Top News:
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Disney, Bloomberg, WaPo, The Atlantic, Axios, ABC, ESPN, Condé Nast, Hearst, Vox, and others join the NYT and Reuters in blocking OpenAI's GPTBot web crawler — Editor's Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.
Discussion:
Decrypt
Reuters:
Similarweb and Data.ai: Meta blocking news in Canada barely impacted Canadians' Facebook usage, backing Meta's claim that news has little value for the company — Meta's (META.O) decision to block news links in Canada this month has had almost no impact on Canadians' usage of Facebook …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, @mgeist, @mgeist and Michael Geist, more at Techmeme »
Ernesto Van der Sar / TorrentFreak:
Letter: the UFC, the NBA, and the NFL tell the USPTO that the DMCA needs to be updated so live content can be removed “instantaneously or near-instantaneously” — The UFC, NBA and NFL are without a doubt among the most recognizable sports brands in the world.
Discussion:
Engadget, Front Office Sports, The Verge, Ars Technica and UFC-NBA-NFL
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
The Texas Tribune blames its first-ever layoffs on a budget shortfall after institutions pulled sponsorships and revenue fell 5% YoY; some blame its leadership — Frustration over a lack of transparency has been amplified by the newsroom's status as “the gold standard of nonprofit journalism” …
Discussion:
MediaPost, @neenareports, @mattdpearce, @hanaatameez, @jayrosen_nyu and Talking Biz News
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver debut Spotify podcast Strike Force Five; proceeds will go to their out-of-work staff — ‘Strike Force Five’ limited series features Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver
Discussion:
Spotify, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Mediaite, TVLine, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, The Wrap, Vanity Fair, Deadline, Rolling Stone and 98 Rock Online
Bart Barnes / Washington Post:
Douglas Feaver, an Online News Association founder and a Washington Post reporter who retired as WashingtonPost.com's executive editor in 2005, dies at 84 — As a reporter in the 1970s and 1980s, he specialized in writing about transportation. He also was assistant Metropolitan editor and a business desk editor.
Discussion:
@jimbrady, @dleonhardt, @ignatiuspost, @danbalz, @ona, @jimbrady, @dleonhardt, @jimbrady, @peterbakernyt, @edokeefe, @dleonhardt and @jimbrady
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The Daily Wire plans to debut the first episode of Convicting a Murderer, its 10-part docuseries, for free on X on September 8 and spend six figures on X ads — The Daily Wire, a conservative media and entertainment company, will debut its first full-length docuseries Sept. 8 on X …
Matt Bors / Bors Comics:
The Nib, a 10-year-old site and print magazine for political cartoons and non-fiction comics, ends publication with a special edition on September 1 — After ten years, the comics publication I founded shuts down this Friday. — This week is the final week of The Nib.
Discussion:
@hrm-kristin-i.bsky.social, @iboudreau.bsky.social, @joshksky.bsky.social and @mattbors
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
UK-based The Independent names Managing Director Christian Broughton as its CEO, succeeding Zach Leonard, who will work on growing the US business as global COO — The Independent has appointed Christian Broughton, its managing director and former editor, as its next chief executive as it seeks …
Discussion:
The Independent
Mark Sullivan / Fast Company:
In a “safety” blog post, X announces “paid-for promoted political posts”, starting in the US, and plans to “provide a global advertising transparency center” — X (née Twitter) published a “safety” brief on its blog today outlining new policies …
Discussion:
Variety, Twitter, Social Media Today, Al Jazeera, Engadget, Gizmodo, Ars Technica, Deadline, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, @safety, @__esteiner, @katieharbath, @kyliebytes, @moonalice, @__esteiner, @thesullivan, CNN, @__esteiner, @x, The Hill, Search Engine Land and Insider, more at Techmeme »
Charlotte Klein / Vanity Fair:
MSNBC is drawing in major ratings, having emerged as the go-to network for coverage of Donald Trump's criminal charges just as Fox News and CNN face instability — The network's mix of weighty reflection, analysis, and schadenfreude is drawing in major ratings, surpassing Fox News and CNN …
Discussion:
Mediaite, Deadline, @dannygroner, @wajahatali, @charlottetklein, @jayrosen_nyu, Poynter, Adweek and The Wrap
Max Tani / Semafor:
Source: on August 22, The Washington Post quietly laid off several top marketing staff, program managers, and product designers at Arc XP, its technology arm — The Scoop — The Washington Post has quietly laid off staff from Arc XP, the technology arm of the paper that Post leadership …
Discussion:
@semaforben and @mediaevan
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