Top News:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Warner Bros. Discovery has been quietly culling HBO Max content, including at least six Warner Bros. films and the House Party reboot, in apparent cost cutting — Warner Bros. Discovery has been quietly culling content from HBO Max — including several Warner Bros. movies that were exclusively streaming …
Discussion:
IndieWire, ScreenRant, The Wrap, @variety, Looper, @2minutetimelord, @jimmychampane, SlashFilm, @williambibbiani, @theashleyray, The Playlist, UPROXX, @culturecrave, The Verge, TV Insider, Too Much TV Newsletter, Vanity Fair, SlashFilm, @lindaholmes, Decider, Collider, @patrickcotnoir, The Guardian, The Hot Button, @coopercooperco, @kevinpanetta, @tvgrimreaper, @theericgoldman, @dansolomon, The Streamable, Forbes, @adambvary and TechRadar
Discussion:
Brian Welk / The Wrap: Why Warner Bros. Killed ‘Batgirl’: Taxes, Cutting Losses and a Strategic Pivot
@variety: Within the past few weeks, at least six Warner Bros. movies have been removed from HBO Max: -Moonshot -Superintelligence -The Witches -An American Pickle -Locked Down -Charm City Kings https://variety.com/...
Shane O'Neill / Looper: Peacemaker Season 2 Is Safe At HBO Max According To James Gunn
That Chip Guy / @2minutetimelord: Beating my point into the ground: #DoctorWho needs a nice soft landing somewhere far away from HBO Max. https://twitter.com/...
Jimmy Champane / @jimmychampane: This is why it sucks when theatrical franchises like Alien and Predator get bumped to streaming. They become content that can be shot into the ether without a second thought. I'd 1000% rather see a cheaper theatrical movie than a bigger budget streaming movie. https://twitter.com/...
Rafael Motamayor / SlashFilm: Scoob 2 Writer ‘Heartbroken’ Over Warner Bros. Scrapping Film: ‘The Movie Is Practically Finished’
William Bibbiani / @williambibbiani: They... removed their OWN movies... from their OWN streaming services? You'd have thought the least a streamer could do is keep their ORIGINAL CONTENT available. https://twitter.com/...
Ashley Ray / @theashleyray: i really liked an american pickle and i guess now you can just watch it on planes? https://twitter.com/...
Charles Barfield / The Playlist: HBO Max Mysteriously Removes Several “Max Original” Films From Its Library Without Explanation
Mike Redmond / UPROXX: The ‘Joker’ Sequel Has An Official Release Date... But You'll Have To Wait A While
@culturecrave: @TheWrap A major restructuring of HBO Max and Discovery+ is expected to be announced https://www.thewrap.com/...
Alex Cranz / The Verge: The megamerger killed Batgirl
Meaghan Darwish / TV Insider: HBO Max Removes 6 Original Movie Titles From Library
Natalie Jarvey / Vanity Fair: Why Are HBO Max Original Movies Disappearing From the Streaming Platform?
Jeremy Mathai / SlashFilm: HBO Max Appears To Be Inexplicably Purging Streaming-Exclusive Movies From The Service
Linda Holmes / @lindaholmes: There's a lot of dust yet to settle about what exactly is going on, but the signs have not been good for people (me included) who have thought HBO Max was making really good original scripted stuff. (Which isn't to say it's these particular things; just ... what's the strategy?) https://twitter.com/...
Marco Vito Oddo / Collider: Batgirl Directors Comment on Their Film Being Shelved
Patrick Cotnoir / @patrickcotnoir: HBOMax is the best streaming service out there and I really hope they don't mess it up. (I am NOT only saying this because I cast an animated show for them that is currently waiting on a season 2 pickup!!!!!) https://twitter.com/...
Benjamin Lee / The Guardian: Batgirl directors respond to surprise axing of film: 'We still can't believe it'
David Poland / The Hot Button: THB #197: Batgirl... Whose Baby Are You?
@coopercooperco: Damn maybe that rumor about folding Max into Discovery+ and getting rid of scripted content in favor of “unscripted” was right. https://twitter.com/...
Kevin Panetta / @kevinpanetta: Love how our streaming future allows a corporation to basically wipe six films from existence https://twitter.com/...
Eric Goldman / @theericgoldman: David Zaslav's really doing a great job with his approach to content: “When you hear the name HBO, I want you to think ‘tax write off’” https://www.indiewire.com/...
Matt Tamanini / The Streamable: As Warner Bros. Discovery Cuts and Cancels HBO Max Titles, Are Execs Damaging the Company's Premium Brand?
Scott Mendelson / Forbes: ‘Batgirl’ Shocker: Why Warner Bros. Junked Leslie Grace's HBO Max Movie
RELATED:
The Wrap:
Sources: WBD CEO David Zaslav plans to announce a combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service on August 4; 70% of HBO Max's development unit could be cut — Hollywood is buzzing around Warner Bros. Discovery's upcoming earnings results and plans for a combined streaming service, which can upend its most popular streamer
Discussion:
Deadline, Next TV, @culturecrave, Deadline, Variety, Vulture, Mediaite, @dsmithweb, @kaludiasays, Fortune, @enthusiamy, @bradmiska, SlashFilm, @tvgrimreaper, Observer, @fordm, ScreenRant, The Desk, @coreydeshon, The A.V. Club, @cinemaniac94, UPROXX, Looper, @gerberkawasaki, @avishaiw, @pleasedtomeetya, @variety, @joshsternberg, @nash076, Insider, @alex_abads, @thewrap, @markharrisnyc, @ashleyesqueda, @bendreyfuss, @lucas_shaw and @tinch
Discussion:
Deadline: The Dish: What's Behind The ‘Batgirl’ & ‘Scoob!’ Discard? David Zaslav's Abject Rejection Of Jason Kilar's HBO Max Strategy
Daniel Frankel / Next TV: Panic Grips the Video Business! — Are the ‘Shark Week’ Guys Really About to Blow Up HBO Max?
