The bankruptcy case for Redbox parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is being converted to Chapter 7, paving the way for liquidating its assets (Janko Roettgers/Lowpass)

Mediagazer: The bankruptcy case for Redbox parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is being converted to Chapter 7, paving the way for liquidating its assets (Janko Roettgers/Lowpass)

Top News:

New York Times:

Sources: the NBA finalizes contracts with new partners NBC and Amazon Prime Video, while maintaining ABC/ESPN for the NBA Finals; TNT could still match— The NBA and network executives finalized contracts that will make NBC and Amazon Prime Video new partners, while maintaining ABC/ESPN …
Discussion: The Wrap, Sportico, Mediaite, The Streamable, Variety, Awful Announcing, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter, Front Office Sports, Barrett Media and UPROXX

Discussion:

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: NBA Finalizes 11-Year, $76 Billion TV Contracts With NBC, Amazon and ESPN

Anthony Crupi /
Sportico: NBA Rights Contracts Hit Adam Silver's Desk With All Eyes on TNT

Ahmad Austin Jr /
Mediaite: NBA Finalizes Lucrative Media Deals With ESPN, Amazon, and NBC — TNT Could Still Try to Match Offers

David Satin /
The Streamable: NBA Finally Finalizes TV Deals with ESPN, Prime Video, NBC; TNT Expected to Try to Match Amazon Offer

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: NBA Finalizes Deals With NBC, Amazon, ESPN, Setting Up Possible Warner Showdown

Brendon Kleen /
Awful Announcing: Everything you need to know about the NBA's new broadcast rights package

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: NBA on the verge of a deal with Amazon, NBC and ESPN, potentially leaving TNT on the bench

Mike D. Sykes /
USA Today: The NBA's new broadcast deals are reportedly agreed to, which means the end for NBA on TNT may finally be here

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: NBA Finalizes TV Deals With Disney, NBC and Amazon ... But TNT's Future Is Unclear

Alex Schiffer /
Front Office Sports: NBA Agrees to $76 Billion in Media-Rights Deals, but TNT Still Looms

Wall Street Journal:

Memo: Mark Thompson says CNN is cutting about 100 jobs, plans to launch its first CNN.com subscription product later in 2024, but offers few details, and more— CEO Mark Thompson said it was “a logical possibility” that CNN might pursue a subscription bundle similar to what the New York Times offers.

Discussion:
Nieman Lab, CNN, Mediaite, Axios, Variety, Los Angeles Times, The Media Mix, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, @alexweprin, New York Post, @pressgazette, @brianstelter, @bristei, @rasmus_kleis, The Information, The Wrap, Jeremy Moore on LinkedIn, Cord Cutters News, The Media Leader, @bristei and Reuters

Discussion:

Joshua Benton /
Nieman Lab: Are you willing to pay for CNN.com? Prepare to be asked before year's end

Oliver Darcy /
CNN: CNN chief Mark Thompson announces sweeping overhaul of news network, cuts 100 jobs

Diana Falzone /
Mediaite: CNN Staff in a State of ‘Resignation’ as CEO Announces Revamp of Network, Job Cuts

Sara Fischer /
Axios: CNN boss lays out plans for digital future, layoffs to come

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: CNN Plans Launch of Digital Subscription Product by End of 2024 Amid Newsroom Layoffs

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: CNN to cut 100 jobs as it prepares to launch digital subscription products

Claire Atkinson /
The Media Mix: CNN Memo outlines new strategy and 100 job losses.

Andrew Liszewski /
The Verge: CNN announces more layoffs as it preps for a future beyond cable TV

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: CNN to Lay Off 100 Staffers as It Preps Major Revamp of Digital Efforts

John Koblin /
New York Times: CNN Cuts 100 Jobs, and Announces Plan for Digital Subscription Product

Alex Weprin /
@alexweprin: Major changes coming to CNN. A subscription product launching this year, with others to follow. A total reorg of its newsrooms. “strategic” push into AI. And layoffs, with about 100 staff to be cut today. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...

