Mediagazer: By letting the Hollywood strike drag on, legacy companies like Disney, NBCUniversal, and Paramount risk the devastation of the traditional network TV model (Josef Adalian/Vulture)

5:30 AM ET, July 22, 2023

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Sources: Disney CEO Bob Iger and ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro have held early talks with the NFL, the NBA, and MLB about bringing them on as minority ESPN investors — - ESPN has held early talks about strategic partnerships with the NBA, NFL and MLB that could include the leagues taking an equity stake in the business, sources told CNBC.

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Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

News reporters shouldn't write off AI assistance for first drafts of stories that aren't publishable; tools don't have to be perfect to be useful to journalists — Dystopian, yes — but tools don't have to be perfect to be useful to journalists. — Every other semester …

Discussion: @niemanlab@mastodon.social, @mmasnick.bsky.social, MediaNama, The Information, The San Diego Union-Tribune, CNN, Gizmodo, MediaPost and New York Times

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: an Insider executive editor updates staff on AI experiments and recommends not using AI tools for quoting facts, data analysis, or getting up-to-date info

Discussion: @journalist_guy, @thenewsan, @scottnover, @kaylaepstein and @scottnover

Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
News organizations' deals with OpenAI and its rivals echo past Google and Meta “partnerships” and could ultimately help companies put journalists out of work

Discussion: @espiers, New York Post, The Verge, @mathewi, @cjr, @jayrosen_nyu, Platformer, The Information, @sarahposner.bsky.social and Vanity Fair, more at Techmeme »

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Spotify plans to raise its US ad-free premium tier's price for the first time, by $1 to $10.99/month, and increase prices globally in the coming months — Audio company had avoided raising prices, but faces investor pressure to increase profitability

Discussion: The Verge, Billboard, The Information, @CStamp@mastodon.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, CNET, Forbes, The Wrap, @benfritz, @liquor_american …, @runciedan, Variety, Music Business Worldwide, 9to5Mac and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

Former ABC News producer James Gordon Meek pleads guilty to CSAM transportation and possession, but not distribution; the US DOJ arrested Meek in February 2023 — The harrowing legal saga—the type of story that could've appeared on Meek's former network— has reached its conclusion.

Discussion: US Department of Justice, Adweek, Washington Post, Insider, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Desk, TVNewsCheck, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Wrap, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Rolling Stone and Boing Boing

Justin Garcia / Tampa Bay Times:

Lawyers for journalist Timothy Burke demand the return of his equipment from the US DOJ and argue he legally obtained controversial Fox News video outtakes — Burke's legal team says his phone and computers were seized “in violation of the law.” — Tim Burke's home office is gutted.

Discussion: @bubbaprog.ilovecitr.us, @bubbaprog.ilovecitr.us, Awful Announcing and U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida

Josef Adalian / Vulture:

By letting the Hollywood strike drag on, legacy companies like Disney, NBCUniversal, and Paramount risk the devastation of the traditional network TV model — This story first ran in Buffering, Vulture's newsletter about the streaming industry. Head to vulture.com/buffering and subscribe today!

Discussion: @petergould, @kimbenabib, @thisisweber, @jasonhirschhorn, @whitstillman, @kwatt, @jbflint, @jbflint, MediaPost, Wall Street Journal and The Wrap

Michael Kan / PCMag:

Twitter says unverified accounts will have daily limits on the number of direct messages they can send, as part of changes to reduce spam in DMs — It looks like Elon Musk really wants users to pay for Twitter Blue. … In another controversial change, Twitter will restrict the number …

Discussion: Comic Book, The Verge, @twittersupport and The Sun, more at Techmeme »

David Robb / Deadline:

In a 23-page document, the AMPTP disputes SAG-AFTRA's version of the status of contract negotiations as of July 13, before talks broke off and the strike began — UPDATED with SAG-AFTRA response: The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is disputing SAG-AFTRA's “misleading” …

Discussion: @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @jbflint, @slack2thefuture, @jbflint, @slack2thefuture, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield joins CNN as an on-air political commentator; Bedingfield left her White House post in February 2023 — Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield has joined CNN as an on-air political commentator.

Discussion: Adweek, Mediaite, CNN, The Hill, The Wrap and Politico

Adam Sherwin / The i Paper:

UK-based Global, which owns LBC, Capital, Heart, and Smooth, plans to restructure its 11 radio newsrooms across the country, which could mean up to 40 job cuts — Journalists warn Global radio plans could ‘decimate local news’ with 40 jobs under threat at the home to Capital, Smooth, LBC and Heart

Discussion: The Desk and Talking Biz News

Marie Woolf / Globe and Mail:

Some Quebec radio stations and news outlets refuse to run Meta's ads that inform Canadians of the company's plan to block news links on Facebook and Instagram — Meta has started to run ads to inform Canadians of its plan to block the viewing and sharing of news content on Facebook …

Discussion: @fancrtcprofling, @pagmenzies, @freemangrist, @dylanlindgren, CBC News and @mgeist

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Artisan Gateway: box-office sales for US films in China hit $592M in H1 2023, down from $1.9B in H1 2019, as Chinese audiences gravitate toward local movies

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