Mediagazer: OpenAI plans to offer a $395K grant to fund a new initiative at New York University's journalism school that will provide workshops on journalism ethics issues (Sara Fischer/Axios)

6:00 PM ET, August 8, 2023

Top News:

ESPN and Penn Entertainment unveil a deal to launch ESPN BET this fall; Penn plans to rebrand its current sportsbook in the 16 US states where Penn is licensed — Sports betting deal to include a streamlined experience for sports fans — ESPN today announced an agreement with PENN Entertainment …

Axios:

Penn Entertainment is selling Barstool Sports back to founder Dave Portnoy, who has accepted certain noncompete agreements; Penn had bought Barstool for $551M — - Tim Baysinger- Kerry Flynn- Sara Fischer — ESPN on Tuesday announced a betting joint venture with casino operator PENN Entertainment …

Natalie Korach / The Wrap:

BuzzFeed misses with Q2 revenue down 27% YoY to $77.9M, ad revenue down 33% YoY to $35.4M, and a net loss of $27.8M vs. $23.6M in Q2 2022 — The struggling media company reports a net loss Tuesday for the second quarter of $27.8 million — BuzzFeed ended June with $41.3 million in cash …

Discussion: BuzzFeed Inc., The Hollywood Reporter, @ckrewson, @baekdal, @jordannovet, @matthewkeyslive and Business Wire

Wall Street Journal:

Charlie Ergen strikes a deal to merge Dish and EchoStar, as he shifts away from the shrinking pay-TV network to compete with wireless giants like AT&T — Deal aims to give Dish the financial flexibility it needs to compete in the next generation of wireless

Luke Bouma / Cord Cutters News:

Dish reports Dish TV lost 197K subscribers in Q2, leaving 6.9M, Sling TV lost 97K subscribers, leaving 2M, and total pay TV subscribers fell 11% YoY to 8.9M — Today DISH announced its 2nd quarter 2023 earnings and reported that DISH and Sling TV lost 294,000 subscribers.

Discussion: TechCrunch, Media Play News, The Streamable, The Desk and @tvgrimreaper

Sara Fischer / Axios:

OpenAI plans to offer a $395K grant to fund a new initiative at New York University's journalism school that will provide workshops on journalism ethics issues — OpenAI, the parent company to ChatGPT, will fund a new journalism ethics initiative at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute …

Discussion: @tonyajoriley, Shelly Palmer, @_felixsimon_, @ingrid@everything …, @dicktofel and @jackmirkinson.bsky.social

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:

YouTube will stop showing users recommended videos in some places, including the homepage, when watch history is turned off entirely — Recommended videos keep users engaged on YouTube, but starting today, YouTube will stop showing recommended videos in some places, such as the homepage, if your watch history is turned off entirely.

Discussion: TechCrunch, The Verge, Engadget, @sportstvratings and @carnage4life@mas.to, more at Techmeme »

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Puck raised a $10M+ Series B led by J Rothschild Capital Management and plans to hire 8 to 10 new people in 2023; the outlet currently has 31 employees — Puck, the buzzy media startup that covers the intersection of Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Washington …

Discussion: The Wrap, The Information and @sarafischer

Casey Newton / Platformer:

Given the countless times Elon Musk has walked back announcements, the business media must rethink its coverage of X, Musk, and the fight with Mark Zuckerberg — After a weekend of whoppers about X and fighting Mark Zuckerberg, the press should take a more skeptical approach

Sara Fischer / Axios:

The Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson says the outlet hopes to be profitable in 2024, plans to seek higher-margin ad deals, and has 925K subscribers — The Atlantic has booked $19.5 million in advertising and events revenue so far this year, according to data shown to staff during …

Discussion: @sarafischer

Reuters:

Sources: earlier in 2023, Disney created a task force to study how the company can apply AI, develop in-house AI apps, and form partnerships with startups — Walt Disney (DIS.N) has created a task force to study artificial intelligence and how it can be applied across the entertainment conglomerate …

Discussion: IndieWire, New York Post, Gizmodo, Fortune, @chris@mastodon … and Collider

Mark Hicks / The Detroit News:

Bob Giles, who led two newsrooms to Pulitzers, oversaw Nieman Journalism Lab's launch, and selected and hosted hundreds of Nieman Fellows at Harvard, dies at 90 — Former Detroit News editor and publisher Bob Giles ― who led the paper to a Pulitzer Prize, the highest honor in journalism …

Discussion: @jodeet, @bethelmckenzie, @erniesuggs, @tommytomlinson, Detroit Free Press and Nieman Foundation

Jane Friedman:

An author finds “garbage books”, most likely AI-generated, uploaded to Amazon under her name and added to Goodreads; both services have since removed the titles — Update (afternoon of Aug. 7): Hours after this post was published, my official Goodreads profile was cleaned of the offending titles.

