A look at the five-person Gen Z team running Kamala Harris' TikTok account @KamalaHQ, capitalizing on the VP's viral moments and averaging 6M views per post (CNN)

Mediagazer: A look at the five-person Gen Z team running Kamala Harris' TikTok account @KamalaHQ, capitalizing on the VP's viral moments and averaging 6M views per post (CNN)

Top News:

CNN:

Docs: Disney seeks to dismiss a wrongful death suit because the widower agreed to arbitrate all disputes with the company when he signed up for a Disney+ trial— New York CNN — — A man suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for the wrongful death of his wife is facing a new legal hurdle …
Discussion: The Verge, The Guardian, The Wrap, @justinwhang, @robertfreundlaw, WXIA-TV, New York Times, @heavyspoilers, @jetton@mastodon.online, @geerlingguy, Los Angeles Times, Boing Boing, TMZ.com, @tomcoates, BBC, @morningbrew, @cattailxc, Ars Technica, @bigblackjacobin, @alexandra_ewing, @rvbdrm.com, Cord Cutters News, @discussingfilm, NPR, @investmentshulk, @buccocapital, Business Insider, The Daily Beast, @rowbyyt, @ethanofkrypton, AV Club, The Mirror, New York Post and @jon@henshaw.social

Discussion:

Emma Roth /
The Verge: Disney wants to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit because of a Disney Plus agreement

Anna Betts /
The Guardian: Disney seeks to dismiss wrongful death lawsuit over widower's Disney+ free trial

Sharon Knolle /
The Wrap: Widower Condemns Disney for ‘Outrageous’ Claim He Can't Sue for Wife's Theme Park Death Due to Disney+ Account

Justin Whang /
@justinwhang: I'm not a lawyer but this seems as valid as me having you sign a contract that says I'm legally allowed to shoot you in the face

Rob Freund /
@robertfreundlaw: Disney issued a statement in response to the negative press. Have to wonder whether the stretched bid to get this into arbitration was worth it and whether they could have predicted the backlash. [image] WXIA-TV: Disney argues man can't sue over wife's fatal allergic reaction because he signed up for a Disney+ trial @heavyspoilers: Can't believe Bob Iger murdered my entire family and I can't do anything because I wanted to watch Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian @jetton@mastodon.online: Woman dies from anaphylaxis after eating food at Disney World that she had been assured did not contain nuts or dairy products. — Her widower sues Disney for $50,000. — Disney now attempts to get suit dismissed because her husband had signed up for a one month free trial of Disney+ several years earlier. …

Jeff Geerling /
@geerlingguy: I guess another good reason to unsubscribe from Disney+ — if this isn't thrown out, this is pure evil: https://wdwnt.com/...

Samantha Masunaga /
Los Angeles Times: Disney says man can't sue for wrongful death, cites Disney+, parks tickets arbitration clauses

Mark Frauenfelder /
Boing Boing: Woman dies from allergic reaction at Disneyland, but Disney says husband can't sue because he used Disney+ three years earlier

Tom Coates /
@tomcoates: Disney is trying to avoid a wrongful death suit after giving someone some food they were allergic to by claiming that when they signed up to Disney+ they agreed not to sue Disney for anything. https://arstechnica.com/...

Imran Rahman-Jones /
BBC: Disney+ terms prevent allergy death lawsuit, Disney says @morningbrew: Absolutely insane story from the Magic Kingdom Last year: - A woman passed away from an allergic reaction after eating at a Disney restaurant - Her husband files a wrongful death lawsuit arguing staff didn't take care, despite being warned of allergies Now: - Disney is [image] @cattailxc: If they win this then that means Disney is immune to legal action from all 153.6 million Disney+ subscribers. what the actual fuck dude

Ashley Belanger /
Ars Technica: Disney fighting restaurant death suit with Disney+ terms “absurd,” lawyer says

Edward Ongweso Jr /
@bigblackjacobin: lol reads like the origin story of a marvel villain @alexandra_ewing: i think disney didn't want you to know they killed someone with allergies by moving this to arbitration but this is in fact going to make everyone know disney killed someone with allergies regardless of how the suit is settled

