Top News:
Marc Tracy / New York Times:
Ex-Deadspin staff launch digital media company Defector Media, which they will own and operate, led by EIC Tom Ley and open to subscribers for $8 per month — The journalists who took part in a staff rebellion last year are starting Defector Media, a company with a podcast and a website dedicated to sports and culture.
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@defectormedia, The Wrap, Hell World, Forbes, MediaPost, @pykea, @michaeltoole, @drewmagary, @cliffordlevy, @lainnafader, @matthunzi, @media_evan, @toley88, @seandkennedy, @barry, @cwarzel, @xor, Awful Announcing, Mediaite, @davidsirota, @brofax, @jaycaspiankang, @ylichterman, @mattsaincome, @hamiltonnolan, @senari, @mikeisaac, @gaberivera, @tomscocca, @alexmsilverman, InsideHook and bookforum.com
Frank Pallotta / CNN:
AMC and Universal agree to shorten the theatrical window for films to 17 days, or 3 weekends, before Universal can release them onto premium on-demand platforms — New York (CNN Business)Universal and AMC are mending their frayed relationship in a deal that not only reverses the theater chain's ban …
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Variety, The Wrap, Hollywood Reporter, /Film, The Verge, @johngary, @tinch, Forbes, CNBC, @mattdonnelly, @bmccandless, @annemariebridy, @loudmouthjulia, @rfaughnder, @owillis, @ethan_anderton, @labuzamovies, @loudmouthjulia, @lucas_shaw, @richlightshed, @loudmouthjulia and @loudmouthjulia, more at Techmeme »
Emily Bell / Columbia Journalism Review:
Some journalists debate the safety and ethics of using TikTok for publishing news, amid concerns about how China could influence their content — This week, Bloomberg reported that members of Joe Biden's presidential campaign were instructed to delete the social media app TikTok from their phones.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Fox News, @latimes, @bgrueskin, @taylorlorenz, Mediaite, Business Insider and New York Post
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Euirim Choi / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Instagram has made lucrative offers, some in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, to some of TikTok's most popular creators to use Reels — Instagram makes lucrative offers to popular TikTok users to join its new competing service, raising stakes in social-media rivalry
Discussion:
New York Post, @nathanchubbard, @pitdesi, Engadget, @joshelman, @sarthakgh and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
John Koblin / New York Times:
Netflix breaks the record for most Emmy nominations with 160, as the industrywide number of TV series hit a high and submissions rose 15% over last year — Here's what you need to know: — Netflix and “The Mandalorian” show the might of streamers. — Netflix dominated …
Discussion:
Variety, Multichannel News, The Wrap, The Wrap, Deadline, The Wrap, Forbes, Protocol, @matthewmercer, @jbflint, @deggans, @edmundlee and Deadline
Karlene Lukovitz / MediaPost:
WarnerMedia says that 23% of HBO Max users are between 18 and 24 and that Friends is the most watched show on the streaming service — Although not providing any actual data, WarnerMedia yesterday released a few more statements about the performance of its two-month-old HBO Max streaming service …
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Multichannel News
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Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Crunchyroll reaches 3M streaming subscribers, and the anime portal's GM Joanne Waage says WarnerMedia's goal is to fuel both Crunchyroll and HBO Max — GM Joanne Waage, who took the helm of Crunchyroll in late 2018, said the platform has seen accelerating growth.
Discussion:
@leojtravis10 and Cord Cutters News
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
WaPo names Krissah Thompson as its first managing editor for diversity and inclusion, a role created in the wake of the protests over racial inequality — The Washington Post has named Krissah Thompson, a veteran editor and reporter with nearly 20 years of experience at the organization …
Discussion:
@washingtonpost, @keithlalexander, @jamiestockwell, @geoffedgers, @blackamazon, @sarahellison, @malitzd, @markberman, @ashleyrparker and @gbrockell
Erik Hayden / Hollywood Reporter:
Talent agency CAA says it will lay off about 90 agents and execs and furlough about 275 assistants, of whose health plan premiums will still be paid in full — The Century City-based firm had been the last of the major talent agencies to undergo staff cuts.
Discussion:
The Wrap
Alexis Lloyd / The Official Medium Blog:
Medium announces it will roll out a private beta of features including color and type options; the beta will include access to its new newsletters product — Every day, both new and established writers flock to Medium to share their ideas. They come because Medium makes it easy to write …
Discussion:
@dlberes, @joshelman, @alexislloyd and @ev
Robert Channick / Chicago Tribune:
Tribune Publishing's board has adopted a “poison pill” plan to thwart any potential hostile takeover, after Alden's co-founder Randall Smith joined the board — The Tribune Publishing board adopted a so-called “poison pill” plan Monday to thwart any potential hostile takeover of the company.
Discussion:
@toddlighty, @ctguild and @ckrewson
Adam B. Vary / Variety:
Tweets about Comic-Con@Home were down 95% vs 2019's San Diego Comic-Con and the lack of interaction with panelists made it a poor replacement for the live event — If a fan convention is held on the internet and no one's there to talk about it, does it make any noise?
Discussion:
@variety, @mister_batfieck, @whos_nick, @notajenny, The A.V. Club, Vox, /Film, io9, io9, IndieWire, IndieWire and Gizmodo Australia