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.
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 …
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
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:
@photos_floues@bagarrosphere …, @helfriedcarl, @ariadne@climatejustice.social and @nycjim
Mia Sato / The Verge:
TikTok launches a music competition hosted on livestreams called Gimme the Mic, with the US winner getting 50,000 Diamonds whose USD conversion rate is unclear — TikTok will host a music contest similar to popular talent shows like The Voice, the company announced today.
Discussion:
TechCrunch and TikTok
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 and The Wrap
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:
The Wrap, Yahoo Finance, @lmoses, @kerrymflynn, @alexweprin and @danprimack
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.
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:
CNN, New York Times, @kylegriffin1, @lecinephiles, @gothamchief, @whacknicholson, @filmupdates, Wall Street Journal, Insider, NPR, @mattsheffield, @adamnash, Semafor, CBS News, MediaPost, NBC New York, The Verge, Vanity Fair, Billboard, Screen Rant, Variety, SlashFilm, Bloomberg and New York Daily News
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
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:
The Wrap, @elonmusk, The Verge, Bloomberg, CBS News, The Hill, Gizmodo, New York Post, New York Times, Digital Journal, @donaldjtrumpjr, The Information, @nigel_farage, @ginacarano, @bernybelvedere, @timinclimate, @levynews, @evcricket, NPR, @reporterzoe@threads.net, @austen, Fox News, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, Fortune, @edzitron, @edzitron, TMZ.com, @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 »
RELATED:
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 and @ethanmayj
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, @onyrica, @gontijodesign, @evilcleverdog, @aarantheartist, @nevernotdm, Decrypt, Comic Book, Boing Boing and Gizmodo
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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