Top News:
Christopher Mathias / HuffPost:
Investigation: Richard Hanania, a Substack writer also published in WaPo, NYT, WSJ, and more, wrote for white supremacist outlets in the 2010s using a pen name — Hanania is championed by tech moguls and a U.S. senator, but HuffPost found he used a pen name to become an important figure in the “alt-right.”
Discussion:
@amandamarcotte.bsky.social, @danprimack, @letsgomathias.bsky.social, @emilybell.bsky.social, @martinsfp, @ositanwanevu, @letsgomathias, @david_j_roth, @letsgomathias, @letsgomathias, @david_j_roth, @letsgomathias, @letsgomathias, @letsgomathias, @paulstewartii, @paulstewartii, @paulstewartii, @paulstewartii, @katzonearth, @exador23@m.ai6yr.org, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @philipncohen@mastodon.social, @acdha@thepit.social, @lolgop.bsky.social, @socprof@masto.ai, @mmasnick.bsky.social, Mediaite, @mmasnick.bsky.social, @chadloder.bsky.social, @ddayen.bsky.social, @timnitGebru@dair …, @mattsheffield@mastodon.social, @timcarvell.bsky.social, @michellegoldberg.bsky.social, @tomscocca.bsky.social, @KimPerales@toad.social, @dandrezner.bsky.social, @jacobtlevy.bsky.social, @sethcotlar.bsky.social, @alexwild@mastodon.online, @strangestrings.bsky.social, @stevesilberman@newsie.social, @jsthrill.bsky.social and @charliearchy@mstdn.social
The Wrap:
Memo: the WGA says the two sides remain too far apart after the August 4 meeting with the AMPTP, accusing the AMPTP of violating its own media blackout request — In a letter to members, WGA accuses studios of leaking details about ‘confidential’ meet-up — Hopes for renewed contract talks between …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, @genemaddaus, Vanity Fair, Collider, @genemaddaus, TV Insider, IndieWire, Deadline, The Verge, IGN, Bloomberg, CBS News, Puck, Deadline, Fortune, TVLine, Screen Rant and Reuters
RELATED:
The Hollywood Reporter:
Charities say Hollywood food insecurity is rising as strikes drag on, so nonprofits are boosting food and financial aid for writers, actors, and support staff — As the labor impasse continues, charities say growing numbers of the industry's most vulnerable are unable to feed themselves …
Discussion:
Deadline, Fortune, Vanity Fair and Bloomberg
Deadline:
Thousands of WGA and SAG-AFTRA members picket NBCUniversal, after union members filed NLRB complaints saying the studio interfered with prior picketing activity
Thousands of WGA and SAG-AFTRA members picket NBCUniversal, after union members filed NLRB complaints saying the studio interfered with prior picketing activity
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, @slack2thefuture, Fans for the WGA, Deadline, @sonyasteele@mastodon.social, Forbes, The Wrap and Los Angeles Times
Khadijah Khogeer / NBC News:
Journalists at Vancouver-based IndigiNews and Ontario-based The Sarnia Journal say Meta's news block is reducing their sites' visitors and hurting their outlets — Meta recently began blocking news from Instagram and Facebook in Canada in response to the Online News Act.
Discussion:
@tehuti88
RELATED:
Canadian Association of Broadcasters:
North American broadcasters say Meta's news ban in Canada is “monopolistic” and urge lawmakers to support rules letting publishers negotiate with tech platforms — In response to Meta blocking news on Facebook and Instagram for Canadian users after the passage of Canada's Online News Act …
Discussion:
New York Times, Next TV, Inside Radio and Radio & Television …
Meduza.io:
Russian independent news outlet Meduza says Apple removed its flagship podcast from Apple Podcasts; source: Roskomnadzor asked Apple to remove the show — Meduza has received a notice from Apple, informing our media that our flagship podcast “What Happened” has been removed from the Apple Podcasts streaming platform.
André Beganski / Decrypt:
The New York Times is fighting a gag order imposed on FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried after he shared former lover Caroline Ellison's writings with the outlet — The Gray Lady's letter follows a report that landed Bankman-Fried back in court. … The New York Times pushed back on Thursday …
New York Times:
Investigation: US tech entrepreneur Neville Roy Singham, who funds left-wing outlets globally, works closely with Chinese government media to spread propaganda — The Times unraveled a financial network that stretches from Chicago to Shanghai and uses American nonprofits to push Chinese talking points worldwide.
Casey Newton / Platformer:
US state laws restricting access to porn circumvent First Amendment protections that prevent the government from deciding which content is “harmful to minors” — Anti-speech laws are spreading from states to Congress, and the future of online speech could hang in the balance
Richard Lawler / The Verge:
X delays its Ads Revenue Sharing program's payouts that were set for the week of July 31, saying the volume of people signing up “has exceeded our expectations” — In news that isn't very surprising given the recent history of Twitter, which Elon Musk is currently rebranding to X …
Joe Amditis / Center for Cooperative Media:
A look at LocalLens, a completely AI-driven website generating coverage of local government whose stated goal is to serve as a starting point for journalists — It's not journalism, but does it have a role to play in the information ecosystem? — Imagine you're using a metal detector …
Discussion:
@_jeffpierce, @jsamditis, @spsullivan, @spsullivan, @jozsefmeszaros.bsky.social, @ndiakopoulos and Politico
Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Background actors describe studios scanning their bodies and worrying over the lack of control of their digital likenesses, a key issue in the SAG-AFTRA strike — After four weeks of working as a background actor on the Disney+ series WandaVision during the pandemic, Alexandria Rubalcaba …
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, New York Times, ComingSoon.net, Screen Rant, Comic Book, @kagan@wandering.shop, @phillewis.bsky.social, @baldur@toot.cafe, IGN, SlashFilm, @WarnerCrocker@mastodon.social, @azalben.bsky.social, @black_intellect@mstdn.social, @labuzamovies.bsky.social, @JoParkerBear@universeodon.com and @lilithsaintcrow …
RELATED:
Janet Lorin / Bloomberg:
Texas A&M agrees to pay Black journalist Kathleen McElroy $1M to settle legal claims over her botched hiring; the case led to the resignation of A&M's president — Texas A&M University agreed to pay a prominent Black professor $1 million in a settlement over her failed hiring that led …
Discussion:
New York Times, Insider, The Guardian, @brizzyc, The Texas A&M …, The Daily Beast, National Review, The Hill, @sdkstl, @bgrueskin, @donmoyn, @donmoyn, @donmoyn, Houston Public Media, @froomkin, @jillgeisler, @mcgeereports, @andrewczhang, @markjacob16, @blackamazon, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @shortformernie, @jswatz, @jswatz, @michaelewebber, @jswatz, @bgrueskin, The Texas Tribune, Associated Press, The Wrap and Chron