Perplexity donates $250K to Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism to support research into AI and news after news outlets accused Perplexity of plagiarism (Thomas Hunter/Press Gazette)

Mediagazer: Perplexity donates $250K to Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism to support research into AI and news after news outlets accused Perplexity of plagiarism (Thomas Hunter/Press Gazette)

Top News:

New York Times:

Oliver Darcy leaves CNN to launch Status, a newsletter akin to Puck, for $15/month or $150/year; CNN says the Reliable Sources newsletter is on summer hiatus— Oliver Darcy is starting a subscription-based news site dedicated to covering the media industry, joining a crowded field.
Discussion: Status, Variety, New York Post, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, The Wrap, Breitbart, Talking Biz News, @digiphile@threads.net, @passantino@threads.net, Mediaite, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, @bethanyshondark, @keitholbermann, @maxwelltani, @donie, Associated Press and Barrett Media

Discussion:

Oliver Darcy /
Status: Who We Are — Status is the new, definitive nightly briefing that informs readers …

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: Oliver Darcy, CNN's ‘Reliable Sources’ Critic, Exits

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: CNN's ‘Reliable Sources’ reporter Oliver Darcy shockingly quits network

Oliver Darcy /
@oliverdarcy@threads.net: Some personal news, as they say: I am launching my own media venture, Status, which will chronicle the Fourth Estate, Hollywood, and Silicon Valley. The NYT's Michael Grynbaum has the story here: https://www.nytimes.com/...

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Oliver Darcy Departs CNN to Launch Independent Media Newsletter

John Nolte /
Breitbart: Left-wing Censor Oliver Darcy out at CNN

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: CNN's Darcy departs to start his own newsletter

Alex Howard /
@digiphile@threads.net: I watched @cnnreliablesources many Sunday mornings for over a decade, until @CNN canceled it in 2022. We're all media critics now, but the show & newsletter acted as a watchdog & conscience for the industry, profession, & trade, combining reported analysis with smart, sometimes tough interviews. …

Alex Howard /
@digiphile@threads.net: I'm sorry to hear @CNNReliableSources is going on hiatus — especially if that negatively affects journalists at CNN. The newsletter & show played a useful, informative, & sometimes important role in the U.S. media ecosystem under @BrianStelter & @OliverDarcy, who's launched a new endeavor.

Jon Passantino /
@passantino@threads.net: Incredibly proud of the tireless and brave work @oliverdarcy has done at CNN and Reliable Sources. Holding media executives to account, including those in your own house, is not for the faint of heart. I will miss our countless late nights stressing over every word in the newsletter, but thrilled for Oliver and his new venture status.news https://www.nytimes.com/...

Bethany S. Mandel /
@bethanyshondark: Did Oliver Darcy leave CNN and take the emails of everyone signed up for Reliable Sources with him? [image]

Keith Olbermann /
@keitholbermann: Well there goes one of the few useful reporters @cnn Oliver Darcy gone from Reliable Sources, starts own newsletter: https://variety.com/...

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: New: @oliverdarcy is leaving CNN, launching a new media newsletter https://www.status.news/...

Donie O'Sullivan /
@donie: I had the privilege (and the headache) of sharing an office with @oliverdarcy some time back during a particularly rocky period for CNN. I can confirm he is the same absolute, unapologetic, pain-in-the-ass for all the right people in real life as he is in his newsletter.

Donie O'Sullivan /
@donie: We are going to miss this guy. No media reporter has done more in recent years to hold power to account — especially at their own company — than @oliverdarcy. Sign up to his new venture: https://www.status.news/ https://www.nytimes.com/...

BBC:

A look at the people behind Channel3Now, a crime news aggregator whose story wrongly blaming an asylum seeker for the Southport attack played a role in UK riots— What connects a dad living in Lahore in Pakistan, an amateur hockey player from Nova Scotia - and a man named Kevin from Houston, Texas?

Discussion:

Chris Davies /
Chris Davies on LinkedIn: An excellent piece of investigative writing with a disturbing insight into how ‘journalism’ and spreading disinformation has become a lucrative industry.

