Mediagazer: Snapchat adds new safety features for minors, including making it harder for strangers to contact teens and removing accounts marketing inappropriate content (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)

Top News:

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

The MacArthur Foundation and 20+ non-profits announce Press Forward, an initiative to invest $500M over five years in local news, eventually rising to $1B — The effort, spearheaded by the MacArthur Foundation, will give grants to support newsrooms and start-ups as concern grows over the rapid disappearance of local news outlets.

Discussion: macfound.org, The Hill, Nieman Lab, NPR, Associated Press, Free Press, Axios, Second Rough Draft, Poynter, @chicagosamir, American Public Media, @peterlattman, @vabvox and @journalismproj

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:

Google releases its relevance and measurement APIs for Privacy Sandbox in general availability, making them available in Chrome without browser flags or trials — Google's Chrome browser is now one important step closer to its goal of phasing out third-party cookies by the end of 2024.

Discussion: Gizmodo, 9to5Google, @baekdal, Neowin, The Register and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

Memo: Andrew Golis, WNYC's chief content officer and formerly VP of network development for Vox Media, is leaving WNYC — Per an internal memo to staff today, chief content officer Andrew Golis is leaving WNYC.

Discussion: @maxwelltani

Krystie Lee Yandoli / Rolling Stone:

Interviews with 16 current and former staffers describe a toxic workplace at The Tonight Show, starting at the top with Fallon's outbursts and erratic behavior — Sixteen current and former staffers say Fallon's erratic behavior spoiled their “dream” of working on The Tonight Show — I

Discussion: Screen Rant, TVLine, The Messenger, New York Post, ET Canada, Page Six, CityAM, @paulconstant.bsky.social, The A.V. Club, Boing Boing, @thefarmerjones.bsky.social, @sydneyy.bsky.social, UPROXX and @noahshachtman@mstdn.social

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Snapchat adds new safety features for minors, including making it harder for strangers to contact teens and removing accounts marketing inappropriate content — Snapchat today is announcing a series of new safeguards for its app, aimed at better protecting teen users, similar …

Discussion: CNN and Snapchat

Mia Sato / The Verge:

Patreon adds Discord-like group chats, with support for up to four chats and letting creators restrict access based on subscriber tiers, starting on mobile — Beginning today, Patreon creators who want a dedicated space to interact with fans will have a built-in option: group chats.

Discussion: TechCrunch

Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:

An interview with Jonathan Knight, head of games at the NYT, on the paper's new game Connections, creating a “news plus games” daily habit for readers, and more — “Come for the news, stay for the games.” — Jonathan Knight, head of games for The New York Times, has a few rules for new games.

Discussion: USA Today, Media Voices and PC Gamer

Rick Reger / Local News Initiative:

A survey of 1,507 US teens aged 13 to 17 finds 46% saw local TV news daily or weekly, while 42% encountered national network TV news daily or weekly — New Medill survey shows higher-than-expected news engagement among young people — An oft-cited factor in the continued struggles …

Discussion: @localnewsini, The Desk and @timafranklin

Gene Park / Washington Post:

Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser describes the company's evolution from a gaming company to a broader entertainment company, including live events — For decades, Nintendo was synonymous with video games. Now in its second century, the Japanese company wants to be much more.

Discussion: The Messenger, @carnage4life@mas.to and @genepark

Financial Times:

Sources: DMGT, which owns the Daily Mail and Metro newspapers, has held talks with Qatari investors about a combined £500M+ bid for the Telegraph Media Group — Gulf finance in demand as rival media groups circle conservative broadsheet — Lord Rothermere's Daily Mail and General Trust …

Discussion: The Guardian, @pressgazette and @mediaevan

Josef Adalian / Vulture:

How Paramount Network reversing the release order of 1883 and Yellowstone on streaming and broadcast helped grow viewers, a tactic other companies could adopt — The 2010s USA Network drama Suits might have been the hottest thing on Netflix this summer, but over on cable …

Discussion: TVLine

Joe Coscarelli / New York Times:

Ghostwriter, the anonymous creator who used AI to mimic Drake and The Weeknd, has met with record labels, Grammy organizers, and more, and releases a new song — The anonymous artist, who stirred conversation with the A.I. track “Heart on My Sleeve,” has been quietly consulting with executives, while also gunning for a Grammy.

Discussion: TechCrunch, VIBE.com, Billboard, The Verge, Engadget, Variety, Music Ally, Deadline, Futurism, The Fader, Gizmodo, Consequence, Forbes, UPROXX, TMZ.com, The A.V. Club, The Messenger and ET Canada, more at Techmeme »