Top News:
New York Times:
Paramount reaches a $1.62B deal to sell Simon & Schuster to private equity firm KKR; the prestigious US publisher was first put up for sale in March 2020 — The deal, for $1.62 billion, will put control of a cultural touchstone in the hands of a financial buyer.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Bloomberg, Publishers Weekly, New York Times, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Publishing Perspectives, CNBC, NPR, The Wrap, Associated Press, Business Wire, Graphic Policy, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, CNN, CBS News, The Hollywood Reporter, @thewrap, @maris.bsky.social, @mariskreizman, @danprimack, @benmullin, @harikunzru, @kerrymflynn, @mike_jung, @mariskreizman, Financial Times, @annaknicolaou, @kwharrison13, @mattlibrarian.bsky.social, The Wrap, @samhainnight@mstdn.social and The Bookseller
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.
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:
@laurapitel, @a_reader_ft, @rubenanguiano and @tonytassell
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Sources: WBD is targeting the beginning of the MLB playoffs to debut a sports tier for Max, planning to use the Bleacher Report brand to target young audiences — - Warner Bros. Discovery plans to simulcast live games on cable TV and Max streaming in October.
Discussion:
@loudmouthjulia, Sports Media Watch, @nkulw, Media Play News, @sherman4949, The Streamable, Front Office Sports, The Desk and Cord Cutters News
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 …
The Ringer:
Apple is “out-HBOing” HBO with quality scripted content filled with marquee casts, but its dividends in viewership, subscriptions, and revenue are murkier — Apple TV+ has amassed a rich library of original content in less than four years—with the awards season nominations to prove it.
Discussion:
@shermanjeff, @sarthakgh, @tvgrimreaper, @serenepapenfuss, @nycsouthpaw, @peterschorschfl, @joshschoen and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Chris Lee / Vulture:
A group of 50+ Marvel VFX employees vote to be represented by IATSE, marking the first time VFX professionals have banded together to form a union — Call it the Hollywood-labor-organizing version of Avengers Assemble! On the heels of more than a year's worth of damning disclosures around …
Discussion:
Variety, Bloomberg, IndieWire, SlashFilm, The Wrap, Screen Rant, CNN, Los Angeles Times, @henrytcasey, @stevie_mat, @darren_mooney, @parismarx, @__chrislee, Collider, Deadline, Gizmodo, @elenaperez@mastodon.social, The A.V. Club, The Hollywood Reporter, @rocketdyke@yellowmustard.club, @glennf@twit.social, @oweeeeendennis.bsky.social, @hypercubexl.bsky.social, @rodhilton@mastodon.social and @labuzamovies.bsky.social
Jon Henley / The Guardian:
Over half of the journalists at France-based Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche resign after their strike didn't 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:
@photos_floues@bagarrosphere …, @helfriedcarl, @ariadne@climatejustice.social and @nycjim
Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter:
NBCUniversal makes the first three Killing It Season 1 episodes available on YouTube and TikTok, as SAG-AFTRA's strike bars its stars from promoting Season 2 — Without star Craig Robinson to promote the return for season two, NBCUniversal is turning to other alternatives.
Discussion:
The Streamable, TechCrunch, Deadline and UPI
Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
RedBird IMI, led by CEO Jeff Zucker, makes its first media investment in EverWonder, a new non-fiction content studio led by former 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:
@lmoses, @kerrymflynn, Yahoo Finance, @alexweprin, @danprimack and The Wrap
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount reports Q2 revenue down 2% YoY to $7.6B and a $250M loss; subscription revenue grew 47% YoY to $1.2B+; Paramount+ added ~700K subscribers to hit ~61M — The media giant reported 60 million paid subscribers for Paramount+ last quarter. — Paramount Global reached 61 million …
Discussion:
Variety, The Wrap, The Streamable, Variety, The Information, @lmoses, @lmoses, Paramount, @tvgrimreaper, @variety and Media Play News
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
UK broadcast regulator Ofcom launches four impartiality investigations into GB News, after upholding two Mark Steyn COVID-19 coverage complaints earlier in 2023 — Broadcaster faces four Ofcom investigations over impartiality. — GB News is facing four new impartiality investigations from broadcast regulator Ofcom.
Senior Data Journalist, NY — 
Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — 
Oil Reporter, Singapore — 
Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — 
Business Reporter, SC — 
State Government Reporter, WA — 
Climate Crisis Columnist — 
Multimedia Journalist, CA — 
Community Engagement Mgr., DC — 
Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — 
Staff Writer - Business, NY — 
Team Editor - Opinion, ON — 
Assistant Correspondent, DC — 
Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — 
Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — 
Lead Business Reporter, TN — 
Managing Editor, WA — 
Private Credit Reporter, NY — 
Trending News Reporter, TX — 
City Correspondent, London — 
Legislative Reporter, CA — 
Reporter, PA — 
Visual Editor, Remote — 
Staff Writer, MI — 
Senior Political Reporter, DC — 
California Playbook Writer, CA — 
National Investigative Reporter, NY — 
Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — 
Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — 
Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — 
Coordinating Editor, OR — 
Editor, Remote US — 
Business Reporter, WA — 
Editor-in-Chief, AZ — 
