Mediagazer: Documents show that authorities sought evidence of alleged criminal unauthorized computer access when searching journalist Timothy Burke's home on May 8, 2023 (Matthew Keys/The Desk)

11:40 PM ET, July 25, 2023

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

YouTube's ad revenue increased 4.4% YoY to $7.67B in Q2, above expectations of $7.43B and a reversal after three consecutive quarters of declines — Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, came in above analyst earnings expectations, with top-line growth of 7%.

Discussion: The Information, @nicoagrant, NBC 7 San Diego, New York Times, The Wrap, Alphabet Inc., @quinnypig, @tvgrimreaper, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Miles Kruppa / Wall Street Journal:

Alphabet reports Q2 Google ad revenue of $58.14B, growing 3% YoY after two consecutive quarters of falling ad sales — Financial chief Ruth Porat to become Alphabet's president and chief investment officer — Google reported a pickup in revenue growth during the most recent quarter …

Discussion: The Information, MediaPost, @joshuaogundu, Reuters, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 9to5Google and Fortune, more at Techmeme »

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

CEO Daniel Ek teases ways Spotify could integrate additional AI functionality into its products, including summarizing podcasts and generating audio ads — During the company's second-quarter earnings call this morning, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek teased a few ways the streaming service could introduce additional AI-powered functionality.

more at Techmeme »

Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says podcasting is ageing down, citing the growth of video podcasts and “Internet-native” creators who upload “more longform content”

Discussion: @connorwein and Financial Times

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
Spotify Q2: revenue up 11% YoY to €3.2B, Premium subs up 17% YoY to 220M, MAUs up 27% YoY to 551M; Q3 sales forecast below analyst est.; SPOT closes down 14.26%

Discussion: Spotify, @lucas_shaw, @eldsjal, @sarthakgh, @ashleyrcarman, RAIN News, @carnage4life@threads.net, The Guardian, Reuters, Engadget, Axios, Music Business Worldwide, Hollywood Reporter and TechCrunch, 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

Newley Purnell / Wall Street Journal:

Meta hasn't labeled propaganda accounts of state-backed media from Russia and other authoritarian governments on Threads, unlike on Facebook and Instagram — State-backed media accounts have hundreds of thousands of followers without the labels they are made to carry on Instagram and Facebook

more at Techmeme »

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

Documents show that authorities sought evidence of alleged criminal unauthorized computer access when searching journalist Timothy Burke's home on May 8, 2023 — A search warrant obtained by The Desk shows federal investigators are looking into an alleged cyber intrusion scheme involving former Deadspin editor Timothy Burke.

Discussion: @matthewkeyslive and @matthewkeyslive

Angelique Jackson / Variety:

SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance says Dwayne Johnson donated a seven-figure sum to the SAG-AFTRA Relief Fund, the largest single donation ever — On July 13, as SAG-AFTRA leadership declared the union was going on strike, SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance …

Justin Hendrix / Tech Policy Press:
Q&A with Justine Bateman, a member of the DGA, the WGA, and SAG-AFTRA, on how AI may change the industry, the importance of the timing of the strike, and more

Discussion: @andylevy.bsky.social, @justinhendrix and @emilymbender@dair …

Washington Post:
The previous big strikes reshaped Hollywood and fueled reality TV's rise; the current ones will likely turn established actors into TikTok stars and vice versa

Discussion: @videodrew, @drewharwell, @shiralazar, Brightcove, Digiday, The Information, Foreign Policy, Rolling Stone and Study Hall

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:

Marquee Sports Network, a Chicago Cubs and Sinclair joint venture, launches a streaming app with live Cubs games and more in the Chicago area, for $19.99/month — Subscription costs $19.99 a month — Marquee Sports Network, the regional sports network joint venture of the Chicago Cubs and Sinclair …

Discussion: The Streamable, Cord Cutters News and Marquee Sports Network

The Hollywood Reporter:

A majority of around 5,000 TV commercial production workers, organized by a group called Stand With Production, signs cards seeking to join the IATSE union — The group, titled Stand With Production, comprises an estimated 5,000 TV workers, a majority of whom have signaled their support …

Discussion: @moreperfectus, @moreperfectus, Deadline and The Wrap

Matias Grez / CNN:

The BBC apologizes for a reporter's “inappropriate” question at the Women's World Cup opener; the reporter asked Morocco's captain if the team had gay players — Women's World Cup 2023: Live scores, fixtures, results, tables and top scorers — The BBC has apologized for an …

Discussion: PinkNews, @_shireenahmed_, Sydney Morning Herald, NBC News, @_shireenahmed_, @_shireenahmed_, @daniellewarby, @_shireenahmed_, @georgegalloway, @qatarifc, The Messenger, @Beeks@mstdn.party, New York Post, The Guardian, Awful Announcing, Fox News and Newser

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

The Guardian reports revenue up 3.4% YoY to £264.4M for FY ending March 31, 2023, digital reader revenue grew 7.6%, and digital makes up 70% of total revenue — Total revenues were up 3% in the year to 31 March 2023. — Guardian Media Group has maintained a four-year run of revenue growth …