@culturecrave: HBO Max is expected to layoff around 70% of their development staff An insider says it “sounds like they're not doing HBO Max scripted shows anymore with HBO taking over” (via @TheWrap) https://twitter.com/...
Anthony D'Alessandro / Deadline: ‘Batgirl’ Filmmakers On Warner Bros Discovery Discarding Movie: “It Is Critical That Our Work Be Shown To Audiences”
Zack Sharf / Variety: James Gunn Says ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Is ‘Safe’ at HBO Max After ‘Batgirl’ Axed: ‘Guys, Calm Down’
Josef Adalian / Vulture: HBO Max Is Doing Well — So Of Course Changes Are Coming
Alex Griffing / Mediaite: 'We Still Can't Believe it': Batgirl Directors React to David Zaslav Killing Their $90 Million Movie in Post-Production
Deborah Smith-Webber / @dsmithweb: “The move will result in a gutting of HBO Max, significant layoffs for its executives and staff to minimize redundancies with HBO and a combined streaming service with Discovery+ with a harder line separation between the scripted and unscripted content operations.” https://twitter.com/...
@kaludiasays: when they were saying they were retooling the DCEU strategy a while back, i wasnt joking when they said its gonna be whiter and more male https://twitter.com/...
Colin Lodewick / Fortune: Why did Warner Bros. kill a $90 million Batgirl movie starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne? A big tax write-off probably isn't the only reason
Amy Dallen / @enthusiamy: Honestly astonished that after decades as a female comic book fan, the world is somehow still discovering brand new ways to disappoint me. https://twitter.com/...
Rafael Motamayor / SlashFilm: Batgirl Directors Bilall Fallah And Adil El Arbi Respond To Their Movie Being Shelved
@tvgrimreaper: “The move will result in a gutting of HBO Max, significant layoffs for its executives and staff” Taking The Zaslav Reign Of Terror™ Up A Notch! https://twitter.com/...
Rachyl Jones / Observer: Grim Reaper Zaslav Comes For Batgirl, Possibly HBO Max
Matt Ford / @fordm: I'd kinda wondered if this was a marketing gimmick, a la the Snyder Cut, but it looks like the HBO Max folks are going to salt the earth where they bury Batgirl: https://variety.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Hardman / ScreenRant: Warner Bros. Quietly Removes 6 Original Movies From HBO Max
Matthew Keys / The Desk: Warner Bros Discovery to gut HBO Max development team
Corey Deshon / @coreydeshon: At a general with HBOMax in the not too distant past, the execs were so excited about prioritizing a “younger and more diverse HBO” style of programming. No amount of bottom-up diversity initiatives will ever fix a top-down problem. Eventually, everything hits the same barrier. https://twitter.com/...
Hattie Lindert / The A.V. Club: The future of HBO Max grows more uncertain amid merger and layoff rumors
Duane Miller / @cinemaniac94: Oh I see 🙃 https://twitter.com/...
Matthewprigge / UPROXX: Rumors Are Swirling About The Death Of HBO Max And People Are Freaking Out About Their Favorite Shows
Alexander Billet / Looper: Reports Warn That HBO Max Is About To Get Gutted
Ross Gerber / @gerberkawasaki: Could be the long slow demise of HBO. Sadly. We shall see. $wbd $nflx $dis https://twitter.com/...
@avishaiw: “What the decision will cost the studio in creative capital, meanwhile, remains to be seen.” https://twitter.com/...
@pleasedtomeetya: kiss goodbye to the TCM, Criterion and Ghibli libraries scream hello to the Big Ed Shared Universe https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@variety: Warner Bros. will almost certainly take a tax write-down on “Batgirl,” seen internally as a financially sound way to recoup the costs. Doing so, however, would mean that the studio cannot monetize the film — no HBO Max debut, no sale to another studio. https://variety.com/...
Josh Sternberg / @joshsternberg: They killed HBO for HBO Go. They killed HBO Go for HBO Max. What the fuck are they doing??? https://www.thewrap.com/...
@nash076: I'm beginning to think Zaslav never watched anything on HBO Max before the merger and panicked when he found out nobody was naked or afraid. https://www.thewrap.com/...
Travis Clark / Insider: 'It's mind-boggling': The already-filmed ‘Batgirl’ movie won't be released at all, and it's the latest headache for DC movies
Alex / @alex_abads: hbo max has been the best streaming service. hacks, harley quinn, the flight attendant, minx, peacemaker, the other two ... etc. are all under the hbo max originals banner https://twitter.com/...
@thewrap: CEO David Zaslav and his surrogates have been quietly telegraphing to top showrunners and talent that HBO content chief Casey Bloys will take a more senior role as the two streaming platforms are combined https://www.thewrap.com/...
Mark Harris / @markharrisnyc: And with word that HBO Max, one of the better streamers, is apparently soon to be ravaged, a pattern emerges: Warners, first effed up by AOL and then by AT&T, is now in the hands of yet another corp. with no knowledge of or feel for scripted entertainment. https://www.thewrap.com/...
Ashley / @ashleyesqueda: Companies acquiring content operations with no concept of what makes creatives successful is such an easy recipe for disaster. And these executives never learn! https://twitter.com/...
