Mediagazer: Wonya Lucas, who became Hallmark Media's president and CEO in July 2020, plans to depart the company at the end of 2023 but will continue on the company's board (Joe Otterson/Variety)

4:20 PM ET, August 9, 2023

Top News:

Steven Waldman / The Atlantic:

Funding US local news, which may cost ~$1.5B per year to sustain 25,000 local reporter positions, would more than pay for itself and “save American democracy” — The decline of local journalism isn't just a threat to democracy. It's also costing us money. — Zak podmore did not bring down a corrupt mayor.

Discussion: Media Nation, @jrussellmi, @stevenwaldman, American Press Institute, @mckaycoppins, @dlberes and @bykenarmstrong

Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:

Q&A with Mark Rasch, lawyer for Tim Burke, whose equipment was seized in a probe of video leaks from Fox News, on the case's implications for journalists — In May, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed up at Tim Burke's home in Tampa, Florida, and seized several computers …

Matt Levine / Bloomberg:

The Penn-Barstool deal made sense for Penn and Dave Portnoy when he sold Barstool in 2020, and the Penn-Disney deal makes sense now as Portnoy regains Barstool — Also WeWork's decline, Yellow's equity value, Target as a securities-fraud target and a Reata M&A typo. — Barstool

Discussion: Vox, Variety, The Athletic and Barrett Media

Axios:
Penn Entertainment is selling Barstool Sports back to founder Dave Portnoy, who has accepted certain noncompete agreements; Penn had bought Barstool for $551M

Katherine Sayre / Wall Street Journal:
ESPN's deal allowing Penn to use its brand for ESPN Bet is worth $2B over 10 years: $1.5B in cash plus warrants worth about $500M to purchase shares in Penn

Discussion: Financial Times, Front Office Sports, Barrett Media, CNN, The Streamable, New York Post and Awful Announcing

ESPN Press Room U.S.:
ESPN and Penn Entertainment announce a deal to launch ESPN Bet, as Penn rebrands its sportsbook in the 16 US states where it is licensed; PENN jumps ~15%

Blake Brittain / Reuters:

Gizmodo EIC Dan Ackerman sues Apple, the Tetris Company, and others, accusing them of adapting his book about Tetris into a feature film without his permission — Dan Ackerman, editor in chief of the tech-news website Gizmodo, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Monday accusing Apple …

Discussion: Plagiarism Today, New York Post, PC Gamer, IndieWire, Metro, @xpangler, @reedalbergotti, @11thjeff, The Verge, Engadget, Talking Biz News, The Wrap, Variety, 9to5Mac and AppleInsider, more at Techmeme »

Yuvraj Malik / Reuters:

The world's largest media orgs, including the News Media Alliance, sign an open letter calling for collective negotiation over AI operators' use of their IP — A group of the world's biggest news media organizations called for revised regulations on the use of copyrighted material by makers …

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

The RNC picks Fox Business to host the second GOP presidential primary debate on September 27, after Fox News hosts the first debate on August 23 in Milwaukee — It's now two-for-two for the Murdoch empire when it comes to presidential candidate forums. — The Republican National Committee …

Discussion: UPI, @brianstelter, @politicoalex, @joelmathis.bsky.social, Deadline, The Hill, @wlabovitz, @jeremymbarr, The Wrap, New York Daily News and Semafor

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:

RTL Deutschland launches a €12.99/month “all-in-one” streaming service bundle, offering video, live sports, music, podcasts, audiobooks, and digital magazines — The new “all-inclusive” platform is promising German subscribers a one-stop-shop for video, live-sports, music …

Discussion: The Desk

Joe Otterson / Variety:

Wonya Lucas, who became Hallmark Media's president and CEO in July 2020, plans to depart the company at the end of 2023 but will continue on the company's board — Hallmark Media president and CEO Wonya Lucas will depart the company at the end of the year.

Discussion: TheBlaze, The Desk, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, Advanced Television, Next TV, WORLD SCREEN, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek and Deadline

Amanda Meade / The Guardian:

Australia's ABC shuts down all but four of its X accounts, citing “toxic interactions” and the cost, after shifting resources to TikTok and Instagram — The public broadcaster says interactions on the platform are ‘toxic’ as it closes almost all its Twitter accounts

Discussion: TechCrunch, New York Daily News, New York Times, @qanda, Reclaim The Net, @archcontext, The Desk, @markdistef, @zachvat@newsie.social, @sirsteven, @markdistef and @Greguti@pouet.chapril.org, more at Techmeme »

Pamela McClintock / Hollywood Reporter:

Netflix reopens NYC's iconic Paris Theater after major upgrades with plans to screen its original movies and host special events, retrospectives, and filmmakers — The iconic cinema will be able to screen 70mm film for the first time in years and also has a new Dolby Atmos system.