Tim Fairhurst /
Tim Fairhurst on LinkedIn: At Go Vilnius airport, reflecting on a week in #Lithuania with all its wonderful nature and thought-provoking 20th century history …

Jean-Paul Marthoz /
Jean-Paul Marthoz on LinkedIn: Southpost and riots. Many politicians talk as if they had the power to control misinformation on social media which leads to violence. …

Rob Smale /
Rob Smale on LinkedIn: Great piece of investigation by the much maligned “Aunty”. The article tracks down the source of the false name of the Southport attacker and shows how the false report was amplified. …

Mike Davies /
Mike Davies on LinkedIn: So finally, thanks to the diligence of BBC News, we have the full story of how an erroneous post by a small Anglo-American-Asian “news website” …

Emma Martins /
Emma Martins on LinkedIn: Misinformation and disinformation are real, as are the consequences. — If anything good is to come from the terrible recent events …

Dan Johnson /
Dan Johnson on LinkedIn: Incredibly, “X” does NOT have a policy against publishing misinformation, and it is quite clear that it both encourages and monetises such activity. …

Harry Goodwin /
The Sun: Millionaire mum who ‘first spread’ false Southport asylum seeker claim says her life has been ‘destroyed’

Financial Times:

Sources: Google and Meta ran a pilot program in the US in May 2024 to target Instagram ads to teenagers on YouTube, which prohibits targeting ads to under-18s— Campaign on YouTube to boost Instagram's appeal to young people skirted search group's rules for marketing to under-18s

Discussion:

Laurie Sullivan /
MediaPost: Google, Meta Reportedly Struck Secret Ad Deal To Target Teens

Thomas Barrabi /
New York Post: Google, Meta hatched secret deal to target teens on YouTube with Instagram ads: report

Tim Ringel /
Tim Ringel on LinkedIn: In a world of infinite features, targeting options, available 1st and 3rd party data, AI enabled optimization strategies and highly incentivized sales reps …

Laura Bratton /
Quartz: Google and Meta ran a secret ad campaign targeting teens

Sylvia Varnham O'Regan /
The Information: Meta and Google Struck Ad Deal to Target Teens

Damien Geradin /
Damien Geradin on LinkedIn: Another powerful illustration of Google and Meta's moral bankruptcy. Targeting teens to get them hooked to Instagram is particularly bad … @rinze@paquita.masto.host: “Google and Meta made a secret deal to target advertisements for Instagram to teenagers on YouTube, skirting the search company's own rules for how minors are treated online.” — 🔒 https://www.ft.com/... 🔓 https://archive.ph/ZtMxN

Garett Sloane /
Ad Age: Google monopoly ruling—what advertisers need to know about the future of search @riptari: Google has all the data it needs to create self-serving ad-targeting proxies like “unknown”. The choice of label is also quite the troll https://www.ft.com/... [image]

Simone Lobo /
MEDIANAMA: Google monopolised search text ads, limited advertiser control: US Antitrust hearing

Rob Beschizza /
Boing Boing: Meta and Google secretly targeted kids with ads

Arielle Garcia /
@ariellesgarcia: So, while @google adamantly denied serving targeted ads on kids' videos, they were secretly working with opioid-pushing @PublicisGroupe's @SparkFoundryWW to help @Meta target kids. “Embrace the unknown” is disgusting. https://www.ft.com/... [image]

Jess Weatherbed /
The Verge: Meta and Google secretly targeted minors on YouTube with Instagram ads

The Wrap:

WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels says NBA talks were a “triggering event” to reevaluate the company and take a $9.1B impairment charge, but were not the only factor— However, CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels notes the reevaluation wasn't “a response to one individual factor”

Discussion:

Tim Baysinger /
@tim_bays: So far, none of the analysts buy that WBD isn't losing the NBA, despite their lawsuit WBD execs refusing to even entertain that possibility on this call, which could be interpreted as willful blindness

RELATED:
Deadline: WBD reports Q2 revenue down 6% YoY to $9.7B, a $9.99B net loss, and takes a $9.1B impairment charge for networks; global streaming subs rose 3.6M to reach 103M

Discussion:
The Wrap, The Media Leader, Next TV, Variety, Quartz, @michellef_davis, @firmreturns, @billbrewstertbb, WORLD SCREEN, @sherman4949, @annaknicolaou, @heetermaria, Yahoo Finance, Advanced Television, CNBC, Sportico, Awful Announcing, Financial Times, Game Developer, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, The Streamable, The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discoverey, IndieWire and Variety

Discussion:

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Plunges Over 11% After Taking $9.1 Billion Impairment Charge on Linear TV Networks

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Crumples to All-Time Lows After Huge Q2 Impairment Charge

Rocio Fabbro /
Quartz: Warner Bros. Discovery stock plunged after revealing a $9.1 billion impairment charge

Michelle F. Davis /
@michellef_davis: Yikes. Warner Bros Discovery just said it's taking a $9.1 billion charge and writing off the value of its traditional TV networks after concluding that cable isn't worth what it was just 2 years after the $42 billion Discovery/WarnerMedia merger. $WBD @firmreturns: Couple of positive takeaways from $WBD Q2 earnings to offset the negatives: 1. They're not breaking it up despite the rumours. 2. DTC is growing nicely: ad revenue up nearly 100% yoy, 3.6m new subs, and $8.00 ARPU. Could be looking at double-digit DTC sub growth for full year.