Adam B. Vary / Variety:
Warner Bros. Discovery kills Batgirl and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt movies both for HBO Max and for theaters; Batgirl had a $90M budget; sources: Scoob! cost $40M — “Batgirl,” the feature film adaptation of the DC Comics character, has been killed at Warner Bros., Variety has confirmed.
Discussion:
The Wrap, Looper, Bleeding Cool, New York Post, Us Weekly, @xzyliac, Well, Isn't This Great? …, CNET, Mashable, Associated Press, @krolljvar, NPR, @seanfennessey, Chicago Sun-Times, @jimmychampane, Animation Magazine, @awestruckvox, Desafiador do Desconhecido, ScreenRant, Boing Boing, @markharrisnyc, The Week, @seitz_unseen, @bearmccreary, @somebadideas, @greg_jenner, @becketadams, @variety, @xpangler, Den of Geek, The Comeback, al.com, Inverse, Gizmodo, The Playlist and New York Post
Discussion:
Umberto Gonzalez / The Wrap: ‘Batgirl’ Star Leslie Grace Speaks Out Following Movie Being Axed
Shane O'Neill / Looper: Leslie Grace Responds To Batgirl Cancelation
Johnny Oleksinski / New York Post: ‘Batgirl’ cast ‘humiliated’ — Warner Bros. didn't tell them their movie was dead
Eliza Thompson / Us Weekly: Everything to Know About the ‘Batgirl’ Movie Starring Leslie Grace, Brendan Fraser and More
@xzyliac: Nowhere on any bingo card did I have the Discovery Channel eviscerating Warner Bros. https://twitter.com/...
Clay N. Ferno / Well, Isn't This Great? …: They Scrapped Batgirl — Pretty shocking news for DCEU fans came over the wire last night.
Kourtnee Jackson / CNET: ‘Batgirl’ Movie Axed Despite Massive Price Tag
Justin Kroll / @krolljvar: Some more behind the scenes detail on what went down on BATGIRL including where the directors were when they got the news, Both were in Morocco for Arbi's wedding 😬 https://deadline.com/...
Anastasia Tsioulcas / NPR: Warner Bros. kills off ‘Batgirl’ movie, $90 million in
Sean Fennessey / @seanfennessey: With this shadow-ban, the prospect of Netflix pushing harder into theatrical, and the shaming around Pixar movies going straight to Disney+, it's finally starting to feel like the streaming movie overcorrection of 2020 is sorting itself out. https://variety.com/...
Jimmy Champane / @jimmychampane: This is why it's worth buying physical movies. https://twitter.com/...
Kev / @awestruckvox: Lmfaooo we're really watching every streaming service fall apart https://twitter.com/...
Brady Entwistle / ScreenRant: Scoob! 2 Holiday Haunt Animated Sequel Cancelled Before Release
Devin Nealy / Boing Boing: Warner Brothers just pulled the plug on Batgirl
Mark Harris / @markharrisnyc: This is appalling, and it's what happens when the people who run a media company crawl so far up their own hindquarters about “strategy” that they forget that actual humans put time and effort into making a movie. https://variety.com/...
Brendan Morrow / The Week: Warner Bros. won't release $90 million Batgirl movie that was already filmed
Patrick Seitz / @seitz_unseen: Killing a $90 million movie in post-production because they felt it wouldn't be enough of a tentpole, but they threw another $70 million into the abyss for the You-Know-Who Cut...? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Bear McCreary / @bearmccreary: My heart goes out to everyone who worked (and were working) on this film. Onward.❤️😔 The ‘streaming wars’ have created the most tumultuous era in our industry since the advent of sound. It won't stop here, either. The dust is far from settled. Nothing is real until it's out. https://twitter.com/...
Aaron Stewart-Ahn / @somebadideas: The new regime wants to save $3-4 billion so they're firing people left and right and burying a movie already shot that they've spent $90 million on that doesn't star Ezra Miller?? https://twitter.com/...
Greg Jenner / @greg_jenner: This is so much money down the drain. How much is $70m in creative terms? Well, in the U.K., enough to fund 6,000 hours of a mid-budget podcast. Or to make a popular children's TV series for 20 years https://twitter.com/...
T. Becket Adams / @becketadams: big woof. they're really going to eat a **$90M** loss? https://variety.com/...
@variety: Studio insiders insist the decision was not driven by the quality of the film or the commitment of the filmmakers, but by the desire for the studio's slate of DC features to be at a blockbuster scale. https://variety.com/...
Todd Spangler / @xpangler: I do wonder whether this would have happened under AT&T. Warner Bros Discovery is highly leveraged, killing projects to cut costs https://twitter.com/...
David Crow / Den of Geek: Batgirl Canceled: Where Does This Leave the DCEU and Michael Keaton's Batman Return?
Andrew Bucholtz / The Comeback: World reacts to Warner Bros. Discovery canceling $90 million film “Batgirl,” which was in post-production
Eric Francisco / Inverse: ‘Batgirl’ isn't releasing, period, but not because of “quality”
Germain Lussier / Gizmodo: The Batgirl Movie Is Dead
Natalie Musumeci / Insider:
Alex Jones' trial reveals that Infowars made as much as $800K per day in 2018, and that the fake news site made $70M in revenue in its most recent fiscal year — - An attorney for Sandy parents said Alex Jones' defense attorney “messed up” and sent him a digital copy of Jones' cell phone.