Taylor Herzlich /
New York Post: CNN CEO Mark Thompson to lay off 100 employees as he discloses fresh turnaround plans @pressgazette: CNN chief executive Mark Thompson has told staff that the organisation is cutting around 100 jobs, equivalent to approximately 3% of its total workforce https://pressgazette.co.uk/...

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: “CNN said it is cutting about 100 jobs and will launch its first CNN·com subscription product later this year as it looks to lessen its dependence on its cable-TV channel.” https://www.wsj.com/...

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: This story about CNN has it all: *100 job cuts? ✅ *New digital ideas? ✅ *Pages of prose from CEO? ✅ ^A vague sense primetime needs help? ✅ https://variety.com/...

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen /
@rasmus_kleis: CNN is “nowhere near ready for the future” CEO Mark Thompson told colleagues. Dose of cold realism in an industry that often manages to continue business-as-usual serving aging, shrinking audiences and dwindling number of advertisers while rhetorically insisting they are digital

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: CNN to Lay Off 100 Staffers, Plots Digital Subscription Launch for End of Year

Jeremy Moore /
Jeremy Moore on LinkedIn: This doesn't seem to be a recipe for success. Beyond the damage to the professionals who will be laid off, the overarching narrative seems …

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: CNN Will Layoff About 100 Employees & Launch a Free Streaming Channel Plus a Digital Subscription Service This Year

Sabrina Quagliozzi /
The Media Leader: CNN to cut 100 jobs and launch digital subscription product

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: CNN will cut 100 jobs as it seeks to move more readily into digital, and will launch a subscription product via its website by the end of the year https://variety.com/...

RELATED:

The Media Mix:

Sources: CNN lays off the team producing its Opinion section, with an end date of August 9; source: Senior Editor Sheena McKenzie is among those cut— Staff told current operations are winding down. — The CNN team working on the news network's Opinion output was let go today.

Discussion:
@bsdtectr.bsky.social and @newspolitics

Discussion:
@bsdtectr.bsky.social: Didn't even know CNN had an Opinion section. Online only deal? — They should let Begala, Jennings, Van Jones, Sellers, et al go. [embedded post]

Jon Nicosia /
@newspolitics: @claireatki “The CNN team working on the news network's Opinion output was let go today. The contributors and editors were gathered and informed that they would be terminated with an end date of August 9, according to people there. The move is part of a wider cost cutting measure announced

Associated Press:

Russia's government declares The Moscow Times an “undesirable organization”, meaning any Russian who cooperates with the outlet could get five years in prison— The Russian prosecutor general's office on Wednesday declared The Moscow Times, an online newspaper popular among …

Discussion:
Agence France-Presse, Voice of America, The Moscow Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, @bbcstever, @paige_reynolds_, @kevinrothrock, @samberkhead, @bbcstever, @macktubs, @niktwick, @hejsascha, @moscowtimes, @evahartog, @tomashirstecon, @andrew__roth, Reuters and The Daily Beast

Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Moscow Times Says ‘Undesirable’ Label Another Effort By Russia To Suppress Independent Reporting

Steve Rosenberg /
@bbcstever: Russia's Prosecutor General's office has designated independent news site The Moscow Times an “undesirable organisation,” in effect banning its activities in Russia & criminalising engagement with it.

Paige Reynolds /
@paige_reynolds_: Absolutely WILD but also totally expected. Cut my teeth here as a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, just-arrived-in-Moscow-and-could- barely-speak-Russian 20-year-old !! Respect for anyone still out there fighting the good fight 💪

Kevin Rothrock /
@kevinrothrock: Welcome to the club, boys and girls.

Samantha Berkhead /
@samberkhead: Russia has criminalized The Moscow Times' reporting — an unsurprising move, given our commitment to telling the world the truth about what is happening in Russia. Our mission is more important than ever. We refuse to give in to the Kremlin's pressure.

Steve Rosenberg /
@bbcstever: The Moscow Times has been a feature of life here, first in paper form, then online, pretty much as long as I can remember. I arrived in Moscow in August 1991. Moscow Times first came out in March 1992. In 2022 its headquarters were moved to Amsterdam.

