Top News:
Kritika Lamba / Reuters:
Nexstar agrees to acquire Tegna for $3.54B in a deal valued at $6.2B including debt, expected to close by H2 2026; Nexstar plans to pay $22 per share — Nexstar Media has agreed to buy smaller rival Tegna for $3.54 billion, creating a local-TV powerhouse that seeks to compete better …
Discussion:
CNN, Awful Announcing, Adweek, Axios, The Wrap, Advanced Television, Variety, TVNewsCheck, CBS News, Radio & Television …, Washington …, Denver Post, Yahoo Finance, al.com, Bloomberg, Baltimore Business Journal, Investigative Post, Los Angeles Times, WBNS-TV, Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Cord Cutters News, @amandamatwell, @sarafischer, @tylerhugheswx, @markmaxwelltv, @nxstmediagroup, @tegna, @jerodnbc4 and Barrett Media
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Memo: Mark Lazarus, who will run NBCUniversal spinoff Versant as its founding CEO, says MSNBC will become MS Now, or My Source for News Opinion and the World — In the media business, at least, breaking up can still be hard to do. — MSNBC will have to take a new name in months to come …
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Axios, @yashar, Richard Hudock on LinkedIn, Maritza B. on LinkedIn, New York Times, The Wrap, The Hollywood Reporter, Gabriel Sanchez on LinkedIn, @mgsiegler, Awful Announcing, @chris_ciaccia, @jamesbelcher.bsky.social, twitchy.com, @geekwire, @brianstelter, The Federalist, HELLO!, @dcurtis, @caliblue.bsky.social, @tvgrimreaper, The Washington Free Beacon, @scottnover, Gizmodo, Townhall, @greg_price11, NewsMax.com, @matthewkeyslive, UPI, @sarafischer, @film_girl, @nirave, Decider, Vanessa Otero on LinkedIn, New Jersey Online, @sherman4949, PoliticusUSA, Newser, New York Magazine, Raw Story, @film_girl, @hypercubexl.bsky.social, Dexerto, @lil_smush, @jeremymbarr, The Post Millennial, New York Sun, @mikeisaac, Daily Caller News Foundation, @rkylesmith, @benmullin, Spyglass, Mediaite, Streaming Better, Washington Post, @tdogmedia.bsky.social, @joshbraun.bsky.social, @scottolson.bsky.social, @jbillinson@threads.com, @joshsternberg.com, @darthbluesky.bsky.social and The A.V. Club
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Alex Sherman / CNBC:
NBCUniversal changed MSNBC's name “to accelerate the distinction between MSNBC and NBC News”; MSNBC has been undergoing aggressive hiring for ~100 new positions — MSNBC will change its name later this year and drop the storied peacock image from its branding …
Discussion:
Deadline, Variety, Status, Broadband TV News, MSNBC, Associated Press, Poynter, @scottnover, Barrett Media, New York Post, Benzinga, MediaPost, The Hill, Mumbrella, RedState, The National Pulse, HotAir, The Streamable, National Legal …, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, @scottnover, Reuters, TheDesk.net, Kevin Krim on LinkedIn, The US Sun, @anthonydevito.bsky.social, Newsbusters, Business Insider, methodshop, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, Newsweek, NCS | NewscastStudio, Blaze Media, CBS News, TVLine, @lorak.bsky.social, TV Insider, Cord Cutters News, NBC News, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, Adweek, HuffPost, Just Jared, New York Daily News and The Verge
CNN:
Filing: Newsmax agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $67M to settle a defamation lawsuit over false claims about the 2020 election, with $27M due this month — Egregious lies about the 2020 presidential election are going to cost Newsmax $67 million. — To avert a high-stakes trial …
Discussion:
NPR, ABC News, New York Times, Chronology, Esquire, Los Angeles Times, @katie_robertson, Washington Post, @commoncause.org, @lordye.bsky.social, Newsweek, Cord Cutters News, MSNBC, @scottnover, @jeremymbarr, Breitbart, @jeremymbarr, @pkafka, Al Jazeera, UPI, Daily Kos, @aidnmclaughlin, @trublu268.bsky.social, @brianstelter.bsky.social, @isabelsantos.bsky.social, @serrata.org, @davidfolkenflik, MeidasTouch News, Raw Story, TheDesk.net, @jeremymbarr, New York Sun, @matthewfacciani.bsky.social, @williamsternitzky.bsky.social, The Wrap, @canaansdad1987.bsky.social, Washington Examiner, al.com, Baller Alert, MediaPost, Bloomberg, Deadline and The Independent
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Newsmax:
Newsmax says its 2020 election coverage was “fair” but it settled with Dominion as the Delaware court where the trial was to happen wouldn't allow a fair trial
Newsmax says its 2020 election coverage was “fair” but it settled with Dominion as the Delaware court where the trial was to happen wouldn't allow a fair trial
Discussion:
