Top News:
Sam Thielman / FOREVER WARS:
Sam Thielman, a freelancer Substack hired to edit several writers, says he was fired in retaliation against a writer he edited who chose to move to Ghost — Edited and With a Coda by Spencer Ackerman — IN JULY, Spencer took this blog off Substack immediately after his contract with the newsletter company expired.
Discussion:
@samthielman, @attackerman, @samthielman, @zinoman, @bilgeebiri, @davekarpf, @athertonkd, @adamweinstein, @mmoyr, @s_m_i, @lainnafader, @petersterne, @samthielman, @alissamarie, @adamserwer, @ashleyfeinberg, @justinhendrix, @jaredlholt, @nicholasrfish, @alicedreger, @moorehn, @thomdunn, @adamgurri, @andrewliptak, @aricohn, @jbouie, @maxkennerly, @lmlauramarsh, @juliacarriew, The Future, Now and Then, @nathantankus, @mikeduncan, @josephfcox, @mattbors, @schwarz, @johnknefel, @shortformernie, @katzonearth, @jordanzakarin, @crosberg, @jeremylittau, @athertonkd, @alexhern, @caseyjohnston, @mmasnick and @simonowens
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Nexstar plans to buy a 75% stake in The CW from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, both of which will retain 12.5% stakes and supply scripted content — The CW is about to enter a new ownership era, as local TV giant Nexstar Media Group has confirmed a pending deal to acquire …
Discussion:
Radio & Television …, The Streamable, Variety, TVSpy, Adweek, Ad Age, The Hollywood Reporter, Axios, Media Play News, Wall Street Journal, @kristenhaynes_, @film_girl, Digital TV Europe, @jbflint, Next TV, SlashFilm, @jbflint, @emilylongeretta, @kaludiasays, @jbflint, @jbflint, @quartzen, @benfritz, @tvgrimreaper, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap and Reuters
RELATED:
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Nexstar will absorb The CW's debt but won't pay any cash or stock up front for its stake and wants to make The CW profitable by 2025, partly through cost cuts — As it transitions to new ownership, the CW will likely not look dramatically different in the near term, but Nexstar Media Group intends …
Discussion:
@maxjgao, The A.V. Club, Next TV, Too Much TV Newsletter, @pathryn34, @fourhman, @automaticzen, @kendrawrites and @laynemorgan
Reuters:
Walmart partners with Paramount to include the $4.99/month ad-supported tier of the Paramount+ streaming service as part of its Walmart+ subscription — U.S. retailer Walmart Inc (WMT.N) on Monday struck a deal with Paramount Global (PARA.O) to offer Paramount+ streaming service to the subscribers …
Discussion:
Walmart Inc., Fast Company, MediaPost, Wall Street Journal, Variety, Digital TV Europe, Broadband TV News, @loudmouthjulia, @lucas_shaw, The Streamable, @sherman4949, @markdistef, @sherman4949, @anthony, Deadline, @tjamesnd, TechCrunch, Media Play News, @bjmendelson, The Wrap, Adweek, The Hollywood Reporter, @bryandfischer, @pkafka, @davidlaz, Axios, @tvgrimreaper, @robnashville, @aagave and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Etan Vlessing / The Hollywood Reporter:
Canadian broadcaster CTV's chief news anchor Lisa LaFlamme says she has been forced out of the network; CTV parent Bell Media cites “changing viewer habits” — LaFlamme announced on her Twitter account that Bell Media had made a “business decision” to replace her with Omar Sachedina as host of ‘CTV National News.’
Discussion:
@lisalaflamme_, Bell Media, @jessebrown, @jbenton, @iancapstick, @polakottawa, @brenttoderian, @brandongonez, @tanyatalaga, @perrinbeatty, @studiojude, @davidcommon, @consumersos, @brittlestar, @danalbas, @craigsilverman, @kamilkaramali, @ianhanomansing, @gmbutts, @dtapscott, @lisakirbie, @kvickers, @robertfife, @taraslone and Barrett Media
RELATED:
Erik Hayden / The Hollywood Reporter:
Dan Loeb's Third Point increases its stake in Disney and calls on the company to cut costs, explore spinning off ESPN, and integrate Hulu into Disney+ — The billionaire's Third Point firm is building its stake in the Hollywood giant.
