Top News:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
WP Engine files a lawsuit in California against Automattic and WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, accusing them of extortion, abuse of power, and greed — Web hosting provider WP Engine has filed a lawsuit against Automattic, and WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, accusing them of extortion and abuse of power.
Discussion:
The Verge, @cowkitty, @jeffr0, @hashim_warren, @zimm3rmann, @ryancduff, WP Engine, @ryancduff, @automattic, @wpengine, @ryancduff, @ctrlaltdwayne, @dwlz, @bgardner, Automattic and The Register, more at Techmeme »
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Matthew Weaver / The Guardian:
The BBC cancels a planned Boris Johnson interview after presenter Laura Kuenssberg says she accidentally sent the former UK prime minister her briefing notes — Briefing notes mistakenly being sent to ex-PM meant it was ‘not right for the interview to go ahead’, says presenter
Discussion:
Variety, BBC, @bbclaurak, @nazirafzal, Canary, @craigrussell80, Deadline, Telegraph, @fuggins, @soozuk, @mrjamesob, @alicevjones, @jonathanshainin, @welshgasdoc, @mrhenrymorris, @rossmccaff, Politico and HuffPost
Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
After reporter Christine Brennan asked a WNBA player a question the latter saw as race baiting, the players association says she doesn't “deserve” credentials — In a thrilling but delicate moment for the WNBA, a journalist's focus on Clark is stirring tension among players and the press.
Mark Trevelyan / Reuters:
Russian journalists Antonina Favorskaya, Sergei Karelin, Konstantin Gabov, and Artem Kriger go on trial in Moscow over their alleged links to Alexei Navalny — Four Russian journalists went on trial in Moscow on Wednesday on charges of involvement in an “extremist” group after authorities accused …
Discussion:
DNyuz and Associated Press
James Hale / Tubefilter:
Twitch now includes raids, which lets streamers who are going offline to send viewers to others, in its average viewer count, easing the path to making partner — Twitch's path to partnership is not an easy one. Any streamer who wants to become an official partner of the platform has to meet …
Discussion:
@itswoori and The Mozilla Blog, more at Techmeme »
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
YouTube channel Dude Perfect hires former NBA executive Andrew Yaffe as CEO; Yaffe had been the NBA's head of social, digital, and original content — - Ex-NBA executive Andrew Yaffe to lead digital media company — The channel has more than 60 million followers on YouTube
Joe Otterson / Variety:
WBD and All Elite Wrestling sign a multiyear deal, sources say worth $150M+ per year; AEW shows remain on TBS and TNT and stream live on Max in the US in 2025 — All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has officially signed a new multi-year multimedia rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
A look at the struggle to release The Apprentice, a “Frankenstein origin story about Donald Trump”, ahead of the US election after Trump threatened to sue — The Donald Trump biopic was one of the hottest tickets at Cannes this year. So why did it take months, and a minor miracle, to sell?
Discussion:
Wired, @brianstelter and Deadline
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen: the vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz drew 43.15M US viewers across 15 networks, down 25.5% from the 2020 vice presidential debate — Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz faced off in the CBS News-produced debate. — The lone debate between …
Discussion:
Adweek, TVNewsCheck, Variety, CNN, The Hill, Politico, Axios, New York Post, CNN, DNyuz, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Bloomberg, Deadline, Media Play News and Mediaite
Angela Fu / Poynter:
Journalists in western North Carolina hustled to cover Hurricane Helene's aftermath with sparse internet access, and radio broadcasts became crucial connectors — Local journalists are working to reach isolated communities to fill in information gaps — while dealing with damage in their own lives
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, @solomonlexib, @amariscastillo, @cislmunc, @poynter, @poynter, @poynter, @ellekehres, The Asheville Citizen Times, Poynter, The Urban News, Radio World, NewsLab and NPR
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Amazon plans to increase the number of ads on Prime Video in 2025 after not seeing a sharp drop in subscribers since adding advertisements in January 2024 — Ecommerce group attempting to win over more brands as it steps up push into ad-funded streaming services in 2025
Discussion:
Fast Company, Ars Technica, Engadget, AV Club, Android Authority, @raydouglasuk, The Information, Quartz, Deadline and Digiday, more at Techmeme »
Katie Drummond / Wired:
Q&A with Bobbi Althoff about The Really Good Podcast, her rise to fame as part of “Mommy TikTok”, chaos after her Drake interview, brand deals, and more — From Mommy TikTok to that Drake interview and beyond, the podcast host is proof you can brute-force your way to online fame …
Discussion:
@katiedrumm, WIRED on LinkedIn, Simon Owens on LinkedIn, Vanity Fair and @laurengoode@threads.net
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