Ravin Boodram /
@rvbdrm.com: He's only asking for $50,000! — FUCKING PAY IT OUT, DISNEY!! [embedded post]

Raymond McCain /
Cord Cutters News: Disney Asks to Throw Out a Wrongful Death Lawsuit Because of Disney+'s Terms & Conditions @discussingfilm: Disney is trying to get a wrongful death lawsuit from a grieving husband tossed out of court because he signed up to Disney+ years earlier. His wife suffered a fatal allergic reaction at a Disney Springs restaurant but Disney insist that the husband agreed to arbitrate all [image]

Rachel Treisman /
NPR: Disney wants a wrongful death lawsuit thrown out because the plaintiff had Disney+ @buccocapital: Top defensive moves by a corporation in the 21st Century: 1. Google making Android free to strengthen their moat + defend ad revenue 2. Disney adding a blanket arbitration clause into Disney+ signups so they can kill your family with impunity

Lauren Edmonds /
Business Insider: Disney is arguing in a wrongful-death case that the terms of a Disney+ account extend to its theme parks

Josh Fiallo /
The Daily Beast: Disney Claims Widower's Disney+ Sub Means He Can't File Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Rowby /
@rowbyyt: In America, if you watch an episode of the Mandalorian, they get to kill your wife [image] @ethanofkrypton: Babe wake up new most evil Disney lawsuit dropped Also the widower is asking for 50,000. That is regained by Disney within mere minutes for them. Disney can bounce back from 50k. A grieving husband needs all the time in the world to bounce back

Emma Keates /
AV Club: Disney is reportedly trying to block a wrongful death lawsuit through its Disney+ terms and conditions

Sam Elliott-Gibbs /
The Mirror: Disney World says man can't sue over wife's allergy death because of free Disney+ trial

Priscilla DeGregory /
New York Post: Widower of doctor who suffered fatal allergic reaction rips Disney+ subscription defense: ‘Borders on absurd’

The Hollywood Reporter:

A look at Tving, a streaming JV between three South Korean media firms, which has 30% market share, viewership growth up 6% YoY in H1 2024, and 4.2M subscribers— Tving's share of premium video viewership in Korea grew in the first half of 2024, while Netflix's slipped, even though the global giant remained the market leader.

Axios:

NYT plans to launch a Wirecutter podcast on August 21; its deputy publisher says the brand drove $1B in commerce in 2023 and its newsletter has 2.5M subscribers— - “Wirecutter is not only branching out in terms of its business model, it's also branching out in terms of its platforms,” …

Discussion:

David Clinch /
@davidclinchnews: For those keeping track, the lesson here is not “do more podcasts,” the lesson is “if you are going to do podcasts, do ones that are directly connected to revenue streams and/or revenue KPIs.” #MediaRevenue

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: The New York Times Launches First Podcast From Wirecutter

Jessica Joseph /
Jessica Joseph on LinkedIn: August 21st 🎧 Mark your calendars for the debut of our first podcast, The Wirecutter Show! — Huge congratulations to the team behind this endeavor …

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: Wirecutter is launching its first podcast

CNN:

A look at the five-person Gen Z team running Kamala Harris' TikTok account @KamalaHQ, capitalizing on the VP's viral moments and averaging 6M views per post— Vice President Kamala Harris, quoting her mother, told a group of newly sworn-in commissioners for a White House initiative …

Discussion:

Sarafina Chitika /
@sarafinachitika: ...anyways if you want to read about a campaign that's actually good at being online (and using the internet to talk to real voters, not billionaires) here you go: @CNN on @KamalaHQ 👇🏾 https://www.cnn.com/...

Betsy Klein /
@betsy_klein: “A like on TikTok is basically seen as an endorsement. You can get 50M views on Tiktok, but if you only get 5,000 likes, then your video's low-key seen as a flop.” Since @BidenHQ became @KamalaHQ, the like-to-view ratio has increased from 10-15% to 15-25%. https://www.cnn.com/...

