Top News:
Bloomberg:
The Trump administration's $14B valuation of TikTok's US business falls well below previous estimates of around $40B, surprising investors who call it a bargain — The $14 billion valuation that the Trump administration has estimated for TikTok's US business falls well below projections …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Profectio, PocketGamer.biz, Business Standard, Trak.in, The Business Times, Digital Music News, Modern Diplomacy, Music Business Worldwide, The Information, Verdict, Digit, Proactive, Spyglass, Livemint, The Irish Times, Phandroid, Metro.co.uk, The Daily Signal, Washington Times, PitchBook, New York Times, Financial Times, Newsmax and Daring Fireball, more at Techmeme »
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Dylan Butts / CNBC:
China and its media are quiet about the TikTok deal, a notable silence as China can still decide the app's fate; Chinese social media chatter has been limited — Following U.S. President Donald Trump's approval of a deal that could keep TikTok alive in the U.S. on Thursday …
Discussion:
Pew Research Center, more at Techmeme »
Associated Press:
Trump signs an EO declaring that a proposed deal allowing TikTok to continue operating in the US will be a qualified sale that meets national security concerns — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order declaring that a proposed deal allowing TikTok to continue operating …
Discussion:
UPI, Music Ally, Reuters, CNN, Social Media Today, The Economic Times, Bitcoin Insider, @nicksortor, SiliconANGLE, @whitehouse, @thebluenami.is.democrat, Fortune India, @rapidresponse47, @whitehouse, @rapidresponse47, Mobile World Live, @senmullin, @armanddoma, PhoneArena, The A.V. Club, The White House, JURISTnews, Political Wire, Justin's Political Corner, TelecomTV, Boston.com, Türkiye Today, The Sun, ANI News, PCMag, Marketing Brew, Deseret News, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times, Politico, CNET, @jenni4iowa.bsky.social, NOTUS, The Independent, masslive.com, Bloomberg, Washington Times, KEYE, Newsweek, CBS News, Fox News, Barron's Online, Associated Press, The News International, Daily Kos and The Standard, more at Techmeme »
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:
Trump says Xi Jinping approved the TikTok deal, and JD Vance says the transaction values TikTok US at $14B; ByteDance hasn't acknowledged the deal
Discussion:
South China Morning Post, Ukrainian National News, The Verge, The Guardian, Android Headlines, @rapidresponse47, Breitbart, @dougkass, @margomartin47, TheStreet, @rapidresponse47, NBC News, Bloomberg, The Hill, Vogue Business, Project Syndicate, iClarified, RedState, Bloomberg, Financial Express, MacRumors, TechCrunch, Fortune, Daily Mail, PetaPixel, TipRanks Financial, Sharecafe, Mashable, Business Insider, KYMA-TV, NPR, Washington Examiner, Adweek, MSNBC, Benzinga, The i Paper, @michaelmartinez.co, Reuters, Wired, ABC News, India Today, Times of India, The Japan Times, The Information, Tom's Guide, Semafor, Sky News, The Economic Times, Just Jared, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, CBS News and Silicon Republic, more at Techmeme »
Ari Levy / CNBC:
Sources: Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX will be the main TikTok USA investors, with a ~45% stake; ByteDance will own 19.9% and ByteDance investors 35%
Sources: Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX will be the main TikTok USA investors, with a ~45% stake; ByteDance will own 19.9% and ByteDance investors 35%
Discussion:
DatacenterDynamics, Reason, Semafor, The White House, Poynter, Times of India, The Guardian, Asia Financial, Australian Financial Review, The Daily Upside, Mediaweek, Silicon Republic, Common Dreams, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Gizmodo, Forbes, @jessecharleslee, @theatlantic, Newser, Yahoo Finance, Investor's Business Daily, Axios, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington Post, Variety, Just The News, Baller Alert, Wall Street Pit, Techstrong IT, Mobile World Live, The American Bazaar, TVNewsCheck, TipRanks Financial, Fox Business, The Wrap, Reuters, Bloomberg and @confunctionist.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
Sara Fischer / Axios:
NBCUniversal warns customers that its networks may be dropped from YouTube TV if the two parties cannot reach a new distribution agreement by September 30 — NBCUniversal on Thursday warned customers that its networks may be dropped from YouTube TV if the two parties cannot reach a new distribution agreement by Sept. 30.