Discussion: Mumbrella, The Guardian, The Guardian, MediaPost and Nieman Lab

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian creates seven journalist jobs to improve its coverage of underrepresented communities, including in the UK and US, after its founder's slavery ties

Discussion: @josephharker, @blackamazon, @josephharker, @judeinlondon, The Guardian and @andria.bsky.social

Tatiana Siegel / Variety:

Sources detail Jeff Zucker's efforts to court potential investors in a bid for CNN, including Jeff Bezos, Laurene Powell Jobs, Alex Soros, and Roman Abramovich — Jeff Zucker was breezing through the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach when he spotted David Zaslav across the room.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Information, RADAR, @tatianasiegel27, @agrenell, @mrwhite.bsky.social, @variety, @mvpeers, @lucas_shaw, @cerealcommas, @theinsneider, @variety, @variety and @variety, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

Emails: X offers discounts on new video ads in the US and UK and warns advertisers that they will lose verified status unless they reach spending thresholds — Social-media site X is offering hefty discounts to lure back ad dollars — X Corp. is cutting ad prices as it tries to woo brands back to the Elon Musk-owned platform.

Discussion: @joelmathis.bsky.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @martinsfp, The Drum and Forrester, more at Techmeme »

Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:

Snap Q2: revenue down 4% YoY to $1.07B, vs. $1.05B est., global DAUs up 14% YoY to 397M, vs. 395M est., and Q3 revenue forecast below est.; SNAP down 16%+ — - Snap's overall sales in the second quarter declined 4% from the $1.11 billion it logged in the previous year during the same period.

Discussion: Snap Inc., NBC 7 San Diego, TechCrunch, @carnage4life@threads.net, @terraf31215, @scobleizer, Deadline, @alexbarinka, @carnage4life@mas.to, @eric_seufert, Variety, New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Taaffe-Maguire / Sky News:

NatWest CEO Dame Alison Rose admits to being the BBC source for an erroneous story that said Coutts de-banked Nigel Farage for financial, not political, reasons — NatWest chief executive Dame Alison Rose said she thought she was confirming publicly available information to a BBC reporter …

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 11:40 PM ET, July 25, 2023.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

Business Reporter, WA — Longview Daily News

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
In response to MPs questions over The Sun's Huw Edwards reporting, its EIC says the story had “significant scrutiny pre-publication” and corroborative evidence

Discussion: @dave43law, @stuzi_pants, @craftyoldgit, @archewellbaby, @_not__happy_, @adambienkov, @adambienkov, @j_a_warrington, @lorna_tveditor, PinkNews, The Guardian, Deadline and Variety

TechCrunch:
Threads adds an option for a chronological feed of posts from people the user follows

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: TikTok plans to launch an e-commerce business in the US in early August to sell made-in-China goods to consumers

Discussion: @sino_market, @michaelsobolik, Gizmodo, Tubefilter and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Nexstar names Fox distribution head Michael Biard as its president and COO, effective August 21; Fox Corp. names David Espinosa to succeed Biard

Discussion: Observer, Fox Corporation, Business Wire, The Desk, @jbflint, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Media Play News, Variety, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, WORLD SCREEN and Radio & Television …

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:
The UK plans to force social media and ad platforms like Google Ads to stop scam ads including fake celebrity endorsements and pop-ups with malware

Discussion: Financial Times

Earlier Picks:

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
Reach reports revenue fell 6.1% YoY to £279.4M and operating profit dropped 23.5% YoY to £36.1M; print revenue fell 2.7% YoY and digital slid 16.1% YoY

Discussion: Investegate, HoldtheFrontPage and Financial Times

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Instagram rolls out creator subscriptions in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the UK, expanding on support in the US

Discussion: 9to5Mac, Instagram and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix rolls out a My Netflix tab on iOS, superseding the Downloads tab to offer downloads, watch lists, reminders, and more; Android gets My Netflix in August

Discussion: Broadband TV News, About Netflix, Media Play News, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, CNET, UPROXX, Engadget, Deadline and TechCrunch

Vidya Krishnan / Nieman Reports:
A look at NDTV, India's last mainstream TV network willing to critically cover the Modi government, as Adani Group's NDTV takeover leaves few independent voices

Discussion: @vidyakrishnan, Newslaundry and Columbia Journalism Review

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok rolls out support for text posts, available via the app's Camera page and letting users add sounds, locations, stickers, and more

From Techmeme:

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Anthropic raised another $4B from Amazon, will make AWS its primary training partner, and is working with Annapurna Labs to develop new Trainium accelerators

The Information:
Sources: OpenAI considered developing a browser, discussed deals to power AI features on Samsung devices and search on sites and apps from Condé Nast and others

Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
A UK CMA report finds that Apple's policies hold back innovation in mobile browsers and recommends investigating Apple and Google's mobile ecosystem activities

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page