Mack Tubridy /
@macktubs: I understand the urge for people to congratulate us on this designation, but the reality is that being labeled “undesirable” makes it a lot harder for us to do our work and endangers our staff. It's not a “good” thing. So, if you have a rich uncle, ask him to donate money to MT.

Nikolaus von Twickel /
@niktwick: For me this means that three out of my five employers since 2007 are now “undesirable” for the Russian regime. @moscowtimes: ⚡⚡ Russia has named The Moscow Times an “undesirable” organization, Russian news agencies report. The label bans MT from operating in Russia and puts anyone affiliated with it at risk of criminal prosecution.

Eva Hartog /
@evahartog: Unbelievable and predictable at the same time. This is Russia, criminalising an underfunded small group of journalists committed to fair coverage of the country 👇🏼

Tomas Hirst /
@tomashirstecon: An inability to accept a free press is a sign of weakness and fragility of a nation, not a display of strength. Russia's backslide into paranoid authoritarianism has no real winners, and an ever growing list of of self-inflicted losses.

Tomas Hirst /
@tomashirstecon: Seemed inevitable but still extremely sad. MT was my first employer and was a fantastic place to work - full of brilliant journos passionate about Russia.

Andrew Roth /
@andrew__roth: This was a training ground for so many excellent journalists. Unsurprising given Russia's war in Ukraine but this headline still made me pause for thought. @MoscowTimes provided stellar coverage for so many years and will continue to do so, “undesirable” or not @derksauer

Christopher Gavin /
The Daily Beast: Russia Bans The Moscow Times But the Newspaper's Staff Won't Back Down

TMZ.com:

George Stephanopoulos replies to a pedestrian on Biden, saying “I don't think he can serve four more years”; ABC says “George expressed his own point of view”— GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS BIDEN CAN'T SERVE 4 MORE YEARS … 6:28 PM PT — George Stephanopoulos tells TMZ …

Discussion:
@dylanbyers, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Raw Story, New York Post, New York Times, NBC News, The Hill, Newser, @todarorichard, CNN, Fox News, The Guardian, CBS News, @redsteeze, New Jersey Online, @abbydphillip, @waylon_wc, @tmz, @themainnetwork, The Daily Beast, @collinrugg, Washington Post, HuffPost, New Republic, The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, Mediaite and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Dylan Byers /
@dylanbyers: NEW @PuckNews: ABC's George Stephanopoulos, who recently interviewed Biden and was today caught in TMZ video saying he doesn't think Biden “can serve four more years,” tells me, via spokesperson: “Earlier today I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn't have.” In a

Christi Carras /
Los Angeles Times: In video shared by TMZ, George Stephanopoulos says Biden can't ‘serve four more years’

Scott Nover /
Slate: George Stephanopoulos' Only Mistake

Sarah K. Burris /
Raw Story: ‘What makes him qualified?’ George Clooney trashed after demanding Biden quits

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: George Stephanopoulos apologizes for saying Biden can't ‘serve four more years’

Michael M. Grynbaum /
New York Times: In TMZ Video, George Stephanopoulos Says Biden Can't Serve Another Term

Phil Helsel /
NBC News: ABC's George Stephanopoulos appears to say of Biden: 'I don't think he can serve four more years'

Jenn Gidman /
Newser: Stephanopoulos Caught Spilling His Inner Thoughts on Biden @todarorichard: George just interviewed Biden to try to boost his ratings. After the interview, he was asked if he thinks Biden can make it four more years, and he said he doesn't think so. It is time to “take the keys away” from Biden and bring in a better option. https://www.tmz.com/...

