Top News:
Adam Goldman / New York Times:
A jury finds Project Veritas broke wiretapping laws and fraudulently misrepresented itself to Democratic political consultants; Project Veritas plans to appeal — The conservative group was found to have violated wiretapping laws and fraudulently misrepresented itself to a Democratic consulting firm …
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, @electproject, @electproject, @erikwemple, @kimmasters, Project Veritas, @electproject, @dangillmor, @electproject and Politico
Jolie Lash / The Wrap:
Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier is leaving to join Roku in October as president of Roku Media, overseeing ad sales, its ad platform business, and content — Fox Entertainment chief executive officer Charlie Collier is exiting the company and heading to Roku next month.
Discussion:
Variety, @variety, Media Play News, Adweek, @jasonhirschhorn, Bloomberg, Too Much TV Newsletter, @hedgeyecomm, Deadline, MediaPost and WORLD SCREEN
Chris Willman / Variety:
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz settle a missed payments lawsuit with Triller after Triller acquired their music series Verzuz in March 2021; terms were not disclosed — Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have settled their lawsuit with Triller, after suing the service last month for $28 million …
Discussion:
Billboard, @gregt2u2, Rolling Stone, UPROXX, Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter
Nicholas Quah / Vulture:
A look at the crowded podcast market, where competition has made almost everything in the business more difficult, and some say no one is taking creative risks — It's been ages since the last blockbuster narrative show. What does that mean for the medium as an art form?
Voice of America:
In a 60-36 vote, the US Senate approves Amanda Bennett to head the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and other broadcasting entities — The U.S. Senate Thursday approved President Joe Biden's nominee to head the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) …
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Apple signs a multiyear NFL deal to have Apple Music replace Pepsi as the main sponsor for the Super Bowl halftime show; sources say the NFL was seeking ~$50M — Apple's pursuit of an N.F.L. media package has broadened to include a sponsorship of one of TV's most-watched events.
Discussion:
Billboard, The Wrap, The Verge, 9to5Mac, Ad Age, CBS News, Daily Herald, Sportico, @trippmickle, @trevordmoretz, Bloomberg and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Eliza Mackintosh / CNN:
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi withdrew from a long-planned interview with Christiane Amanpour after she declined his last-minute demand to wear a head scarf — Iran's President cancels interview after Amanpour refuses head scarf demand — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi withdrew …
Discussion:
@amanpour, Deadline, Associated Press, @amanpour, The Daily Beast, @amanpour, @amanpour, @amanpour, @amanpour, @kathapollitt, @jimsciutto, @elizabethcnn, @marklittlenews, @murphyslaw74, @dandrezner, @mrjoelclark, @casmudde, @mehdirhasan, @sphillipsab, @saragoldrickrab, @amanpour, @henrymance, The Hill, The Economic Times, NBC News, NPR, The Guardian and The Wrap
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Instagram, and now TikTok, have fallen afoul of the “Bootleg Ratio”, as clout-chasing accounts overtake content created by users specifically for each platform — TikTok is changing. … That stuff is still on the platform, but it's largely fallen off my For You page …
Greg Burns / Local News Initiative:
Sources: Gannett is looking to sell 60+ of its nearly 500 publications, after having sold 100+ since 2020; parent GateHouse aims to cut $300M in annual costs — Earlier this month, Gannett's Michael Reed had an opportunity to set a new course for the nation's biggest newspaper company after disappointing financial results in August.
Discussion:
@localnewsini, @timafranklin, @poynter, @sheridan120 and The Rural Blog
Rebecca Klar / The Hill:
A US Senate committee votes to approve the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, letting news organizations jointly negotiate with big tech platforms — A bill that would let most news outlets collectively negotiate with dominant tech platforms for compensation to distribute …
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen says Amazon Prime Video's first Thursday Night Football game averaged 13.03M viewers; Amazon claimed 15.3M viewers after guaranteeing advertisers 12.5M — Nielsen says 13 million viewers watched the Sept. 15 contest on Prime Video and local over-the-air affiliates.
Discussion:
Sports Business Journal, Awful Announcing, Awful Announcing, Ad Age, Amazon Studios, @andrewmarchand, Axios, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, @alexweprin, @bmarcello, Sports Media Watch, @jyarow, @marshacollier, TechCrunch, Forbes, The Wrap, Los Angeles Times, CNN, Wall Street Journal, The Streamable, CNBC, Deadline and IndieWire, more at Techmeme »
Rich Iurilli / The Authors Guild:
The Authors Guild says Amazon agreed to limit ebook returns for those who have read over 10% starting soon, after complaints over returning fully read books — The Authors Guild is proud to report that our discussions with Amazon's senior executive team concerning the platform's policy …
Discussion:
@authorsguild, @vanjchan, Publishers Weekly, The Verge, @authorsguild and @victoriastrauss