Mediagazer: Q&A with Justine Bateman, a member of the DGA, the WGA, and SAG-AFTRA, on how AI may change the industry, the importance of the timing of the strike, and more (Justin Hendrix/Tech Policy Press)

11:45 AM ET, July 25, 2023

Top News:

Angelique Jackson / Variety:

SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance says Dwayne Johnson donated a seven-figure sum to the SAG-AFTRA Relief Fund, the largest single donation ever — On July 13, as SAG-AFTRA leadership declared the union was going on strike, SAG-AFTRA Foundation president Courtney B. Vance …

Justin Hendrix / Tech Policy Press:

Q&A with Justine Bateman, a member of the DGA, the WGA, and SAG-AFTRA, on how AI may change the industry, the importance of the timing of the strike, and more — Audio of this conversation is available via your favorite podcast service. — Artificial intelligence will likely impact every type of job.

Discussion: @emilymbender@dair … and @justinhendrix

Washington Post:
The previous big strikes reshaped Hollywood and fueled reality TV's rise; the current ones will likely turn established actors into TikTok stars and vice versa

Discussion: @videodrew, Brightcove, Digiday, @drewharwell, @shiralazar, The Information, Rolling Stone, Study Hall and Foreign Policy

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Netflix rolls out a My Netflix tab on iOS, superseding the Downloads tab to offer downloads, watch lists, reminders, and more; Android gets My Netflix in August — Netflix has rolled out a new feature designed to — what else? — get you to stream as much as possible on the service.

Discussion: About Netflix, Broadband TV News, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, CNET, Media Play News, Engadget, Deadline, UPROXX and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

Instagram rolls out creator subscriptions in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, and the UK, expanding on support in the US — Meta announced today that it's rolling out Instagram subscriptions to all eligible creators in Australia, Brazil, Canada …

Discussion: 9to5Mac, Instagram and Tubefilter, more at Techmeme »

Raffaele Huang / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: TikTok plans to launch an e-commerce business in the US in early August to sell made-in-China goods to consumers — TikTok wants to replicate the success of other popular China-founded shopping platforms Shein and Temu — TikTok is launching an e-commerce business in the U.S …

Discussion: The Verge, @michaelsobolik and @sino_market, more at Techmeme »

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

Threads adds an option for a chronological feed of posts from people the user follows — Meta's text-based social network Threads is rolling out one of the most requested features after its launch — a following feed. — In a post on his Instagram Channel, Mark Zuckerberg said that the company …

Discussion: The Verge, @tomwarrenuk@threads.net, @parkerortolani@threads.net, @snazzyq@threads.net, @martinsfp@threads.net, @crumbler@threads.net, @sarahfrier, @tomwarren, 9to5Mac, @zuck@threads.net, @reckless1280@threads.net and Digital Music News

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

In response to MPs questions over The Sun's Huw Edwards reporting, its EIC says the story had “significant scrutiny pre-publication” and corroborative evidence — MPs wanted to know how The Sun verifies its stories. — MPs asked The Sun how it verifies its stories following …

Discussion: The Guardian, @craftyoldgit, @archewellbaby, @adambienkov, @dave43law, @stuzi_pants, @_not__happy_, @j_a_warrington, @lorna_tveditor, @adambienkov, PinkNews, Deadline and Variety

Jon Lafayette / Next TV:

Nexstar names Fox distribution head Michael Biard as its president and COO, effective August 21; Fox Corp. names David Espinosa to succeed Biard — David Espinosa named president of distribution at Fox — Nexstar Media Group named Fox distribution head Mike Biard as president and chief operating officer, effective August 21, 2023.

Discussion: Variety, The Wrap, Business Wire, Fox Corporation, Deadline, Radio & Television …, The Hollywood Reporter, Media Play News, @jbflint, TVNewsCheck and WORLD SCREEN

Thomas Seal / Bloomberg:

The UK plans to force social media and ad platforms like Google Ads to stop scam ads including fake celebrity endorsements and pop-ups with malware — - Ad-tech will be forced to crack down on scam advertisements — Measures are intended to complement the Online Safety Bill

Discussion: Financial Times, more at Techmeme »

Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:

Spotify reports Q2 revenue rose 11% YoY to €3.2B, Premium subscribers grew 17% YoY to 220M, MAUs rose 27% YoY to 551M, and a €112M adjusted operating loss — Spotify Technology SA, the Swedish audio streaming platform, beat analyst expectations in its second-quarter results …

Discussion: The Guardian, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Spotify, @carnage4life@threads.net, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Engadget, @eldsjal, @sarthakgh, Axios, NBC 7 San Diego, @lucas_shaw and Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Jon Porter / The Verge:
Spotify confirms raising US Premium to $10.99/month, up from $9.99, the first increase since its US launch in 2011; Duo rises by $2, Family and Student by $1

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Reach reports revenue fell 6.1% YoY to £279.4M and operating profit dropped 23.5% YoY to £36.1M; print revenue fell 2.7% YoY and digital slid 16.1% YoY — Reach half-year results hit by falling page views and lower online ad yields. — The UK's largest regional news publisher Reach …

Discussion: Investegate, Financial Times and HoldtheFrontPage

Vidya Krishnan / Nieman Reports:

