Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: a group of buyers, including Fortress, plans to acquire Vice Media out of bankruptcy for $225M; of all the bids, only Fortress' was deemed “qualified” — The company was part of a group of bidders that offered $225 million to acquire the bankrupt media company.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Axios, CNBC, The Information, @sherman4949, @rafat, @elaheizadi, @elaheizadi, @danprimack, @scottnover, @mediaevan, @benmullin and @benmullin
Maria Streshinsky / Wired:
Q&A with Christopher Nolan, the director of Oppenheimer, on AI improving images in filmmaking, the parallels between nuclear weapon development and AI, and more — The Oppenheimer director says AI is not the bomb. His new movie might still scare you shitless.
Discussion:
Screen Rant, Variety, @metaplexmovies, Comic Book, The Wrap and Boing Boing
David Bauder / Associated Press:
Geraldo Rivera says his last appearance on Fox News' The Five will be next week and “growing tension” wasn't worth it; he plans to remain a Fox correspondent — Geraldo Rivera has quit as one of the lonely liberal voices on Fox News' popular political combat show “The Five,” …
Discussion:
@geraldorivera, Mediaite, Adweek, @mattgertz, @errollouis, @yesnicksearcy, UPROXX, @rokhanna, Newser, FTVLive, The Wrap, TVLine, New York Daily News, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, The Hill, Deadline and The Daily Beast
Amrita Khalid / The Verge:
As Spotify's podcast strategy of focusing on exclusives and celebrity hosts continues to falter, the company seems to be shifting its attention to selling ads — The company is entering the ‘next phase’ of its podcast strategy — but will it learn from its mistakes?
Discussion:
@michellemanafy, @jason_kint, @askhalid, Inside Radio and Los Angeles Times, more at Techmeme »
Manori Ravindran / Variety:
BBC Studios acquires Copenhagen-based production company STV, helping the BBC grow its presence in Scandinavia; STV will be rebranded under BBC Studios moniker — BBC Studios has acquired pan-Scandinavian production company STV. — The acquisition will help the British production …
Discussion:
Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
A profile of UK gossip newsletter Popbitch, which has 300K subscribers, and co-founder Camilla Wright, as she considers becoming “part of a bigger organization” — “I'm starting to wonder, for the first time, whether it would be a good time to be part of a bigger organisation.”
Discussion:
@mediaevan, @pressgazette, @fd, @the_fence_mag and @wturvill
Lou Paskalis / Fast Company:
Advertisers can fight the collapse of newsrooms by bringing back $1B to news, discarding fear of ads alongside hard news, and rebranding news as an ESG effort — The news business is in trouble. This month, hundreds of the remaining journalists still employed by Gannett …
Discussion:
@lmoses, @loupas, @sawickipedia, @learmonth, @adfontesmedia and @davidclinchnews
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon:
Ron Wyden, Mike Lee, and Richard Durbin reintroduce the bipartisan PRESS Act to shield journalists from government surveillance; a similar House bill is planned — Bill Defends Reporters' Communication Records Against Government Seizure To Protect Confidential Sources and Promote Accountability …
Carolyn Giardina / The Hollywood Reporter:
Secret Invasion credits creator Method Studios says “no artists' jobs were replaced” when using AI and the tools “complemented and assisted our creative teams” — Method Studios clarifies reports that sparked a social media backlash, stating AI tools “complemented and assisted our creative teams.”
Discussion:
ComingSoon.net, @blackamazon, The Daily Beast, Comic Book, PetaPixel, The A.V. Club, ET Canada, UPROXX, Metro, Deadline, Forbes, Digital Trends, Screen Rant and Polygon
Kate Dwyer / New York Times:
Bookforum, a literary criticism magazine that closed in December 2022, plans to return in August 2023 with The Nation as its publishing partner — The literary magazine will be back in print in August, with a new publishing partner: The Nation. — Bookforum, a literary criticism magazine …
Discussion:
Publishers Weekly and @yoloethics
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
NYC-based newsletter platform beehiiv raised a $12.5M Series A led by Lightspeed and says the service has 7,500 active newsletters with 350M monthly impressions — The world took a double take at the potential of newsletters after Substack started to blow up a few years ago.
Discussion:
beehiiv Blog, @denk_tweets, @schwartz6694, @brickywhat, @alexandernorman, @chrisjjosephs, @rileybeans_eth, @socialleverage, @andykozik, @kendallbaker, @rblooms, @nathanlands, @bmorrissey, @thisiskp_, @kinseygrant, @caspar_lee, @jaycodon, @ericholthaus, @damengchen, @austin_rief, @jack_raines, @productizeguy, @luke_beehiiv, @jack_raines, @rafat, @gannonbreslin, @adamsinger and @stephenkaraolis, more at Techmeme »
Lawrence Hurley / @lawrencehurley:
[Thread] US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito uses a Wall Street Journal op-ed to respond to ProPublica questions for a report, instead of issuing a statement — Justice Alito appears to be trying to get out ahead of a new ProPublica report that will address a trip he went on with billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer. Weirdly, it is published as an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/...
Discussion:
New York Times, ProPublica, The Hill, @johncarreyrou, Washington Post, Reason, @senwhitehouse, @nhannahjones, MSNBC, Poynter, @spj_tweets, Fox News, @rwpusa, @bgrueskin, @jmacnyc, @washtimes, @rwpusa, @clarajeffery, @elivalley, @tedlieu, Politico, @samstein, @leahlitman, @brianstelter, @markfollman, @ronfilipkowski, @jdawsey1, @sarahellison, Wall Street Journal, @orinkerr, Diane Ravitch's blog, New Republic, New York Times, @matthewschafer, @rottenindenmark, @kaitlancollins, @nycsouthpaw, @markpaoletta, @w7voa, @jmart, @matt_levine, Financial Times, NBC Bay Area, @jayfarnold, @nickkristof, Insider, @imillhiser, @hiltzikm, @brianros1, @imillhiser, Mediaite, @senwhitehouse, @senwhitehouse, @senwhitehouse, @stevesilberman, @jillian_swaine, @jamescdownie, @jamescdownie, @clancynewyork, @johnjharwood, @lawrencehurley, @lawrencehurley, @steveguest, @lawrencehurley, @lawrencehurley, @7im, @7im, @leahlitman, @7im, @leahlitman, @radleybalko, @leahlitman, @elivalley, @jaywillis, @battaglini.bsky.social, Reuters, Forbes, Washington Times and The Daily Beast