Oliver Darcy /
CNN: George Stephanopoulos gets blunt after Biden interview: 'I don't think he can serve four more years' Fox News: ABC distances itself from Stephanopoulos' claim Biden can't serve second term: ‘Not the position’ of network

Kaia Hubbard /
CBS News: Though Biden says he's staying in presidential race, top Democrats express doubts

Stephen L. Miller /
@redsteeze: The Biden campaign chose to do scripted radio interviews that resulted in a black female host losing her job. The Biden campaign chose George Stephanopoulos as the go to interviewer, and he staid he thinks Biden can't serve another term. The campaign made these choices, just as

Matt Arco /
New Jersey Online: Prominent TV journalist caught making off-the-cuff remark about Biden

Abby D. Phillip /
@abbydphillip: .@brianstelter reacts to GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos' remarks that he doesn't think Biden can serve four more years. [video]

Waylon Cunningham /
@waylon_wc: Now that's a good man-on-the-street interview https://www.tmz.com/... @tmz: #GeorgeStephanopoulos just made a STUNNING comment: he told someone on the streets of #NewYork that he doesn't think President #JoeBiden can serve another term! https://www.tmz.com/... [video] @themainnetwork: Anyone thinking this wasn't done on purpose doesn't get politics. This guy is too strategic to just randomly say this - George Stephanopoulos Says Biden Can't Serve Another 4 Years https://www.tmz.com/...

Eboni Boykin-Patterson /
The Daily Beast: Michael Douglas Is ‘Deeply, Deeply Concerned’ About Joe Biden

Collin Rugg /
@collinrugg: BREAKING: ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos caught on video saying he doesn't think Biden can serve another 4 years after his interview. Stephanopoulos was intercepted in midtown Manhattan in footage released by TMZ. Reporter: “Do you think Biden should step down? You've [video]

Andrew Jeong /
Washington Post: George Stephanopoulos caught on camera expressing doubts about Biden

Lee Moran /
HuffPost: George Stephanopoulos Caught On Camera Doubting Joe Biden, Just Days After Interview

Tess Patton /
The Wrap: After Biden Interview, ABC's George Stephanopoulos Says 'I Don't Think He Can Serve 4 More Years' | Video

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: George Stephanopoulos Says He 'Shouldn't Have' Commented on President Joe Biden's Ability to Serve Second Term

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: George Stephanopoulos Captured On Video Saying He Doesn't Think Joe Biden Can Serve Another Four Years

Charlie Nash /
Mediaite: 'I Don't Think He Can Serve Four More Years': George Stephanopoulos Says Biden Not Up to the Task After Interviewing Him

New Yorker:

Q&A with NYT's Joe Kahn on newsroom flare-ups, defining and building NYT culture among newer employees, his family foundation donations, Gaza coverage, and more— Joe Kahn, the newspaper's executive editor, wants to incentivize his staff to take on difficult stories, even when they might engender scrutiny, or backlash.

Discussion:
Nieman Lab, @brianstelter, @williams_paige, @chaykak, @viktorshtrum.bsky.social, @kirk_bado and @claremalone

Discussion:

Hanaa' Tameez /
Nieman Lab: The New York Times is “constantly thinking about the hierarchy of the stories that we're promoting,” Joe Kahn says

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: Fantastic @ClareMalone Q&A with NYT exec editor Joe Kahn: “I have the word ‘executive’ in my title, but actually the more important part is ‘editor’ and being involved with the journalists themselves, with their editors, in working through the stories...” https://www.newyorker.com/...

Paige Williams /
@williams_paige: Voters might not list democracy as top issue because they take a democratic society for granted yet should 2024 coverage be more existentially urgent, less horse race? @ClareMalone asks Joe Kahn. Their conversation, out today: https://www.newyorker.com/...

Kyle Chayka /
@chaykak: David Remnick interviewed in El Pais https://english.elpais.com/... Joe Kahn interviewed in New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/... @viktorshtrum.bsky.social: I haven't read yet - but this New Yorker interview with Joe Kahn seems of interest to us on here who love to hate the NY Times [embedded post]

Kirk A. Bado /
@kirk_bado: “According to one estimate, nearly seven per cent of American newspaper employees now work at the Times. The growth comes as almost every other corner of media has been beset by layoffs.”

Clare Malone /
@claremalone: I sat down with Joe Kahn of the NYT. We spoke abt the paper's emphasis on “independence,” what sorts of reporters are particularly valued at this moment in time, & the paper's various internal dramas. I also asked about his family foundation's donations. 1/https://www.newyorker.com/ ...