Discussion:
@oneunderscore__, NBC News, New York Times, Law & Crime, The Hill, @bgrueskin, Washington Post, @dansolomon, @dansolomon, The Kitchen Pundit, Associated Press, @elise_jordan, @reallorraine, Forbes, @emptywheel, @randfish, @jeffjarvis, @oneunderscore__, @zeynep, @realkellyjones, @emptywheel, @maitlis, @hasanthehun, @maxapotter, @jenmercieca, VICE, @egavactip, Deadline, @darbyscastle, @popehat, @janusrose, @stevesilberman, @froomkin, @gideonrachman, @insidernews, @nandoodles, @thetweetofjohn, @cameronwilson, @annamerlan and @oneunderscore__
Discussion:
Ben Collins / @oneunderscore__: These texts and emails are FINALLY revealing financials behind Infowars. Some days in 2018, InfoWars was making $800,000 a day. “Well after your deplatforming, your numbers keep getting better,” Sandy Hook parents' lawyer says. If they keep that up, that's ~$300 mill. a year.
NBC News: After Alex Jones' lawyers accidentally leak years of emails, Infowars financial documents are revealed in court
Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times: Alex Jones, Under Questioning, Is Confronted With Evidence of Deception
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime: ‘The Internet Had Questions’: Alex Jones Scorns Sandy Hook Parent, Snaps at Judge and Sparks Sanctions Motion in Wild Day 1 of Testimony
Julia Mueller / The Hill: Alex Jones's attorney ‘messed up’ and sent two years of texts to Sandy Hook parents' lawyers
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: Alex Jones, seconds after being told that his lawyer mistakenly send a huge cache of texts to Sandy Hook families' attorney: “This is your Perry Mason moment” https://twitter.com/...
Washington Post: Sandy Hook lawyers say Alex Jones's attorneys accidentally gave them his phone contents
Dan Solomon / @dansolomon: This trial is bifurcated, so the question of Jones's net worth is not a consideration for the jury when determining appropriate compensation. Once the jury returns that verdict, a second (much shorter) trial begins with testimony on the matter of Jones's net worth
Dan Solomon / @dansolomon: That testimony will involve two witnesses: Jones again, and then a forensic economist hired by the plaintiffs as an expert. After that, jury deliberates on punitive damages and makes its award. Then this case is closed.
Joe Cunningham / The Kitchen Pundit: Alex Jones's Lawyer Accidentally Sent a Digital Copy of His Phone to Opposing Counsel, and the January 6th Committee Wants It
Elise Jordan / @elise_jordan: Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis are so brave to take on Alex Jones and his profiteering off their pain. When Jones monetized Michael Hastings's death, I was petrified of even more harassment if I tried to stop him in court. Neil and Scarlett, you are heroes. https://twitter.com/...
Lorraine / @reallorraine: Following this case and astounded that anyone could be as shamefully vile and cruel as Alex Jones. Pure evil. https://twitter.com/...
Nicholas Reimann / Forbes: ‘Do You Know What Perjury Is?’: Alex Jones' Lawyers Apparently Forwarded His Damning Texts To Opposing Counsel
@emptywheel: Plaintiffs' lawyers say they got Alex Jones' complete phone 12 days ago, so July 22. That might merit more scrutiny on the drama going on with his legal representation for the CT case. https://www.ctinsider.com/...
Rand Fishkin / @randfish: $300 MILLION/YEAR 🤬 That's the revenue Alex Jones was on track to make via a website peddling the most hateful, disgusting conspiracy theories imaginable. The Sandy Hook parents deserve every dime, just as Jones deserves decades in prison for his heinous crimes. Thread 👇 https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: This, Kansas, and the stock market is up. What a wonderful day. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Collins / @oneunderscore__: (Alex Jones says $800k a day was a really good week during CPAC, where they were doing better business.)
Zeynep Tufekci / @zeynep: $800,000 *per day*?? For peddling the most unhinged, harmful conspiracies? Yeah, incentives matter. (Yes, retweeted to fix a typo). https://twitter.com/...
Kelly Jones / @realkellyjones: @oneunderscore__ Alex Jones' ex-wife here, and I'm going to subpoena this data! Won a jury, lost my kids for blowing the whistle on infowars. Subpoena request will go out t o d a y. https://twitter.com/...
@emptywheel: InfoWars has 80 employees and contractors. What was the annual revenue in most recent fiscal years. He had $60-70M gross in recent years.
Emily M / @maitlis: This thread is both stomach churning in the extreme and so so obvious once you understand that trolling parents of dead children was a business model for this man. https://twitter.com/...
@hasanthehun: dumb mfs on the internet love talking about how lucrative it is to be a “socialist grifter” meanwhile this is what right wing psychos are making. https://twitter.com/...
@maxapotter: Why do people like Alex Jones and Fox's Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham savagely lie and scramble the brains of Americans? Because it makes them insanely wealthy. https://twitter.com/...
Jennifer Mercieca / @jenmercieca: Get rich with conspiracy scams: 1. Build huge audience by pretending that you're the only one who tells the truth about the scary world. 2. Sell emergency preparedness & snake oil items designed to appeal to your conspiracy addled audience. 3. Make $800k/day from audience dupes. https://twitter.com/...
Anna Merlan / VICE: Alex Jones Found Out in Court That Sandy Hook Parents' Attorneys Have a Copy of His Cellphone
Mark Pitcavage / @egavactip: I believe this is what is referred to as a bonus track. https://twitter.com/...
Ted Johnson / Deadline: Alex Jones Confronted By Infowars' Attacks On Judge And ‘Extremely Blue Collar’ Jurors As Sandy Hook Parents Seek Defamation Damages
Darby Abbott / @darbyscastle: This is hysterical... The judge can allow the jury to view all the information now that the Plaintiffs attorney has it.. wonder who the defense attorney is going to work for next.. https://www.insider.com/...
