Top News:
Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: the NYT placed Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf on leave earlier in 2023 during a probe into her possible misuse of funds, like overpaying non-US staff — The Scoop — The New York Times fired its second Baghdad bureau chief in five years in a bizarre saga that has infuriated some of the paper's staff in the Middle East.
Discussion:
The Wrap, @markamesexiled, @maxwelltani, @davidclinchnews, @semaforben, @lailaalarian, @rjsalame, @glcarlstrom and @w7voa
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
RedBird IMI, led by Jeff Zucker as CEO, makes its first media investment in EverWonder, a new non-fiction content studio led by ex-Time Studios COO Ian Orefice — The ex-Time Studios chief says that EverWonder Studio will be hiring journalists and filmmakers, with an eye toward content that could launch new IP or brand extensions.
Discussion:
Yahoo Finance, @alexweprin, @lmoses, @danprimack and @kerrymflynn
New York Times:
Shoddy self-published guidebooks, which appear to be compiled with the help of generative AI and promoted via deceptive reviews, are proliferating on Amazon — In March, as she planned for an upcoming trip to France, Amy Kolsky, an experienced international traveler who lives in Bucks County …
Jon Henley / The Guardian:
More than half of journalists at French Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche resign after a failed strike to prevent the arrival of a far-right editor — Bitter strike at Journal du Dimanche ends with staff exodus - and arrival of Geoffroy Lejeune, a supporter of leading xenophobe Eric Zemmour
Discussion:
@helfriedcarl, @nycjim, @photos_floues@bagarrosphere … and @ariadne@climatejustice.social
Financial Times:
A profile of German millionaire Holger Friedrich, who has been engulfed by controversies since acquiring and leading a turnaround of the daily Berliner Zeitung — East German entrepreneur has been engulfed by a string of controversies since buying historic Berliner Zeitung
Discussion:
@rubenanguiano, @a_reader_ft, @laurapitel and @tonytassell
New York Times:
Sources: Paramount plans to announce an agreement to sell Simon & Schuster to PE firm KKR as soon as August 7; the deal would value Simon & Schuster at ~$1.62B — The deal with KKR, a private equity firm, is said to be valued at roughly $1.62 billion, and could be announced as soon as Monday.
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, @maris.bsky.social, Financial Times, The Wrap and Wall Street Journal
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
UK broadcast regulator Ofcom launches four new impartiality investigations into GB News, after upholding two complaints earlier in 2023 — Broadcaster faces four Ofcom investigations over impartiality. — GB News is facing four new impartiality investigations from broadcast regulator Ofcom.
Discussion:
The Desk, The Guardian, The i Paper, Deadline, @gbnewsspin, @jake_kanter, @iburrell, Broadband TV News, Ofcom, @andyhardy40, Advanced Television, @pressgazette, @dli_odoir and @ofcom
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Comscore: Barbie crosses $1B+ in worldwide box office sales, just 17 days after release, the first movie solely directed by a woman to cross the $1B threshold — “Barbie” has earned more than $1 billion in worldwide box office sales, according to Comscore.
Discussion:
Insider, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, NBC New York, NPR, @mattsheffield, CBS News, Vanity Fair, @adamnash, Billboard, Semafor, Screen Rant, Variety, MediaPost, abc7NY, SlashFilm, Bloomberg and New York Daily News
Reuters:
Elon Musk claims X will fund the legal bills of people who have been “unfairly treated” by their employer “due to posting or liking something on this platform” — Elon Musk has said his X social media platform will fund the legal bills of people who have been treated unfairly …
Discussion:
@elonmusk, CBS News, The Hill, Gizmodo, New York Post, The Verge, Bloomberg, New York Times, The Wrap, Digital Journal, @donaldjtrumpjr, The Information, @nigel_farage, @ginacarano, @bernybelvedere, NPR, @timinclimate, @levynews, @evcricket, @reporterzoe@threads.net, @austen, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, Fortune, @edzitron, @edzitron, TMZ.com, Fox News, @redsteeze, @ngrossman81, @pinboard, @iamcouncil, @gokulns, @wholemarsblog, @lauraloomer, @radiofreetom, Al Jazeera, Insider, Techlusive, Reuters, @stitzch.bsky.social, Cointelegraph, BBC, @cleoselene.bsky.social, @hithisismira.bsky.social, @srossmktg.bsky.social, @evacide@hachyderm.io, Forbes and Politico, more at Techmeme »
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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:
@genemaddaus, @genemaddaus, Deadline, Vanity Fair, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Collider, The Verge, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, TVLine, Variety, Screen Rant, Bloomberg, CBS News, Deadline, Fortune and Reuters
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Deadline:
Thousands of WGA and SAG-AFTRA members picket NBCUniversal, after union members filed NLRB complaints saying the studio interfered with prior picketing activity
Discussion:
@jackiepenn18, @deadline, @deadline, Rolling Stone, @slack2thefuture, Fans for the WGA, Deadline, @sonyasteele@mastodon.social and Forbes
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
Discussion:
Bloomberg, @thisiskaia, @katiekilkenny7, @leahfolta, @slack2thefuture, @wgawest, Fortune, Deadline, Vanity Fair and Bloomberg
Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A with The CW Entertainment President Brad Schwartz on the importance of owning all show rights, quickly expanding into sports, producing originals, and more — Brad Schwartz joins the 'TV's Top 5' podcast to discuss why big studio shows like ‘Riverdale’ won't work as the network shifts its focus to becoming broader (and older).
Discussion:
Variety, Deadline, @tvgrimreaper, @tvgrimreaper, @snoodit and @mandyttcarr
Josef Adalian / Vulture:
As broadcasters make fewer scripted shows, streaming services that need such content can avoid churn and a catalog crisis by making series with more episodes — This story first ran in Buffering, Vulture's newsletter about the streaming industry. Head to vulture.com/buffering and subscribe today!
Discussion:
@nina_metz, @royal_suitor, @nymag, @dfriend, @tvmojoe, @dougwyman425, @juleswritesblog, @ct_ford, @ethanmayj and The Streamable
Thomas Wilde / GeekWire:
Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast plans to ban generative AI-made illustrations, after fans spotted signs of AI art in an upcoming sourcebook — BOT or NOT? This special series explores the evolving relationship between humans and machines, examining the ways that robots …
Discussion:
Media Voices, Associated Press, Boing Boing, @onyrica, @gontijodesign, @evilcleverdog, @aarantheartist, @nevernotdm, Comic Book, Decrypt and Gizmodo
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:
@garbageape, @AnarchoDoggo@kolektiva.social, @calebscoville, @sethcotlar, @ggreenwald, @parismarx, @alexwild@mastodon.online, @bodhipaksa@mastodon.scot, @mikeisaac, @oneunderscore__, @oneunderscore__, Richard Hanania's Newsletter, @ositanwanevu, @martinsfp, @danprimack, @amandamarcotte.bsky.social, @letsgomathias.bsky.social, @letsgomathias, @david_j_roth, @letsgomathias, @letsgomathias, @david_j_roth, @letsgomathias, @letsgomathias, @letsgomathias, @paulstewartii, @paulstewartii, @paulstewartii, @paulstewartii, @katzonearth, @emilybell.bsky.social, @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
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
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