Discussion:
Front Office Sports, Sports Business Journal, Tech Times, @michaelsaves, @sherman4949, Android Police, Benzinga, TVNewsCheck, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Financial Times, Sports Media Watch, @simonowens.bsky.social, The Wrap, Bloomberg, CNBC, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Android Authority, Cord Cutters News, 9to5Google, Sports Business Journal, The Streamable, Fox Business, Streaming Better and Awful Announcing
Jacob Judah / MIT Technology Review:
How inaccurate AI translations of Wikipedia pages, which AI models use for training, may cause a doom spiral that further marginalizes vulnerable languages — When Kenneth Wehr started managing the Greenlandic-language version of Wikipedia four years ago, his first act was to delete almost everything.
Discussion:
@jacob_judah, more at Techmeme »
Elissa Welle / The Verge:
As the lyricist behind AI artist Xania Monet signs a $3M record deal, experts say current copyright law may only protect the human-made expressive elements — Two weeks ago, record company Hallwood Media signed a deal with Telisha “Nikki” Jones after negotiations that purportedly included an offer of $3 million, Billboard reported.
Discussion:
Billboard, @elissawelle and EBONY, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Meta plans to launch paid, ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook in the UK, each costing £2.99 per month on the web, and £3.99 on iOS and Android — Meta Platforms Inc. will soon offer paid versions of Facebook and Instagram in the UK that will remove advertising from both platforms.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Engadget, City A.M., PYMNTS.com, Proactive, Geekout Newsletter, The Independent, LADbible, TipRanks Financial, Euractiv, BetaNews, @goodlawproject, @tomwarren, @chribjel, @louisanslow, MLex, BBC, The Independent, Reuters, Telegraph, Mirror, Daily Mail, The Standard, The Verge, The Sun, CampaignUK and Meta Newsroom, more at Techmeme »
Matthew Leake / Reuters Institute:
An interview with Dzaky Putra, editor-in-chief of Indonesian political news outlet WIUI, which shares news with its Gen Z audience using a casual tone and memes — Following the biggest protests in decades, the editor-in-chief of ‘What Is Up, Indonesia?’ explains how the ‘not yet official’ news site doubled its following in a year
Discussion:
@reutersinstitute.bsky.social
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Filing: Lachlan Murdoch's fiscal 2025 compensation jumped to $33M, including a $3M salary and $10.6M in stock awards, up from $23.8M in 2024 and $21.8M in 2023 — Weeks after settling with his siblings over who will control Fox, the company revealed that the CEO's fiscal 2025 pay rose significantly from 2024.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, The Wrap and Deadline
Matthew Keys / The Desk:
IAB lowers its 2025 US ad spend forecast to 5.7% growth, down from 7.3%, citing tariffs and economic headwinds; digital channels including CTV remain resilient — IAB lowered its 2025 U.S. ad spend forecast based on concerns about tariffs and further economic headwinds. … Key Points:
Discussion:
IAB, Music Ally, Advanced Television, Inside Radio, TV Tech, TVNewsCheck and MediaPost
Kristin Robinson / Billboard:
AI music startup Suno launches Suno Studio, in beta with its premier plan; the digital audio workstation combines Suno's music generation tools into one product — The company says it has been quietly introducing Suno Studio to professional musicians at songwriting camps.
Discussion:
Music Ally, Suno, Music Business Worldwide and Music Ally
Tabby Kinder / Financial Times:
A profile of podcaster and writer Ed Zitron: tech journalism is flawed, his brash AI critic persona is not a mask, his PR firm gives him insider insight, more — How a British-born hobbyist blogger became one of Big Tech's punchiest critics — Ed Zitron is not a journalist, not a whistleblower and certainly not a prophet.
Discussion:
@dannygroner.bsky.social, @edzitron.com, @benansell.bsky.social and @edzitron.com