@popehat: The obscenity is not that Alex Jones is like this. The obscenity is that millions of Americans love and admire and support Alex Jones being like this, and make him filthy rich for being like this. We have met the enemy and he is us.
@janusrose: no wonder greenwald likes this guy. both imagine themselves scrappy truth-telling cancel culture victims who just happen to be making upwards of 8-9 figures lol https://twitter.com/...
Steve Silberman / @stevesilberman: In this glorious, shining, historical moment, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble is speaking for all of America. https://twitter.com/...
@froomkin: This is not even the best part, but he insulted the jury on his radio show, which was then played in court. Tears of laughter! https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Gideon Rachman / @gideonrachman: Tricky conversation Alex Jones will be having with his lawyers. Could he sue them for negligence? It would be nice to think that this was not an accident, but a deliberate act of sabotage by lawyers revolted by their client. But I somehow doubt it. https://twitter.com/...
@insidernews: Alex Jones' lawyer accidentally sent the contents of Jones' phone, revealing InfoWars' financials and texts he claimed didn't exist, Sandy Hook parents' attorney says https://www.insider.com/...
@nandoodles: I wonder if we can get a revenue breakdown. In 2018, Infowars was still being served ads from brands like Mozilla, Nike, ClassPass and Grammarly via @GoogleAds. In March 2018, Google was still refusing to comment. https://money.cnn.com/...... https://twitter.com/...
John FitzGerald / @thetweetofjohn: “Mr. Jones, you may not say to this jury that you complied with discovery,” Judge Gamble said. “You may not say that again.” She also emphasized that he may not say he's bankrupt, even if he filed for bankruptcy. “This is not your show,” she said. https://lawandcrime.com/...
@cameronwilson: you ever wonder why the big name conspiracy theorists do it? because there is a /lot/ of money in it. emails accidentally leaked by Alex Jones' lawyers reveal that his company Infowars was pulling in $800k a day in 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Josh Eidelson / Bloomberg:
Unionized Thomson Reuters journalists in the US plan a 24-hour strike starting at 6am ET on August 4, the first walkout in decades, over pay raises — Thomson Reuters Corp. journalists in the US are preparing to launch a daylong strike Thursday, the first walkout in decades among the media company's long-unionized staff.
Discussion:
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: Has anyone been covering this? Normally such things are very vocal on Twitter but I've seen nothing
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
A look at the practice of guests paying podcasters to appear on their shows; Guestio, a marketplace for brokering paid guest appearances, has raised $1M+ — People will confess all sorts of things to podcasters, from their unpopular political beliefs or embarrassing romantic mishaps to their worst fears.
Discussion:
@ashleyrcarman, Engadget, @jessethorn, @mims, @lucas_shaw, @drjengunter, @adamsinger, @film_girl, @yourmandevine, @angryasianman, @robcesternino, @benrothenberg, @amahnke, @gabby_hoffman, @mikeisaac, @niemanlab, @stevesi, @bennetttomlin, @profgalloway, @arperelli, @alyssam_infosec, @parismartineau, @greg_jenner, @kellycrandall, @pftcommenter, @briangaar, @scottwamplerbmd, @jrovner, @cardiffgarcia, @simonowens, @dskok, @jrhennessy, @heybuckhey, @henereyg and @hankgreen
Discussion:
Ashley Carman / @ashleyrcarman: NEW: I wrote about the world of paid podcast appearances, or what some consider podcast payola. Guests are paying hosts up to $50K for an interview, and the disclosures around that exchange aren't always clear or even existent https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Jesse Thorn / @jessethorn: Shit. @SteveAgee the word is out. We can do this two more times TOPS. https://twitter.com/...
Christopher Mims / @mims: Great reporting. There are many other examples of payola in adjacent businesses! https://twitter.com/...
Lucas Shaw / @lucas_shaw: The Skinny Confidential podcast charges people $20,000 to $40,000 to appear as a guest. One of many jaw-dropping details in this piece from @ashleyrcarman for @BW https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Jennifer Gunter / @drjengunter: Ah, so if you are paying $50k to be on a popular so-called health podcast then what you are really doing is buying advertising, not an “unbiased” interview. https://twitter.com/...
Adam Singer / @adamsinger: Lack of transparency is palpable. Remember many podcasters are not actually media professionals/don't understand importance of pesky things like “ethics” & “disclosure.” Also as usual good PR pros so undervalued, can't pay to be on any of the best podcasts https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Christina Warren / @film_girl: Wait. Wait. I can charge people to be a guest on my podcasts?! https://twitter.com/...
Dan Devine / @yourmandevine: Finally, the truth can be revealed: I put up $30K to be a guest on @AllFantasyPod, on the condition that @SeanSJordan had to tell the “doing the splits at football practice” story. Worth every penny. https://twitter.com/...
@angryasianman: For the record, no guest as ever paid money to be on @TheyCallUsBruce. But one time @jenyamato did bring dumplings, and that was one of our best episodes ever. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Rob Cesternino / @robcesternino: Dear Top Guests, you can come on my podcast for half of what you're paying the other podcasts! https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Ben Rothenberg / @benrothenberg: Was fascinated by this article just as someone who has hosted a podcast for 10+ years, and then was tickled by seeing a favorite scammer of ours pop up midway through as someone who pays to play for these audiences. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Aaron Mahnke / @amahnke: If a podcaster only allows guests on their show who can pay an enormous appearance fee, they'll only get guests with something to sell. Which transforms a podcast from something that might have offered value to its listeners, into a commercial that only benefits the podcaster. https://twitter.com/...
