Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: UK police saw Will Lewis as an impediment to their phone hacking investigation; plaintiffs say Lewis gave the “green light” to delete News Corp. emails — Will Lewis, now the publisher of the Washington Post, was in full crisis mode in 2011.
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Washington Post:
WaPo and The News Movement, in which Will Lewis holds a stake, agreed in recent months to pursue brand partnerships; TNM made two major pitches involving WaPo
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Politico, @obrien_kat@mastodon.world, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @davidbeard@threads.net, @farhip, @farhip, @ianshapira, @dastonerl, @davidrlurie, @zackstanton, Diane Ravitch's blog, Financial Times, @noahshachtman@threads.net, @yonetteajoseph@threads.net, The Daily Beast, @lpolgreen@threads.net and The Atlantic
Dave Collins / Associated Press:
A US bankruptcy court trustee discloses plans to shut down Infowars and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5B in lawsuit judgments that Alex Jones owes — A U.S. bankruptcy court trustee is planning to shut down conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars media platform and liquidate …
Discussion:
HuffPost, CNN, Axios, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Mediaite, @rpsagainsttrump, The Daily Beast and New Republic
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: BuzzFeed is struggling to sell Hot Ones owner First We Feast, which is profitable and has ~$30M revenue per year; interested parties balk at $70M price — - Several parties are interested but balk at $70 million price — Proceeds of about $50 million would help company pay off debt
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Dan Primack / Axios:
Filing: Vivek Ramaswamy's BuzzFeed stake grew to 8.9%; sources: Ramaswamy recently met Jonah Peretti and wants Patrick Bet-David and two others on the board — - Ramaswamy has continued to increase his stake, this morning disclosing that it's risen to 8.9%.
Discussion:
@theclubmember04, New York Post, Business Insider, @danprimack, Fox Business and @claytravis
Todd Spangler / Variety:
MTV appears to have fully pulled down MTV News website, scrubbing two decades' worth of content from its archives; Paramount Global shut down MTV News in 2023 — Some two decades' worth of content published on MTVNews.com is no longer available after MTV appears to have fully pulled down the site.
Discussion:
@patrickhosken, The Wrap, @alannabennett, @annetdonahue, @lakewitchhouse.bsky.social, @martinsfp@threads.net, @crystalbell, @stephentotilo, @greene.haus, @sam_piroton, @lymoula, @mirrorman.bsky.social, @kalihays1@threads.net, @jemaswad, @meelztv, @tirhakahlove, @jaytingle.bsky.social, @kashana.bsky.social, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @hiattb, The A.V. Club, @brendonkleen14, @jhoffman, @film_girl, @smi.bsky.social and @kevdgrussing
Mia Sato / The Verge:
The RIAA files two copyright-infringement cases against the AI music services Suno and Udio; Udio was used to create the viral song BBL Drizzy — A group of record labels including the big three — Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Engadget, The Overspill, Bloomberg, @carnage4life, Reuters, @abelowrob, The Wrap, @robertfreundlaw, @riaa, @tb_num, @mitch_glazier, @reckless1280@threads.net, @komaniecki_r, @jason_koebler, @future_of_music, @kerrymuzzey, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @maximumadhd, @jess_miers, Music Business Worldwide, @riaa, MediaPost, Wall Street Journal, Digital Music News, @rachelmetz, Wired, Consequence, Rolling Stone, Billboard, @rahll, @rachelmetz, Drew Thurlow on LinkedIn, Variety, Music Ally, @emilylazar_sm, Ars Technica, @ednewtonrex, @lucas_shaw, @human_artistry, 404 Media, CMU, @dada_drummer, @patrickmoorhead, @human_artistry, @mattbelloni, @riaa, @justinebateman, CNN, @andybaio@xoxo.zone, Music Technology Policy, @johnpstrohm, @miasato.2@threads.net, @dada_drummer, The Register, @rachelmetz, @riaa, @riaa, Quartz, @carnage4life and Fast Company, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Prices of ad-free Paramount+ With Showtime plan will rise by $1 to $12.99/month, and of Paramount+ Essential plan with ads by $2 to $7.99, starting August 20 — As Paramount Global looks to push its streaming business into the black, it's hiking the prices for most Paramount+ plans later this summer.
Discussion:
The Verge, IndieWire, The Wrap, The Desk, Reuters, Comic Book, CNBC, Cord Cutters News, Gizmodo, TVLine, ComingSoon.net, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, BGR, Adweek, Engadget, The Streamable, Fox Business and Quartz
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
CNN is in charge of every aspect of Thursday's Biden-Trump debate, a major shift from previous years; rival channels will leave CNN's on-air watermark untouched — One network is in charge of every aspect of the Biden-Trump debate, a major shift from previous years. Tens of millions of viewers are expected to be watching.
Discussion:
Adweek, @protecttruth@mastodon.online, @scarylawyerguy, Politico, @farhip, @katierogers, Gizmodo, @nminow@c.im, @matthewkeyslive, New York Post, @markjacob16, @bristei, The Hill, @fcchambers, @jeremymbarr, @kairyssdal, @ronfilipkowski, Poynter, Washington Examiner, TVNewsCheck, Mediaite and Los Angeles Times
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Jesse Whittock / Deadline:
Sony Pictures Networks India names Disney+ Hotstar content chief Gaurav Banerjee as its new Managing Director and CEO — Sony Pictures Networks India has named Disney+ Hotstar content chief Gaurav Banerjee as its new Managing Director and CEO. — He'll replace N.P. Singh …
Discussion:
Variety and WORLD SCREEN
New York Times:
Interviews with ~12 media executives, such as Brian Roberts, John Malone, Barry Diller, and Ted Sarandos, about the future of streaming, bundling, ads, and more — Who will survive? Die? Thrive? And how? We talked to nearly a dozen top media executives and asked them to predict what lies ahead.
NBC News:
Court docs: Julian Assange plans to plead guilty as part of a plea deal with the US, allowing him to go free after spending five years in a British prison — The WikiLeaks founder has been held in a prison outside London for the last five years and fought extradition to the United States.
Discussion:
Reuters, @wikileaks, CNN, Freedom of the Press …, Associated Press, The Guardian, Irish Examiner, Metro.co.uk, @stella_assange, CBS News, Engadget, TechCrunch, Mediaite, New York Times, The Wrap, Financial Times, Rolling Stone, The Register, @martinsfp@threads.net, Bloomberg, @benburgis, @joeo10@mastodon.sdf.org, Fox News, Deadline, @robertkennedyjr, Mumbrella, NewsNation, Reclaim The Net, Politico, Axios, BBC, @lemonslayer.bsky.social, @mbrauchli@threads.net, @jamesrbuk, @jameeljaffer, @lemonslayer.bsky.social, @jamesrbuk, Gizmodo, New York Post, @jamesrbuk, ABC7, @sgurman, Washington Post, @jeffjarvis, @autismcapital, The Intercept, @zcohencnn, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, Washington Examiner and Committee to Protect …
Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences reaches a deal with CEO Bill Kramer to remain through July 2028; his contract was not up for renewal until 2025 — Kramer, who has served as the organization's CEO since June 2022, was not up for renewal until 2025, but the Academy sought to extend his deal …
Christina Couch / Nieman Lab:
Freelance writers, media producers, others sue the Department of Labor over new guidance for classifying independent contractors, saying it creates uncertainty — “Ultimately, what we're fighting for is the right to freelance.” — A new rule issued by the Department of Labor earlier …
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