404 Media:

TUAW is back online after shutting down in 2015; the new owners seem to be using TUAW as an AI content farm, copying others' posts and using ex-writers' names— This month, “Christina Warren” started blogging again for The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), a legendary and long-dead Apple …

Discussion:
Engadget, @josephcox@infosec.exchange, @baldur@toot.cafe, @flargh@mastodon.social, @film_girl, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, @kevinlovestech@mstdn.ca, @shawnhooper@fosstodon.org, @ichris@mastodon.social, @rawsoncj@threads.net, @waxy@xoxo.zone, @film_girl@threads.net, @jasonkoebler@threads.net, AppleInsider, Six Colors and @dangillmor@mastodon.social

Discussion:

Karissa Bell /
Engadget: Apple blog TUAW returns as an AI content farm

Joseph Cox /
@josephcox@infosec.exchange: New: beloved tech blog TUAW stole its old workers' identities, ran their work through AI, and is now churning out AI garbage articles under their names — “I think it's terrible. We (the TUAW authors) are trying to figure out what can be done.” — https://www.404media.co/...

Baldur Bjarnason /
@baldur@toot.cafe: “A Beloved Tech Blog Is Now Publishing AI Articles Under the Names of Its Old Human Staff” — https://www.404media.co/... > The site's new owners have stolen her identity, replaced her photo with an AI-generated one, and have been publishing what appear to be AI-generated articles under her byline. …

Peter Cohen /
@flargh@mastodon.social: @dankennedy_nu Pink slime took a really nasty turn this week with this story related to my old haunts (Apple technology journalism). An unscrupulous company acquired the URL of a long-dead Apple blog sold to, then shut down by AOL a decade ago, and resurrected it complete with AI-generated slime attributed to the old site's real authors. …

Christina Warren /
@film_girl: So someone bought the TUAW domain, populated it with AI-generated slop, and then reused my name from a job I had when I was 21 years old to try to pull some SEO scam that won't even work in 2024 because Google changed its algo. Assholes! H/t @gruber [image]

Harry McCracken /
@harrymccracken@mastodon.social: Who could have predicted a nightmare like this? — (There's at least one fake AI story about me here.) — https://www.404media.co/... @kevinlovestech@mstdn.ca: @shawnhooper Saw that story! Incredible! Makes me think every writer should have ownership of their work, and take it with them when they leave, especially now with AI theft like this! — Publish the archive themselves using Authory, Ghost, or something else. Keep control over it. — Thoughts? …

Shawn Hooper /
@shawnhooper@fosstodon.org: TUAW, a site that was shut down 10 years ago, was sold to a private equity firm, then to a company in Hong Kong, and has now stolen its old workers' identities and is running their old work through #AI summarizers. — https://www.404media.co/...

Chris Enns /
@ichris@mastodon.social: I hate AI crap like this so much: A Beloved Tech Blog Is Now Publishing AI Articles Under the Names of Its Old Human Staff https://www.404media.co/...

Chris Rawson /
@rawsoncj@threads.net: I wrote for tuaw.com from 2009 until 2015, when our malevolent overlords at AOL closed shop on us. The site lived on in a dusty Engadget archive... until now. TUAW has relaunched as an AI slop site. Apparently, I now wrote for the site starting in 2004. …

Chris Rawson /
@rawsoncj@threads.net: Engadget has now picked up on the AI-powered zombification of TUAW and the borderline(?) identity theft of its former authors, including me. This century is so dumb. What a time to be alive. https://www.engadget.com/... @waxy@xoxo.zone: TUAW relaunched as zombie content farm with AI articles under the names of its old staff: the new domain owners even generated AI photos for each author, despite not buying rights to any of the content https://www.404media.co/...

Christina Warren /
@film_girl@threads.net: Thank you @jasonkoebler and the people at @404mediaco for writing about this! https://www.404media.co/...

