Top News:


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.


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
Discussion:
Variety, Media Play News, The Desk, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, TrekMovie.com and The Verge


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:
Media Guild of the West, Society of Professional …, The Wrap, @bcmerchant, @mattdpearce, @jeffjarvis, Inside Radio, Ars Technica, @spj_tweets, Observer, @mattdpearce, @tvgrimreaper, @bcmerchant, @ddayen, @passantino@threads.net, @jeffjarvis, LION Publishers, New York Times, Media Nation, MediaPost and Free Press
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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:
Associated Press, The Desk, CalMatters, KQED, The Drum, New York Post, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, Whither news?, @jeffjarvis, Sarah Kay Wiley on LinkedIn, Fast Company, a14.asmdc.org, Editor and Publisher, UPI, The Verge, @gaufre, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @jamesqueallylat, @davidfolkenflik, @jeffjarvis, The Information, MediaPost, Los Angeles Times and Engadget


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 …


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


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:
Media Makers Meet, Radio & Television … and Advanced Television


Survey: 66% of US TV viewers use FAST platforms, 53% of them have cut down on paid streaming, and 43% signed up to a pay service to continue watching a show — Two in three (66 per cent) TV viewers in the US are using free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms in a typical month …


Study: women accounted for 23% of creators working on original programs on TV and streaming in the US in 2023-24, down from 26% in 2022-23 and 30% in 2021-22 — The latest “Boxed In” report, now in its 27th year, offers grim findings for female representation across broadcast and streaming.


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:
The Intercept, Freedom of the Press …, Reporters Without Borders and Voice of America


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 …
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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
Discussion:
Reuters, Axios, The Special Committee …, Deadline, The Media Leader, Business Insider, CNBC, The Desk, Los Angeles Times, Advanced Television and Broadband TV News


The NYT hires Vox Media exec Amanda Kludt, who built up Eater, as senior editor overseeing Projects and Initiatives, working across the newsroom and company — Amanda Kludt joins The Times next month to oversee an innovative team that works across the newsroom and the company.
Discussion:
@nytimespr and @edmundlee@threads.net


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.


The BBC says soccer presenter Jermaine Jenas is “no longer part of the presenting line-up”; source: the BBC terminated his contract after behavior complaints — JERMAINE Jenas has been fired by the BBC and taken off air from both Match of the Day and The One Show following complaints about “inappropriate behaviour”.
Discussion:
Variety, Metro.co.uk, Daily Express, @scotteaglen, Telegraph, The Mirror, Deadline, Sky News, London Evening Standard, @julian5news, The Independent, BBC and HuffPost