Top News:
Tyler Pager / New York Times:
Trump signs an EO seeking to dismantle seven federal agencies, including VOA parent USAGM, which is congressionally chartered as an independent agency — The order targeting the agencies, largely obscure entities that address issues like labor mediation and homelessness prevention, appeared to test the bounds of the president's power.
The Times:
An investigation into the unsolved 1977 murder of The Sunday Times foreign correspondent David Holden in Egypt suggests he doubled as a KGB spy and had CIA ties — Experienced and road-worn, with slicked-back brown hair and china-blue eyes, David Holden was 53 when he landed in Cairo on a warm night not long before Christmas, 1977.
Kayla Gogarty / Media Matters for America:
An analysis of popular podcasts, streams, and other long-form audio and video content with political leanings indicates that right-leaning outlets dominate — A new Media Matters analysis found 9 out of the 10 top online shows assessed are right-leaning
Discussion:
@johnlcorbett.bsky.social, @TonyStark@progressivecafe …, @tanyatussing@mastodon.social, @kamalanation.bsky.social, @goangelo.bsky.social, @taylorlorenz@threads.net, @thebreakdownab.bsky.social, @liselhintz.bsky.social, @peter-butler.bsky.social, @parkermolloy.com, @socialmedialab.ca, @volts.wtf, @caulfieldtim.bsky.social, @followtheh.bsky.social, @atherton.bsky.social, @ositanwanevu.bsky.social, @mariabustillos.bsky.social, @ryanlcooper.com, @mariabustillos.bsky.social, @ohhkaygo.bsky.social, @ohhkaygo.bsky.social and @mmfa.bsky.social
Jackson Healy / Courthouse News Service:
Former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sues G/O Media over March 2024 articles in Gizmodo and Kotaku accusing him of workplace harassment, discrimination — Robert Kotick accused the media company of knowingly lying about since-dismissed workplace sex harassment and discrimination charges.
Discussion:
@adelaidejewel.bsky.social, @goblin-goon.bsky.social and Aftermath, more at Techmeme »
Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo say they're building a high-tech studio aiming to help artists use AI as a creative tool to make films, shows, and video games — The ‘Avengers’ directors are building a high-tech studio to help artists use AI to make films, shows and videogames with potentially smaller budgets
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Forbes, Decider and Mirror
Molly White / Citation Needed:
The real threat of AI models training on open-access material is that they may bleed free repositories dry by draining resources and not providing attribution — Listen to me read this post here (not an AI-generated voice!), subscribe to the feed in your podcast app, or download the recording for later.
Michael Luciano / Mediaite:
President Donald Trump criticized multiple media outlets during a speech at the DOJ, calling the press' coverage of judges and other topics “totally illegal” — Want to avoid video ads? Subscribe to — President Donald Trump ripped the media on Friday, as is typical …
Discussion:
The Wrap, CNN, Politico, @wajahatali, @pgranfield, @rothschildmd, @atrupar, @atrupar, @rothschildmd, @mattgertz, @beyerstein, @thetnholler, @sykescharlie, Breitbart, HuffPost, Raw Story, Associated Press, The Independent, NBC News, RedState, @petemontdc.com, The Hill, Rolling Stone, PoliticusUSA and NewsNation
Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
The Guardian, City AM, GB News, and Newsquest appear to have introduced “consent or pay” models in recent months, joining Mail Online, Mirror, and more — The Guardian has become the latest UK news publisher to begin requiring readers to pay for website access if they do not agree to being tracked by third-party cookies.
Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Streamers court YouTubers for new shows or spinoffs; sources: Amazon made $100M+ in profit on Beast Games and Netflix held talks with Dude Perfect for a series — Disney, Peacock and others pursue YouTube stars for new shows; Amazon's ‘Beast Games’ boasts profit and gears up for more seasons
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
CNBC is expanding its CNBC Sport brand by adding a weekly TV series, live events, and launching a series of long-form CNBC Sport-branded productions — CNBC Sport, launched by reporter Alex Sherman, will add a weekly TV series and launch a series of long-form docs (starting with a Steph Curry special) in the coming weeks.
Costas Pitas / Reuters:
Filing: Newsmax paid $40M in 2024 to settle the Smartmatic defamation lawsuit over false claims that the voting machine company helped rig the 2020 US election — Newsmax Media has agreed to pay $40 million to settle allegations it defamed Smartmatic by reporting false claims …
Discussion:
CNN, The Desk, @mickwest, @rosselderwrites, @jayshams, @jeremymbarr, The National Pulse, NBC News, Mediaite, The Guardian, The Hill, Barrett Media, Newser, The Indian Express, Deadline, The Independent, Lawyer Monthly, The Verge, Axios, The Wrap, CNBC, TVNewsCheck and @mikescarcella.bsky.social
Debby Wu / Bloomberg:
China announces new rules requiring companies to label AI-generated material, either explicitly or via metadata, starting September 1 — China joined the EU and US in rolling out new regulation to control disinformation by requiring labeling of synthetic content online.