Bill Brewster /
@billbrewstertbb: WBD is, has been, and will always be uninvestable because Zaslav is a rent seeker. How did he lose the NBA? And how didn't he spend enough on House Of The Dragon?! HOD was good btw... The guy doesn't build. He buys and milks. Good game when you own distribution. Not so good

Mansha Daswani /
WORLD SCREEN: $10 Billion Loss For Warner Bros. Discovery

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: Just your normal $10.2 billion quarterly operating loss for Warner Bros. Discovery. (To put that in perspective, the entire market cap of Warner Bros Discovery is about $18 billion).

Alex Sherman /
@sherman4949: “The consumer experience right now is not good,” WBD CEO David Zaslav says of streaming in general.

Anna Nicolaou /
@annaknicolaou: WBD says their TV channels are worth $9bn less than they were just 2 years ago. feels like a moment for the end of cable television

Maria Heeter /
@heetermaria: 🚨+📺+ 💸 = ☹️ Warner Bros Discovery reports nearly $10BN loss The co weighed a breakup in a bid to raise its sinking share price, but has since concluded that this is not the best option at this time, per @FT @annaknicolaou https://www.ft.com/... [image]

Alexandra Canal /
Yahoo Finance: Warner Bros. Discovery sinks after taking massive $9.1 billion impairment charge on its cable business

Lillian Rizzo /
CNBC: Warner Bros. Discovery stock falls as it writes down $9.1 billion, misses estimates

Anthony Crupi /
Sportico: WBD Takes $9.1B Impairment Charge as NBA Hopes Fade

Sean Keeley /
Awful Announcing: Warner Bros. Discovery stock freefalls over $9.1 billion charge, uncertainty around sports rights renewals

Justin Carter /
Game Developer: Report: WB Discovery looking to sell off games, other divisions to prevent total breakup

Hannah Miller /
Bloomberg: Warner Bros. Shares Tumble on $9.1 Billion TV Network Writedown

Meg James /
Los Angeles Times: Warner Bros. Discovery takes $9-billion write-down from TV networks amid struggles

Matt Tamanini /
The Streamable: Warner Bros. Discovery Climbs Over 103.3 Million Streaming Customers Amidst Disastrous Financial Quarter

Etan Vlessing /
The Hollywood Reporter: Warner Bros. Discovery Takes Major Impairment Charge Over Linear TV While Streaming Makes Minor Gains

Business Insider:

Email: the World Federation of Advertisers discontinues activities of its nonprofit, GARM, following X's antitrust lawsuit, but intends to contest X's claims— - The World Federation of Advertisers is ‘discontinuing’ the activities of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.

Discussion:

Ruben Schreurs /
Ruben Schreurs on LinkedIn: This is a major setback for global progress towards a more responsible media industry. — Very sad news, but I understand the difficult decision made by the WFA. …

Lara O'Reilly /
Lara O'Reilly on LinkedIn: SCOOP: The Global Alliance for Responsible Media's activities are being “discontinued.” — It comes after Elon Musk's X filed a lawsuit …

Lara O'Reilly /
@larakiara: Scoop: The World Federation of Advertisers told members on Thursday that it's discontinuing the Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative following an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's X against the company earlier this week https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Press Gazette:

Perplexity donates $250K to Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism to support research into AI and news after news outlets accused Perplexity of plagiarism— Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism will receive $250,000. — AI search chatbot Perplexity …

Discussion:
@sarahnemerson, @aravsrinivas, Beyond Search

Discussion:

Sarah Emerson /
@sarahnemerson: “Knight Lab will also receive access to Perplexity's data, staff and publisher partners so it can learn how news content shows up in the chatbot's responses and how newsrooms are approaching AI.” https://pressgazette.co.uk/...

Aravind Srinivas /
@aravsrinivas: The Medill Lab will collaborate with our Publisher Partners, like Texas Tribune, and we hope to share more in the future about how journalists are already using Peprlexity and can derive more benefits as we improve the product learning from their usage and feedback.

Aravind Srinivas /
@aravsrinivas: Perplexity is excited to make a $250,000 grant to Northwestern University's Medill School to support research on how AI will evolve and influence the journalism workflow for research, fact-checking, and understanding worldwide events.

Stephen E. Arnold /
Beyond Search: Publishers Perplexed with Perplexity

New York Times:

Analysis: Truth Social is increasingly reliant on niche ad campaigns that target hard-core Trump fans and Christian conservatives, often with small ad budgets— Donald J. Trump's social network is increasingly relying on a niche of the ad market that caters to hard-core Trump fans and Christian conservatives for revenue.

