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Sources: GateHouse Media, owned by Fortress Investment Group, is nearing a deal to buy Gannett, which would create the biggest newspaper chain in the US — GateHouse Media and its publicly traded publisher New Media Investment Group is deep in talks to buy USA Today owner Gannett …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, Poynter, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, @jpelzer, @jbenton, @johnnewsomnr, @johnnewsomnr, @austinbureau, @kmtorralva, @_davidelman, @jbenton, @jsodonoghue, @dbarkin, @dkiesow, @dbarkin, @jbenton, @charlesornstein, @byrickbrown, @aethefranchise, @brynstole, @johnnewsomnr, @ethanmayj, @dbarkin, @cararlombardo, @wblau, @chriscincibiz, @dkiesow, @jbenton and @dylan_segelbaum

BuzzFeed to stage its first live event, a free, invite-only, unsponsored show with musicians and influencers on July 25 in NYC, plans ticketed events later — BuzzFeed is going IRL by staging its first live event — a variety-style show in New York it's billing as an in-real-life version of scrolling through your social feed.
Discussion:
Tubefilter

As podcast service Blubrry says there are now over 700,000 podcasts, with 2,000 to 3,000 launching every month, a look at whether we have reached “peak podcast” — If past experience (cough, blogs) is any indication, a shakeout is nigh. — In 2016, Morgan Mandriota and Lester Lee …
Discussion:
@samsanders, Ad Age, bookforum.com, @tqbf, @locatora_radio, @blondenerd, @rungomez, @eatpraythot, @notbencannon, @henereyg, @seanmcarroll, @tauriqmoosa, @lindaholmes, @zblay, @mvzelenks, @fionasturges, @ricsanchez, @ohonestly, @matthewrmoore, @ricsanchez, @biblioracle, @mediageek, @andrewwrites, @penzeymoog and @roseveleth, more at Techmeme »

Documents show phone calls among Michael Cohen, Hope Hicks, and AMI's David Pecker and Dylan Howard as Stormy Daniels' claims emerged; Trump was on some calls — President Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen is in jail today, having pleaded guilty last year to violating a number of federal laws.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, @pbump, @bradheath, @pbump, @pbump, USA Today, Boing Boing, The Daily Beast, emptywheel and Fortune

McClatchy-grown, Google-funded Compass Experiment, a project to build new local news sites, selects Youngstown, OH as its first site with four local journalists — Youngstown, Ohio has become kind the beat-up poster child for industrial decline, the opioid crisis, the Trump phenomenon, and, most recently, the loss of local journalism.
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CNBC, Medium, Yahoo Finance, Poynter, The Keyword, @reptimryan, @valerieroyzman, @newsbyschmidt, @compasslocal, @mjenkins, @ckrewson, @sulliview, Engadget, 9to5Google and Business Journal Daily

Huffpost UK to open Huffpost Centre for Journalism at Birmingham City University, offering tutorials, events, and experience for journalism students — Huffpost UK is partnering with Birmingham City University to set up a centre for journalism within the university's media department …
Discussion:
HuffPost UK, Journalism.co.uk, @lpolgreen, @helloiammariam and @louiseridley

BBC director-general says BBC may switch to an opt-in voluntary subscription model once the compulsory license fee system expires in 2027 — The BBC could switch away from the licence fee to a Netflix-style voluntary subscription model, the director-general acknowledged yesterday.

A San Francisco judge quashes warrant used by SFPD to conduct surveillance on journalist Bryan Carmody's phone, essentially barring the use of evidence obtained — A judge on Thursday quashed a search warrant used by San Francisco police to conduct surveillance on a journalist's phone …

CJR's public editor for MSNBC says the channel has become more willing to condemn Trump's administration more explicitly after framing earlier stories as spats — Before the House voted to condemn Donald Trump's racist tweets on Tuesday, Republican Doug Collins of Georgia issued a formal objection …
Discussion:
@cjr, Financial Times, Vox and Vanity Fair
Alistair Smout / Reuters:
DAZN makes a deal with Discovery to stream Eurosport in Germany, Italy, Spain, and Austria, enabling it to offer the Olympics and Grand Slam tennis — LONDON (Reuters) - Sports streaming service DAZN said on Thursday its subscribers would be able to receive Eurosport in Germany and three …

BBC and ITV's streaming service Britbox to launch in UK in the fall for £5.99/month with archive shows initially; ITV plans to invest £65M in first two years — Joint venture considered unlikely to challenge UK market dominance of Netflix — BBC and ITV's new streaming service …
Discussion:
Telegraph, Reuters, BBC and @uk_domain_names

In some ways, Netflix's Q2 results were a disaster, highlighting the weakness of its US market, limits of international growth, and pain of losing huge shows — As US growth slows, executives look to international markets — Netflix reported earnings on Wednesday night, and the results were disastrous.
Discussion:
@dylanbyers, @karlbode, @loudmouthjulia, NBC News, Business Insider, Variety, @natjarv and @natjarv, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Netflix:
Netflix reports Q2 revenue of $4.9B, up 26% YoY, and total paid membership of 152M, up 22% YoY, but it added 2.7M new subs, down from 5.5M YoY; stock down 10%+
Netflix reports Q2 revenue of $4.9B, up 26% YoY, and total paid membership of 152M, up 22% YoY, but it added 2.7M new subs, down from 5.5M YoY; stock down 10%+
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, CNBC, Broadcasting & Cable, @nageshduvvuri, The Wrap, Multichannel News, Breitbart, VICE, Quartz, The Atlantic, @dkthomp, Bloomberg, Mashable, The Week, @kevinwildes, @jank0, @tedgioia, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @lanceulanoff, @dawnc331, @stevekopack, @pkafka, @pkafka, MediaNama, Ad Age, TechCrunch, AdExchanger, Variety, CNBC, Fast Company, The Wrap, The Verge, Gizmodo, NBC News, 9to5Mac, USA Today, MediaPost and Wall Street Journal

YouTube adds one click switch between audio and video for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium subscribers, has time-matched over 5M songs — Imagine listening to a new track by your favorite artist in the YouTube Music app and having the ability to seamlessly switch over to watch …
Discussion:
9to5Google, CNET, Adweek, Engadget, The Verge, RAIN News, 9to5Google, TechCrunch, VentureBeat and MSPoweruser, more at Techmeme »