Top News:
Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD files a copyright suit against Midjourney, accusing the startup of using its content to train AI and letting users generate images of characters like Batman — The lawsuit against Midjourney was filed as a growing contingent of Hollywood steps into the fight over generative artificial intelligence.
Nellie Andreeva / Deadline:
Memo: Paramount announces a full return-to-office policy starting in January 2026 and offers a “severance opt-in program” for New York and Los Angeles workers — The latest is a return to office policy that requires all employees to be in the office five days a week.
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
A revamped Inside the NFL, produced by NFL Films, will debut September 8 on Elon Musk's X, with at least 10 short episodes airing weekly on the platform — Ryan Clark will host the show, which will be reimagined for the Elon Musk-owned platform as a short-form series with new episodes throughout each week of the NFL season.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Awful Announcing and @cerealfanatic.bsky.social
Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
PBS is cutting 100 positions, or about 15% of its staff, including 34 immediate layoffs, after Congress stripped $500M in annual funding from public media — Congress voted this year to strip $500 million in annual funding from public broadcasters, including PBS stations.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, NPR, The Wrap, TheDesk.net, NBC News and @willmckinley.bsky.social
Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
The New York Times is shuttering its NYT Audio app, launched in May 2023, and integrating podcast archives and audio journalism into its News app — The standalone product will shutter in October as the publisher increases audio and video in its flagship News app
Discussion:
@patrickmcgee_ and Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn
Dylan Byers / Puck:
Sources: David Ellison tentatively agreed on a deal to acquire The Free Press for between $100M-$200M, with Bari Weiss taking an editorial position at CBS News — With Paramount securely in his pocket, David Ellison is on the verge of acquiring Bari Weiss's The Free Press and tossing her the keys to CBS News.
Discussion:
Status, The Nation, Media Nation, Fox News, The Wrap, New York Post, The Wrap, @jamellebouie.net, twitchy.com, Ace of Spades HQ, @simonowens.bsky.social, Salon, Los Angeles Times, @levinejonathan, @onepeoplesproject.bsky.social, Newsbusters, IJR, National Review, The Rebooting, New York Sun, New York Post, Simon Owens on LinkedIn, Gil Ozir on LinkedIn, @michaelmagras@mstdn.social, HuffPost, HotAir, @paulthedogman.bsky.social, PJ Media, @timurkuran, @jeremiahdjohns, @micsolana, @jbenmenachem.com, The A.V. Club, @timkarr.bsky.social, @pburdzy, @blueboxdave, @ewerickson, @parkerthayer, @lthomasnews, @katmckinley, @maxblumenthal, @aaronjmate, @dropsitenews, @samhaselby, @aghamilton29, @mikebeauvais, @benfowlkesmma, @hemantmehta, @adamjohnsonchi, @joseiswriting, @adamjohnsonchi, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, @ggreenwald, @tycarver, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, @kimkelly.bsky.social, TVNewsCheck, @johnmone.bsky.social, @jayrosen.bsky.social, @maxberger.bsky.social, @ryanlcooper.com, @justinbaragona.bsky.social, @simonowens.bsky.social, @joshsternberg.com, @golikehellmachine.com, @jonathanfriedman.com and @jmrivera.bsky.social
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Meta rolls out a tool that lets users attach up to 10,000 characters of text to Threads posts, building upon Threads' 500-character text limit for posts — Blogging is back. … Meta is adding a new feature to let you add a bunch of extra text to Threads posts — no screenshots of text blocks required.
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Manchester-based Mill Media names ex-WaPo Managing Editor Cameron Barr as investigations editor; Mill Media has 21 staff and 11K+ paying subs across six titles — Former Washington Post managing editor Cameron Barr hopes to help “restore and revive investigative accountability” with a new role at Manchester-based Mill Media.
Discussion:
Cameron Barr on LinkedIn, @glasgowbell.bsky.social and @joshiherrmann.bsky.social
Matt Donnelly / Variety:
Fandango partners with TikTok to let users buy movie tickets from within TikTok, starting with Disney's Tron: Ares, in theaters October 10 — Fandango will parnter with TikTok on a new venture that will let users purchase movie tickets directly in-app. — The first-of-its-kind deal …
Discussion:
Tubefilter, Media Play News, Social Media Today, CNET and LAmag
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
An interview with Newsquest CEO Henry Faure Walker on the regional publisher's focus on local news; paid digital subs have risen 35% YoY to 135K — Paid digital subscriptions at UK regional publishing giant Newsquest have risen from 100,000 to 135,000 in the past year.
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
A look at newsletter-first publisher The European Correspondent, which launched in 2022, got a €2.1M grant from the EU in June, and has almost 70K subscribers — A European news publisher is aiming to become self-funding through reader donations after securing a €2.1m grant from the European Commission in June.
Discussion:
@pressgazette.co.uk
Addison Cummings / The New York Times Company:
NYT names Real Estate Editor Nikita Stewart as its new Metro editor; she has held various NYT positions and worked at The Star-Ledger and The Washington Post — We are delighted to tell you that Nikita Stewart, a gifted leader who has brought a spirit of innovation, investigative energy …
Editor - The Upshot, NY — 
Economic Policy Reporter, DC — 
Senior Director - Editorial, NY — 
Accountability Reporter, ME — 
Senior Editor, FL — 
Senior Writer - Politics, NY — 
Senior Sydney Correspondent — 
Investigative Reporter, OR — 
Decision Desk Specialist - Elections, PA — 
Publishing Editor, NY — 
Watchdog Reporter, CA — 
News Editor, IN — 
Senior Writer - Politics, TN — 
Editor - CFO Brew, NY — 
Breaking News Reporter, CA — 
Audience Strategist, CO — 
Senior Editor, Remote US — 
Reporter, NY — 
IT Industry Reporter, MA — 
Jackson Reporter, MS — 
Curation Editor, NY — 
Managing Editor, OR — 
Deputy Editor-in-Chief, NY — 
Arts & Culture Reporter, WI — 
Breaking News Reporter, Remote — 
Assitant Business Ed., TX — 
Asset-Based Finance Reporter, NY — 
Ellsworth/Acadia Reporter, ME — 
Live Blogger, London — 
Criminal Justice Reporter, LA — 
Editorial & Opinion Page Editor, NV — 
Senior Editor, NY — 
Principal Writer - Investigative & Trust — 
Culture & Travel Reporter, NY — 