Discussion: Gizmodo, The Daily Beast, @erikbryn, @janefriedman, @thesarahrose, @janefriedman, @mariavalewrites.bsky.social, @tylerking.bsky.social, @jenhoward.bsky.social, @lilithsaintcrow …, @edsermark.bsky.social, @jasonsanford.bsky.social and Decrypt, more at Techmeme »

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Prosecraft, which compiled 27K+ books to compare their language's “vividness”, shuts down after a writer backlash over the site's potential generative AI uses

Discussion: @pronounced_ing, @benji_smith, @kaylaancrum, @zachrosewriter, @bibliogato, @pronounced_ing, @lindaholmes, @harikunzru, @pronounced_ing, Philosophy bear, CityLife, The Shaxpir Blog, The A.V. Club and Gizmodo, more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Financial Times:
Sources: Google and UMG are in talks to license artists' melodies and voices for AI-made songs; goals include making a tool for fans and paying copyright owners

more at Techmeme »

Agence France-Presse:
News Media Canada, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, CBC, and Radio-Canada ask Canada's competition watchdog to investigate Meta's blocking of news

Discussion: The Guardian and Canadian Association …

Sam Roberts / New York Times:
Rhoda Karpatkin, the former executive director and president of Consumer Union who doubled Consumer Reports subscriptions to 4.3M, died on August 4 at 93

Discussion: @mltellado, @jimshultz, TACD and @chrishendel

Max Kim / Los Angeles Times:
The Korea Broadcasting Actors Union says Netflix is not responding to calls to meet, as the union asks for the same residuals that US actors get under SAG-AFTRA

Discussion: New York Post, @ingloriousgigi.bsky.social, Rolling Stone, @aliciadcarroll, @wgawest, @sev___, @oriana_banana, @carriecnh12, @judyberman.bsky.social, @elisewho, @lawoftd, Inverse, @dasgoot1, Screen Rant and Collider

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:
Nexstar reports Q2 net revenue down 0.4% YoY to $1.24B, adjusted EBITDA down 32% YoY to $331M, a $78M loss for the CW, and core TV ad revenue down 2.2% to $404M

Discussion: MediaPost, Nexstar Media Group, Inc., The Desk, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Wrap and TVNewsCheck

Wesley Hilliard / AppleInsider:
Apple Music launches Discovery Station, akin to Spotify's algorithmic track recommendations, available via the Listen Now tab in the Stations for You category

Discussion: ZDNet, Android Police, Music Ally, @HilliTech@techhub.social, TechCrunch and The Verge

Paul Sawers / TechCrunch:
Spotify expands its AI-powered DJ beta, available in the app's Music feed, to ~50 markets, six months after debuting the English-only feature in North America

Discussion: Engadget, Spotify, AppleInsider, Gizmodo, @eldsjal, Bloomberg and Digital Music News, more at Techmeme »

Earlier Picks:

Natalie Korach / The Wrap:
Fox Corp reports Q4 revenue flat at $3.03B and net income up 20% YoY to $369M; FY 2023 revenue rose 7% YoY to $14.91B and net income rose 2% YoY to $1.25B

Discussion: New York Post, Reuters, @bristei, The Desk, PR Newswire, Wall Street Journal, @bristei, @bristei and Deadline

Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The New York Times reports Q2 revenue up 6% YoY to $590.9M, $92.2M adjusted operating profit, 9.88M subscribers, and subscription revenue up 7% YoY to $409.6M

Discussion: Yahoo Finance, @loudmouthjulia, @newspaperworld, @azagata.bsky.social, Front Office Sports, @loudmouthjulia and Poynter

Killian Faith-Kelly / Press Gazette:
An interview with The Times obituary writer Damian Arnold on his workday, stock obituaries, the right way to die, writing his first obituary in 2008, and more

Alex Webb / Bloomberg:
How Lionel Messi coming to MLS may help Apple attract international TV+ subscribers, as the service has almost no content made for non-English-speaking markets

Discussion: Awful Announcing, @karissabe, @fos, @messiquote, @pkedrosky, The Ringer and The Athletic

Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:
After social media upended the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine industries, some women turn to Facebook Groups and Substack for curated recommendations

Chris Lee / Vulture:
A group of 50+ Marvel VFX employees votes to be represented by IATSE, marking the first time VFX professionals have banded together to form a union in the US

From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
Sources: Canadian authorities arrested Alexander “Connor” Moucka, who is allegedly behind hacks in June and July of up to 165 Snowflake customers including AT&T

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is exploring a push into smart glasses by conducting an internal study, codenamed Atlas, to gather employee feedback on products on the market

Bloomberg:
Sources: OpenAI is in early talks with the California AG's office to become a for-profit company; letter: it also has discussed the shift with the Delaware AG

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