Top News:
Wall Street Journal:
In a letter, Skydance lawyers accuse Paramount's special committee of breaching its terms with Skydance by extending the time it can talk with other bidders — In a letter from its lawyers, Skydance accuses Paramount's committee of directors of violating the terms of its deal
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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.
Liam Reilly / CNN:
Unions and some state senators criticize Google's plan for a California local news fund, which stalled bills that would have forced Big Tech to fund journalists — New York CNN — — Google struck a first-in-the-nation deal with California lawmakers on Wednesday to fund newsrooms …
Discussion:
Observer, Media Guild of the West, Inside Radio, BuzzMachine, Ars Technica, @bcmerchant, @bcmerchant, @mattdpearce, @jeffjarvis, @jeffjarvis, @spj_tweets, @mattdpearce, Media Nation, @tvgrimreaper, @ddayen, @passantino@threads.net, LION Publishers, New York Times, MediaPost and Free Press
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Politico:
Google and California strike a deal to jointly contribute $125M+ over five years to support local news; the deal also includes support for an AI project
Discussion:
Fast Company, KQED, CalMatters, a14.asmdc.org, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, Sarah Kay Wiley on LinkedIn, New York Post, UPI, Editor and Publisher, @jeffjarvis, The Information, @gaufre, The Verge, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @jamesqueallylat, @davidfolkenflik, Associated Press, @jeffjarvis, MediaPost, Los Angeles Times and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Nilay Patel / The Verge:
Q&A with Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, and Danielle Strle, chief product officer, on how they bought the outlet, why they're making a print version, and more — The new owners of the satire site rescued it from content farm hell. Now, they're relaunching its newspaper.
Hayden Field / CNBC:
In a pitch deck, AI search engine Perplexity told advertisers it plans to start running ads in Q4; a source says Perplexity's CPM prices will be $50+ — Perplexity AI, the artificial intelligence startup that's been embroiled in controversy due to accusations of plagiarizing content from media outlets …
Discussion:
Adweek, Reuters, TVNewsCheck, @vortexegg.regretfully.online, @haydenfield and Hayden Field on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »
Pete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review:
Star Spangled Media, behind websites posing as news outlets, such as The Morning Mirror, appears to have close ties to pro-Democratic super PAC Forward Majority — A quasi-local news site whose operators sought a news media exception to dodge campaign finance regulators has emerged as a vehicle …
Discussion:
Sinclair Cornell on LinkedIn
Maria Iu / The Media Leader:
WARC: global ad spending will grow by 10.5% to $1.07T in 2024; Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta will account for 43.6% of global ad spending in 2024 and 46% by 2026 — Global adspend will grow by 10.5% to $1.07tn this year, crossing the $1tn mark for the first time, according to Warc's Global Ad Spend Outlook 2024/25.
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Media Makers Meet and Radio & Television …
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:
Variety, Screen Rant, The Ankler, Business Insider, The Guardian, @jeffjarvis, Defector, ComingSoon.net, New York Post, @ajroach42@retro.social, Metro.co.uk, SlashFilm, David Sehring on LinkedIn, AV Club, Dexerto, Oriana Schwindt on LinkedIn, The Playlist, @kevinrothrock@infosec …, British GQ, TMZ.com, @bilgeebiri, @bilgeebiri, @bilgeebiri, @bilgeebiri, Mashable, HuffPost, CBR, Newser, Fox News, USA Today, The Daily Beast, Boing Boing, New York Times, The Verge, New York Daily News, IndieWire, Consequence, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Empire, The Wrap, Inverse, Digital Trends, The Indian Express and Rolling Stone
Evelyn Okakwu / Committee to Protect Journalists:
In Nigeria, Kenya, and Senegal, journalists have been targeted, assaulted, and detained by security forces as they covered anti-government protests — “He hit me with a gun butt,” Premium Times newspaper reporter Yakubu Mohammed told the Committee to Protect Journalists …
Discussion:
Freedom of the Press …, Voice of America, The Intercept and Reporters Without Borders
Patrick Frater / Variety:
Chinese streamer iQiyi reports Q2 revenue down 5% YoY to ~$1.04B and net profit down 80% YoY to ~$9.6M, as subscription revenue shrinks for a second quarter — China-based video streaming company iQiyi recorded a 5% decrease in revenue in the second quarter and an 80% plunge in net profits.
Reuters:
Russia's FSB opens criminal cases against British CNN reporter Nick Paton Walsh and two Ukrainian journalists for illegally entering Russia to report from Kursk — Russia's FSB security service said on Thursday it had opened a criminal case against a journalist working for CNN …
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, The Moscow Times, Al Jazeera and Politico
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.
Discussion:
@judywoodruff, Black America Web, Plain Dealer, Poynter, @jeremyschulman, Reuters, MSNBC, The Daily Wire, New York Post, Fox News and Mediaite
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