Mediagazer: Sources: ex-Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. is preparing a bid for National Amusements and has talked with potential backers including Fortress and Roku (Wall Street Journal)

VP candidates Vance and Walz plan to debate on CBS on October 1, with Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan moderating; Vance says he wants to debate on CNN too — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance have agreed to debate each other on Oct. 1, setting up a matchup of potential vice presidents …

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: ex-Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. is preparing a bid for National Amusements and has talked with potential backers including Fortress and Roku — Potential bid could come in together in coming days, ahead of Aug. 21 end of ‘go-shop period’ — Media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr …

Discussion: The Wrap, Reuters, The Media Leader, The Streamable, New York Post, Deadline, TVNewsCheck, @tvgrimreaper, The Desk, @lucas_shaw and Bloomberg

Bloomberg:

Some publishers say they can't block the Googlebot crawler that covers AI Overviews without hampering their discoverability, as the crawler also covers Search — Publishers say blocking the company's AI bot could also prevent their sites from showing up in search

Discussion: Search Engine Land, @ianb@mastodon.well.com, The Media Leader, Julia Love on LinkedIn, @pahwa_nitish, @metacurity@infosec.exchange and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »

CapRadio:

Jun Reina, the former manager of California public radio station CapRadio, received $460K in mysterious payments, per an unredacted consulting firm report — Ever since news broke late last year about CapRadio's financial troubles, audience members, staffers and employees of Sacramento State …

Discussion: Mike Kessler on LinkedIn, @byrobinepley, @davidfolkenflik, @omarsrashad and Current

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

MLB and TelevisaUnivision strike a deal giving the network rights to broadcast Game 1 of the World Series and other post-season games, and more — TelevisaUnivision will start running weekly programming devoted to Major League Baseball and get to air some postseason play in a deal that will put …

Discussion: Adweek, Marie Ann Dougherty on LinkedIn, Sports Business Journal, TVNewsCheck, TelevisaUnivision, The Hollywood Reporter and Radio & Television …

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney hires Adam Smith, who oversaw YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscription services, as chief product and technology officer for entertainment and ESPN — Smith, who will be chief product and technology officer for entertainment and ESPN, most recently oversaw the YouTube Music and YouTube Premium subscription services.

Discussion: The Wrap, The Desk, Adweek, Variety, Next TV, Deadline, The Information, Los Angeles Times and Media Play News

Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:

A NYT reporter shared info from a WhatsApp group with a source and the info then spread on social media, leading to possible Australian anti-doxxing legislation — Members of a WhatsApp group for Jewish professionals were harassed after their chat thread fell into the hands of pro-Palestinian activists

Discussion: Sarah E. Needleman K. on LinkedIn and @wsjbusiness

Jesse Whittock / Deadline:

DLT Entertainment buys TV production company Juniper from BBC Chair Samir Shah, who was forced to step down from Juniper to avoid a conflict of interest — Financial terms of the deal weren't announced, but London-based DLT said the acquisition marked “a significant expansion of its portfolio in the factual programming space.”

Discussion: Advanced Television

Neel Dhanesha / Nieman Lab:

Q&A with Ear Hustle's Earlonne Woods and Bruce Wallace on producing podcasts in prison, the expansion to a women's prison, creating a training program, and more — The studio, at the California Institution for Women, will bring more incarcerated women's voices to the podcast — and kickstart an ambitious training program.

Discussion: @reportertracy

Variety:

How David Zaslav's famously hard-nosed approach to negotiations has alienated contributors to WBD's cash flow, including advertisers, sports leagues, and more — In recent days, it's become clear that the pink glow from that box office juggernaut has long since faded.

Discussion: @bristei, TVNewsCheck and Business Insider

CNN:

A look at the five-person Gen Z team running Kamala Harris' TikTok account @KamalaHQ, capitalizing on the VP's viral moments and averaging 6M views per post — Vice President Kamala Harris, quoting her mother, told a group of newly sworn-in commissioners for a White House initiative …

Discussion: New York Times, @sarafinachitika, @betsy_klein, @mattnavarra@threads.net, Wired and @rightardia@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »

Aisha Counts / Bloomberg:

A survey of 430 first-time US Gen Z voters: 60%+ oppose requiring under-16s to get parental consent to use social media and 85%+ oppose notification time limits — - Survey polled 430 first-time voters from across the US — Lawmakers have criticized Instagram, TikTok over child safety