their resources …
Discussion:
The Rural Blog and @timafranklin
Financial Times:
The UK's CMA opens an investigation into whether BT, IMG Media, ITV, and Sky are fixing the rate offered to highly skilled freelancers for sports broadcasts — Competition watchdog to investigate whether companies fixed pay for freelance workers — The UK competition regulator has opened …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Broadband TV News and Bloomberg
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Cool Down, a media outlet focused on original climate change content with plans for an e-commerce marketplace in 2023, raises $5.7M led by Upfront Ventures — A group of media veterans is launching a new digital media and commerce company called The Cool Down with $5.7 million in a funding round led by Upfront Ventures.
Discussion:
@dtboyd, @annarobertson, @tylersteinhrdt, @mediaevan, @nickvanosdol, @wblau, @davefinocchio and @johnupton
Aisha Majid / Press Gazette:
Media Impact Funders: newsrooms around the world raised a record $619.5M from donors in 2020; The Ford Foundation, the top donor, has given $271M since 2009 — UK journalism has been supported by at least £77m* of philanthropic funding since 2019, Press Gazette research has found …
Discussion:
@pressgazette and @pressgazette
Axios:
In H1 2022, US cable news viewership fell 19% YoY, news app sessions for the top 12 publishers fell 16% YoY, and visits to the top five news sites fell 18% YoY — Engagement with news content has plunged during the first half of this year compared to the first half of 2021 and in some cases has fallen below pre-pandemic levels.
Discussion:
Journalism.co.uk, The Rural Blog, @kenvogel, Vanity Fair, @hoeglaw, @robbwolf, @noahcrothman, @ddayen, @noahcrothman, @johnastoehr, @ameshiacross, @brazilbrian, @mattgrossmann, @charlierybak, @alexanderrusso, @zonozi, @nprinskeep, @roadmn, @matthewstoller, @sluggahjells, @ggreenwald, Virginia Political Newsletter and The Hill
David Shepardson / Reuters:
A US appeals court struck down an FCC rule forcing broadcasters to verify sponsors' identities, imposed over concerns that foreigners buy time to air propaganda — A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday struck down a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirement that broadcasters check federal sources to verify sponsors' identities.
Discussion:
Washington Post, @annalecta, @reuterslegal and Radio & Television …