Discussion:
CNBC, The Wrap, Reuters, Fortune, Digital TV Europe, Wall Street Journal, Variety, @sportstvratings, New York Post, Financial Times and Bloomberg
Lesley Goldberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
HBO Max lays off ~14% of its staff, or ~70 people, impacting reality, casting, international, and acquisitions, as part of leadership changes — An estimated 70 staffers have been let go as Sarah Aubrey adds international but loses comedy oversight.
Discussion:
Variety, New York Times, Digital TV Europe, Bloomberg, The Wrap, @snoodit, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch, @whenbatmenfly, @deggans, CNBC and @jmaasaronson
New York Times:
Penguin Random House CEO Madeline McIntosh defends the Simon & Schuster acquisition in the DOJ antitrust trial, arguing the industry is vast and varied — Madeline McIntosh argued that the publishing industry extends far beyond its biggest players, and that the government has focused on a tiny sliver of deals.
Discussion:
Law360, Courthouse News Service and MCCM Quarterly
RELATED:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Snap says its Snapchat+ subscription, launched in June, now has 1M+ users globally and adds features, including priority Story replies to celebs — Snap said today that the company's paid subscription plan Snapchat+, which launched in June, now has more than 1 million users across the globe.
Discussion:
Snap Newsroom, The Verge, Adweek, @turnernovak, @techcrunch, Earlywork, Tubefilter, @marshacollier, 9to5Mac and @snapchat, more at Techmeme »
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Hacker conference DEF CON permanently bans OANN for violating its privacy policy by “repeatedly taking photo and video showing people's faces” without consent — Organizers said OAN journalists violated the conference's privacy policy. — Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Discussion:
@kevincollier, @snubs, @josephfcox, @checkmyadshq, @lorenzofb, Raw Story and @feoh
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
Jezebel, The 19th, The Cut, and other women-centric publications that support abortion rights have seen a surge in readership since SCOTUS reversed Roe v. Wade — The surge of readers has buoyed a part of the digital media world that has gradually declined in recent years.
Discussion:
@katie_robertson, @robinmarty, @spj_tweets, @angryblacklady, @rewirenewsgroup and CNN
Rebecca Sun / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issues a formal apology to Sacheen Littlefeather, who suffered harassment and discrimination at the 1973 Oscars — Nearly 50 years after suffering harassment and discrimination for protesting Native American mistreatment …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Scotsman, @judysquirrels, @david_c_steele, Associated Press, @thenyjew, @suprisekitten, The A.V. Club, @paperstainedink, BuzzFeed News, HuffPost, @sifill_, Rolling Stone, SlashFilm, IGN, WGN-TV, @tgshepherdvan, @illuminative, CBS News, IndieWire, @nekesamumbi, Deadline, @btsquared2, New York Post, ABC News, @mudaship39, Variety, Mercury News, @asifkapadia, Associated Press, @phil_lewis_, @jemelehill, CNN, GQ and Vulture
Pamela McClintock / The Hollywood Reporter:
Warner Bros. strikes a multiyear deal to distribute MGM's movies internationally, excluding the next James Bond film; MGM's previous partner was Universal — The multiyear pact succeeds a similar deal MGM had with Universal.
Output Producer, CA — 
China Markets Correspondent, Shanghai — 
Senior Assignment Editor, DC — 
Breaking News Editor, Tokyo — 
Senior Correspondent - Wealth, NY — 
Reporter - Ottawa Bureau — 
Local Government Reporter, IA — 
Research Director, CA — 
Immigration Enforcement Reporter — 
Presque Island Reporter, ME — 
Contributing Parks Ed. - SW, CA — 
AI Content Editor, WA — 
Legislative Reporter, TN — 
Editorial Assistant, Remote US — 
Elon Musk Reporter, NY or CA — 
Government & Politics Editor, WA — 
Business & GA Reporter. VT — 
Sports Reporter, WA — 
Energy Reporter, TX — 
Senior Reporter, SC — 
Trade & Climate Correspondent, DC — 
Reporter, WI — 
Political Newsletter Writer, CO — 
Jackson Reporter, MS — 
Music Editor, AZ — 
Breaking News Reporter, NV — 
Fearless Reporter/Producer, IA — 
Reporter II - Technology, Remote — 
Editor, Remote US — 
City Reporter, WA — 
Executive Editor, OR — 
Education & Budget Reporter, CA — 
Senior Writer/Editor, FL — 
Media Editor, Remote — 
