Top News:
New York Times:
Sources: Paramount extends its deadline for sales talks until early September to evaluate Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s new bid, which could shake up the Skydance deal — Edgar Bronfman Jr. and his bidding group now have until September to sell Paramount on their offer.
Discussion:
CNBC, The Desk, Deadline, Broadband TV News, Advanced Television, The Wrap, Commercial Observer, AV Club, Front Office Sports, New York Post, Sportico, Financial Times, Axios, The Streamable, The Media Leader, Media Play News, Los Angeles Times, Music Business Worldwide, Reuters and Variety
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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Edgar Bronfman Jr. raises his Paramount bid to $6B, adding $1.7B to let non-Redstone, nonvoting Paramount shareholders cash out at $16 a share — The bid gives non-Redstone, nonvoting Paramount shareholders an option to sell shares at a premium — Edgar Bronfman Jr. has sweetened …
Politico:
Google and the state of California strike a deal to jointly contribute $125M+ over five years to support local news; it also includes support for an AI project — The California agreement includes funding for artificial intelligence, a technology many journalists fear could replace their jobs.
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Lauren Irwin / The Hill:
Judy Woodruff apologizes for saying she had read reports that Trump urged Israel's PM not to cut a deal to end fighting in Gaza because it would help Harris — PBS NewsHour senior correspondent Judy Woodruff issued an apology Wednesday after her comments about former President Trump's role in Gaza cease-fire talks sparked criticism.
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@judywoodruff, New York Post, Fox News, Mediaite, MSNBC, @jeremyschulman, The Daily Wire, Reuters and New Republic
Peter White / Deadline:
Sources: Chick-Fil-A plans to launch a slate of original media productions for its own streaming platform and has worked with studios on family-friendly shows — Deadline understands that the fast-food firm has been working with a number of major production companies, including some of the studios …
Discussion:
Variety, The Verge, @mikeorren, The Desk, @kennysmith.bsky.social, The Media Leader, Vibe, Vanity Fair, Ars Technica, The Daily Beast, SlashFilm, @deadline, Cord Cutters News, @sleestak.bsky.social, @mfg_iwpj, @acidrains.bsky.social, @deadline, Streaming Better, @c_a_huggins, @LilahTovMoon@tech.lgbt, @kennysmith@mstdn.social, AV Club, CBR, @cafastfoodunion, Quartz, @chrisvalentino0 and @deadline
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Rotten Tomatoes debuts a Verified Hot badge for films that have a Verified Audience Score of 90% or higher, among other requirements — Movies that are ‘Verified Hot’ by filmgoers will join those that are ‘Certified Fresh’ from critics, in a move meant to give more weight to consumer opinions …
Tommy Craggs / Bloomberg:
How the end of a federal ban on sports gambling transformed the way sports media is funded and changed what kind of stories get covered and published — The $10 billion industry transformed how sports media is funded—and written. — Few journalists embody the gambling industry's capture …
Discussion:
New York Times, @ghaleonq, @patrickhayes_13, @tcraggs22, CommonWealth Beacon, @albertburneko, @kevinmdraper and @travis_waldron
Naomi LaChance / Rolling Stone:
Fact checkers' reviews of Democrats' statements about Trump have routinely botched the facts, earning one correction so far and an X Community Note — Fact checkers' reviews of DNC speeches about Trump have routinely botched the facts — earning one correction so far and a community note on X
Discussion:
Press Watch, @newsjennifer_schulze …, @jamesfallows, Washington Post, @nycsouthpaw, Mercury News, @drvolts, @epopppp.bsky.social, @nycsouthpaw, @nycsouthpaw, @spockosbrain, @nycsouthpaw, @brianbeutler, @stevehillwriter, @nycsouthpaw, @atrupar, @nycsouthpaw, @juliusgoat.bsky.social, @kevinmkruse@threads.net and CBS News
Bilge Ebiri / Vulture:
Lionsgate recalls its trailer for Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis that used fake quotes from multiple critics, and apologizes “for this inexcusable error” — Since this story published, Lionsgate has taken the trailer down and issued an apology: “Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis.
Discussion:
New York Times, IndieWire, Variety, The Guardian, USA Today, The Daily Beast, Newser, Associated Press, The Wrap, @bilgeebiri, @bilgeebiri, @bilgeebiri, @bilgeebiri, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Empire, Consequence, Boing Boing, Digital Trends, The Indian Express, ComingSoon.net, Inverse, Screen Rant, AV Club and Rolling Stone
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Ormax Media estimates that India currently has 547M streaming users, or 38% of the population, up 14% YoY and driven by ad-supported streaming — The latest edition of Ormax Media's streaming audience research reveals significant growth in India's streaming landscape, albeit driven entirely by ad-supported viewership.
Catherine Perloff / Adweek:
Sources and docs: Google sales reps have suggested advertisers target teens on YouTube via an “unknown” category, seemingly violating the company's policies — This activity is broader than the agreement between Google and Meta that the FT reported this month
New York Times:
The FBI has raided the homes of two US commentators for Russian state media in an effort to blunt foreign influence on elections; more searches are expected — The F.B.I. raided the homes of two prominent commentators on Russian state television channels as part of an effort to blunt attempts to influence November's election.
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