Top News:
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A look at the practice of guests paying podcasters to appear on their shows; Guestio, a marketplace for brokering paid guest appearances, has raised $1M+ — People will confess all sorts of things to podcasters, from their unpopular political beliefs or embarrassing romantic mishaps to their worst fears.
Natalie Musumeci / Insider:
Alex Jones trial reveals that Infowars made as much as $800K per day in 2018, and Jones says the outlet had $70M in revenue in its most recent fiscal year — - An attorney for Sandy parents said Alex Jones' defense attorney “messed up” and sent him a digital copy of Jones' cell phone.
Adam B. Vary / Variety:
Warner Bros. Discovery will not release Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt on HBO Max nor in theaters; Batgirl had a budget of $90M; sources: Scoob! cost $40M — “Batgirl,” the feature film adaptation of the DC Comics character, has been killed at Warner Bros., Variety has confirmed.
Discussion:
Deadline, IndieWire, The Wrap, ScreenRant, SlashFilm, CNET, Associated Press, Animation Magazine, Looper, Well, Isn't This Great? …, Forbes, NPR, Mashable, Us Weekly, Vanity Fair, @xzyliac, @krolljvar, The Week, Desafiador do Desconhecido, @markharrisnyc, Boing Boing, @seitz_unseen, @bearmccreary, @somebadideas, @greg_jenner, @becketadams, @variety, @xpangler, Den of Geek, The Comeback, al.com, Inverse, Gizmodo, The Playlist and New York Post
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Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
S&P Global Market Intelligence projects CNN's 2022 profit falling to $956.8M, which sources say would be the first time since 2016 that its profit was below $1B
S&P Global Market Intelligence projects CNN's 2022 profit falling to $956.8M, which sources say would be the first time since 2016 that its profit was below $1B
Discussion:
Mediaite, Breitbart, @ericrweinstein, FTVLive, @ggreenwald, @harthanson, @richardgrenell, @anthony, @edmundlee, @chris_maag, @tvgrimreaper, @joshsternberg, @mylesudland and New York Post
Ronan Shields / Digiday:
Apple job posting indicates it is looking to build a “privacy-forward” demand-side ad platform — Apple may have blown up the digital ads business but it left enough fertile ground to build its own, more focused play for media dollars. The company is building a demand-side platform …
Discussion:
@digiday, @alextcone, AppleInsider, @timhwang, @martyswant, @blackamazon, @damianburns and @tatarynovich
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Interviews with two dozen Triller creators and others show that the TikTok rival missed payments after promising Black creators $4K monthly, with half in equity — Triller made its name recruiting talent with lavish perks. Now, dozens of influencers are struggling to get paid.
Discussion:
@caseynewton, @washingtonpost, @alexrkonrad, @robnashville, @taylorlorenz, @dwhate, @sneakerphetish, @taylorlorenz, @andrejgee and @moisesfenty
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
NYT reports Q2 revenue up 11.5% YoY to $555.7M, adjusted operating profit down 18% YoY to $76M, and 180K net new digital subs; The Athletic had a $12.6M loss — Revenue from digital advertising fell slightly in the second quarter, but subscription revenue continued to rise sharply, the company said.
Discussion:
MediaPost, The Wrap, Press Gazette, Poynter, @tvgrimreaper, @jasonkilar, Reuters, @benryanwriter, @mccanner, @davidshepardson and @cliffordlevy
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Q&A with Sisi Wei, the OpenNews co-executive director who The Markup named its new editor-in-chief, on her coverage plans, work experience, challenges, and more — “What we often don't think about is how tech accountability is also so many other types of coverage.
Discussion:
@themarkup, @sisiwei, @webjournalist, @nicolewong, @objectivejrn, @juliachanb, @pilhofer, @versharma, @benwerd, @msanchezmia, @mattderienzo, @ryanpitts, @pkerkstra, @vivian, @mtdukes, @mitrakalita, @gingerthomp1, @wendi_c_thomas, @pcheung630, @iwmf, @mharrisperry, @nabihasyed, @blackamazon, @s_m_i, @nabihasyed, The Markup and OpenNews
Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:
Textbook publisher Pearson plans to turn its e-books into NFTs to take a cut from secondhand sales and has a team exploring “the implications of the metaverse” — The chief executive officer of Pearson Plc, one of the world's largest textbook publishers, said he hopes technology …
Discussion:
The Guardian, @timduy, @mrjoemilliano, @mjasay, The Verge, @patricksmcmahon, @rozebian, @iancutress, @joshelman, @carnage4life, @hypervisible, @meyerweb, @richardred0x, @bradydale, @mor10, @samoore_, @jasonhitchcock, @bradydale, @benhammersley, @jonippolito and InvestEgate, more at Techmeme »
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Sources: over 1M people signed up for free newsletters on Meta's Bulletin service and the company was planning on expanding its roster earlier in 2022 — The Substack frenzy seems like a thing of the past, but lots of publishers are still leaning into newsletters. “They're a great minimally viable product.”
Discussion:
@seangriffey, @rmc031, @emilystewartm, @pkafka, @bigmeaninternet and @elanazak
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with YouTube star Hank Green on YouTube's revenue value, TikTok's promotional value, how Complexly is structured, selling Subbable and VidCon, and more — In October 2006, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion. On January 1st, 2007, the brothers Hank and John Green started making videos …
Discussion:
Podcast Movement, @slatchison and @12tonevideos
Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Fox renews its distribution agreement with Verizon for its FiOS TV platform, which will now also carry Fox Weather and Tubi — Fox has completed a multi-year renewal of its distribution agreement with Verizon for its Fios TV platform. — The deal encompasses the full portfolio of Fox brands …
Discussion:
The Streamable, Variety, Media Play News and Next TV
Brandon Katz / The Wrap:
Roku will add Paramount+ to the premium subscriptions available on the Roku Channel later in August — Paramount+ will launch as a premium subscription within The Roku Channel later this month, Roku Inc. announced Wednesday. The partnership will provide The Roku Channel users with direct access …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Roku, The Streamable, Deadline, Next TV, Media Play News and The Hollywood Reporter