Top News:
Tatiana Siegel / Variety:
GQ EIC Will Welch, who sources say made the call to pull a piece critical of WBD CEO David Zaslav, is producing a Warner Bros. movie, a likely ethical conflict — On July 3, GQ.com rolled out a hot-take story titled “How Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Became Public Enemy Number One in Hollywood.”
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Will Sommer / Washington Post:
GQ pulls an article criticizing David Zaslav; sources say a Zaslav spokesman complained, causing extensive edits and the author asking GQ to remove his byline — The writer said he asked to have his byline removed after GQ made extensive changes after publication. The magazine removed the story instead.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Desk, Deadline, @benmullin, The Wrap, Showbiz411, @jeffjarvis, @joshmankiewicz, @themaxburns, The Hill, @w7voa, @rmayemsinger, Rolling Stone, @graemem.bsky.social, World of Reel, @dcseifert@mastodon.social, @deadline, @ishaantharoor, @markjacob16, @abbyliv817, @zachwritesstuff, @markberman, @laurawags, @bendwalsh, @brian_tallerico, @scottnover, @jbflint, @mikeisaac, @jasondashbailey, @affineincontrol, @jeremypgordon, @ethangach, @ahjohnson.bsky.social, @tsalmoth, @alexnpress, @wilmcmillen, @dinoray.bsky.social, @samyoungman, @jasondashbailey, @slack2thefuture, @mrbeaks, Bleeding Cool News, @ckwest542 and Boing Boing
Randy Thanthong-Knight / Bloomberg:
Canada's government, media company Quebecor, and cable TV operator Cogeco suspend advertising on Facebook and Instagram in response to Meta's move to drop news — The Canadian government is suspending its advertisements on Facebook and Instagram in response to Meta Platforms Inc.'s plan …
Discussion:
@pablorodriguez, CBC News, MediaPost, Gizmodo, Forbes, Politico, @paulvieira, @markmackinnon, CTV News, National Post, Global News, @ezralevant, @awudrick, CP24, @awudrick and Cartt.ca
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Brian Merchant / Los Angeles Times:
California and Canada should call Google and Facebook's bluff because of the success of Australia's media law, as the companies threaten to block news links — In June, Canada passed a law that will require major tech platforms such as Google and Facebook to pay a small fee when they host news …
Discussion:
@noah__goldberg, Reuters, @nancyskinnerca, @knightlat, @mattdpearce, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant, @drpatsoonshiong and @davidshipley
Kris Holt / Engadget:
Twitter quietly backtracks on requiring users to log in to see individual tweets, ending Elon Musk's “temporary emergency measure”; profiles remain blocked — The platform is becoming slightly more usable just as Meta opens up its Twitter competitor.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Madison and Wall, @yoda, Android Authority, @joshuaphilll, @yoda, Complete Music Update, The Week, Boing Boing, Insider and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Andy Jassy asked Amazon's Hollywood studio for detailed budgets to scrutinize ballooning costs; Amazon spent $7B on originals, sports, and more in 2022 — Good afternoon from Orient, New York, wherever you may be. I am spending the next month on the East Coast, so please reach out if you are around.
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, Screen Rant, The Streamable, @tomgara, The Messenger, @kylebuchanan, IndieWire, IGN, @aherman2006, @sidhubaba, @mtsw.bsky.social, @sonnybunch, @sarthakgh, @mrsambarlow, @tvgrimreaper, @jacoboller, @joshkrugerphl, The Information, @loudmouthjulia, @blackamazon, @loudmouthjulia, @judyberman.bsky.social and @alexh_johnson, more at Techmeme »
Adrian Weckler / Independent.ie:
Sources: Meta is refraining from launching Threads in the EU because of what the company believes is a lack of clarity contained in the EU's Digital Markets Act — Meta's new Twitter rival wants to suck Instagram users' data, including health, location, search history and sensitive information, into the new Threads service.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Verge, @b_fung, Engadget, PRWeek, Search Engine Land, 9to5Google, UPI, The Guardian, TechCrunch, Axios, The Register, @adrianweckler, The Messenger, 9to5Mac, @jason_kint, @capucine_cousin, NBC 7 San Diego, Insider, Music Ally, @tomwarren, The Verge, Cord Cutters News, @john@sauropods.win, Bloomberg, @amyhoy.bsky.social and @aidanobrien.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
James Ball / Rolling Stone:
A UK journalist details the DOJ's and the FBI's efforts to pressure him and three other UK journalists to cooperate with the US' prosecution of Julian Assange — The prosecution of the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is already a threat to a free media — the justice department's campaign …
Jesse Levine / Bloomberg:
Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud plans to step down at the end of August 2023 “to pursue a new opportunity”; board member Adam Gross will become interim CEO on September 1 — Vimeo Inc. Chief Executive Officer Anjali Sud will step down from her position at the business video software company at the end of August.
Discussion:
The Desk, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
A look at Spill, an invite-only Twitter alternative designed as a safe destination for LGBTQ and Black people that added 100K+ users over the past three days — Designed by former Twitter employees, the app has attracted users including Questlove and garnered interest from Lizzo
Discussion:
@frankstrovel, @eARCwelder@mastodon.social, Mashable and The Messenger
Wall Street Journal:
Paramount, Comcast, Disney, and Netflix's total market value has dropped $280B+ since the end of 2020; WBD lost ~50% of its value since its 2022 trading debut — Streaming losses and layoffs were already leading to an industry retrenchment. Then the writers' strike hit.
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
The Council of Europe's Audiovisual Observatory finds that US-based companies own ~20% of Europe's largest TV broadcasters and 33% of on-demand video services — Nearly half of all children's television channels in Europe are owned by American media brands, according to the findings of a new report.
Discussion:
Broadband TV News, Thanks:@matthewkeyslive
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