Matt Navarra /
@mattnavarra@threads.net: Inside the Gen-Z team powering Harris' online remix The Harris digital comms team has 175 staff Her TikTok account is run by a team of 5 Gen-Zer's @kamalahq's TikTok account has published 65 posts in 20 days They generated 385M views, averaging 6 million views per post That's more than double what  …

Makena Kelly /
Wired: Kamala Harris' Campaign Is a Windfall for Influencers @rightardia@mastodon.social: Inside the Gen-Z operation powering Harris' online remix — “For years as vice president, Harris has been quietly laying the digital groundwork behind the scenes — meeting with young voters, social media influencers and several grassroots organizations. …

New York Times:

New York City's WCBS says it will end its nearly 60-year run as an all-news station this month; the station will become WHSQ and host ESPN New York sports talk— The news radio mainstay is turning its airwaves over to ESPN, ending its continuous coverage of the five boroughs. The Mets broadcasts will remain.

Discussion:
Paul Cohen on LinkedIn, TVNewsCheck and Showbiz411

Discussion:

Paul Cohen /
Paul Cohen on LinkedIn: In yet another blow to the media business, WCBS Radio in New York is switching to an all-sports format by the end of the month. …

Press Gazette:

Analysis: at least 293 local UK newspapers have closed since 2005, including 22 in the past two years; four print titles launched between July 2022 and now— Digital launches outweigh closures since August 2022. — Twenty-two print local newspapers have closed in the UK in the past two years.

The Verge:

Apple approves Spotify updating its app to show in-app pricing information for iPhone users in the EU starting today, after Spotify's yearslong legal battle— Spotify will begin showing in-app pricing information for iPhone users in the European Union starting today, following a yearslong legal battle against Apple.

Discussion:
Reuters, Billboard, Digital Music News, MacRumors, Daring Fireball, BGR and TechCrunch, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Jaspreet Singh /
Reuters: Spotify to add price information in its app on Apple devices in EU

Marc Schneider /
Billboard: Spotify Can Now Show Pricing Details to iPhone App Users in Europe

Ashley King /
Digital Music News: After Battling for Months, Spotify Adds Pricing Details Into App Store in the EU

John Gruber /
Daring Fireball: After Years of Legal Wrangling, Apple Now Allows Spotify to Show EU Users Pricing in App, and Tells Them They Can Sign Up on the Web

José Adorno /
BGR: Spotify can finally show subscription prices in its EU iPhone app after Apple relents

NPR:

Meta shuts down CrowdTangle, less than three months before the US election, in favor of the Meta Content Library; Mozilla says 50K+ petitioned against the move— Meta has been bombarded by academics, researchers, politicians and regulators about a tool called CrowdTangle, which most people probably haven't heard of.

Discussion:

Julia Hornstein /
The Information: Meta Shuts Down Social Media Research Tool CrowdTangle

Barbara Ortutay /
Twin Cities: Meta kills off misinformation tracking tool CrowdTangle despite pleas from researchers, journalists

Andela Milivojevic /
@djandjava: On August 14, @Meta killed their leading transparency tool — right in the middle of the biggest election year ever. CrowdTangle was a critical tool that researchers and journalists used to investigate the spread of information on Facebook and Instagram. https://www.ripcrowdtangle.com/ @tbij: One of the few things Meta (the company that owns Facebook and Instagram) has been praised for is CrowdTangle - an incredibly useful transparency tool for journalists like us But, from today, Meta's pulling the plug on it We've explained it all here 👇 https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/ ...

Louis Staples /
@louisstaples: one of the best thing about no longer being a staff journalist is not having your entire job ruined on a whim by random decisions at Facebook

Matthew Mulligan /
@matthewgmull: huge huge loss. things stop getting better and getting worse?

Niamh McIntyre /
@niamh_mcintyre: RIP crowdtangle I wanna run to u. Really cant believe this @whotargetsme: It's the last day for CrowdTangle, and many researchers feel the replacement being offered by Meta is inadequate, as we enter the final stretch of the US election campaign.

