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9:35 AM ET, August 18, 2025

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 Top News: 
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Memo: Mark Lazarus, who will run NBCUniversal spinoff Versant as its founding CEO, says MSNBC will become MS Now, or My Source for News Opinion and the World  —  In the media business, at least, breaking up can still be hard to do.  —  MSNBC will have to take a new name in months to come …
Max Tani / Semafor:
A group of left-leaning writers led by Jerusalem Demsas launch The Argument, an outlet to counter the populist right and boost liberal ideas, with $4M backing  —  The Scoop  —  A group of left-leaning writers and journalists are starting a new publication on Monday aimed at arguing in favor …
Bloomberg:
A US district court judge temporarily blocks an FTC probe into Media Matters, part of an antitrust investigation into ad boycotts, calling the probe retaliatory  —  Nonprofit Media Matters for America won a court order blocking a Federal Trade Commission information demand for documents …
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: YouTube has inquired about buying the rights to the Oscars; the show will air on ABC through at least 2028  —  Can Google convince Hollywood's most famous awards show to bail on TV networks and movie studios?  —  Good afternoon from Los Angeles, wherever you may be.
Ben Fritz / Wall Street Journal:
After tax incentives boosted growth, Georgia's film industry is declining due to rising costs; source: Marvel is making most of its upcoming content in the UK  —  Tax incentives lured studios to help build the ‘Hollywood of the South.’ Now they're going overseas for cheaper labor costs.
Nikkei Asia:
Chinese streaming giants iQiyi and Tencent are gaining on Netflix in Southeast Asia via original productions, free services with ads, and low-fee subscriptions  —  BANGKOK/SHANGHAI — Chinese streaming services are catching up with American rivals in the Southeast Asian market …
more at Techmeme »
Patrick Coffee / Wall Street Journal:
Some brands, like Bilt and Alexis Bittar, are producing scripted social media series that are also marketing campaigns whose focus is brand engagement  —  Bilt's new scripted series ‘Roomies’ has attracted attention on social media but hasn't directly promoted the brand—at least not yet
Kerry Flynn / Axios:
Sounds Profitable, which represents ~200 audio and podcast companies, merges with Podcast Movement in a seven-figure deal  —  Two influential podcast organizations, Sounds Profitable and Podcast Movement, are merging, executives exclusively tell Axios.
Discussion: Podnews
Matthew Belloni / @mattbelloni:
Sources: Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers are leaving Netflix for Paramount; the deciding factor was Paramount's support for theatrical releases  —  News: Duffers made their choice: They're leaving Netflix for Paramount. The theatrical film component was the dealbreaker, per sources.
Free Press:
A coalition of press freedom groups urges Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to release Atlanta journalist Mario Guevara, detained by ICE for two months  —  In a powerful letter to Noem, groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists, Free Press, PEN America and Reporters Without Borders mark …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
TikTok is updating its Community Guidelines, adding new rules for Live creators, including a requirement that commercial content must be disclosed  —  TikTok is preparing an update to its Community Guidelines, which dictate the rules for participating on the social video platform …
 
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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Digital Content Next survey: 19 US online publishers, including major newsrooms, saw a median 10% YoY decline in Google referral traffic in the May-June period
 

 
From Techmeme:

Amrith Ramkumar / Wall Street Journal:
President Trump signs two executive orders aimed at speeding the development of advanced quantum computers and mitigating the security threats they present

Carl Franzen / VentureBeat:
Sakana AI launches Fugu, a multi-agent orchestration system accessible through a single model API, claiming Fugu Ultra matches Fable and Mythos on benchmarks

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Valve's Steam Machine, its new living room Linux PC, will start at $1,049 for the 512GB base model without a controller, and will go on sale starting June 29
 
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