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 (Corey Kilgannon/New York Times)

Mediagazer: 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 (Corey Kilgannon/New York Times)

Top News:

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

Discussion:
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

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

Tom Jones /
Poynter: When will Kamala Harris meet 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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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:
The Wrap, The New York Times Company, Talking Biz News and Radio & Television …

Discussion:

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

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

Columbia Journalism Review:

A look at right-wing lawmakers' media efforts, including guest-hosting Steve Bannon's show and producing content from their offices, like Matt Gaetz's Firebrand— Steve Bannon is in prison, but his show must go on. Lucky for him, there's a Congress for that.

Discussion:
@grammasaurus@mastodon.social

Discussion:

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.

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:
Showbiz411 and New York Daily News

Discussion:

Roger Friedman /
Showbiz411: Radio Nowhere: Audacy Destroys Gold Standard 60 Year Old WCBS Newsradio 88, Flipping to ESPN Sports

New York Times:

A look at the growth of free streaming service Tubi, which does not require an account to use, is entirely dependent on ad revenue, and is not yet profitable— Tubi has exploded in popularity over the past 18 months, outpacing some competitors with much bigger budgets.

Discussion:
Cord Cutters News, @mattyglesias, @davidlaz, r/television and r/entertainment

Discussion:

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Disney Expands Its New Free Live TV Streaming Service to Take on Pluto TV & Tubi

Matthew Yglesias /
@mattyglesias: The hot new thing is free television with the revenue coming from ads https://www.nytimes.com/...

David Lazarus /
@davidlaz: This article doesn't mention it, but one secret to Tubi's success is offering decent content without too many ads. Hulu and other ad-heavy services should take note https://www.nytimes.com/...

Axios:

The Harris campaign is running Google Search ads with news headlines and descriptions that are edited to make articles from major publishers appear pro-Harris— - According to Google's ad transparency center, the Trump campaign isn't running these types of ads, but this technique has been used by campaigns before.

Discussion:
Mediaite, Reason, @sarafischer, @greg_price11, New York Post, @noahcrothman, @bariweiss, @mrarenge, @edzitron, @mikenellis, @sophiacai99, @sarafischer, @eriqgardner, Breitbart and Fox News

Discussion:

Isaac Schorr /
Mediaite: Harris Faulkner Calls on Google to Mark Misleading Kamala Ads ‘Fake’ or ‘Misinformation’: ‘You Gotta Make It Bold!’

Liz Wolfe /
Reason: Harris' Deceptive Ad Scandal

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: Harris camp doing nothing wrong and Google, which is pretty strict about banning spammy ads, doesn't see it as a consumer harm. News outlets just collateral damage in this weird ads tactic

Greg Price /
@greg_price11: Seems like a waste of money considering all of those news outlets are already on their side.

Katherine Donlevy /
New York Post: Kamala Harris' campaign team is editing news headlines in her favor — without outlets' knowledge: report

Noah Rothman /
@noahcrothman: “A tough spot??” Is it really agonizingly complicated when a campaign falsely attributes quotes to specific media outlets, even via implication? Would they torture themselves over how to respond to this if it were attributable to the Trump camp? https://www.axios.com/...

Bari Weiss /
@bariweiss: Will this count as misinformation? Or nah?

Andrew Arenge /
@mrarenge: The Biden folks were doing this for a very, very long time. The other thing most people probably didn't catch, the Biden team would take local affiliate coverage of their visits and run them ad targeted ads in specific zip codes

Mike Nellis /
@mikenellis: This is a common practice in commercial, nonprofit, and political advertising. They're clearly labeled as sponsored content by Google. Axios is trying to create a scandal out of nothing. Trump is running a horrible campaign on Google search. That's on his team, nobody else.

Sophia Cai /
@sophiacai99: The Harris campaign has been editing news headlines and descriptions within Google search ads that make it appear as if the Guardian, Reuters, CBS News and other major publishers are on her side, @sarafischer writes. https://www.axios.com/...

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: Harris campaign has been editing news headlines & descriptions in search ads that make it appear as if major outlets support her —Google believes its sponsored disclosures are enough to keep voters from being misled, but media outlets may feel differently https://www.axios.com/...

Eriq Gardner /
@eriqgardner: I could easily see trademark claims here...

Washington Post:

iSpot: tech companies have spent ~$196M in 2024 through to August 8 on US TV ads related to AI, which accounts for ~50% of their total 2024 spend on TV ads— There are so. many. commercials for artificial intelligence. — If you watched the Olympics, you probably saw the commercial …

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.

