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5:40 PM ET, August 21, 2025

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 Top News: 
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Wired and Business Insider remove articles by journalist Margaux Blanchard that appear to be AI-generated and feature people who do not seem to exist  —  Wired and Business Insider have removed news features written by a freelance journalist after concerns they are likely AI-generated works of fiction.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: NBCU is in advanced talks with MLB to carry games on NBC and Peacock for close to $200M/year; Netflix nears a deal for the Home Run Derby at $35M+/year  —  Netflix is also in advanced talks with the league to stream the Home Run Derby in a deal that would be worth more than $105 million
RELATED:
Andrew Marchand / The Athletic:
Sources: ESPN and MLB have a deal framework giving ESPN exclusive rights to sell out-of-market regular-season games digitally and in-market games for five clubs  —  Major League Baseball and ESPN have a framework agreement that would give the network the exclusive rights to sell …
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple raises the price of Apple TV+ in the US and some markets globally after previously raising the price in 2023; in the US, the price will rise $3 to $12.99  —  Apple today announced that the monthly price of Apple TV+ is rising in the United States and some international markets.
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
Two House Democrats sent Paramount a letter on August 20 demanding documents, communications, and answers regarding the Skydance merger approval process  —  A pair of top House Democrats are launching an investigation into Paramount's $7 billion merger with fellow media conglomerate Skydance …
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The Onion has 53K+ print subscribers and expects $6M in 2025 revenue, signaling a market for print media, also shown by print relaunches of Saveur and others  —  Publications turn to old-style products to appeal to readers and stand out in digital media landscape
Columbia Journalism Review:
Thirteen newsroom leaders and ethicists discuss elements of journalistic ethics, including dealing with AI, anonymous leaks, bias, lies, and audience needs  —  We asked newsroom leaders and ethicists what they're keeping or changing in an era of Trump, “fake news,” AI, and industry decline.
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Analysis: 16 of the UK's top 50 biggest news websites now use a “consent or pay” model to let users opt out of cookies; almost 100% choose to accept cookies  —  Consent rates jump up and small number of holdouts tend to pay instead - experts say it's a win-win.
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Chris Parnell, most recently an Apple TV+ creative executive and previously co-president of Sony Pictures TV Studios, is appointed EVP for Paramount+ Originals  —  She is bringing in Chris Parnell, most recently an Apple TV+ creative executive and previously co-president of Sony Pictures TV Studios …
Abid Rahman / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen and Adobe: the Premier League's opening weekend averaged 850K viewers across six matches on NBC/Peacock and USA Network, a record and up 4% on 2024-25  —  The Manchester United-Arsenal game scored 2.3 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo and NBC Sports' digital platforms.
Discussion: TVNewsCheck
Gabriela Pomeroy / BBC:
Denmark plans to abolish a 25% sales tax on books, one of the highest globally, in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”; the measure will cost $50M per year  —  The Danish government has announced it will abolish a 25% sales tax on books, in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”.
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Fox launches Fox One, its $20/month streamer to reach younger viewers; Fox News' median viewer age is 69, and Emplifi says it had 332M YouTube views in July  —  App is aimed at growing the network beyond its ageing audience, with ‘modest’ expectations from executives
 
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Igor Bobic / HuffPost:
A group of 17 Democratic senators urges US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to press Israel to protect journalists in Gaza and allow international media into Gaza
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
WWE live events on ESPN's new streaming service will start earlier than expected, with Wrestlepalooza on September 20 and then a Crown Jewel and Survivor Series
Pew Research Center:
A survey of 9,000+ US adults: 59% say journalists are extremely or very important to the well-being of society, while 49% say journalists are losing influence
 

 
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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