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10:55 AM ET, August 7, 2025

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
New York Times:
Paramount and Skydance's $8B merger closes, giving Paramount stronger financial wherewithal and ending a tortuous process that has lasted well over a year  —  The merger catapults new power players to the top of Hollywood and ends a tortuous process that has lasted well over a year.
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Jill Goldsmith / Deadline:
Paramount CEO David Ellison outlines the new company's plans, including a reorganization into three business units: Studios, Direct-to-Consumer, and TV Media  —  David Ellison formally introduced himself to the industry and Wall Street as chairman CEO of the new Paramount in a letter posted …
Discussion: Deadline, Paramount and TVNewsCheck
Katcy Stephan / Variety:
Memo: Paramount Global co-CEO Brian Robbins announces his departure from the company following the Skydance merger, calling the transition “bittersweet”
Kieran Smith / Financial Times:
WPP reports H1 2025 operating profit down 48% YoY to £221M and halves its interim dividend ahead of a strategic review, weeks after cutting its FY 2025 guidance  —  Shares hit 16-year low as interim operating profits plunge 48% for first half  —  WPP halved its interim dividend …
Abid Rahman / The Hollywood Reporter:
Sony Pictures reports Q1 revenue up 4% YoY to ~$2.26B, operating income up 76% YoY to $129M, and motion pictures unit revenue down 13% YoY to $742M  —  The studio's releases in the period included ‘28 Years Later’ and ‘Karate Kid: Legends.’ … SPE comprises the motion pictures division, television productions and media networks.
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Glenn Peoples / Billboard:
Sony Music reports Q1 revenue up 5.3% YoY to $3.22B, operating income up 8% YoY to $641.8M, and USD-denominated streaming revenue up 7.3% YoY to $1.36B  —  Gains from streaming services in both recorded music and publishing pushed Sony Music's consolidated revenue up 5.3% …
Reuters:
Kyrgyzstan enacts a law requiring media to register with authorities and limiting foreign ownership to 35%, after approving penalties for “false information”  —  Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has signed a controversial media law that expands government control over independent outlets …
Discussion: 24.kg and @aigiturgunbaeva
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
Nexstar reports Q2 revenue down 3% YoY to $1.23B, primarily due to reduced political ad revenue in a US non-election year, and net income down 14% YoY to $91M  —  Key Points:  — Nexstar reported $1.23 billion in Q2 revenue, down 3.2% on a year-over basis due to lower political ad spending in a non-election year.
Kenneth Li / Reuters:
Thomson Reuters reports Reuters News Q2 revenue up 5% YoY to $218M, driven by its agency and professional business and a contractual price increase from LSEG  —  Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO) reported higher revenue for the second quarter, during which it launched new AI features in its tax and accounting and legal divisions.
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Report for America says for 2024-25, 55% of the 181 reporters in the program were hired into permanent positions; since 2018, RFA has placed 759 corps members  —  Eight years after Report for America launched, its graduates are more often than not accepting permanent positions in their newsrooms.
Discussion: Report for America
Glenn Kessler / By Glenn Kessler:
Glenn Kessler likens working at WaPo now to the Titanic, sinking and aimless under Will Lewis, who asked Kessler for advice on attracting Fox News viewers  —  “Democracy Dies in Darkness” — but what if the lights are going out from within?  —  My decision to leave The Washington Post …
Liz Reid / The Keyword:
Google says total organic click volume from Search to websites is “relatively stable year-over-year” and it's sending “slightly more quality clicks” vs. in 2024  —  We continue to send billions of clicks to the web every day and are committed to prioritizing the web in our AI experiences in Search.
Julian Wyllie / Current:
PBS North Carolina says it will offer voluntary buyouts as it anticipates an annual loss of $4.8M in federal funding and may also lose $4M in state funding  —  PBS North Carolina announced Tuesday that it will offer voluntary buyouts to staff due to an anticipated revenue shortfall caused by the loss of federal funding.
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 More News: 
Dan Cepeda / Oil City News:
News Media Corporation says it will cease operations effective immediately, citing financial challenges; NMC operated local newspapers in five US states
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
Universal Pictures has started adding a legal warning at the end credits of its films stating that their titles “may not be used to train AI”
Mike Florio / NBCSports.com:
The ESPN-NFL deal will require US regulatory approval, giving President Trump the kind of leverage he seemingly exercised in the 60 Minutes settlement
 Earlier Picks: 
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney says it is “fully integrating” Hulu into Disney+, plans to launch a “unified” Disney+ and Hulu app in 2026 and migrate Hulu's live TV subscribers to Fubo
Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:
Disney plans to launch its new flagship sports streaming service ESPN on August 21 for $29.99 per month or $35.99 per month when bundled with Disney+ and Hulu
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The New York Times reports 11.88M subscribers in Q2, total revenue up 9.7% YoY to $685.9M, and adjusted operating profit up 28% to $133.8M; NYT closes up 15.5%
 

 
From Techmeme:

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Two studies suggest AI chatbots can shift political views more effectively than TV campaign ads, especially by presenting many claims, regardless of accuracy
 
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