New York Times:

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Joaquin Castro write to the DOJ asking to investigate Venu Sports and “oppose it if violates antitrust law”— Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and Rep. Joaquin Castro have sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking …

Discussion:

David Satin /
The Streamable: Disney, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery Have Collectively Invested Over $1.2 Billion in Venu Sports

Anna Washenko /
Engadget: Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders call for an antitrust investigation into Venu Sports

Alexandra Canal /
Yahoo Finance: Fox CEO: Venu Sports price of $42.99 ‘hits the right mark’

Alyssa Boyle /
AdExchanger: WBD Latches Onto Global Expansion And Sports To Turn Around Revenue Losses

David Rumsey /
Front Office Sports: ESPN+ Leads Disney's Streaming to First-Time Profit Despite High Costs

Winston Cho /
The Hollywood Reporter: Lawmakers Target Disney-Fox-Warner Sports Streaming Platform Over Antitrust Concerns

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren Urge Government to Investigate Venu Sports for Anti-Competitive Model

Lauren Feiner /
The Verge: Senators want an investigation of the Fox-Disney-Warner Bros. sports bundle

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Fubo Could Lose 30% of Its Subscribers If Venu Sports Is Allowed to Launch CEO Says

The Wrap:

Sony's anime streaming service Crunchyroll announces it has surpassed 15M monthly paid subscribers, up from 11M in July 2023— The news comes after Sony reported a 10% increase in operating profit during its first fiscal quarter of 2024 — Crunchyroll, the Sony-backed streaming service dedicated …

Discussion:
Crunchyroll, Carter Hahnselle on LinkedIn, Next TV, TVNewsCheck, CNBC and The Streamable

Discussion:

Carter Hahnselle /
Carter Hahnselle on LinkedIn: 15m subs!!! Proud to say I that was here WAYYYY back when we were celebrating 500k! — https://lnkd.in/...

Jack Reid /
Next TV: Crunchyroll Surpasses 15 Million Subscribers

Jack Reid /
TVNewsCheck: Crunchyroll Surpasses 15 Million Subscribers

The Hollywood Reporter:

iHeartMedia reports Q2 consolidated revenue of $929M, up 1% YoY, an operating loss of $910M, up from $897M in Q2 2023, and podcast revenue up 8% YoY to $104.5M— The company also saw a wider net loss this quarter compared to last year. — Podcast revenue at iHeartMedia rose 8 percent …

Discussion:
Inside Radio, Radio & Television …, iHeartMedia … and Barrett Media

Discussion:

The Verge:

TikTok launches TikTok Spotlight, in-app hubs for movies and TV shows that add links to “applicable” videos with more info and where to watch, tested with Dune— TikTok will now create in-app hubs for movies and TV shows and place them directly on fan-made videos.

Discussion:
TechCrunch, Variety, The Media Leader, Deadline, TikTok and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Lauren Forristal /
TechCrunch: TikTok partners with Warner Bros. to become a discovery engine for TV and movies

Todd Spangler /
Variety: TikTok Launches ‘Spotlight’ to Let Entertainment Marketers Tap Into Fan Content; Warner Bros. Touts Results of ‘Dune 2’ Campaign

Jack Benjamin /
The Media Leader: TikTok launches Spotlight promotional solution

Jill Goldsmith /
Deadline: TikTok Debuts New Tool For Hollywood To Drive Engagement, Says “Studios Will Never Miss Another Opportunity”

Caitlin Huston /
The Hollywood Reporter: TikTok Rolls Out Marketing Feature For Movie Studios

Variety:

Nexstar reports Q2 net revenue up 2.3% YoY to $1.3B, net income up 41.3% YoY to $106M, ad sales up 2.2% YoY to $522M, CW quarterly losses down $33M from Q2 2023— Nexstar reported its second-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, revealing that the CW Network has narrowed its losses by $33 million.

Discussion:
The Wrap, The Desk, Deadline, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. and Next TV

Discussion:

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Nexstar narrows losses at CW Network during Q2

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Broadcast Giant Nexstar Misses Q2 Estimates, Says It Is “Executing” CW Plan As Network Losses Shrink Nexstar Media Group, Inc.: Nexstar Media Group Reports Record Second Quarter Net Revenue of $1.27 Billion

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: Nexstar Profits Rise as Losses at The CW Shrink

Reuters:

AMET: Chadian police arrest Badour Oumar Ali, the editor-in-chief of major Chadian news website TchadInfos.com; he was taken away by “armed and hooded men”— Chadian police have arrested the editor-in-chief of a major Chadian news website, a group of online media outlets said late on Wednesday …