Discussion: The Wrap

Lara O'Reilly / Insider:

Canadian private equity firm Novacap acquires US TV adtech company Cadent from Lee Equity Partners, a source says for close to $600M — - PE firm Novacap has acquired TV adtech company Cadent. — The deal is valued at around $600 million, according to a source.

Discussion: Axios, AdExchanger, Next TV and Advanced Television

Reuters:

The WGA strike hits 100 days: negotiations with major studios have stalled as picketing writers protest what they describe as a disregard for their demands — The Hollywood writers' strike marks 100 days on Wednesday with contract talks stalled and people on the picket lines protesting …

Discussion: Forbes, The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, @warrenleighttv, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck, Vanity Fair, @deggans, @wgawest, @lisacullen, @wgastrikeunite, @prismreports, @davidhsteinberg, @carolinerenard_, @officermankorn, Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Times

Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:

YouTube plans to stop showing recommended videos in some places, including on the homepage, if a logged-in user's watch history feature is turned off entirely — Recommended videos keep users engaged on YouTube, but starting today, YouTube will stop showing recommended videos in some places …

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

Catherine Perloff / Adweek:
Google renames “in-stream ads” to “skippable ads”, to “more accurately describe the ad format”, after an Adalytics report accused YouTube of misleading buyers

more at Techmeme »

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More News:

Variety:
Source: Comcast-owned Sky, the UK's largest pay TV broadcaster, gives up the rights to broadcast the Oscars, acquired from the BBC in 2004, as ratings decline

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, @goldbart1, Deadline and Advanced Television

Elizabeth de Luna / Mashable:
X begins making ad revenue payouts to smaller creators, after issuing payments to select accounts in July 2023; how X calculates the payouts remains unclear

Discussion: TechCrunch, Insider Intelligence, Engadget, MarTech, @support, Techlusive, The Information, Forbes, Adweek and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Martin K.N Siele / Rest of World:
In Kenya, TikTok's most active African country, creators make money hosting protest livestreams, which protesters say help them stay safe from police violence

Discussion: Fox News and Reuters Institute, more at Techmeme »

Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
A look at Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang's “transparency portal”; the newsroom was galvanized to improve audience trust after criticism over a botched story

Committee to Protect Journalists:
A look at the increasingly hostile environment for journalism in the Netherlands, and the ripple effects of the 2021 killing of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries

Discussion: @pressfreedom, @cpj_eurasia, @pressfreedom, Voice of America, @naomizeveloff and @pressfreedom

Earlier Picks:

Joe Pompeo / Vanity Fair:
An analysis of Paramount's $1.62B deal to sell Simon & Schuster to private equity firm KKR, in which Simon & Schuster employees get an ownership company stake

Discussion: @mariskreizman, @vanityfair, Yahoo News, Los Angeles Times, Publishers Weekly, Fast Company and ScheerPost.com

Kate Harloe / Popula:
The Albany Public Libraries partnered with the city's local newspaper, the Times Union, to write a series of articles and examine what kind of news locals need

Discussion: @brad262run@mastodon.online, @sleslie@mastodon.social, @maria@thelife.boats, @philmeyer@newsie.social and @shannonmattern.bsky.social

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Endeavor CFO Jason Lublin expects the Hollywood strikes to cost the company ~$25M per month in revenue, but Endeavor stands with its writer and actor clients

Discussion: Deadline and The Wrap

Jeff Kosseff / Wired:
Unlike in Gonzalez v. Google, SCOTUS in the next year can't just punt the NetChoice cases challenging social media content moderation laws in Texas and Florida

Discussion: @joeo10@mastodon.sdf.org and @PrivacyDigest@mas.to

Natalie Korach / The Wrap:
BuzzFeed misses with Q2 revenue down 27% YoY to $77.9M, ad revenue down 33% YoY to $35.4M, and net loss up 18% YoY to $27.8M; BZFD drops 10%+

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

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working on a smart doorbell system with advanced facial recognition that can wirelessly connect and unlock third-party smart locks

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Donald Trump announces that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at a16z, will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House OSTP

Financial Times:
Sources: Palantir and Anduril are in talks with OpenAI, SpaceX, and more to form a consortium to bid for US defense contracts and plan to announce it in January

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