Top News:
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Blaze Media's CEO says it has ended its contract with BlazeTV contributor Lauren Chen of Tenet Media, which is alleged to have been funded by Russia — The Scoop — A conservative American media company has fired one of the YouTubers implicated in an alleged Russian influence operation exposed …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, Fox News, Washingtonian, Raw Story and @Myerman@toot.bldrweb.org
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Associated Press:
The US charges Dimitri Simes, a Russian-born US citizen and ex-Trump adviser, with working for a sanctioned Russian state TV network and laundering the proceeds — The U.S. government has charged a Russian-born U.S. citizen and former adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign …
Discussion:
Semafor, Reuters, The Hill, Raw Story, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Rolling Stone and New York Times
CNN:
Source: Tenet Media is the Tennessee-based company the US DOJ alleges was being funded by Russia; Benny Johnson and Tim Pool say they were victims of the scheme
Discussion:
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New York Times:
The US sanctions five Russian news outlets including RT, sanctions RT's EIC, indicts two RT staffers, and seizes 32 domains, as it fights Russian influence
Discussion:
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Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube announces AI detection tools to protect against copying creators' likeness, including their faces and voices, and plans to offer AI scraping controls — YouTube on Thursday announced a new set of AI detection tools to protect creators, including artists, actors …
Wall Street Journal:
Leaked Disney files include personal data of some staff and customers and show that Disney+ had $2.4B+ revenue in Disney's March quarter, or ~43% of DTC revenue — Data trove sheds light on entertainment giant's operations, and exposes personal data of some staff and customers
Discussion:
Steve Layne on LinkedIn, The Streamable, The Media Leader, New York Post, Cord Cutters News and Fox Business
Jeremy Barr / Washington Post:
Mehdi Hasan's Zeteo News, launched in April, has 31K paid subs, including more than 1,000 at the $500+ “founder” level, accounting for ~$3M in annual revenue — The former MSNBC host's Substack-based Zeteo News has 31,000 paid subscribers and $3 million in annual revenue in just four months
Discussion:
@simondowens@threads.net, @jeremymbarr, @brianstelter and TVNewsCheck
Mark Savage / BBC:
Spotify wins a long-running, complicated music rights case in US district court, where Eminem publisher Eight Mile Style claimed Spotify lacked proper licenses — Spotify has won a long-running court case, in which it was accused of streaming Eminem's music without permission.
Discussion:
Billboard, Rolling Stone and Music Business Worldwide
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
The Guardian's CFO says the outlet plans to start making product recommendations with the aim of diversifying revenue through affiliate links — The Guardian is preparing to launch an e-commerce platform as it continues to look for new areas of revenue diversification.
Discussion:
Stephen Hurrell on LinkedIn and @baekdal
Dan Milmo / The Guardian:
YouTube begins limiting repeated video recommendations about fitness levels, body weights, physical features, and more to teens globally, expanding from the US — Platform will ensure algorithms do not keep pushing similar content to young viewers, even though it does not breach guidelines
Discussion:
MediaPost, BBC, The Wrap, YouTube Official Blog, @svenvd_zee, UPI, TechCrunch, The Verge and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
FCC filing: Larry Ellison will own 77.5% of National Amusements via a trust and series of corporations after his son David completes the purchase of Paramount — Paramount Global, the parent of CBS, will be controlled by software billionaire Larry Ellison after a group led by his son David completes …
Discussion:
The Wrap, New York Post and @lucas_shaw
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
The Salt Lake Tribune's first annual report shows $15.3M in 2023 revenue and $779K net profit; in July 2024, it had 9K print subscribers and 30K digital — The first daily newspaper in the U.S. to become a nonprofit has published a refreshingly readable and transparent annual report.
Discussion:
Dave Patel on LinkedIn and What Works
John Jurgensen / Wall Street Journal:
Filmmakers from the small budget, parallel world of faith-based entertainment are going mainstream, as Amazon, Netflix, and others focus on heartland viewers — Christian filmmakers have surprised the world with a series of box office hits. Their success could change the entertainment industry.
Discussion:
Luke Roush on LinkedIn
Helen Bushby / BBC:
The UK's CMA launches an investigation into whether the sale of Oasis tickets on Ticketmaster breached consumer protection law, including via “dynamic pricing” — The UK competition regulator has launched an investigation into the sale of Oasis tickets, including the use of “dynamic pricing”.
Discussion:
CNN, Wall Street Journal, GOV.UK, Variety, Financial Times, Billboard, UPI, London Evening Standard, NME, The Guardian, Engadget, @deandunham, The Sun, @cmagovuk, CMU, @gergelyorosz, @daviddavismp, WATN, Music Business Worldwide, NBC News, Politico, KXTV, Press Association and Big Issue, more at Techmeme »
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