Top News:
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Sources: former New York Times CEO and BBC Director-General Mark Thompson is a leading candidate to head CNN; Thompson left The New York Times in 2020 — The Scoop — The former New York Times and BBC chief Mark Thompson is a leading candidate to lead CNN, according to people familiar …
Discussion:
Variety, @tvgrimreaper, @edmundlee, Financial Times, New York Post, @edmundlee, New York Times and @richlightshed
Angela Fu / Poynter:
Texas Tribune CEO Sonal Shah announces layoffs, blaming a weakened economy and more; the outlet's copy desk chief posted that the copy desk had been laid off — CEO Sonal Shah told staff that 2023 has been uniquely challenging for the outlet, which many have come to see as a model for nonprofit journalism
Discussion:
Austin Chronicle, @editwithemily, @davidpasztor, The Texas Tribune, @mcgeereports, @joelmathis.bsky.social, @joshuafechter, @kherman, @andreagrimes.bsky.social, @maxwelltani, @amzam, @carla_astudi, @keribla, @stevanzetti.bsky.social, @nbj914, @korruptednerves.bsky.social and @chucklindell
Erin Woo / The Information:
Sources: TikTok plans to bar links to Amazon and other e-commerce sites to force people to use TikTok Shop; source says Shop will lose $500M+ in the US in 2023 — The cost of TikTok's online shopping expansion in the U.S. is beginning to add up. — TikTok Shop, the app's nascent shopping service …
Discussion:
Music Ally, AdExchanger, MediaPost, TechCrunch, Ars Technica and Fox News, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Antenna: Netflix added ~2.6M new US users in July, more than any other paid streaming service but down 26% from June 2023; ~23% signed up for Netflix's ad tier — - The streaming service had more sign-ups than any other in July — Netflix user growth in the US had stopped in recent years
Discussion:
Deadline, Insider, Broadband TV News, Antenna, Reuters, The Verge, Neowin, @lucas_shaw, The Streamable, @loudmouthjulia, PYMNTS.com, @russellhfilm, @df2506, Media Play News and Cord Cutters News
Washington Post:
Fox News staff and Donald Trump advisers detail how Tucker Carlson's pre-recorded interview came about; Trump had wanted to post the interview on Truth Social — The on-again, off-again partnership found mutual benefit in a pre-recorded interview to air during the first Republican presidential debate
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Poynter, Adweek, The Guardian, The Hill, Reuters, Associated Press, The Daily Beast, TIME, @brianstelter, Deadline, Rolling Stone, CBS News, @alexthomp, Daily News, New York Magazine, Slate, Politico, Advocate, Los Angeles Times, Variety, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, Semafor, @blackamazon, @pkafka, @sarahellison, Media Matters for America, The Week, Mediaite, Vanity Fair, The Wrap, Columbia Journalism Review and Financial Times
Joe Flint / Wall Street Journal:
Nielsen plans to incorporate Amazon's viewership data for Thursday Night Football; last season, Amazon's internal numbers were nearly 18% higher than Nielsen's — The move is expected to boost ratings of games; Amazon's own numbers were nearly 18% higher than Nielsen's last season.
Discussion:
The Desk, Variety and Media Play News
Todd Shields / Bloomberg:
The FCC invites comment on a request to deny a license renewal for Fox TV's WTXF in Philly, after a group challenged the renewal due to Fox News' legal history — - Participation would serve public interest, agency says — Group challenged Fox renewal over 2020 election coverage
Discussion:
The Desk, Reuters, FCC, Radio & Television … and The Desk
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
To comply with the EU DSA, Google plans to expand its Ads Transparency Center and offer more details on EU ad targeting, increase researcher access, and more — Google will provide more information on targeted advertisements and give researchers more access to data on how its products work …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Google Help Center, The Keyword, d2384 and Business 2021, more at Techmeme »
Clare Malone / New Yorker:
A profile of WBD CEO David Zaslav after the company's rocky first year, as some doubt that he is up to the task of building a new entertainment industry power — The C.E.O. of a huge conglomerate takes on an entertainment business in turmoil. — In 1941, a couple from New York bought …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Amazon, WBD, and a third broadcaster are competing for the rights to six to eight summer races from NASCAR, which is trying to add more media partners — - Racing league looks to boost revenue with multiple partners — Fox and NBC are still in position to renew their deals
Discussion:
Sports Media Watch and WGN-TV
NewsGuard:
An analysis finds 37 sites that are using AI chatbots to rewrite news articles, which first appeared in outlets like CNN, the NYT, and Reuters, without credit — NewsGuard has identified 37 sites that use artificial intelligence to repackage articles from mainstream news sources without providing credit …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
Reuters:
Interfax: a Moscow court extends WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich's pre-trial detention to November 30, 2023 from August 30; Gershkovich attended the hearing — U.S. reporter Evan Gershkovich had his pre-trial detention extended by three months by a Russian court on Thursday, Interfax reported, on charges of espionage that he denies.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, @wsj, @wsj, @jimmysecuk, @pjotrsauer, Wall Street Journal, CNN, New York Times, Associated Press, Voice of America, Fox News and Talking Biz News
Dominic Patten / Deadline:
Email: the WGA says AMPTP's August 11 proposal failed to sufficiently protect writers and the meeting with studio CEOs was an attempt to make the WGA “cave” — - TV Talk Podcast: Strike-Delayed Emmys Risk Getting Lost In Awards-Show Pileup & That's A Damn Shame
RELATED: