Top News:
Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
David Ellison has repeatedly framed “New Paramount” as partially a tech company, but the company's problem isn't its tech but rather its scale — - David Ellison says the new Paramount will be a “World-Class Media and Technology Enterprise.” — He's Oracle founder Larry Ellison's son …
Discussion:
Variety, @edmundlee@threads.net, Rafael Brown on LinkedIn, Bloomberg, Observer, Financial Times, Reuters and Newser
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Axios:
Source: Oracle founder Larry Ellison will invest ~$6B into the Paramount-Skydance deal, with RedBird Capital Partners contributing the remaining $2B — - The Ellisons and RedBird have transactional covenants that require they be consulted on any major business decisions by Paramount in the interim, RedBird's Jeff Shell tells Axios.
Discussion:
The Hill, Bloomberg, @tvgrimreaper, @danprimack, The Wrap, New York Post, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, Slate, Next TV, WORLD SCREEN, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter
Dawn Chmielewski / Reuters:
Paramount Global and Skydance Media announce a merger of the two companies, ending months of chaotic talks; a memo says the deal is expected to close in H1 2025
Discussion:
Paramount, Paramount, Digital Music News, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News, TrekMovie.com, Engadget, Los Angeles Times, @pkafka, @aepstein_, @jbflint, @xpangler, @lucas_shaw, @jbflint, @benmullin, Adweek, The Drum, @richlightshed, @mattbelloni, The Desk, @harrisharrisev9, @mattnicholas, @andykleinman, @btmcclure, @xpangler, @benmullin, StreamTV Insider, @loudmouthjulia, SlashFilm, The A.V. Club, The Streamable, @lucas_shaw, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, CNBC, Fast Company, The Information, Broadband TV News, Associated Press, The Verge, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, The Guardian, The Hollywood Reporter, The Media Leader, New York Times, CNN, Financial Times, B&T, IF Magazine, MediaPost, Mumbrella, Business Insider, @lkimmasters@threads.net, Ad Age, CBS News, Sara Fischer on LinkedIn, IndieWire, Axios, New York Times, Variety, Wall Street Journal, Cord Cutters News, Los Angeles Times, The Information, r/boxoffice, r/wallstreetbets, r/MediaMergers and r/startrek
Sara Fischer / Axios:
WaPo launches Climate Answers, an AI-powered chatbot that responds to questions about climate with info from WaPo articles; it aims to expand to other topics — - The Post is working with several AI firms, including OpenAI and Meta's Llama, to power its own large-language model that surfaces answers …
Committee to Protect Journalists:
A Kenyan court rules that Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif's death at the hands of local police in 2022 was arbitrary and unconstitutional — Kampala, July 8, 2024—The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Kenyan court's Monday ruling that Kenyan authorities violated Pakistani …
Discussion:
Voice of America
Levin Stamm / Bloomberg:
Switzerland announces an advertising ban on Russian outlets Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestia, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta, but lets them continue broadcasting — Switzerland will allow four Russian media outlets to continue broadcasting even after they were banned by the European Union.
Aidan Ryan / The Boston Globe:
UVM's Center for Community News receives $7M to expand partnerships between US universities and local news outlets to give students reporting opportunities — As the number of local journalists employed across the country continues to shrink, dozens of colleges are trying to help fill gaps in reporting.
Discussion:
vermontbiz.com
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Dish-owned streamer Sling TV plans to show pause ads, which could contain a video or static content; users can turn off pause ads from the settings menu — Sling TV will now put ads on your screen when you pause live or on-demand content, according to an announcement from its parent company, Dish.
Discussion:
The Desk, The Streamable, Cord Cutters News, About DISH and Next TV
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Spotify adds the ability for users to leave comments on podcasts, expanding on polls and Q&As; comments will be private by default, and creators can opt out — The company already lets Spotify podcasters offer polls and Q&As, so this new feature could give creators new ways to interact with their audiences.
Discussion:
Engadget, Spotify, TechCrunch, Digital Music News, Dataconomy, WinBuzzer and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Chalkbeat plans to launch Healthbeat, covering public health, this summer; Chalkbeat will be housed under the new Civic News Company with EIC Shani O. Hilton — - Chalkbeat, which launched a decade ago by Green and journalist Philissa Cramer, expanded into coverage of voting in 2020 and made …
Elizabeth Dilts Marshall / Billboard:
Filing: Hipgnosis shareholders vote to sell the fund to Blackstone for $1.58B, ending a roller coaster year for shareholders and the fund's board — Six years after going public on the London Stock exchange, a majority of Hipgnosis Songs Fund shareholders voted on Monday (July 8) …
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide, Digital Music News, New York Times and CMU
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Ex-WSJ reporter Stephanie Armour sues the paper, alleging it sought to shed staffers who incur big health care costs by invoking “trumped up performance issues” — A disability discrimination lawsuit filed Tuesday by a veteran reporter who left the Wall Street Journal …
Discussion:
The Desk, Robert Housman on LinkedIn, @tatecurtis, @bizwriterkristi, @iape1096, @thetrough, @allisonprang and @davidfolkenflik
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
DreamFlare, a studio where creators make videos using third-party AI tools and distribute them through a subscription service, emerges from stealth with $1.6M — A startup called DreamFlare AI is emerging from stealth on Tuesday with the goal of helping content creators make and monetize short-form AI-generated content.
Nikita Mazurov / The Intercept:
Leaked code: NYT tested using OpenAI tech to generate article headlines and help apply its styleguide; NYT says the “experiment was not taken beyond testing” — In the courtroom, the New York Times has taken a hard line against OpenAI. The newspaper sued the artificial …
Discussion:
@florian4gamers, Media Voices and @mvario1
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