Top News:
David Ljunggren / Reuters:
Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge demands that Meta lift its “reckless” news ban on Facebook and Instagram for the safety of people fleeing wildfires — The Canadian government on Friday demanded that Meta (META.O) lift a “reckless” ban on domestic news from its platforms …
Discussion:
Associated Press, @bgrueskin, @bgrueskin, @jason_kint, @mgeist, @swiftie01 and @pascalestonge_
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Pete Evans / CBC News:
Evacuees from the wildfires threatening Yellowknife say that Meta's news fight with Canada's government makes it harder for them to share lifesaving information — Meta notes government sources not blocked as northerners duck ban by sharing screenshots of information
Discussion:
Fast Company, New York Times, Cabin Radio, BBC, Al Jazeera, National Observer, @dtsailawyermba, Bloomberg, @mxtthxw@mxtthxw.art, Newser and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Elon Musk claims “block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs”, without giving any details, in a reply to a user's X post about block vs. mute — Elon Musk says X's — formerly Twitter's — block feature is on the chopping block …
Discussion:
Mashable, Mediaite, TechCrunch, The Hill, Fox News, Variety, The Wrap, TechCrunch, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, @carnage4life@threads.net, @aaron.rupar@threads.net, TheBlaze, @kylie.robison@threads.net, @kylie.robison@threads.net, @kylie.robison@threads.net, PCMag, @davidmweissman, @roneneffect@threads.net, @benedictevans@threads.net, @markbower@threads.net, @hunterwalk@threads.net, Forbes, IGN, @jasonsanford.bsky.social, Mashable, The Hollywood Reporter, @Devilstower@mstdn.social, The Post Millennial, @20002ist@thepit.social, @mimsical@mastodon.social, @williampietri@sfba.social, @harriettmb@mastodon.ie, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @murshedz@mstdn.social, @chikorita157@sakurajima.moe, @evilcylon.bsky.social, @thatpetewoods.bsky.social and @marcelsalathe@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Email: Amazon offers some creators up to $12,500 for 500 videos, or $25 per video, for its TikTok-like shopping feed; creators typically charge $200+ per video — - Content creators typically charge more than $200 a pop — Amazon.com Inc., looking to amp up its TikTok-like shopping feed …
Discussion:
TechCrunch, The Information, @ugctravels, Gizmodo, The Verge, The Information, Digiday, @alex, Insider, Tubefilter and Cord Cutters News, more at Techmeme »
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab:
A look at nonprofit news outlet The Conversation's first foray into investigative reporting, which pairs journalists' reporting chops with academics' expertise — “It is elevating investigative reporting to a level where we are able to access ... jewels lying on the beach in the research of the academic world.”
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: Verizon and Disney have talked about partnering on a streaming version of the ESPN cable channel; Verizon was an early Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ partner — Disney CEO Bob Iger has said he's looking for strategic partners to help launch a streaming version of the ESPN cable channel.
Discussion:
Seeking Alpha, Awful Announcing, Front Office Sports, @sportstvratings, Barrett Media and The Wrap
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Twitch plans to roll out a long-requested anti-harassment feature within weeks that automatically blocks a streamer's banned users from watching their streams — Twitch's chat ban tools have been around for ages, but the platform is about to hand streamers a way to control who can watch a stream to begin with.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Kotaku, Tubefilter, IGN and The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Sources: Donald Trump plans to upstage the first GOP primary debate on August 23, hosted by Fox News, to instead sit for an online interview with Tucker Carlson — The former president's apparent decision to skip the first debate is a major affront both to the Republican National Committee and to Fox News, which is hosting the event.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The Hill, Mediaite, Bloomberg, Mediaite, The Wrap, New York Daily News, Insider, Reuters, CNN, NewsNation, The Post Millennial, NBC News, @GaryRLundberg@newsie.social, @JamesGleick@zirk.us, @WarnerCrocker@mastodon.social, Rolling Stone, Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter
Hanaa' Tameez / Nieman Lab:
Columbia's journalism school begins offering graduates in nonprofit news $5K to $10K forgivable loans each year, with a max total of $50K, to pay student loans — “It takes away a little bit of anxiety about pursuing a degree in journalism if you know that there is a path through which the cost can be covered.”
Discussion:
@timjhanrahan, @michellemanafy@journa.host and @guacamayan@journa.host
Louise Matsakis / Semafor:
Q&A with TikTok Head of Music Ole Obermann on launching TikTok Music in Indonesia and Brazil before the US and helping artists from discovery to distribution — The Scene — Since it first exploded in popularity five years ago, TikTok has evolved into the de facto launching pad …
Discussion:
Music Ally, @reedalbergotti and Billboard
Reuters:
How major advertisers have adopted AI: WPP is using generative AI in Nestle and Mondelez ad campaigns, citing 10x-20x savings; Unilever developed its own LLM — Some of the world's biggest advertisers, from food giant Nestle (NESN.S) to consumer goods multinational Unilever (ULVR.L) …
Discussion:
The Verge
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Netflix partners with Jio Platforms, India's largest telecom operator, to bundle its Netflix Basic streaming tier with two of the carrier's pay-as-you-go plans — Netflix has inked a “first-of-its-kind” deal with Jio Platforms, India's largest telecom operator, to bundle the streaming service …
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
The WGA urges antitrust regulators to stop M&A in streaming, saying that Netflix, Amazon, and Disney amassed market power that depresses wages and limits choice — The Writers Guild of America issued a report on Thursday calling Netflix, Amazon and Disney the “new gatekeepers” …
Discussion:
@slack2thefuture, @jbflint, @wgawest, IGN, Los Angeles Times, IndieWire, The Wrap, Writers Guild of America West, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline
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