Gabriella Hoffman / @gabby_hoffman: If guests paid me $50K to appear on @DConservPodcast, I'd quit podcasting altogether and just retire from the medium. JK. Anyone else weirded by this? If podcasts are news outlets, same journalistic standard of not taking pay for coverage should apply https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Rat King / @mikeisaac: podcasting has to be just an endless wellspring of scams upon scams, difficult to pinpoint by people who'd expose them because of how long it would take to sift through millions of hours of audio great @ashleyrcarman piece https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@niemanlab: Podcast guests are paying up to $50,000 to appear on popular shows. The practice appears particularly popular among wellness, cryptocurrency, and business podcasts. https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi: Podcast guests can sometimes pay big bucks to be interviewed on popular shows https://www.bloomberg.com/... // There's no reason for guests sharing expertise/pods sharing audience to have to do so for free and every reason listeners should know the direction of payments if any.
Bennett Tomlin / @bennetttomlin: Yeah I'm just gonna make a blanket statement now: no one can pay to be on @CryptoCriticPod https://twitter.com/...
Scott Galloway / @profgalloway: No one has ever paid or will pay to get on @PivotPod & #ProfGPod https://www.bloomberg.com/... by @ashleyrcarman
Amanda Perelli / @arperelli: Two wellness brands paid The Skinny Confidential podcast to endorse them. In July, after Bloomberg reached out for comment, the host Michael Bosstick recorded disclosures for the two companies and inserted them into old episodes (from @ashleyrcarman) https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@alyssam_infosec: This concept infuriates me. Having hosted multiple podcasts and appeared on hundreds, I've NEVER paid to be nor asked someone to pay to be a guest. If any money changes hands at all, it should be the host paying the guest. FULL STOP!!! Please don't pay these charlatans! https://twitter.com/...
Paris Martineau / @parismartineau: a must read: the influencer grift economy comes for podcasting https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Greg Jenner / @greg_jenner: I now feel really uncool that we have to pay all our guests to hang out with me... WILL NOBODY PAY ME FOR MY COMPANY?! https://twitter.com/...
Kelly Crandall / @kellycrandall: I am not charging guests to come on my podcast or being offered money. Clearly I'm doing something wrong 🤑 https://twitter.com/...
Brian Gaar / @briangaar: This is disgusting, as the producer of @shiphitspod let me state that we will never charge guests anything over $30k max. https://twitter.com/...
Scott Wampler / @scottwamplerbmd: Hey @ericvespe turns out we've been going about this shit all wrong https://twitter.com/...
Julie Rovner / @jrovner: FWIW, at #WTHealth podcast, we don't pay guests and they don't pay us. https://twitter.com/...
Cardiff Garcia / @cardiffgarcia: All prior New Bazaar guests owe @AimeePKeane and me $50,000 each. DM for Venmo details https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Simon Owens / @simonowens: This is gross and illegal. I once pulled out of interviewing another podcaster on my podcast because I found out that he did pay-for-play interview. via @ShortFormErnie https://www.bloomberg.com/...
David Skok / @dskok: Pay-for-play is a scourge on journalistic integrity. From events to podcasts, it's been shocking to watch news outlets sell their independence to the highest bidder. @the_logic does not do pay-for-play, we do live journalism. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
James Hennessy / @jrhennessy: I will take $50,000 from anyone who wishes to appear on my new podcast (currently 2 episodes) https://twitter.com/...
Michael Buckley / @heybuckhey: Hank is a hack. If anyone would like to pay me $49,000 to be on a podcast I am an expert in every single topic and am available 365 days a year. https://twitter.com/...
Henry Gilbert / @henereyg: I feel like a podcast Pollyanna for not considering rich guests paying to be on big name podcasts was a possibility. Now I want some people to name names about what shows are being paid to take on guests. From reading this article, sounds like crypto guests are first culprits https://twitter.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Interviews with over two dozen Triller creators and others: the TikTok rival missed payments after promising Black creators $4K per month, half paid in equity — Triller made its name recruiting talent with lavish perks. Now, dozens of influencers are struggling to get paid.
Discussion:
@taylorlorenz, @caseynewton, @alexrkonrad, @kattenbarge, @washingtonpost, @blackleftaf, @isaachayes3, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @robnashville, @taylorlorenz, @sneakerphetish, @theericklouis, @kelsaywhat, @taylorlorenz, @reesha, @andrejgee, @taylorlorenz, @blackamazon, @franklinleonard, @moisesfenty, @adhutchinson, @godisrivera and @dwhate, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: Last year, the app Triller promised to pay 300 Black creators a collective $14M. But its payments to many creators have been erratic or nonexistent, leaving some deep in debt, financially ruined, and skipping meals to get by. Read our investigation: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: Creators, please, I am begging you ... no matter what they tell you, do NOT get on the Triller plane to Saudi Arabia Thank u for this Triller thriller @TaylorLorenz https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Kat Tenbarge / @kattenbarge: After @TaylorLorenz reached out to Triller in the process of reporting this investigation into their non-payment of Black creators, they started issuing overdue checks. Just an example of what responsible reporting can do for creators. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@washingtonpost: Warren had the promise of stability in the form of a lucrative, year-long deal with Triller, a short form video app. By the end of July, he was still owed payment for months of work. He's since moved out of his apartment to avoid an eviction threat. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@blackleftaf: One feature of what I call the “structural location of Blackness” is the absorption of capital risk, whereby Black workers bear the brunt of failed or exploitative ventures, from subprime mortgages to cr*pto crashes to Triller, with little to no recourse. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Isaac Hayes III / @isaachayes3: SMH. I've known this for a while. Lots of creators told me how #Triller was doing them. What I do with intention, Triller does for exploitation of black creators. It's the same tune over and over. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: This story took months of reporting and the stories are gutting. It's a horrifying look at the downsides of the “creator economy” and how tech platforms' programs framed as empowering can harm marginalized talent https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: Black creators are making TikToks detailing their experiences with Triller https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Robert Joyner / @robnashville: Take note fighters, Triller don't pay their debts... Tread carefully... https://twitter.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: “It's important to get our voices out there and make sure we are heard... because otherwise they're going to keep treating us like this.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
YouTube Guy / @sneakerphetish: Black Creators get shafted so badly by companies out here smh https://twitter.com/...