Jason Koebler /
@jasonkoebler@threads.net: Beloved Apple blog TUAW was shut down in 2015, sold to private equity, then sold to a company in Hong Kong. It recently relaunched as an AI content farm using the stolen identities and bylines of its former human staff. A nightmare: https://www.404media.co/...

Dan Gillmor /
@dangillmor@mastodon.social: Hong Kong clamps down on the speech of people who believe in human rights. — Hong Kong also permits thieving plagiarists to buy the expired domain name of a once-great tech blog and launch an “AI” bullshit factory that uses the names of people who wrote for the blog. — https://www.404media.co/...

Lowpass:

The bankruptcy case for Redbox parent Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is being converted to Chapter 7, paving the way for liquidating its assets— Redbox will shut down, corporate parent is being liquidated — The bankruptcy case of Redbox's corporate parent Chicken Soup …

Billboard:

The US Copyright Office finalizes a new rule aimed at ensuring that songwriters who reclaim rights to their music will actually get paid streaming royalties— The new rule clears up uncertainty about who gets paid streaming royalties when songwriters take back their music rights - a trickier question than it sounds.

Discussion:

Jonathan Bailey /
Plagiarism Today: 3 Count: Termination Ruling

Ben W. Kramer /
Ben W. Kramer on LinkedIn: The Music Artists Coalition, together with other creator organizations (including Songwriters of North America - SONA and the Black Music Action Coalition) … @ascap: A huge victory for songwriters and composers — and one that shows the power of the creative community coming together to protect creator rights.

Murray Stassen /
Music Business Worldwide: Songwriter groups hail ‘landmark victory’ as US Copyright Office issues rule confirming how termination rights apply to streaming royalties

Chris Cooke /
CMU: Songwriters welcome Copyright Office clarity on termination rights and streaming royalties

Dylan Smith /
Digital Music News: U.S. Copyright Office Finalizes ‘Scaled-Down’ Solution to ‘Termination Rights’ Under Mechanical Licensing Payouts

Bloomberg:

WBD CEO David Zaslav calls the Paramount/Skydance deal “good for the industry” and hopes the next president embraces deregulation “so companies can consolidate”— “Getting [Paramount] in solid hands and having them funded — it's a great company and a great heritage …

Discussion:
Variety, New York Post, Raw Story, Business Insider, The Hollywood Reporter and @KarlBode@masto.ai

Discussion:

Todd Spangler /
Variety: David Zaslav Declines to Endorse Biden or Trump, Says It's More Important That Next U.S. President Supports M&A Deregulation

Thomas Barrabi /
New York Post: Shari Redstone flashes Amex gold card, Jeff Bezos brings Lauren Sanchez to ‘summer camp for billionaires’ in Sun Valley

David Badash /
Raw Story: ‘Craven’: CNN Parent CEO slammed for saying ‘deregulation’ is his criteria for president

Peter Kafka /
Business Insider: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav would like a new president, too

Caitlin Huston /
The Hollywood Reporter: David Zaslav Says He's For Any Presidential Candidate That's More M&A Friendly

Karl Bode /
@KarlBode@masto.ai: “We just need an opportunity for deregulation, so companies can consolidate and do what we need to to be even better,” says the guy who just oversaw one of the most pointless and destructive series of layoff-causing mergers in modern media history — https://www.bloomberg.com/...

Deadline:

Random House Publishing Group is acquiring comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios; the deal is expected to close this summer— The Random House Publishing Group, a division of the world's largest trade publisher, Penguin Random House, has entered into an agreement to acquire comic book …

Discussion:
Publishers Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter

Discussion:

Jim Milliot /
Publishers Weekly: Random House Is Buying Boom! Studios

Ryan Gajewski /
The Hollywood Reporter: Penguin Random House to Acquire Boom! Studios

Bloomberg:

Radio show and podcast This American Life plans to move its ad sales from the NYT to National Public Media on August 1, as the NYT looks to paywall its podcasts— The program will remain available through the New York Times' audio app — The long-running radio show and podcast …

Discussion:
@ashleyrcarman and Inside Radio

Discussion:

Ashley Carman /