Top News:
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
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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.
Discussion:
Reuters, Mediaite, Paramount Skydance Corporation, The Wrap, Variety, Sports Business Journal, TMZ.com, Screen, @dylanbyers, @benmullin, Business Insider and Yahoo Finance
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 …
Discussion:
PRWeek, PRWeek, PRWeek, Reuters, The Economic Times, WPP, The Times, Adweek, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Telegraph, The Standard and City A.M.
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.
Discussion:
Sony Group Corporation, Deadline, Variety and Sony Group Corporation
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Harshita Mary Varghese / Reuters:
WBD reports Q2 revenue up 1% YoY to $9.81B, vs. $9.76B est., boosted by the HBO Max expansion and blockbuster hits, and subscribers up 3.4M QoQ, vs. 2.71M est. — Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Thursday, boosted by the international expansion …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Digital Foundry, known for in-depth game console analysis, is now an independent entity after its founder, Richard Leadbetter, bought the publication from IGN — ‘We answer to nobody but you, the audience.’ … Even Sony and Microsoft often favor DF for exclusive access to technical details.
Discussion:
@pc98_audi, @jasoninquires, @digitalfoundry, Kotaku, Nintendo Life and @tomwarren.co.uk
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:
@msmitham.bsky.social, @msmitham.bsky.social, @aigiturgunbaeva and 24.kg
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:
In a live discussion on X, Elon Musk tells advertisers that X plans to introduce advertising into Grok's answers — Billionaire owner outlines plans to improve advertising on social media platform in rare overture to marketers — Elon Musk plans to introduce advertising into the answers …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @dannygroner.bsky.social, Engadget, Business Insider, PYMNTS.com and The Information
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.
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, TVNewsCheck, Variety and Nexstar
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.
Discussion:
Press Gazette, Thomson Reuters, Yahoo Finance, Insider Monkey, Canadian Press, Globe and Mail, Talking Biz News, Sherwood News, Benzinga and MarketWatch
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 …
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.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, Fast Company and PBS North Carolina
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