Top News:
Joe Otterson / Variety:
WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon says he is retiring, amid allegations that he paid four women $12M+ to keep quiet about his alleged affairs and misconduct — Vince McMahon is retiring from WWE. — “As I approach 77 years old, I feel it's time for me to retire as Chairman and CEO of WWE …
Discussion:
@vincemcmahon, @brandolightshed, @realmickfoley, The Comeback, @bakingjason, @dontonyd, CNET, @alasdairstuart, Collider, @bluemeaniebwo, The Week, @bellatwins, @the_ironsheik, @yashar, @moorehn, @jclayfield, @variety, @themattcardona, @wwe_mandyrose, @sherman4949, @realpaigewwe, SlashFilm, Mediaite, Next TV, RADAR, IndieWire and Fightful
Sonia Rao / Washington Post:
Nielsen: nearly 17.7M people watched the second primetime hearing of the January 6 investigation across 10 networks; MSNBC led with an average of 4.7M viewers — Listen — Gift Article — Nearly 17.7 million television viewers tuned in Thursday to the second prime-time hearing …
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James Poniewozik / New York Times:
A critic's review of the January 6 hearings, which used teaser video clips, previews, recaps, and diagrams to turn a congressional inquest into compelling TV — Investigating a threat to democracy was always going to be important. But this time, it also managed to be buzzworthy.
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Twitter reports Q2 revenue down 1% YoY to $1.18B, vs. 1.32B est., a $270M net loss, down from $66M in net income a year ago, and 237.8M mDAUs, up 16.6% YoY — - Twitter reported earnings for the second quarter on Friday that missed analyst estimates on earnings, revenue and user growth.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, @tunguz, @lanceulanoff, @twitterir, Stock Quest, Fortune, Dana Blankenhorn, Al Jazeera, Billboard, Quartz, Forbes, CNET, Axios and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
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Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Twitter says Q2 ad revenue grew 2% YoY to $1.08B and blames its revenue slide on uncertainty around Elon Musk's “pending acquisition” and ad industry problems — Musk is creating ‘uncertainty’ for advertisers — Twitter would have earned more money over the past few months if Elon Musk hadn't been in the picture.
Discussion:
Variety, @jeffjarvis, New York Post, iPhone in Canada Blog, Adweek, MediaPost, Fortune, TechCrunch and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Parker Molloy / The Present Age:
The New Yorker's Isaac Chotiner provides the blueprint for covering claims of “cancel culture” by inserting in-line fact checks in his Q&A with Alan Dershowitz — If such coverage must exist, it's time to go beyond the single-source story newspapers seem to have adopted …
Discussion:
@ichotiner, New Yorker, @schwarz, @jamessurowiecki, @sevaut, @blackamazon, @stevenacook, @brosandprose, @nelson, @misfittorah, @margoandhow, @ronhogan, The Atlantic, @parkermolloy and bookforum.com
Erin Taylor / Observer:
MEL Magazine lays off all its staff again; MEL closed in March 2021 after Dollar Shave Club pulled support, and Recurrent Ventures relaunched it in August 2021 — Mel Magazine lays off its entire staff, bringing into question the future of the publication yet again. — MEL Magazine is folding, again.
Discussion:
Adweek, @joshua_eaton, @lindsaygoldwert, @ethangach, @jenn_ruth, @kalanigordon, @mekosoff, @dangerbrooks, @rob_sheridan, @adamkeiper, @film_girl, @imgarysuarez, @markstenberg3, @videodrew, @saba_h, @rachelmillman, @griner, @girly_juice, @jppullen, @erinisaway, @iamandyholt, The Wrap and Scope Creep 🎯, more at Techmeme »
Richard Waters / Financial Times:
Meta closed down 7.59% and Alphabet closed down 5.63% on Friday, as Snap's and Twitter's weak earnings, inflation, and interest rates lead to online ad worries — Weak earnings raise fears that inflation and interest rates are starting to hit social media companies
Discussion:
Barron's Online, @trengriffin, @joshspero and CNBC, more at Techmeme »
Ryan Parker / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney+ adds its first R-rated movies with Deadpool and Logan, prompting users to update their parental controls; TV-MA rated TV shows were added in March 2022 — The news comes after Disney announced in March that Daredevil, the Charlie Cox-led Marvel series, would land on the streamer after leaving its original Netflix home.
Discussion:
CBR, Den of Geek, Vulture, IGN, CNN, Comic Book, Marvel Entertainment, TechCrunch, Insider, ScreenRant, Variety, TechCrunch, Polygon, ScreenRant, Bleeding Cool, New York Post, Deadline, Variety, Gizmodo and IndieWire
Antony Sguazzin / Bloomberg:
Kremlin-backed TV network RT is developing an “English-language Africa hub in South Africa”, which will be headed by Paula Slier, who ran its Jerusalem bureau — RT, the Kremlin-backed TV network formerly called Russia Today, is setting up its first Africa bureau …
Discussion:
@bloombergafrica and @xsovietnews
Esther Kezia Thorpe / Digital Content Next:
Acast co-founders Måns Ulvestam and Karl Rosander are working on an à la carte model to buy podcast episodes and eventually articles, priced above micropayments — Most media monetization models are reliant on two sources: advertising or consumers paying.
Discussion:
@dcnorg, Thanks:@estherkeziat
Aaron Couch / The Hollywood Reporter:
A look at Marvel's Special Character Agreement that creators of its comic book characters sign, giving the company broad discretion to dramatically cut payments — Writers and artists who create characters that power the Marvel Cinematic Universe say the company offers a labyrinthine compensation system that underpays them.
Discussion:
@ctropes, @richardlnewby, @_zeets, @michellemanafy, @jameshunt, @b1gg3r_m00n, Não Sei Desenhar, @simonowens, @pocculture, @evilgalprods, @aaroncouch, @neilhimself and @borys_kit