Top News:
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.
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:
The Wrap, Media Guild of the West, Society of Professional …, @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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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:
The Desk, Associated Press, CalMatters, KQED, The Drum, a14.asmdc.org, New York Post, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, Whither news?, @jeffjarvis, Sarah Kay Wiley on LinkedIn, Fast Company, Editor and Publisher, UPI, The Verge, @gaufre, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @eytanwallace, @jamesqueallylat, @davidfolkenflik, @jeffjarvis, The Information, MediaPost, Los Angeles Times and Engadget
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 …
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
Discussion:
Variety, The Desk, TVNewsCheck, The Wrap, TrekMovie.com and The Verge
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:
Media Makers Meet, Radio & Television … and Advanced Television
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 …
Lacey Rose / The Hollywood Reporter:
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.
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:
The Intercept, Freedom of the Press …, Reporters Without Borders and Voice of America
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 …
RELATED:
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
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 New York Times Company:
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
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.
Clemmie Moodie / The Sun:
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
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