Mediagazer: Sources: The New York Times' union briefed several dozen staff from The Washington Post union on walkout best practices, suggesting the latter may also walk out (Sara Fischer/Axios)

3:35 PM ET, August 15, 2023

Top News:

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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.

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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 …

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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: 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 reporters' critical coverage of Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly blocked by corporate execs who cite concerns for safety of staff in Saudi Arabia — Exclusive: Media company recently signed lucrative deal with Saudi government-controlled MBC Group

Discussion: @nkulw, @direthoughts, @bbhorne@kolektiva.social, @jamesballiol, @marcowenjones.bsky.social, @patrickgaley, @rolandoliphant, @aymondo, @taniabranigan, @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 »

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 …

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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 …

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

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Progressive news group Courier Newsroom is launching a newsroom in Nevada and plans to open two more in Texas and New Hampshire in the coming months — Courier Newsroom, a local news group with a progressive perspective, is launching a new newsroom in Nevada Tuesday, and it's planning …

Raphael Satter / Reuters:

Filing: ex-WSJ reporter Jay Solomon voluntarily dismisses his claims against law firm Dechert LLP, which he accused of getting him fired from the Journal — 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 over 30 local and national news channels from CBS and Fox News, in addition to existing ABC and NBC news channels, a MrBeast channel, and others — 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 Desk, The Streamable, Deadline, Cord Cutters News and The Hollywood Reporter

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Podcast and video editing tool Descript acquires SquadCast, which helps hosts record conversations, another sign of 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

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Abner Li / 9to5Google:
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Patrick Frater / Variety:
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
Sources: The New York Times' union briefed several dozen staff from The Washington Post union on walkout best practices, suggesting the latter may also walk out

Discussion: @jigolden, @steve_e, @azagata.bsky.social and @mediaevan

Sara Fischer / Axios:
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Earlier Picks:

Bloomberg:
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Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
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Jay Peters / The Verge:
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Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
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