Mediagazer: Progressive local news group Courier Newsroom plans to open a Nevada newsroom this week and one in Texas and another one in New Hampshire in the coming months (Sara Fischer/Axios)

3:55 PM ET, August 15, 2023

Top News:

Analysis: X adds a five-second delay on t.co links to Instagram, the NYT, Reuters, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Substack, and other sites Elon Musk often attacks — The site formerly known as Twitter has added a five-second delay when a user clicks on a shortened link to the New York Times …

Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:

Nielsen: in July, linear TV made up less than 50% of all US TV usage, a first in over two years of tracking, and streaming hit a record 38.7% high of TV usage — Nielsen's monthly platform rankings show broadcast and cable making up less than half of all TV use.

Discussion: Nielsen, The Streamable, TechCrunch, Cord Cutters News, TVLine, Gizmodo, Deadline, MediaPost, @digitalshields, WORLD SCREEN, Nielsen, Variety, Consequence, Next TV, Media Play News, Wall Street Journal and Collider, more at Techmeme »

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

ESPN sportscaster Sage Steele says she is leaving the network having settled her lawsuit that alleged ESPN violated her free speech rights — Sage Steele, the veteran ESPN sportscaster who became better known in recent years for her stances on hot topics like coronavirus vaccinations, has left the Disney sports giant.

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 …

Discussion: CNET, Gizmodo, Mashable, TechCrunch, Engadget, @rvaughnmd@med-mastodon.com, 9to5Google and Beyond Search, more at Techmeme »

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 …

Discussion: Mashable, Gizmodo, Engadget, @dkbgeek@noc.social, @kiplet@social.tchncs.de, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @emilymbender, @paisleycurrah, @drewharwell@mastodon.social, @andrewpaul.bsky.social, @bkreit, @Mer__edith@mastodon.world, @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, Shelly Palmer and The Register, more at Techmeme »

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 …

Discussion: @nkulw, @direthoughts, @jamesballiol, @marcowenjones.bsky.social, @patrickgaley, @rolandoliphant, @aymondo, @taniabranigan, @bbhorne@kolektiva.social, @acookiecrumbles … and @jimwaterson.bsky.social

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 »

Jeremy W. Peters / New York Times:

A defamation suit against a local Wisconsin news site threatens to bankrupt the outlet, a case that highlights a trend of 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

Christian Paz / Vox:

A look at Pop Crave and Pop Base, two pop culture X accounts doing newsgathering and aggregation, and sharing headlines that eliminate the need to click through — Are Pop Crave and Pop Base the future of political journalism? — If you've spent any time on Instagram, Threads, or …

Discussion: New York Times, MIT Technology Review, @studyhallxyz and @jazzmineabriana

Meduza.io:

An investigation concludes that two Russian journalists, Elena Kostyuchenko and Irina Babloyan, were most likely poisoned while abroad in October 2022 — The independent outlet The Insider has published an investigation into a series of poisoning attacks targeting Russian journalists and activists in Europe.

Discussion: Нов … and @kevinrothrock@infosec …

Raphael Satter / Reuters:

Filing: former WSJ reporter Jay Solomon voluntarily dismisses his lawsuit against law firm Dechert, which he said hired hackers to get him fired from the outlet — Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon has ended his lawsuit against Dechert LLP and two of its former partners …

Alex Cranz / The Verge:

Roku adds channels for MrBeast, Saved by the Bell, 30+ local and national CBS and Fox News channels, and more, on top of the existing ABC and NBC news channels — The Roku Channel is adding a whole mess of new linear channels, and while some are fun times like Murder, She Wrote and MrBeast …

Discussion: The Streamable, Deadline and Cord Cutters News

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Progressive local news group Courier Newsroom plans to open a Nevada newsroom this week and one in Texas and another one in New Hampshire in the coming months — Courier Newsroom, a local news group with a progressive perspective, is launching a new newsroom in Nevada Tuesday …

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Podcast and video editing tool Descript acquires SquadCast, which lets hosts record episodes, another sign of podcast consolidation; Descript has raised $100M — Descript, an editing tool for podcasts and video, has acquired SquadCast, which helps podcast hosts record their conversations with guests …

Discussion: PRWeb and RAIN News

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Fantasy Life, NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry's fantasy sports media firm, raised $2M; Berry says it's profitable, has seven-figure revenue and 350K email subs — Fantasy Life, the fantasy sports and sports betting media company founded by NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry …

Discussion: Sportico and @mbfantasylife

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Sara Fischer / Axios:
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Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
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From Techmeme:

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Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
US House Speaker Mike Johnson says the GOP “probably will” try to repeal the CHIPS Act, but then walks it back, saying the GOP may “further streamline” the bill

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