A look at NDTV, India's last mainstream TV network willing to critically cover the Modi government, as Adani Group's NDTV takeover leaves few independent voices — The hostile takeover of NDTV — one of India's last channels willing to report critically on the Modi government …

Discussion: @vidyakrishnan and Columbia Journalism Review

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More News:

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian creates seven journalist jobs to improve its coverage of underrepresented communities, including in the UK and US, after its founder's slavery ties

Discussion: The Guardian, @josephharker, @andria.bsky.social, @blackamazon, @josephharker and @judeinlondon

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
The Telegraph Media Group reports 2022 revenues up 4% YoY to £254.2M, digital subscription revenue up 31% YoY to £57.9M, and subscriptions up 2% YoY to 734K

Discussion: The Guardian, @guardiannews, Telegraph Media Group, Reuters, The Times, Financial Times, London Evening Standard and Telegraph

Catherine Perloff / Adweek:
Mailchimp owner Intuit is launching SMB MediaLabs, which lets advertisers target QuickBooks' 7.1M customers on social media, online publishers, CTV, and more

Discussion: @sethliebert, @lefterisjp, @catherineperlo1, @johnathanbarnes, @sean_kaushal and Intuit SMB MediaLabs

Washington Post:
Mandiant: a Chinese PR firm used newswire services to place pro-Beijing content on the subdomains of 32+ US news outlets, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Discussion: @nakashimae, @nakashimae, @nakashimae, @nakashimae, @ericgarland, @heminator, CNN and Mandiant

David Folkenflik / NPR:
NPR names Edith Chapin as its SVP for news and editor-in-chief; she's been serving in the position on an acting basis since fall 2022, after joining NPR in 2012

Discussion: @elbordeaux, @isalara, @vivian, @greenfield64, @davidfolkenflik, Inside Radio, Current and The Wrap

Sports Business Journal:
Sources: MLS Season Pass is nearing 1M subs including season-ticket holders; team execs say they are frustrated due to lack of transparency in viewership stats

Discussion: CNN, @ahess247.bsky.social, @usmnt_thoughts, @turnersavesthat, @tvanswerman, @tvgrimreaper, @jheaps4, @worldsoccertalk, @alexmsilverman, @griffin_author, @zone_nhl, Awful Announcing, @GreenFire@mstdn.social, The Streamable and 9to5Mac

Earlier Picks:

Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
Sources: Disney is reviewing its film release schedule for the rest of 2023 and may delay some titles because striking actors won't help promote the pictures

Discussion: Screen Rant, IndieWire, The Playlist, Comic Book, @bart_smith and @tvgrimreaper

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:
Court docs reveal Vice's financial struggles and fundraising history; Vice held $834M in debt in May 2023, raising $1.3B+ in debt and equity funding since 2017

Discussion: Media Voices, @adamry_n, @markstenberg3 and United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok rolls out support for text posts, available via the app's Camera page and letting users add sounds, locations, stickers, and more

Lisa Richwine / Reuters:
The much-hyped “Barbenheimer” opening weekend netted $155M for Barbie and $80.5M for Oppenheimer, for $300M in total in the US and Canada for just the 4th time

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Twitter rolls out its updated “interim” X logo, replacing the iconic bird, following Elon Musk's weekend announcement; X.com now redirects to twitter.com

Discussion: @elonmusk, @lindayacc, New York Times, MediaPost, The Wrap, Insider, @elonmusk, CNN, @lindayacc, 9to5Mac, @chafkin, Why Evolution Is True, The Verge, RADAR, Macworld, Fast Company, @lindayacc, @rmac18, @mollyjongfast, Bloomberg, @rmac18, @tomgara, NBC4 WCMH-TV, @rmac18, @mikeisaac, @mrerikjackson, The Daily Beast, @valueterminal, Forrester, @ivanthek, @news_by_nick, @lindayacc, NBC News, @mabintou, @martingrasser, @wagatwe, @espiers, CBS News, @elonmusk, The Hill, New York Magazine, @jack, Mother Jones, CNBC, TIME, The Guardian, Nieman Lab, Digital Journal, KNSD-TV, @lindayacc, Us Weekly, Ars Technica, Fortune, New York Post, @mossbergwalt@threads.net, @carnage4life@threads.net, Hollywood Life, Engadget, PRWeek, New Republic, Vibe, Variety, New York Daily News, @levie, @tomcoates, @tedlieu, @jdcmedlock, @elonmuskaoc, @emilcdc, @bendreyfuss, @yosephpaulos, @jamestobyne, @karaswisher, @loupas, @jujuujba, @benedictevans, @killedbygoogle, The Verge, Global News, Gizmodo, Poynter, The Register, Fox News, CNN, KGET-TV, Agence France-Presse, Complete Music Update, Sydney Morning Herald, Digital Music News, Insider, New York Post, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Boing Boing, Associated Press, Bloomberg, NPR, Slate, The Hollywood Reporter, @carnage4life@mas.to, @parkerortolani@threads.net, Times of San Diego and Ad Age, more at Techmeme »

From Techmeme:

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
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Wall Street Journal:
Sources: ByteDance is valuing itself at about $300B as part of a recent buyback offer, one of its highest valuations ever

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: T-Mobile's network was among the systems hacked by the China-linked Salt Typhoon group, and some foreign telecommunications firms were also compromised

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