Top News:
Dan Sabbagh / The Guardian:
In a letter to ex-prime minister Gordon Brown, the UK's Met police say a special team is examining claims that Will Lewis helped cover up phone hacking claims — Exclusive: Scotland Yard move on complaint by ex-PM Gordon Brown, who accuses Will Lewis of phone hacking ‘cover-up’ in 2011
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David Folkenflik / NPR:
Lawyers for Prince Harry and others accused WaPo CEO Will Lewis of fabricating a fake security threat 13 years ago in order to delete emails at Murdoch tabloids — LONDON — Attorneys for Prince Harry and prominent U.K. politicians today accused Washington Post chief executive and publisher …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Media Nation and Byline Investigates
Al Jazeera:
An Israeli airstrike kills Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Refee in the Gaza Strip — Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Refee killed in Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. — Al Jazeera Arabic journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his cameraman Rami al-Refee …
Discussion:
The Desk, Jacobin, @pressfreedom, Mediaite, Committee to Protect …, @hadas_gold, @mkpetkova@mastodon.world, The Times of Israel and Reuters
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
In a Q&A at the NABJ convention, Trump questions Kamala Harris' ethnicity, calls ABC News' Rachel Scott “very rude”, and complains about audio problems — “I've known her for a long time indirectly, directly, very much,” Trump said. “And she was always of Indian heritage and she was promoting Indian heritage.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Mediaite, The Guardian, Media Matters for America, The Wrap, Fox News, TIME, New York Times, Variety, CBS News, Politico, Slate, The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, TheGrio, @noahcrothman, @willsommer, @brianstelter, Axios, Boing Boing, @kamalahq, Forbes, @corbinbolies, NABJ, @brianstelter, @semaforben, @abbydphillip, @acyn, Mother Jones, @parkermolloy, New Republic, New York Daily News, @jeffstorobinsky, Shari Dunn on LinkedIn, Barrett Media, Rolling Stone, TMZ.com, Washington Post, @trumpstaxes, Associated Press, @hadas_gold, NBC4 Washington, @hadas_gold, @hadas_gold, @hadas_gold, ABC7, Semafor and The Hill
Carly Thomas / The Hollywood Reporter:
A TikTok account leaked 12+ clips of HBO's House of the Dragon Season 2 finale; HBO said the leak followed a third-party distributor's unintentional release — Several clips from the finale were uploaded on TikTok ahead of its debut on Aug. 4. — It happened again …
Discussion:
Variety, ComingSoon.net, Comic Book, @jalefkowit@vmst.io, Deadline, Screen Rant, TV Insider, Dexerto, TVLine, Forbes, AV Club, TVNewsCheck, Metro.co.uk, The Mirror and The Wrap
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
A press release, now killed, said “Apex Capital Trust” put in a bid for Paramount, prompting multiple news stories, but background info on the org looks sketchy — A $43 billion offer to acquire Paramount Global from a group purporting to be an investment firm appears to be a hoax …
Discussion:
LinkedIn, Reuters, Talking Biz News, Business Wire, Variety, The Wrap, Financial Times, @matthewkeyslive, @matthewkeyslive, @thedeskdotnet, @ft, @louis_ashworth, @antoinegara, @grimes_ce, Deadline, Quartz and Bloomberg
Meta:
Meta reports Q2 revenue up 22% YoY to $39.07B, net income up 73% YoY to $13.47B, and family daily active people up 7% YoY to 3.27B on average for June 2024 — Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META) today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024.
Discussion:
Variety, The Information, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sports rights deals are moving money out of Hollywood to leagues: sports make up 40% of Disney's content budget, NBC's NBA deal will replace 150+ hours of shows — The league's $76 billion worth of long-term rights agreements may usher in a massive transfer of wealth from Hollywood …
Discussion:
@alexweprin, TVNewsCheck and Associated Press
Kyle Chayka / New Yorker:
Spotify prioritizes what a user has recently listened to and recommended content, encouraging users to become passive listeners, a form of enshittification — The platform interface has gradually made it harder to find the music I want to listen to. With the latest app updates, I'd had enough.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney is cutting about 140 jobs at Disney Entertainment Television, or about 2% of staff; cuts will fall hardest on NatGeo, Freeform, and ABC stations — The company is eliminating about 140 jobs, or about 2% of staff at Disney Entertainment Television, said the people …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Adweek, New York Post, The Desk, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, Quartz, mikemcguff.com, AV Club, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn and TVNewsCheck
Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu / Financial Times:
Ofcom: in 2023, 48% of UK 16- to 24-year-olds watched broadcast TV in an average week, a record low and down from 76% in 2018, as TikTok and YouTube dominate — Less than half of 16- to 24-year-olds are tuning in every week, Ofcom finds — Less than half of young audiences …
Discussion:
ofcom.org.uk, @michellemanafy@journa.host, ofcom.org.uk, The Guardian and Press Gazette
Tyler Falk / Current:
Survey: noncommercial radio news pay fell 8% YoY and commercial radio news salaries rose 23%+ between the end of 2022 and the end of 2023 in major US markets — A survey of radio news salaries showed a 2.5% decline compared to last year's survey, led by a substantial drop among noncommercial stations.
Discussion:
@currentpubmedia