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:
Billboard, Reuters, Daring Fireball, TechCrunch, MacRumors and BGR, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

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

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

Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Jeff German's accused murderer waives further searches of the reporter's electronics, removing the possibility of a fight over access to confidential reporting— Las Vegas LDS Temple decision challenged in court — Ex-NFL player sentenced for death of girlfriend's daughter, 5

Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review

Discussion:

Variety:

SAG-AFTRA strikes a deal with Narrativ for voice replicas in digital ads, letting union members add themselves to the AI startup's database and negotiate fees— Union says agreement sets ‘a new standard’ for ethical use and makes it easy to performers to give consent and get paid

Discussion:
Reuters, NPR, The Drum, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and SAG-AFTRA, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Mandalit del Barco /
NPR: AI is changing video games — and striking performers want their due

Kendra Barnett /
The Drum: Sag-Aftra deal with AI voice startup Narrativ will be a boon for advertising, experts say

Katie Kilkenny /
The Hollywood Reporter: SAG-AFTRA Deal Paves Way for Actors to License Voice Replicas to AI Advertising Marketplace

Katie Campione /
Deadline: SAG-AFTRA Announces Agreement With AI Company Narrativ Allowing Actors To License Digital Voice Replicas For Ads

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland /
SAG-AFTRA: New Agreement: Consent, Compensation and Control with Narrativ

Washington Post:

WaPo's Matt Murray says leaked Trump campaign documents “didn't seem fresh or new enough” to publish; Politico says the origins of the docs were more newsworthy— The Trump campaign said the documents from a mysterious source came from an Iranian hack. The FBI is now investigating.

Discussion:
Bloomberg, Media Nation, CNN, emptywheel, @washpostpr, @willsommer and The Hill

Discussion:

Dan Kennedy /
Media Nation: The media rushed to publish the DNC's hacked emails in 2016. So what about Trump? @washpostpr: “In the end, it didn't seem fresh or new enough.” ➡️Our executive editor @murraymatt spoke with @willsommer about why newsrooms haven't published leaked Trump campaign docs https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... [image]

Will Sommer /
@willsommer: Unlike the feeding frenzy over the '16 Clinton hack, media outlets have so far been reluctant to publish Trump campaign documents they received from an alleged Iranian hack. “In the end, it didn't seem fresh or new enough,” says WaPo's top editor. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Brett Samuels /
The Hill: Neera Tanden, focus of 2016 hack, rips ‘double standard’ in coverage of Trump campaign hacked materials

RELATED:

Associated Press:
Politico, the NYT, the WaPo, and others refusing to give details about leaked Trump campaign materials stands in marked contrast to Clinton's emails in 2016

Discussion:
The Washington Informer, The Nation, @warondumb, @hatr, @dbauder, @nycsouthpaw, @semaforben, Twin Cities, Mediaite, The Wrap, Columbia Journalism Review, Associated Press, Forbes, Vox, Rolling Stone and HuffPost

Discussion:

Stacy M. Brown /
The Washington Informer: Leak Exposes Mainstream Media's Cover-Up of Trump Campaign Details

Kyle Whitmire /
@warondumb: @nycsouthpaw They have a duty to verify anything they've been handed, and that could be difficult. There are big traps to avoid. Everyone right now is pointing to the DNC hack and not to the Steele dossier, which might be a better example.

Hakan /
@hatr: “the questions surrounding the origins of the documents and how they came to our attention were more newsworthy than the material that was in those documents” https://apnews.com/...

David Bauder /
@dbauder: News outlets were leaked insider material from the Trump campaign. They chose not to print it https://apnews.com/...

Ben Smith /
@semaforben: This is a reasonable call (esp if the contents are random clip jobs) but the explanation has gotta included, “we screwed up last time.”

Ali Swenson /
Twin Cities: What we know about suspected Iranian cyber intrusion in the US presidential race

Alex Griffing /
Mediaite: Hacked Trump Campaign Material On JD Vance Leaked to Three Major News Outlets, All of Which Chose Not To Print It

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: News Outlets Receive Hacked Trump Campaign Material, but Refrain From Publishing

Associated Press:
FBI launches investigation after Trump campaign said sensitive documents were hacked by Iran

Molly Bohannon /
Forbes: What We Know About Alleged Iranian Hack Against Trump: Roger Stone And Biden Staff Also Reportedly Targeted

Ellen Ioanes /