Top News:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
While Netflix posts healthy profits, Disney looks like it will remain profitable moving forward, and Peacock and Paramount are in the red but trimming losses — The five major Hollywood streaming services reported a collective profit of $3.2 billion in the first six months of this year.
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw@threads.net and @lucas_shaw@threads.net
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Sara Fischer / Axios:
A look at the shrinking pay-TV market, after write-downs by Paramount and WBD of their networks' value, as they try to compete with larger streaming companies — - Paramount Global's stock tanked 12% in after-hours trading Thursday, despite posting a streaming profit for the first time.
Discussion:
@feelinglistless.bsky.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, Cord Cutters News, The Information and Reuters
Stan Alcorn / Rest of World:
A look at the consequences of Spotify's disinvestment in podcasts in Latin America, where one survey found 90% of podcast listeners used Spotify — In Latin America, “podcast” and “Spotify” became synonymous; now the audio industry is reckoning with the company's retreat. — • BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA
Discussion:
Podnews and @Cefr@beige.party, more at Techmeme »
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Meta and UMG sign a multiyear agreement about AI, monetization, and more for UMG artists and songwriters on Meta's apps, including WhatsApp for the first time — Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the announcement says the new agreement “reflects the two companies' shared commitment …
Discussion:
Billboard and Music Business Worldwide, more at Techmeme »
Max Tani / Semafor:
Conservative indie publishers struggle to recreate the book sales of major publishers' conservative imprints; The Daily Wire has wound down its publishing arm — The Scoop — It's hardly a surprise that Ben Shapiro is working on another book. Publishing remains one of the most lucrative elements …
Discussion:
@risj_oxford and @semaforben
Stephanie Stacey / Financial Times:
TikTok has been sending inaccurate and misleading news-style alerts to users, including a weeks-old disaster warning; TikTok removed some of the notifications — False claims about Taylor Swift and outdated tsunami warnings are among misleading notifications posted by video-sharing app
Charlie Wells / Bloomberg:
Some longtime users of LinkedIn lament the barrage of performative content from hustle-culture influencers and AI-generated “thought leadership” on the site — Longtime users irked by personal content lament that the job-hunting website has become more like Facebook.
Discussion:
The Guardian, more at Techmeme »
Priyanjana Bengani / Columbia Journalism Review:
An in-depth analysis shows Metric Media, which runs a network of ~1,300 “pink slime” news sites, received $14M+ from four PACs and four nonprofits in 2021-2022 — The Tow Center maintains a list of politically backed and partisan news sites here.
Discussion:
@tlambert895, @froomkin, @thezedwards, @marywag2947 and @emilybell
Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
A profile of Bari Weiss as The Free Press expands, hiring a COO and running live events; TFP had over 750K subscribers in July, with 100K+ paying $8/month — Bari Weiss has long been blessed with two superpowers, those close to her say: She knows how to make useful enemies, and she knows how to make useful friends.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO and a key figure in Google's creation, dies at age 56, after two years of living with cancer — On Friday evening, Alphabet and Google Sundar Pichai shared that Susan Wojcicki has died. She was 56. … Her husband, Dennis Troper, made the announcement earlier this evening:
Discussion:
Adweek, CNBC, Advanced Television, Wall Street Journal, @tim_cook, Financial Times, Digital Music News, @sundarpichai, @johngreen, @nealmohan, The Keyword, @mkbhd, @dannysullivan, Semafor, @ijustine, @joshelman, @ludwigahgren, @mattkoval, @lizyybear, @film_girl, @hitsman, @kreekcraft, @wendoverpro, @tdd, @couragejd, @fwiz, @dwiskus, @mws, @nbtjacklyn, @gregorymcfadden, @jeremy_goldberg, Variety, The Hill, IGN, Breitbart, E! Online, @reneritchie, @mikeisaac, @cadale, The Guardian, Entertainment Tonight, @therealdvf@threads.net, @jason, @christine_tsai, @karaswisher@threads.net, Awful Announcing, @mattross@threads.net, UPI, Barrett Media, @mikelearmonth@threads.net, @technologizer@threads.net, @personality_of_colt …, @techstarsrk@threads.net, @akhmxt@threads.net, @traciglee@threads.net, @imgmatt@threads.net, @ben.werdmuller@threads.net, @whartonrigby@threads.net, @thisistechtoday@threads.net, @digitallybones@threads.net, @anthonyquintano@threads.net, @leedugger@threads.net, @matthewsantoro@threads.net, @karlamon.9@threads.net, @czsworld@threads.net, @andrewpbridges@threads.net, @jeffjarvis@threads.net, CBS News, HuffPost, Business Insider, Fast Company, RTÉ, Business Insider, The Verge, San Francisco Chronicle, TVNewsCheck, Deadline, The Desk, @crumbler@threads.net, New York Post, The Information, The Wrap, Reuters, TechCrunch, Daring Fireball, Moneycontrol, Hindustan Times, Music Business Worldwide, The Hollywood Reporter and Hacker News
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Washington Post:
An obituary of Susan Wojcicki, who was one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley, helped launch and grow AdSense, and pushed for Google to buy YouTube
An obituary of Susan Wojcicki, who was one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley, helped launch and grow AdSense, and pushed for Google to buy YouTube
Discussion:
CNN, The Register, New York Times, CNET, NPR, @stevenlevy, @emilychangtv, @ronconway, @gokulr, @janacg, @rkyncl, Jeff Jarvis on LinkedIn, @tomfrankly, @emilychangtv, Newser, @laurengoode@threads.net, Mercury News, Hunter Walk, Wired, Leslie Morgan Steiner on LinkedIn, TechCrunch, Eve McDavid on LinkedIn, Financial Times, Kristina Salen on LinkedIn, @ricmac@mastodon.social, Roshni Joshi on LinkedIn, Bridget Coogan on LinkedIn, MediaPost, Metro.co.uk, Los Angeles Times and New York Times
Juliana Kim / NPR:
Microsoft research details Iranian government efforts to interfere with the US election, including four fake outlets likely using AI to plagiarize news content — Groups connected to the Iranian government are using a spectrum of online tactics to interfere with the U.S. presidential election …
Discussion:
Politico, The Information, Associated Press, The Cyber Express, The i Paper, @LaNaehForaday …, @peter@thepit.social, @captainslim@infosec.exchange, @GottaLaff@mastodon.social, Breitbart, @savokanikan, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fast Company, CBS News, The Register, UPI, Washington Post and Bloomberg
Ina Fried / Axios:
How Getty transmits Olympics photos globally with fully remote editing as it aims for a 26-second delay between when photos are taken and when they hit the wire — Already during the games it has uploaded more than 350,000 pictures for media outlets to choose from.