Top News:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Twitter rolls out its updated “interim” X logo, replacing the iconic bird, following Elon Musk's weekend announcement; X.com now redirects to twitter.com — Twitter has removed the iconic bird logo and adopted ‘X’ as its official logo. This move comes after Elon Musk announced the change over the weekend.
Discussion:
The Verge, @elonmusk, Associated Press, Insider, Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Guardian, Insider, CNN, Agence France-Presse, The Hill, Fortune, @lindayacc, @lindayacc, New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, @lindayacc, Bloomberg, Reuters, @levie, @tomcoates, @carnage4life@mas.to, Billboard, @parkerortolani@threads.net, @tedlieu, @jdcmedlock, @elonmuskaoc, @emilcdc, @bendreyfuss, @yosephpaulos, @jamestobyne, @karaswisher, @loupas, @jujuujba, @benedictevans, NewscastStudio, @killedbygoogle, The A.V. Club, Rolling Stone, Consequence, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, UPROXX, Forbes, Ad Age, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Slate, The Week, Metro, New York Daily News, Sydney Morning Herald and Boing Boing, more at Techmeme »
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Spotify confirms raising US Premium to $10.99/month, up from $9.99, the first increase since its US launch in 2011; Duo rises by $2, Family and Student by $1 — After 12 years, the price of Spotify Premium is increasing in the US. The subscription will now cost $10.99 a month, the company announced today.
Discussion:
Spotify, CNN, TechCrunch, Billboard, @tomwarren, Complete Music Update, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, CNET, Forbes, The Information, Variety, Music Business Worldwide and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Sources: Jeff Bezos is taking a more active role in The Washington Post's operations as staff morale craters and the newspaper is on pace to lose ~$100M in 2023 — The Amazon founder, who purchased The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013, has taken a more active role in the paper's operations this year.
Discussion:
Media Voices, @bendwalsh, @cernovich, @taylorlorenz, @bmorrissey, @dankennedy_nu, @taylorlorenz, @rlocker12, @katie_robertson, @katie_robertson, @andrewgiambrone, @jayrosen_nyu, @varunstweets, @mediaevan, @jasonshevrin, @bostonradio, @sarthakgh, @emilybell, @smilotweets, @ankaman616, @lpolgreen, @dhume, @dicktofel, @brianstelter, @benmullin, Insider, @dankennedy_nu@journa.host, Fox News and @benjaminmullin@threads.net
Brian Merchant / Los Angeles Times:
Studio executives embraced Silicon Valley's magical thinking of hypergrowth and disruption for the past 10 years, only to slash worker pay as the boom times end — In one respect, the actors and writers of Hollywood uniting on the picket lines in a historic, industry-shaking strike is a tale as old as time …
BBC:
BBC newsreader George Alagiah, who joined the broadcaster as a foreign correspondent in 1989 and presented BBC News at Six for the past 20 years, dies at 67 — George Alagiah, one of the BBC's longest-serving and most respected journalists, has died at 67, nine years after being diagnosed with cancer.
Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Internal memo: WBD President of International TV Distribution Robert Blair plans to leave the company after 25 years due to a “necessary structural change” — Warner Bros Discovery President of International TV Distribution Robert Blair is leaving after 25 years with the company.
Discussion:
Variety, @variety, @jelmes_tv, Broadcast and The Hollywood Reporter
Variety:
A look at the actors' and writers' strikes that are plunging Hollywood into chaos, causing pricey movie delays, pay battles, AI anxiety, and more — It was a typical day on the set of “Gladiator 2” in Malta. British director Ridley Scott was orchestrating a complex sequence featuring the film's star …
Discussion:
The Week, @marcblitstein, @royalwhisper, @lerouxdb, @lauridonahue, @harpercreates, @bookspotlight, @nextbestpicture, @variety, @doctorcreative, @filmupdates, @seiu, @bfishbfish, @filmupdates, @thegeekster4, @netw3rk, @discussingfilm, Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, CNN, The Guardian, IndieWire, The Wrap, Insider, Financial Times and SlashFilm
RELATED:
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
By letting the Hollywood strike drag on, legacy companies like Disney, NBCUniversal, and Paramount risk the devastation of the traditional network TV model
Discussion:
@thisisweber, @kwatt, @jbflint, @jasonhirschhorn, @whitstillman, @kimbenabib, @jbflint, @petergould, MediaPost and Wall Street Journal
David Robb / Deadline:
In a 23-page document, the AMPTP disputes SAG-AFTRA's “misleading” claims of the negotiations status as of July 13, before talks broke off and the strike began
In a 23-page document, the AMPTP disputes SAG-AFTRA's “misleading” claims of the negotiations status as of July 13, before talks broke off and the strike began
Discussion:
The Wrap, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @jbflint, @jbflint, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter
Patrick Sykes / Bloomberg:
Turkish shows, initially made for domestic audiences, are at the forefront of state broadcaster TRT's global expansion, as Turkey tries to extend its soft power — - New state streaming site brings drone wars to global viewers — Government backs TV export drive worth up to $1.5 billion
Natalie Pressman / CBC News:
Canada's smaller news outlets, like Cabin Radio, the Northwest Territories' only entirely-online news organization, worry about the Online News Act's impact — ‘Obviously we will take as many steps as we can to protect our interests,’ said Cabin editor Ollie Williams
Discussion:
Globe and Mail
Rebecca Rubin / Variety:
Q&A with Josh Goldstine, Warner Bros. president of global marketing, on Barbie's marketing campaign, which rival studio execs estimate to have cost ~$150M — Unless you've been trapped in a plastic toy box, there's no escaping the Barbie-core movement that's sweeping the globe …
Discussion:
Insider, Screen Rant and The Hollywood Reporter
Washington Post:
South Korean and Indian filmmakers are hoping the Hollywood strikes will give them more bargaining power with US streaming services and a precedent to follow — SEOUL — When Netflix launched in South Korea in 2016, it was a breath of fresh air for filmmakers jaded by a local industry notorious for labor abuses and penny-pinching.
Discussion:
@jintakhan, @washingtonpost and @drogon_dracarys
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Sources: IAC, News Corp, the NYT, and other publishers are forming a coalition to push for AI laws and lead a lawsuit against AI firms who trained on their data — The News — Barry Diller fired publishers' opening shot at artificial intelligence platforms in a Semafor interview this April …
Discussion:
CNET and American Press Institute, more at Techmeme »
Brian Veseling / WAN-IFRA:
A look at Argentina's Clarín, which has 30M monthly readers and 700K subscribers, as the outlet looks to diversify their offerings and expand into other markets — “Clarín is the only Latin American media outlet to be ranked among the top 20 in digital subscribers.