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:
Gizmodo, Insider, Bloomberg, CNET, The Verge, @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, @dansaltzstein, @djtgallagher, @bluff_capital, @davidshepardson and @jtoonkel, more at Techmeme »
Legit.ng:
Source: Hong Kong Journalists Association President Ronson Chan, who was set to begin a Reuters Institute fellowship in September, was arrested on Wednesday — 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
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, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Deadline, Media Play News, Axios and @dfriend
New York Times:
Sources: Vice is exploring a deal worth ~$50M with MBC, a media giant partially 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.
Discussion:
@amandabecker, @amandabecker, @marisakabas, @marisakabas, @bernstein, @dicktofel, @courtneyesmith, @benmullin, @brooksbarnesnyt, @benmullin, @benmullin, @benmullin and @benmullin
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 Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Amazon's 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.
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
Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:
The BBC names Chinny Okolidoh, currently L'Oréal's director of DEI, 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 at the heart of everything …
Discussion:
@blackamazon, Variety and Deadline
Dan Kennedy / Media Nation:
Memo: longtime Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory is leaving at the end of the year to chair the journalism department at Boston University — Brian McGrory, the accidental editor of The Boston Globe who ended up staying for nearly 20 years, has finally made official what half the city has known for months …
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, Talking Biz News, @curtwoodward, @dkiesow, @mviser, @elanazak, @cynthianeedham, @jamespindell and @alexagagosz
Masha Borak / Rest of World:
Some Wikipedia editors in Russia have been doxxed, threatened, and arrested for not supporting Russia's war in Ukraine; some now edit less and others have quit — One Friday in March, not long after Russia invaded Ukraine, Mikhail, a Russia-based Wikipedia editor, opened the Telegram app to discover that he had been doxxed.
Discussion:
@carljackmiller, @lizzadwoskin, @restofworld, @mashaborak, @jshermcyber and Numlock News
K.J. Yossman / Variety:
New UK Prime Minister Liz Truss appoints Michelle Donelan as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport; Donelan once worked for the WWE — New U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss has appointed Michelle Donelan as the new secretary of state for culture.
Discussion:
Deadline, Press Gazette, Columbia Journalism Review, NME, NME, Mediaite and Politico
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