Top News:
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
CPB says the Department of Education has terminated Ready To Learn, the grant program that funded Sesame Street and would've provided $23M for children's shows — The termination of the federal grant program, called Ready To Learn, resulted in a loss of $23 million that would have gone to educational programs.
Discussion:
CPB, Deadline, The Daily Wire, @kleinman.bsky.social, @itspeeebs, @itspeeebs, @mariopro.bsky.social, TV Tech, @scottnover, @kennysmith.bsky.social and MPR News
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Comcast's spinoff of the majority of the NBCU cable network portfolio will be named Versant; the “holding company” name is for “business-to-business purposes” — Comcast's spinoff of the majority of its NBCUniversal cable network portfolio will be named Versant …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, MediaPost, @sherman4949, Cord Cutters News, The Wrap, @scottnover, @benmullin, The Desk, Adweek, Barrett Media, @sherman4949, Semafor, @edeggans@threads.com, Sports Business Journal, @tsoh_investing, @jbflint, @jbarro, @versantmedia, @tomgara@threads.com, @jbillinson@threads.com, @sherman4949, Deadline, Awful Announcing, TVNewsCheck, Washington Examiner, Media Play News, Yahoo Finance and Radio & Television …
Andrew Liszewski / The Verge:
Amazon updates its iOS Kindle app to add a prominent orange “Get book” button, enabling purchases via the mobile browser, after the recent Epic v. Apple ruling — Amazon has updated its Kindle iOS app to take advantage of recent changes to Apple's App Store rules.
Discussion:
Business Insider, Daring Fireball, Ars Technica, MacRumors, The Information, @adamconner, MacStories, AppleInsider, TechCrunch, @dhh, @markrein, @richontech, Six Colors, @timsweeneyepic, 9to5Mac, GeekWire, Dexerto, Mashable, @parkerortolani, Put the knife … and Android Authority, more at Techmeme »
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New York Times:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he wants to work with the Trump administration to craft a $7.5B federal film tax credit; the state allocates $330M annually — The proposal for a federal program came after the president called for tariffs on movies filmed overseas, causing confusion and concern across the industry.
Discussion:
Variety, HuffPost, Esquire, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, The Guardian, Times of India, Daily Caller News Foundation, TV Insider, Deadline, The Post Millennial, Forbes, New Jersey Online, Business Insider, Wired, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, World of Reel, The Independent, Breitbart, Frontpage Mag, Mercury News, The Daily Caller, GQ, Washington Post, UPI, The Daily Upside, IJR, New Republic, TVNewsCheck, Oh No They Didn't!, Bloomberg, Puck, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Wrap, @nsperling.bsky.social, The Hollywood Reporter, Cele|bitchy, Politico, The Hollywood Reporter and Media Play News
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Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
Experts are baffled by Trump's “movie tariff” proposal, as what constitutes a “foreign” production is unclear, and tariffs won't make US filming any cheaper
Experts are baffled by Trump's “movie tariff” proposal, as what constitutes a “foreign” production is unclear, and tariffs won't make US filming any cheaper
Discussion:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Yahoo Finance, The American Spectator, @brianstelter, The Straits Times, Variety, Associated Press, USA Today, One America News Network, Finance News Network, People, TV Tech, Fox News, Blaze Media, Fast Company, The Hill, Media Play News, HotAir, Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Verge, New York Times and Reason
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
NBC plans to use generative AI to recreate the voice of famed NBA narrator Jim Fagan, who died in 2017, to use in promos, title sequences, and show opens — Fagan passed away in 2017, but when the ‘NBA on NBC’ returns this fall, his voice will appear in promos, title sequences and other segments.
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
The family of an Afghan mine-clearer, who was killed by the Taliban after appearing in a Nat Geo documentary working with Green Berets, sues Disney and others — The estate of an Afghan man, who was killed by the Taliban after he was seen in Matthew Heineman's documentary ‘Retrograde’ working alongside …
John O'Nolan:
Ghost says independent media businesses that use the platform are nearing $100M in overall revenue earned and reports $8M in annual recurring revenue — Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one … I was 24 when I first started working on the idea, and back then I had no idea what I was doing.
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
CNN hires Choire Sicha as SVP of features editorial; Sicha joins from Vox Media where he served as editor at large for New York Magazine — The editor, formerly at New York magazine and the Styles desk at The New York Times, is the latest to join as the brand rebuilds its digital operations
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
News reader Particle launches on the web, featuring news headlines and AI summaries, key quotes, links to sources, and reader questions answered by AI — Particle, the startup behind an AI-powered newsreader that aims to help publishers, not just steal their work, is bringing its product to the web.
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
SiriusXM and Fox Nation announce a bundle that will include SiriusXM's app-only All Access plan and a subscription to Fox Nation for $11.99 per month — The Fox News owned streaming service and the satellite radio giant's streaming app will sell a bundle for $11.99 per month, a 33 percent discount.
Discussion:
Axios, Cord Cutters News, The Desk, TVNewsCheck, Streaming Better, The Streamable, Sirius XM Holdings Inc., Media Play News and Barrett Media
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Source: The Guardian is hiring for 12+ new editorial roles to support its US expansion; reader contributions to The Guardian US were ~$44M last FY, a new record — The Guardian is hiring for more than a dozen new editorial roles to support its U.S. expansion after growing its overall revenue year …
Discussion:
@azi and Mary Walter-Brown on LinkedIn
Ina Fried / Axios:
Memo: Wikimedia Foundation CEO Maryana Iskander announces plans to step down: “the hope is to welcome a successor by January 2026” — Maryana Iskander, CEO of the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation, plans to step down early next year, Axios has learned first.
Discussion:
@mmasnick.bsky.social, @thedesk.net, @wikimediafoundation.org, Diff and Yahoo Finance
