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.”
Discussion:
@tyburr, @meredithshiner, @matthewspecktor, @henereyg, @tvgrimreaper, @akelacooper.bsky.social, @theseantcollins, @automaticzen, @moorehn, @da7e, @jasondashbailey.bsky.social, @aandeandval.bsky.social, @dennismtracy.bsky.social, @matthewacherry, @reeljeffewing.bsky.social, @carolinerenard_ and @seanmburns
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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, Mediaite, IndieWire, The Desk, Deadline, Showbiz411, @benmullin, The Wrap, @themaxburns, @jeffjarvis, @joshmankiewicz, @w7voa, @rmayemsinger, Rolling Stone, The Hill, @graemem.bsky.social, @jasondashbailey, World of Reel, @dcseifert@mastodon.social, @ishaantharoor, @abbyliv817, @zachwritesstuff, @markberman, @laurawags, @bendwalsh, @brian_tallerico, @scottnover, @jbflint, @mikeisaac, @deadline, @markjacob16, @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, The Desk, CBC News, Slate, Gizmodo, @mathieu_dion, Forbes, @paulvieira, Politico, CTV News, National Post, Global News, @ezralevant, @awudrick, CP24, @awudrick, @markmackinnon and Cartt.ca
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Brian Merchant / Los Angeles Times:
California and Canada should call Google's and Facebook's bluff, given the success of Australia's 2021 media law, as the companies threaten to remove 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:
MediaPost, @parismarx, @noah__goldberg, @tychobrahe, @jbenton, 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, Complete Music Update, @joshuaphilll, @yoda, The Week, Boing Boing, Insider and Fortune, 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:
Ad Age, Bloomberg, The Verge, @b_fung, Engadget, PRWeek, The Guardian, Search Engine Land, 9to5Google, TechCrunch, Axios, UPI, The Register, @adrianweckler, The Messenger, 9to5Mac, @jason_kint, @capucine_cousin, @holden, NBC 7 San Diego, Insider, Music Ally, @tomwarren, The Verge, App Store, Cord Cutters News, @john@sauropods.win, Bloomberg, @amyhoy.bsky.social and @aidanobrien.bsky.social, 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, IndieWire, @aherman2006, @sidhubaba, @mtsw.bsky.social, @sonnybunch, @kylebuchanan, @sarthakgh, @mrsambarlow, @tvgrimreaper, @jacoboller, @joshkrugerphl, The Information, @loudmouthjulia, @blackamazon, @loudmouthjulia, @judyberman.bsky.social, @alexh_johnson and IGN, 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
Takashi Kawakami / Nikkei Asia:
A look at Chinese streaming service Mango TV, run by state-owned Hunan Broadcasting System; QuestMobile: Mango TV had 280M MAUs in April 2023, vs. ~100M in 2019 — ‘Ride the Wind,’ other homegrown programs draw 280m users to streaming app — The latest season of the “Ride the Wind” …
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.