@theericklouis: This is so insidious. Safe spaces for black content creators are few and far. They do not care fr. https://twitter.com/...
Kelsey Weekman / @kelsaywhat: something poignant and damning in pretty much every paragraph of this triller story from @TaylorLorenz https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: After being intimated into silence by the company, some creators are finally speaking out about their experiences working with Triller. Read this thread 👇🏻 https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Reesha Bonet / @reesha: The way they are exploiting Black creators and then gaslighting them is sick. https://twitter.com/...
@andrejgee: and this is why corporate sponsorship/partnership is dangerous because you become associated with things like this &have to reckon with it in future dealings. if you care https://twitter.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: The PR damage control machine in action! https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@blackamazon: The way everybody is now suddenly caring about what Black creators make and don't after years of dismissing it ? https://twitter.com/...
Franklin Leonard / @franklinleonard: 'Cause this is thriller, thriller night And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike You know it's thriller, thriller night You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight, yeah https://twitter.com/...
Moises Mendez II / @moisesfenty: If you're gonna do anything today, it's read this amazing piece. Black content creators are always getting the short end of the stick and are screaming to be noticed. This was an enlightening read! https://twitter.com/...
Andrew Hutchinson / @adhutchinson: The timing of this release... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@godisrivera: A damning report on awful treatment of Black creators. As the creator economy scales quickly, we must be vigilant in HOW it grows, especially in guarding against exploitation for those most at risk. IMO orgs must work to value people for who they are, & not just what they make... https://twitter.com/...
Elias Leight / Billboard:
SoundCloud cuts its global workforce by ~20% “due to a significant company transformation and the challenging economic and financial environment” — CEO Michael Weissman announced the cuts in an email, blaming them on “the challenging economic climate and financial market headwinds.”
Discussion:
Thania Garcia / Variety: SoundCloud Confirms Layoffs Impacting Nearly 20% of Its Workforce
Dave Edwards / @itsdaveedwards: I know most people see us as competitors/rivals but I'm a big fan of what SC has been doing the last few years with Fan Powered Royalties and more. Really bummed to see this. If you've been impacted by this or know someone who has, please reach out as I'd like to try and help. https://twitter.com/...
Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:
Textbook publisher Pearson plans to turn its e-books into NFTs to take a cut from secondhand sales and has a team exploring “the implications of the metaverse” — The chief executive officer of Pearson Plc, one of the world's largest textbook publishers, said he hopes technology …
Discussion:
The Verge, The Guardian, Forward March, Engadget, @patricksmcmahon, @rozebian, Dan's Stack, @iancutress, @joshelman, @timduy, @mjasay, @carnage4life, @meyerweb, @richardred0x, @bradydale, @jasonhitchcock, @bradydale, @benhammersley, @lizwfab, @mrjoemilliano, @mor10, @jonippolito, @samoore_, @hypervisible and InvestEgate, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Adi Robertson / The Verge: Textbook publisher: NFTs will let us squeeze even more money out of students
Lucy Knight / The Guardian: Pearson plans to sell its textbooks as NFTs
Will Longano / Forward March: Textbooks on the Blockchain — Besides potential layoffs and earnings, it continues to be slow news during the summer.
Patrick / @patricksmcmahon: wake up babe. hot new collaboration between the worst people on earth https://twitter.com/...
Esha / @rozebian: Z-Library (abbreviated as z-lib, formerly BookFinder) is a mirror of Library Genesis, a shadow library project for file-sharing access to scholarly journal articles, academic texts and general-interest books. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Campos / Dan's Stack: Pearson planea vender libros como NFTs
@iancutress: Is this really NFTs, or is this Pearson just allowing people to bundle a book into a code, sell the code? That's not an NFT. NFT is just a buzzword here. Note that in order to earn, Pearson charge the person who buys the code a $10 reactivation fee. EA tried something similar. https://twitter.com/...
Josh Elman / @joshelman: This is what I always wanted as an NFT. Finally studying sounds fun again https://twitter.com/...
Tim Duy / @timduy: The latest reason I am glad that I am done with textbooks. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Asay / @mjasay: Pearson wants to use blockchain to “correct” an analog problem...which feels like a complete misunderstanding of the value of digital & their customer. Rather than squeezing value from an asset, why not look for new ways to add value and charge for that? https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life: The most interesting innovation in NFTs is making the idea of collecting royalties on secondary sales, a first class concept. Although it benefits artists it also creates new types of rent seeking. Now the textbook industry wants to further gouge students. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@meyerweb: I'm sure this is a solid, fully thought-out plan that will not go terribly wrong or massively backfire on them in any way whatsoever. https://twitter.com/...
