Mediagazer: NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry's fantasy sports media firm Fantasy Life raised $2M; Berry: Fantasy Life is profitable, has $1M+ revenue, and 350K subscribers (Sara Fischer/Axios)

6:05 PM ET, August 15, 2023

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Brian Steinberg / Variety:

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Sara Fischer / Axios:

NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry's fantasy sports media firm Fantasy Life raised $2M; Berry: Fantasy Life is profitable, has $1M+ revenue, and 350K subscribers — Fantasy Life, the fantasy sports and sports betting media company founded by NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry …

Discussion: The Wrap, Front Office Sports, @mbfantasylife and Sportico

Andrew Paul / Popular Science:

To comply with a state law requiring that school library books be “age appropriate”, an Iowa school district used ChatGPT to find books depicting “a sex act” — Faced with new legislation, Iowa's Mason City Community School District asked ChatGPT if certain books 'contain …

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Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

Sources: Vice executives have repeatedly blocked the outlet's critical coverage of Saudi Arabia, citing concerns for the safety of staff in the country — Exclusive: Media company recently signed lucrative deal with Saudi government-controlled MBC Group — Vice has repeatedly blocked news stories …

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Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:

TSG sues Twentieth Century Fox and parent Disney, claiming the studio withheld profits and cut deals to boost Hulu, Disney+, and its stock, at partners' expense — TSG's lawsuit, which also names Disney unit Twentieth Century Fox, is similar to Scarlett Johansson's 2021 suit against company

Discussion: The Desk, The Wrap, NBC 7 San Diego, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter

Jon Porter / The Verge:

YouTube starts mass removing videos promoting “cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective” or discouraging “seeking professional medical treatment” — YouTube will remove content that promotes “cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective” or which …

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Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

A lawsuit that threatens to bankrupt a Wisconsin local news website highlights a trend of wealthy and powerful people using defamation law for retribution — When a north-central Wisconsin news site reported that a businessman had uttered a homophobic slur, he sued, claiming defamation.

Discussion: @sapna, @JaneRLaForge@mstdn.social and @persagen@mastodon.social

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

Telegraph Media Group says the outlet has reached its target of 1M subscriptions, 70%+ of them digital, and that 300K of its subscribers use its app every day — More than 70% of the subscriptions are digital. — Telegraph Media Group says it has hit its target of reaching one million subscriptions before the end of 2023.

Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which acquired Redbox in 2022, is cutting costs and plans to form a strategic review committee; CSSE closed down 47.3% — A year after Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) purchased Redbox for $375 million, the company continues to be hit …

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Jay Peters / The Verge:

Substack now lets users follow an individual writer without having to subscribe to their newsletter, a further expansion into social networking after Notes — Substack now lets you follow writers, offering a way for you to keep tabs on what a writer is doing without having to subscribe to their newsletter.

Discussion: TechCrunch, @ryansingel@writing.exchange and On Substack, more at Techmeme »

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