Bruce Mirken /
@BruceMirken@mas.to: “#Meta decided to kill one of the best tools that civil society had to monitor and report on the hate speech and election interference that is almost certain to proliferate on its platforms.” Corporate #SocialMedia is not your friend. https://www.npr.org/...

Dr Liam Mcloughlin /
@leelum: While we're all focused on X/Twitter. Let us remind ourselves that today Crowdtangle is shutting down. This was such an important access point for researchers to learn about what's going on across Meta's platforms, which we no longer have access too. https://help.crowdtangle.com/ ...

The Hollywood Reporter:

SEC filing: Lionsgate extends CEO Jon Feltheimer's contract for another five years through July 31, 2029— The exec signed a new deal in 2020 and the indie studio has extended it for another five years through to July 31, 2029.

Discussion:

Jeremy Fuster /
The Wrap: Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer Extends Contract 5 Years to 2029

Columbia Journalism Review:

Some journalists call on Kamala Harris to do interviews, which can be useful for stress-testing politicians' positions, though they are not always illuminating— In the three weeks since President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek reelection, the presidential race, you may have noticed …

Discussion:
HuffPost, Fox News, New York Daily News, Poynter, The Hill, The Guardian, @daveweigel, @atrupar, @jeffjarvis, @danprimack, @jayrosen_nyu, @arianapekary, @newsjennifer, @jon_allsop, @drvolts, @metzgov, @lpolgreen, @benjysarlin, @oknox, @jdvance, @daveweigel, Breitbart, New York Times, New Yorker, TIME, Fox News, Washington Post, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, Mediaite, Washington Post, Politico, New York Times, Associated Press, Politico, The Hill, Fox News, Associated Press and Fox News

Discussion:

Sara Boboltz /
HuffPost: Trump's Big Reset Quickly Veers Into Attack On Kamala Harris' Laugh, Time Cover Fox News: ‘GONNA HIDE IN THE BASEMENT’: Americans balk at Kamala Harris ducking interviews on campaign trail

Dave Goldiner /
New York Daily News: Nikki Haley to Trump: ‘Quit whining’ about Harris, talk about issues

Tom Jones /
Poynter: When will Kamala Harris meet the press?

Margaret Sullivan /
The Guardian: Kamala Harris must speak to the press

David Weigel /
@daveweigel: Playbook detail I hadn't seen before: Harris has been talking with her traveling press off the record (which Biden rarely did). One reason that you haven't seen as much media grumbling about access - the outlets paying for the plane are getting facetime https://www.politico.com/...

Aaron Rupar /
@atrupar: “It was 2016 all over again today ... the same mistakes are being made” — @lawrence 🔥🔥🔥 [video] @jeffjarvis: Look at the press' behavior. When given a chance to ask questions, they sound like they're in a lockerroom, seeking quotes, not policy. This does nothing to inform the electorate. I know the argument about testing a candidate: but the press as currently configured aims for game &

@jeffjarvis:
What “press”? The broken and vindictive Times? The newly Murdochian Post? Hedge-fund newspaper husks? Rudderless CNN or NPR? Murdoch's fascist media? No. She can choose many ways to communicate her stands with others outside the old press and with the public directly. The old

Dan Primack /
@danprimack: 1/ I agree that Harris needs to do media interviews. 2/ It's ironic to see some folks here make that argument, after for years talking about how CEOs and investors should eschew media interviews in favor of “going direct” via this app, etc. 3/ Yes, there's a difference between

Jay Rosen /
@jayrosen_nyu: “Access to a politician should not be seen as the be-all and end-all. What journalists do with their access matters.” https://www.cjr.org/...

Ariana Pekary /
@arianapekary: Another wise take by @Jon_Allsop: “Yes, Kamala Harris should talk to the press more” ...in which he urges the media to be “more considered when we do get access [to elusive politicians], and, in its absence, we can—and should—at least ask for it.” https://www.cjr.org/... @cjr

Jennifer Schulze /
@newsjennifer: Great points from @Jon_Allsop about press access ⤵️ Also worth noting: if Harris had spent the last 3 weeks doing lots of interviews, the press would then be obsessed with something else like why she wasn't out doing ‘real campaigning.’ https://www.cjr.org/...

