Top News:
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Miami-based Muck Rack, a database of journalists, raised a $180M Series A from Susquehanna Growth Equity, after being bootstrapped since its founding in 2009 — For any journalist who has ever googled their name, there is a good chance that one of the hits will be for Muck Rack …
Discussion:
Axios, @gregory, @rafat, @anthony, Business Wire, Insider, @muckrack, @semel and @lhm1, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Ahead of the US midterms, Twitter plans to add 1,000 contributors weekly to its Birdwatch fact-checking tool, each assigned a “rating impact” score out of five — On the heels of a report detailing how Twitter had once accidentally allowed a conspiracy theorist into its invite …
Discussion:
Adweek, Insider, Gizmodo, The Verge, Bloomberg, CNET, @birdwatch and @willoremus, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Netflix scours its business to cut costs, including by reducing real estate, curbing cloud spend, limiting corporate swag, and hiring more junior staff — The streaming giant seeks to impose more financial discipline as growth stagnates — As Netflix Inc. NFLX 1.50%▲ …
Discussion:
The Wrap, @cararlombardo, @bluff_capital, @jtoonkel, @davidshepardson, @dansaltzstein and @djtgallagher, more at Techmeme »
The Hollywood Reporter:
Regal Cinemas owner Cineworld Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, saying existing lenders committed ~$1.94B to “help ensure” operations continue — The debt-laden exhibitor, led by CEO Moshe “Mooky” Greidinger, had said in mid-August that it was eyeing unspecified strategic options.
Discussion:
Forbes, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Deadline, The Wrap, Axios, Media Play News and @dfriend
New York Times:
Sources: Vice is exploring a deal, worth $50M+, with MBC, a media giant partly owned by the Saudi government, to launch a new content partnership in the region — The company is in talks to develop a content partnership with MBC, a Saudi Arabian media giant partially owned by the government.
Legit.ng:
Source: Hong Kong Journalists Association President Ronson Chan, set to begin a six-month Reuters Institute fellowship at the end of September, was arrested — PAY ATTENTION: You can save a live of girl at risk. Donate to Legit Charity on Patreon. Your support matters!
Discussion:
Reuters, Committee to Protect …, Bloomberg and @jerometaylor
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Amazon Prime Video Channels Head Soumya Sriraman leaves to join Qurate Retail Group, which owns the QVC and HSN shopping channels, as president of streaming — Soumya Sriraman, who previously led BritBox, will become president of streaming for the company.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Cumulus Media says it is “disassociating” from the annual Podcast Movement industry conference, after a Twitter spat between the conference and The Daily Wire — Cumulus, one of the largest radio companies in the country, says it's “disassociating” from Podcast Movement …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Internal memo: CEO Evan Spiegel unveils Snap's plans to grow its user base and revenue in 2023, including onboarding more users in their 30s and pushing AR ads — After getting “punched in the face hard” by a cratering stock price and brutal layoffs, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told employees …
Discussion:
@alexeheath, @pottsjustin, @cnbctechcheck, @mhdempsey, @richlightshed and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
Financial Times:
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss confirms she wants to dilute the draft Online Safety Bill, focusing on protecting minors while making sure free speech is allowed — Definition of ‘legal but harmful’ may change to give greater scope to say on web what is acceptable in person
Discussion:
@proftomkins, more at Techmeme »
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
The BBC names Chinny Okolidoh, currently L'Oréal's director of DEI in the UK and Ireland, as its director of diversity and inclusion, starting later in 2022 — “I look forward to building on the great work that has been done so far and continuing to put diversity and inclusion …
Discussion:
@blackamazon, Variety and Deadline
Matt Stevens / New York Times:
Chess champion Nona Gaprindashvili settles a defamation lawsuit against Netflix over a line in The Queen's Gambit final episode saying she had “never faced men” — The fictional series had named Nona Gaprindashvili, a pioneering real-life chess champion, and falsely claimed she had “never faced men.”
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Gizmodo, @chesscomlive, @eriqgardner, IndieWire, The A.V. Club, ComingSoon.net, Deadline, The Wrap and Variety