Mediagazer: 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 (Wall Street Journal)

8:26 PM ET, August 21, 2024

Top News:

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 …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, The Wrap, Variety, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, Media Play News, Deadline, @marvwashere.bsky.social, Jessica Toonkel on LinkedIn, Quartz, Ad Age, Lauren Thomas on LinkedIn and Next TV

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.

The Wrap:
Document: Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s Paramount bid is backed by a group of 19 investors including Fortress, Brock Pierce, and producer Steven Paul

Discussion: Gordon Geist on LinkedIn, TVNewsCheck, Deadline, The Guardian, The Hill and Axios

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 …

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.

Discussion: MediaPost, a14.asmdc.org, Los Angeles Times, Engadget, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @jamesqueallylat, @davidfolkenflik, CalMatters, @jeffjarvis and @jeffjarvis, more at Techmeme »

Editor and Publisher:
A draft plan circulating among California lawmakers and media leaders would create a Local News Fund with Google and state money, run by a board at UC Berkeley

Discussion: KQCA-TV, Free Press, @bcmerchant, @garrytan, @econliberties, @stevenwaldman, @mattdpearce, @future_of_music, @bcmerchant, Politico, The Wrap, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce, @bcmerchant, Sarah Kay Wiley on LinkedIn and @researchbuzz@researchbuzz …

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 …

Discussion: Rotten Tomatoes, Engadget, Screen Rant, Jason Blagman on LinkedIn, Dan Lee on LinkedIn, AV Club, Digital Trends, SlashFilm, @jacobtalks4ever, @gigawattconduit, The Playlist, Media Play News, @ellysmelancholy, The Wrap, @screenslate, CBR and Variety

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

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

Discussion: @researchbuzz@researchbuzz …, Catherine Perloff on LinkedIn, @marypcbuk.bsky.social and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

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, Washington Post, CBS News, @stevehillwriter, @nycsouthpaw, Mercury News, @drvolts, @epopppp.bsky.social, @nycsouthpaw, @nycsouthpaw, @spockosbrain, @nycsouthpaw, @brianbeutler, @nycsouthpaw, @atrupar, @nycsouthpaw, @juliusgoat.bsky.social and @kevinmkruse@threads.net

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.

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.

Discussion: @michaelbishop.me, @KimPerales@toad.social, @researchbuzz@researchbuzz …, @GottaLaff@mastodon.social and Rappahannock News

Georg Szalai / The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount and Canal+ unveil an updated deal under which Canal+ subscribers in France get Paramount+ at no additional cost — Under the updated deal, Canal+ subscribers can access Paramount+ at no additional cost, no matter which subscription plan they have.

Discussion: Advanced Television, Marco Nobili on LinkedIn, Media Play News, Broadband TV News, WORLD SCREEN and Engadget

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Disney's board names James Gorman, executive chairman of Morgan Stanley, as chair of a succession planning committee to identify Bob Iger's replacement as CEO — Gorman, who joined the Disney board earlier this year, oversaw the recent succession process at Morgan Stanley, where he had previously served as the firm's CEO.

Discussion: Reuters, The Desk, The Wrap, Radio & Television …, Next TV, TVNewsCheck, Los Angeles Times, The Information, Deadline and Bloomberg

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 8:26 PM ET, August 21, 2024.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Senior Data Journalist, NY — WSJ

Manager - Publishing Editorial, Manila — Reuters

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Senior California Politics Reporter, CA — SFGATE

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Team Editor - Opinion, ON — Toronto Star

Assistant Correspondent, DC — Kyodo News

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

Lead Business Reporter, TN — Daily Memphian

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

City Correspondent, London — Financial News

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

Senior Political Reporter, DC — The Lever

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Editor, Remote US — Daily Kos

Business Reporter, WA — Longview Daily News

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

Add your company here

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Salman Masood / New York Times:
Pakistan police charge a man who worked for news aggregator Channel3Now with cyberterrorism, accusing him of spreading misinfo about the Southport, UK, attacker

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, London Evening Standard, UPI, @marcowenjones, Reclaim The Net, @fascinatorfun and Reuters

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The UK's Evening Standard tells staff it will move to a weekly print publishing schedule, starting on Thursday, September 26, and rebrand as The London Standard

Anna Gross / Financial Times:
Ofcom says it has 460+ people working on enforcing the Online Safety Act and plans to grow that by 20% to 550+ by March 2025, or 33% of its 1,500 total staff

Discussion: @jakdaw09 and @paulmarsha11

Tabitha Mueller / The Nevada Independent:
WBD commits $500M+ annually for productions in Nevada over 17 years as part of a UNLV film studio partnership, if the state expands its film tax credits in 2025

Discussion: IndieWire, Next TV, Media Play News, @jeremyrenner, @ralstonreports, @stevesebelius, Channel 13 Las Vegas News KTNV, Commercial Observer, Las Vegas Review-Journal, KLAS, Bloomberg, Fox 5 Las Vegas, KLAS and Reuters

Dan Sullivan / Tampa Bay Times:
Bala Sundaramoorthy, ex-GM of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will become president and COO of Tampa Bay Times' parent on October 1, succeeding Joe DeLuca

Discussion: Conan Gallaty on LinkedIn, Editor and Publisher and MediaPost

Earlier Picks:

Hoda Sherif / The Nation:
Four journalists discuss how their reporting on Gaza was restricted, bias in newsrooms they worked in, and how being Palestinian impacted their work

Discussion: @lukeoneil47, Hell World, @lukeoneil47, @tulikabose_, @tulikabose_, National Union of Journalists …, @lukeoneil47, @lukeoneil47, @jackmirkinson and @sahar_fatima

Daniel Wiessner / Reuters:
A US district judge in Texas strikes down the FTC's ban on worker noncompete agreements, due to start September 4, after temporarily blocking the rule in July

Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Condé Nast agrees a multiyear deal with OpenAI, letting ChatGPT and SearchGPT surface stories from The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Bon Appetit, and Wired

Blake Brittain / Reuters:
Writers and journalists Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber, and Kirk Wallace Johnson sue Anthropic, saying it misused their books and others' to train Claude

Discussion: TechCrunch, Music Ally, The Drum, The Information, New York Post, Plagiarism Today, The Verge, Associated Press and Publishers Weekly, more at Techmeme »

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alex Cooper reaches a multiyear agreement with SiriusXM, replacing Spotify; source: the deal is for a little more than 3 years and is worth as much as $125M

From Techmeme:

Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Source: Google has canceled the development of a second-generation Pixel Tablet, planned for release in 2025, due to concerns that it wouldn't sell very well

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is testing a more conversational version of Siri, dubbed “LLM Siri”, with plans to release it in spring 2026 as part of iOS 19 and macOS 16

Hannah Lang / Reuters:
Sources: a16z, Ripple, Kraken, and Circle are jostling for a seat on Trump's promised crypto advisory council, which is expected to set up a bitcoin reserve

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page