Jon Allsop /
@jon_allsop: Access isn't everything. But Kamala Harris should still talk to the press. Me for @CJR: https://www.cjr.org/...

David Roberts /
@drvolts: @lpolgreen What does it tell you that no one but the reporters who have a professional interest in this seems to think that we'd learn anything illuminating at all from such an interview?

Bryan Metzger /
@metzgov: I'm a reporter, I think it's good when people talk to the press! I get that there's been a roll-out process, but that is now complete. I think they could take some questions on the plane or on the sidelines of any of their rally stops this week.

Lydia Polgreen /
@lpolgreen: As a journalist and a citizen I think it would be very good for the Democratic ticket to sit for big interviews and routinely answer on the record questions from reporters on the trail. It is disappointing that this has not happened yet. But it is not too late to change that!

Benjy Sarlin /
@benjysarlin: Trump is holding a presser today, we interviewed him last week and Vance yesterday and Vance is taking open press questions. Time's just about up on Harris to avoid this becoming a thing.

Olivier Knox /
@oknox: A few thoughts about this. Bear with me. I'll start by saying that *of course* they should be taking news media questions.

JD Vance /
@jdvance: I enjoyed sitting down with three of the major networks today to answer the tough questions any leader should answer. Kamala Harris has done as many tough interviews as Tim Walz has battlefield deployments.

David Weigel /
@daveweigel: Right. Made sense that Harris wasn't doing media during the veep selection (when a bunch of Qs would have been made irrelevant after the selection). But now there's a ticket, there's a press corps — just let em shoot some news of the day Qs on the plane

Wendell Husebø /
Breitbart: Kamala Harris Denies Time Magazine Interview Request

Michael M. Grynbaum /
New York Times: Kamala Harris Isn't Giving Interviews. Any Questions?

Jay Caspian Kang /
New Yorker: How Generic Can Kamala Harris Be?

Charlotte Alter /
TIME: The Reintroduction of Kamala Harris

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: What “press”? The broken and vindictive Times? The newly Murdochian Post? Hedge-fund newspaper husks? Rudderless CNN or NPR? Murdoch's fascist media? No. She can choose many ways to communicate her stands with others outside the old press and with the public directly. …

Joe DePaolo /
Mediaite: MSNBC's Michael Steele Accuses Media of ‘Whining’ About Kamala Harris Not Doing Interviews: Is There a ‘Real Need’ for Them? Associated Press: Vance jokes he's checking out his future VP plane while overlapping with Harris at Wisconsin airport

Fox News:
Kamala Harris' glowing Time cover dragged by critics: ‘Journos worshipping politicians, terrific’

Elizabeth Crisp /
Associated Press: Trump team seeks to pressure Harris over media appearances

@maxwelltani:

Memo: New York Public Radio CEO LaFontaine Oliver says WNYC plans to reduce staff by 8% “at minimum” before next month via layoffs or buyouts— WNYC is reducing staff by 8% “at minimum” before next month via layoffs/buyouts. In a memo this afternoon to staff, New York Public Radio CEO LaFontaine Oliver said “without swift action, we will soon face significant questions about our ability to continue to serve New York.”

Discussion:
@bgrueskin

TechCrunch:

President Biden speaks at the first White House Creator Economy Conference, with about 100 startup founders, industry stakeholders, and creators in attendance— At the first ever White House Creator Economy Conference, the most popular man to drop by was not a TikTok superstar or a YouTube sensation.

Discussion:
Sky News, The Information, Tubefilter, CNBC, Fox News, Bloomberg, UPI, The Hill and Deadline, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

James Hale /
Tubefilter: Biden addresses creators at first-ever White House summit: “They listen to all of you”

Rebecca Picciotto /
CNBC: Biden hosts first Creator Economy Conference for influencers to talk AI, privacy and more

Jessica Karl /
Bloomberg: Could Joe Biden and Fumio Kishida Join the Creator Economy?

Julia Shapero /
The Hill: White House holds creator conference

Ted Johnson /