Mediagazer: NY district court judge dismisses lawsuit by Seth Rich's parents against Fox News and also rejects defamation suit by investigator Rod Wheeler against Fox (Eriq Gardner/Hollywood Reporter)

Kara Swisher / New York Times:

Now that Facebook and other platforms have become “digital arms dealers”, Mark Zuckerberg takes a crash course in free speech and propaganda, at a public cost — They have weaponized social media, and we are all paying the price. — Let me first state that I actually …

Discussion: @cynthiablee, @hotlinejosh, @kimzetter, @spacekatgal, @kimmaicutler, @hdurzy, @ferrasvinh, @mims, @dearsarah, @haniawhitfield and @dpfunke

Jeremy Barr / Hollywood Reporter:

Warner Music Group is buying Uproxx Media Group, which publishes HitFlix, Dime, and Uproxx.com; BroBible will not be part of the sale — The digital media company publishes brands like entertainment news site HitFlix, sports site Dime and Uproxx.com. — Digital publisher Uproxx Media Group …

Discussion: Variety, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal and Music Business Worldwide

John Haltiwanger / Business Insider:

In response to a question from CNN's Jim Acosta, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders refuses to say “the press is not the enemy of the people” — - White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to answer a question from CNN's Jim Acosta about whether …

Discussion: @acosta, TVNewser, Mediaite, The Wrap, @ashleyrparker, CNN and Washington Post

Jason Schwartz / Politico:

In July, the White House held three press briefings, totaling 56 minutes altogether, a continuation of a declining trend with five in June, and nine in May — July's three briefings, during which the press secretary took questions for a combined 56 minutes, tied a low for any month during the Trump presidency.

Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders used a debunked story about the hunt for bin Laden to disparage media accuracy in Wednesday's press briefing

Discussion: Variety, CNN, Multichannel News, Mediaite, @jimlaporta and @presssec

Campbell Brown / Facebook Media:

Facebook extends its Local News Accelerator through the end of the year, launches a $3.5M Membership Accelerator program to help outlets with membership models — Today, we're excited to announce an additional $4.5 million investment in programs that support news publishers.

Discussion: Nieman Lab, Adweek, Wall Street Journal and @jcstearns

Los Angeles Times:

Sources: Les Moonves told CBS board members months ago of an LAPD investigation into an alleged sexual assault; board hired an outside law firm to investigate — CBS board members learned several months ago that the Los Angeles Police Department had investigated an alleged sexual assault …

Discussion: Business Insider, Slate, VICE News, CNBC and Hollywood Reporter

Joanna Tan / CNBC:
CBS says it is hiring two law firms to investigate allegations in the media against Leslie Moonves, CBS News, and cultural issues at all levels of the company

Discussion: The Wrap, Business Insider and BuzzFeed News

Tara Bitran / Variety:
USC School of Cinematic Arts suspends Les Moonves from its board of councilors and says it will discuss further action in October

Discussion: HuffPost, Crain's New York Business, Deadline, Fortune, The Wrap, Ad Age, mailchi.mp, Variety, @dylanbyers, Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Reporter, HuffPost and The Wrap

Jon Levine / The Wrap:

The New York Times issues a statement standing by Sarah Jeong, its new editorial board hire, after criticisms arise of her old tweets blasting “white people” — The New York Times is facing backlash about its latest hire to its editorial board, Sarah Jeong, after multiple old tweets about …

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

NY district court judge dismisses lawsuit by Seth Rich's parents against Fox News and also rejects defamation suit by investigator Rod Wheeler against Fox — The judge concludes that Joel and Mary Rich are impermissibly dressing up defamation claims against a deceased individual.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, TVNewser, CNNMoney, The Wrap and Mediaite

The Information:

Sources: Google is developing a news aggregation app for use in China that will comply with the country's strict censorship laws — Google is developing a news-aggregation app for use in China that will comply with the country's strict censorship laws, part of a plan to re-enter …

Discussion: Bloomberg, TechCrunch, 9to5Google, Fortune, Mashable, New York Times, MediaNama, Beyond Search, TechNode, Entrackr, @moltke, @amir, Vanity Fair, Techdirt and The Intercept, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Iles / Civil:

Civil delays token sale from August 13 to September 18 and announces daily webinars to explain the token sales process as it seeks consumers, not speculators — I'm sharing an important update today: The CVL token sale will now begin on Tuesday, September 18.

Discussion: @mattcoolidge, @vivian, @digitalnoah, @digitalnoah and @mattcoolidge

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

AMC Networks' Q2 revenue rose to $761.3M for profits of $106M, a 3% YoY growth, thanks to shrinking losses at its international operations — AMC Networks said second-quarter profit rose 3% as the owner of cable networks like AMC and IFC narrowed operating losses at its international operations.

Discussion: MediaPost

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Vizio launches WatchFree, a free, ad-supported streaming service powered by Pluto TV that offers access to over 100 channels — Think there are too many streaming services? How about one more? Today, Vizio says it's launching its own streaming service called WatchFree that will be available …

Discussion: Variety, The Verge, SlashGear, TechRadar.com, Engadget and MediaPost

John Eggerton / Multichannel News:

FCC OKs apprenticeship program giving established broadcasters waivers on ownership rules if they mentor minority-owned stations; Jessica Rosenworcel objects — Pai calls it action, ‘finally’; Rosenworcel calls it too little for too few — The FCC has voted to approve, with one strong dissent …

Discussion: Radio & Television … and @fcc