CBS News, The Independent, JURIST, Barrett Media, The Guardian, Forbes, Daily Caller News Foundation, Salon, Mediaite, CyberScoop, Axios, The A.V. Club and The Hill
James B. Stewart / New York Times:
Interviews with Shari Redstone and others detail her decision to sell her family's empire, Paramount's settlement with President Trump, her reputation, and more — The media mogul spoke at length for the first time about selling her family's empire, Paramount's settlement with President Trump …
Discussion:
New York Post, Variety, Fortune, The Hollywood Reporter, @pkafka, @collinconnors and @benmullin
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
The Knight Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and others unveil the Public Media Bridge Fund, providing $26.5M+ to help CPB radio and TV stations avoid closure — Maribel Pérez Wadsworth, the president and chief executive of the Knight Foundation.Moriah Ratner for The New York Times
Max Tani / Semafor:
A group of left-leaning writers led by Jerusalem Demsas launch The Argument, an outlet to counter the populist right and boost liberal ideas, with $4M backing — The Scoop — A group of left-leaning writers and journalists are starting a new publication on Monday aimed at arguing in favor …
Discussion:
The Rebooting, Today in Tabs, @theargumentmag, @theargumentmag, @_alice_evans, @maiamindel, @davidsirota, @daschloz, @jerusalemdemsas, @jerusalemdemsas, @jillfilipovic, @jbsdc, @theargumentmag, @jerusalemdemsas, @hecubian_devil, @anonymousleftie, @kelseytuoc, @jonathanchait, The Argument, @davidcrespo.bsky.social, @pressgazette, @giantwhispers.bsky.social, @sammunhi.bsky.social, Newser, Slow Boring, @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social, @jamessurowiecki, @casmudde.bsky.social, @riogranderift.bsky.social, @dinfontay.com, @lailaalarian, @heerjeet, Feed Me, Media Nation, @karlbode.com, @jacobtlevy.bsky.social, @thcarter123.bsky.social, @maxmmillerat, @maxwelltani, @kelseytuoc, @mondairejones, @gelliottmorris, @ettingermentum, @robinsonmeyer, @lxeagle17, @thuddwhirr, @splitticket_, @jameslynch32, @rcobooth, @williamjordann, @enoughformethx, @ajentleson, @abundance_ny, @conorsen, @aaronhuertas.bsky.social, @nowooski, @otis_reid, @thequeso.bsky.social, @trumpstaxes, @jerusalemdemsas, @adamjohnsonchi, @ashleyschapitl, @rcobooth, @jonathanchait, @johnroconnor, @moorehn, @rbmd1982, @jhweissmann, @mattyglesias, @taylorlorenz, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @maxkennerly.bsky.social, @climatebrad.hillheat.com, @reckless.bsky.social, @ghostpanther.bsky.social, @nitishpahwa.com and @maxtani.bsky.social
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
GB News plans to launch a DC bureau with live programming starting in September, including “The Late Show Live from DC”, and aims to hire a US political editor — GB News says it marks “huge moment” with US expansion. — Update 19 August: GB News has announced its presenter Ben Leo …
Discussion:
GB News and @josiah.writes.news
Charlie Eccleshare / The Athletic:
TikTok and the ATP Tour announce a content partnership to help players boost engagement and collaborate with established tennis creators on the platform — Seven million people have watched 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic dancing to “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars.
Discussion:
@cdeccleshare, ATP Tour and TikTok
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
City Matters, a free monthly newspaper serving the City of London since 2016, enters voluntary liquidation, citing rising print costs and declining ad revenue — Free monthly newspaper City Matters has entered voluntary liquidation and put its assets up for sale, citing rising costs of …
Discussion:
@josiah.writes.news
Katelyn Chedraoui / CNET:
Google says users created 100M videos using its AI filmmaking tool Flow since its May launch; Flow leverages Veo 3 and focuses on maintaining visual consistency — Google confirmed the 100 million milestone exclusively to CNET. Here's what's coming next for Flow and its AI-assisted creators.
Discussion:
TVBEurope, @sundarpichai, Moneycontrol, @joshwoodward, The Economic Times, @googlelabs and Korea Joongang Daily, more at Techmeme »
Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:
Some brands, like Bilt and Alexis Bittar, are producing scripted social media series that are also marketing campaigns whose focus is brand engagement — Bilt's new scripted series ‘Roomies’ has attracted attention on social media but hasn't directly promoted the brand—at least not yet
Discussion:
Marketing Brew and PR Daily