@richardred0x: Pearson want to “participate in every sale” of their new NFT textbooks. Not content with a hefty margin on new - when the student tries to recoup some of that cost, Pearson will be there looking for a cut. That's one NFT collection I'll be glad to avoid. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Brady Dale / @bradydale: The trouble with e-books now is you don't really “own” them. You lease them. Which enables publishers to do creepy things, like edit your ebook without your permission. And you can't sell them or even *give them* away, which is a real loss for consumers 5/9
Jason Hitchcock / @jasonhitchcock: People are cool with artists and writers earning a cut of secondary sales yet this is stirring controversy Why? https://twitter.com/...
Brady Dale / @bradydale: A Kindle or a Kobo or any e-book reader could easily be made into a hardware wallet, such that when a user sold an ebook, his private key would no longer unlock the content and the buyer's private key would. That's just sort of the essence of blockchains 4/9
Ben Hammersley / @benhammersley: Oooh look. NFTs meets DRM meets Academic Publishing. *Sighs in Old Internet* https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@lizwfab: I already try not to use textbooks outside of literature, but now I'm definitely not ever using a Pearson book https://twitter.com/...
Morten Rand-Hendriksen / @mor10: This is what the so-called “#web3” will actually bring: Not freedom from big corporations or power back to the people, but big corporations taking a cut when we resell our goods. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Jon Ippolito / @jonippolito: I get why creators want royalties—too many labor in relative poverty and obscurity. But an unintended consequence of web3 replacing the First Sale Doctrine could be a nightmarish IP land grab that lets corporations screw people even worse than now https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Ronan Shields / Digiday:
An Apple job posting indicates the company is looking to build a “privacy-forward”, mobile-centric demand-side ad platform — Apple may have blown up the digital ads business but it left enough fertile ground to build its own, more focused play for media dollars.
Discussion:
@digiday, @alextcone, AppleInsider, @timhwang, @martyswant, @blackamazon, @damianburns, MediaPost and @tatarynovich
Discussion:
@digiday: For some time now, Apple has given the impression that it doesn't like online advertising. Now, it appears to be building its own DSP. @ronan_shields has the story. https://digiday.com/...
Alex Cone / @alextcone: I'd enjoy this challenge. Can you imagine how disliked this hire will be inside and outside of @Apple? https://twitter.com/...
Mike Peterson / AppleInsider: Apple looking to expand its nascent advertising business
Tim Hwang / @timhwang: you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself roll out a DSP https://twitter.com/...
Marty Swant / @martyswant: After years of torpedoing the digital advertising world with its iOS privacy changes, Apple seems to be building out its own ad-tech platform. Here's @ronan_shields with the scoop: https://digiday.com/...
@blackamazon: Cookies going down and privacy settings are gonna make an interesting fall https://twitter.com/...
Damian Burns / @damianburns: Apple is adding key infrastructure to its relatively nascent ad business Bringing a programmatic layer to capture display advertising demand across both 1st and 3rd party inventory is a very meaningful move https://digiday.com/...
Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost: Apple Job Board Openings Suggest It's Building Out Its Ad Business
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Sources: 1M+ people signed up for free newsletters on Meta's Bulletin service and earlier in 2022, the company was planning on expanding its roster of writers — The Substack frenzy seems like a thing of the past, but lots of publishers are still leaning into newsletters. “They're a great minimally viable product.”
Discussion:
@rafat, @rmc031, @seangriffey, @emilystewartm, @pkafka, @bigmeaninternet, @elanazak, @chaykak, @chaykak and patrick's Newsletter
Discussion:
@rafat: Everything is hard, until it gets easy, and then gets hard again. As always, the business cycle usurps us all. The steady state of newsletters as the media workhorse remains, take it from someone creating newsletters — starting with Silicon Alley Daily — since 2000... https://twitter.com/...
Sean Griffey / @seangriffey: Nice article on the newsletter pendulum swinging back. 9 months ago, people were asking how ID could possibly compete with Substack creators...that has calmed down. One note, when journalists write about newsletters, they talk salaries & burnout. Operators talk 1st party data. https://twitter.com/...
Emily Stewart / @emilystewartm: Newsletters: not so hot anymore, but still the same level of hard for people trying to make them work. https://www.vox.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: A check-in on the substack of it all, with notes from @JuddLegum @emorwee @nxthompson @bariweiss @bmorrissey @janicemin @semaforben https://twitter.com/...
Malcolm Harris / @bigmeaninternet: Seems to me that paid newsletters, because they are much more expensive than magazines and newspapers, appeal to two groups: specialist industry people and unsophisticated media consumers. https://www.vox.com/...
Elana Zak / @elanazak: Have newsletters peaked? A participant in my @NewmarkJPlus innovation seminar asked me that last week. My answer: No, but like most platforms they have ups and downs. This @pkafka piece does a great job capturing the current nl landscape. https://www.vox.com/...
Kyle Chayka / @chaykak: “I feel like the dream for me is to be an editor-in-chief.” @pkafka on the inevitable transition from solo newsletters to tiny media companies with a few employees https://www.vox.com/...
Rick Edmonds / Poynter:
Zette plans to offer access to paywalled stories across publications via a browser extension for $10/month; founder Yehong Zhu has signed up McClatchy and more — With Zette, Yehong Zhu says she has what young readers want and can succeed where others have failed
Discussion:
Christina Warren / @film_girl: I wish them luck but as with all of these attempts, this will massively fail unless there is a very large cadre of publishers part of this scheme — and the economics don't make sense for the biggest pubs to partake. https://www.poynter.org/...
@poynter: The Zette deal, as Zhu envisions the mature product, will be $9.99 a month for 30 articles, though it will cost much less in the beta phase. https://www.poynter.org/...
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