Mediagazer: 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 (Esther Kezia Thorpe/Digital Content Next)

4:50 PM ET, July 22, 2022

Top News:

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, Al Jazeera, Forbes, Billboard, @lanceulanoff, @tunguz, CNET, @twitterir, Stock Quest, Quartz, Axios and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

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, New York Post, Adweek, iPhone in Canada Blog, @jeffjarvis, TechCrunch, MediaPost, Deadline and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

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, The Wrap, IndieWire, @bakingjason, @moorehn, @variety, @sherman4949, @yashar, Bleeding Cool and Fightful

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, @film_girl, @jenn_ruth, @rachelmillman, @markstenberg3, @girly_juice, @erinisaway and @iamandyholt

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 the Special Character Agreements that Marvel has with the creators of comic book characters, which give Marvel broad discretion to lower 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: @aaroncouch, @borys_kit, @pocculture, @michellemanafy, @simonowens, @evilgalprods, @jameshunt, @_zeets, Não Sei Desenhar, @b1gg3r_m00n and @neilhimself

Gabriela Selser / Associated Press:

La Prensa, a major Nicaraguan newspaper, says staffers have been forced to leave the country after authorities arrested two of its reporters earlier in July — MEXICO CITY (AP) — One of Nicaragua's leading national newspapers announced Thursday on its website that its staff had been forced …

Discussion: Agence France-Presse and @juanpappierhrw

Theo Schear / Nieman Lab:

Channel 5 News, a “part parody, part camouflage” brand with 1.94M YouTube subscribers, offers news for the disengaged by recording people's reactions to events — “People who don't watch the news watch me. People who watch the news don't watch me."

Discussion: @simonowens and @risj_oxford

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

NewsGuard, which rates news outlets using multiple criteria for credibility, downgrades Fox News from green, or trustworthy, to red, or “proceed with caution” — Update, 22/7/22: Newsguard has now revised down the scores for both Fox News and rival liberal network MSNBC.

Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:

Snap Q2: revenue up 13% YoY to $1.11B, vs. $1.14B est., DAUs up 18% to 347M, vs. 344.2M est., a $422M net loss, up from $152M YoY; stock falls 25%+ after hours — - Snap missed on the top and bottom lines in its second-quarter earnings report. — The company authorized a stock repurchasing program of up to $500 million.

Discussion: Observer, MarketWatch, Ad Age, Insider, Marketing Dive, Dana Blankenhorn, @ryan_browne_, One America News Network, The Guardian, Fast Company, @sunchartist, @benbajarin, @kantrowitz, @levynews and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
Snap plans to “substantially reduce” hiring, authorizes a stock repurchase program of up to $500M, and locks in CEO and CTO roles until at least January 1, 2027

Discussion: CNBC, Fortune and @joshspero, more at Techmeme »

Justin Baragona / The Daily Beast:

Verizon Fios, the largest pay TV service still carrying far-right channel OANN, will drop it on July 31, 2022, after a “business-as-usual carriage negotiation” — Verizon announced on Thursday that One America News will be removed from its channel lineup on July 31 …

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Sources: CNN CEO Chris Licht met with Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, and a few other senior congressional leaders to strengthen CNN's ties with key lawmakers — CNN CEO Chris Licht met with a handful of senior Congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill Tuesday …

Discussion: @sarafischer, @sarafischer, @blackamazon, @keitholbermann, @mlcalderone, @jayrosen_nyu, @henryrodgersdc and @andrewcfollett

AJ Vicens / CyberScoop:

Ukraine says hackers attacked TAVR Media, which operates nine radio stations, to broadcast a fake message that President Zelenskyy was in critical condition — Cyber criminals attacked a Ukrainian company that operates nine “major” radio stations to spread a message that Ukrainian President …

Discussion: Bob's Newsletter