Top News:
Financial Times:
Sources: Bari Weiss' The Free Press raised about $15M at a ~$100M valuation; Bari Weiss posted an article this week that said the outlet had 800,000+ readers — The fundraise values Bari Weiss's venture at $100mn — US media start-up The Free Press has raised a further round of funding from investors …
Discussion:
@pressgazette
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
Univision says Harris and Trump will appear at separate town halls in front of a Spanish-speaking audience in October, moderated by journalist Enrique Acevedo — - “There are more than 36 million Hispanics eligible to vote in the U.S., making them the largest minority in the country …
Discussion:
HuffPost, TelevisaUnivision, Adweek, @brianstelter, The Hill, @bsdtectr.bsky.social, Variety, The Wrap, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck and Deadline
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Chartbeat: Facebook traffic to 700 US news sites fell 40% from January 2023 to July 2024 to ~500M page views, as page views from Google Search grew 10% to 1.5B — Traffic from Google Discover now exceeds traffic from Google Search for some publishers, but what works there is a bit of a guessing game.
Discussion:
Adweek and @laurahazardowen
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The International Fund for Public Interest Media plans to raise $150M by mid-2025 to help independent media in 50 low- and mid-income countries over three years — - Of the 40 countries already eligible for funding, 30 will hold elections between 2026 and 2028, the fund notes in its investment thesis.
Discussion:
@sarafischer
Gordon Rayner / Telegraph:
The Spectator appoints ex-UK cabinet minister Michael Gove as editor, starting on October 8, after its takeover by GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall — Former Cabinet minister will take over from Fraser Nelson on Oct 8 - three months after standing down as MP
Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
Q&A with NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik on the Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr. saga, Ben Smith's defense of Nuzzi and sexual relations with sources, and more — The longtime media reporter sounds off. … Johnson was hired there in 2013 by then-Editor in Chief Ben Smith …
Discussion:
@marisakabas2, @justinbaragona, @samwangphd, @marisakabas2, @marisakabas2, @davitydave, @youngvulgarian, @jokelley, @radfemme74, @thatjakepc, @mattdpearce, @davidgross_man, @tessaduvall, @marisakabas2, @teachequitably1, @tattersking, @nikkimcr, @leah_sottile, @tbridis, Los Angeles Times and The Wrap
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: OpenAI agrees to give representatives for authors suing the company access to review its training data to see if OpenAI used authors' copyrighted works — At a secure room in its San Francisco office, representatives for authors suing OpenAI will examine materials that were used to train its AI system.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck and Music Ally, more at Techmeme »
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
Mill Media plans to launch Glasgow-focused title The Bell on September 30 on Ghost, initially without a paywall, and release content three times per week — The new Glasgow-focused title from local newsletter start-up Mill Media will be named The Bell, Press Gazette can reveal.
Discussion:
@mlothianmclean, @mlothianmclean, @millmediauk, @theglasgowbell, @joshi, @mlothianmclean, @alistairkgrant and The Bell
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Stability AI says filmmaker James Cameron has joined its board of directors; Stability AI CEO Prem Akkaraju was previously CEO of VFX company WETA Digital — The director says that “the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave” of film technology …
Discussion:
TVBEurope, Stability AI, AV Club, Rolling Stone, Ars Technica, Forbes, The Verge, Deadline, Destructoid, Reuters, SlashFilm, Variety, IndieWire and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
Wrapbook, which simplifies the payroll process for TV, film, and commercial productions, raised $20M from Bessemer Ventures at a $750M valuation — The financial services firm plans to grow by more than 100 staffers as it takes aim at private equity owned Cast & Crew and Entertainment Partners.
Discussion:
FinTech Global and WKRN-TV
Abid Rahman / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD launches Max in Japan via local partner U-Next and plans to roll out the streaming service direct-to-consumers in Australia and New Zealand in H1 2025 — Max officially launched in Japan via local partner U-Next. … On the day that Max launched in Japan via local partner U-Next …
Discussion:
Jaideep Agarwal on LinkedIn, Variety and Mumbrella
Sara Fischer / Axios:
The NYT aims to sell podcast subscriptions via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, requiring users to pay for older episodes, starting October for $6/month or $50/year — - “A big part of our strategy is building direct relationships with our customers,” said Ben Cotton, The Times' head of subscription growth.
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