Top News:
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Reddit, Politico, and others mull cutting Google's access to their content for AI as traffic drops; Reddit signed a $60M/year deal with Google in 2024 — Reddit, Politico and others are weighing how—or even if—they can work with the tech company as AI tools supplant traditional searches
Discussion:
AdNews News, Will Flannigan on LinkedIn, New York Post, Barron's Online, Quartz, PR Daily, @mikeisaac, @alexbruell, Melissa Korn on LinkedIn, Tech Brew, @ryanmews, @mikeparanzino, @roshanjnu, TechSpot, @mikeisaac, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Gizmodo, Eurogamer.net, Techstrong.ai, Unite.AI, Kotaku, Video Game Town and faisal.com, more at Techmeme »
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Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
How major publishers in the UK are pivoting away from quantity of content towards quality as Google AI changes lead to falling traffic referrals — Hearst UK is publishing less articles but “more effective” content overall by asking journalists to explain why they are producing every piece.
Discussion:
Search Engine Land and Glenn Gabe on LinkedIn
CJ Haddad / CNBC:
Reddit's stock closed down 8.32% after a report that the company was considering ending Google's access to its content for AI training; RDDT is down ~26% YTD — Shares of Reddit slid 9% on Wednesday after the Wall Street Journal reported the company has discussed shutting off Google's access …
Discussion:
MediaPost, Barchart.com, GoNintendo, International Business Times, Blockonomi, Benzinga and Simply Wall St
Samuel Stolton / Bloomberg:
The European Commission grants conditional approval for Paramount's WBD acquisition as long as Paramount ends its EU distribution deal with Universal Pictures — Paramount Skydance Corp.'s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. won conditional approval from the European Union …
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Variety:
WGA seeks an injunction to bar Paramount and WBD from “closing or consummating” their merger or “taking any steps to integrate or consolidate their operations” — Union's legal move comes after 12 state attorneys general won a temporary restraining order pausing megadeal
Discussion:
Deadline, Bloomberg, The Wrap, @wgaeast.bsky.social, Media Play News, ByteHaven and The Movie Blog
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Alphabet reports YouTube's Q2 ad revenue rose 13% YoY to $11.06B, vs. $10.8B est., and Google's ad revenue reached $81.63B, up from $71.34B in Q2 2025 — Video giant YouTube, one of the world's biggest entertainment businesses, continues to turn in double-digit increases in ad revenue.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, TheDesk.net, New York Times, Thurrott, Forbes, The Information, Quartz, OloriSuperGal, Wall Street Journal, StockStory, Cord Cutters News, Newsmax, Deadline, @philthepill.online, Alphabet, Search Engine Roundtable, The Hollywood Reporter and Proactiveinvestors UK, more at Techmeme »
Todd Spangler / Variety:
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says ABC's decision to not carry Trump's July 16 speech about elections live will be part of its review for ABC-owned station licenses — Are TV broadcasters obligated to carry the U.S. president's comments live on their government-licensed airwaves?
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
A US judge rules that Trump must turn over detailed financial information of 400+ companies owned by a family trust in his defamation suit against the BBC — MIAMI, Florida- A federal magistrate judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump must turn over detailed financial information …
Discussion:
BBC, Techdirt, Raw Story, Mirror, @kylegriffin1.bsky.social, @crampell.bsky.social, @sonjawest.bsky.social, Staff Stories, New York Sun, @portiamcgonagal.bsky.social, @ariannaciccone.bsky.social, @lolagaylec.bsky.social, @joshgerstein.bsky.social, @brianstelter, New York Post, The Standard, The Wrap, @intruder1500stevie …, GB News, Benzinga, New Republic, @kvconner.bsky.social, The Guardian, NOTUS, NewsMax.com and Bloomberg
Aric Mackey / Facebook:
John C. Dvorak, an early technology journalist best known for his column in PC Magazine and his groundbreaking work on the No Agenda podcast, has died — John C. Dvorak, a pioneering technology journalist, podcaster, and cultural commentator, passed away peacefully on the morning of Monday, July 20, 2026.
State of California:
California's Rob Bonta and a 13-state group challenge the appointment of current and recent Nexstar personnel to Tegna's board, after a preliminary injunction — - Attorney General Bonta to Court: Nexstar/Tegna Violating Co... Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov
Discussion:
The Wrap, Variety, TheDesk.net, Deadline, The Wrap, @jbflint, @agrobbonta and Cord Cutters News
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Roundtable:
A US judge dismisses Google's lawsuit against web scraping service SerpApi, saying plain and aggregated search results are not protected under copyright law — Last December, Google sued SerpApi over scraping its search results, and now a court has granted SerpApi's motion to dismiss the case.
James Faris / Business Insider:
Sources: Paramount+ is planning to test adding micro dramas in its mobile app in the coming months to drive visit frequency and keep people engaged for longer — Paramount+ is preparing to add micro dramas to its app in the coming months, Business Insider has learned.
