Sources: Paramount is moving ahead with asset disposals, including a potential sale of 12 TV stations that it considers non-core, which could fetch $500M to $1B (Bloomberg)

Mediagazer: Sources: Paramount is moving ahead with asset disposals, including a potential sale of 12 TV stations that it considers non-core, which could fetch $500M to $1B (Bloomberg)

Top News:

Reuters:

Reuters says a strike on a hotel in eastern Ukraine killed Ryan Evans, who was a safety adviser for the agency, and two journalists were hospitalized— Ryan Evans, a member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine, was killed and two Reuters journalists were injured in a strike …
Discussion: Washington Post, TVNewsCheck, BBC, Deadline, CBS News, Reporters Without Borders, London Evening Standard, Committee to Protect …, @williamsjon, @beaking_news, Al Jazeera, @marikakatanuma, @w7voa@journa.host, The Wrap, Voice of America, @zelenskyyua, Associated Press, @kyivindependent_official …, @tggrove, @reuterszengerle, Financial Times, @christopherjm, Metro.co.uk, Bloomberg and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Rachel Pannett /
Washington Post: Reuters safety adviser killed, journalists injured in hotel strike in Ukraine

Etan Vlessing /
TVNewsCheck: Kate Winslet To Star In ‘The Spot’ Series For Hulu

Nick Beake /
BBC: Reuters journalist missing after strike in Ukraine

Caroline Frost /
Deadline: Reuters Team Member Missing, Two In Hospital, After Strike On Hotel In Ukraine Reporters Without Borders: Ukraine: RSF condemns Russian attack leaving two Reuters staff injured and one killed

Lydia Chantler-Hicks /
London Evening Standard: Five dead as Russia carries out huge missile and drone attack on Ukraine, hitting energy facilities Committee to Protect Journalists: Reuters safety adviser killed, three journalists injured in Ukraine

Jon Williams /
@williamsjon: Dreadful news: thoughts with friends @Reuters after missile hits hotel in eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk - one of team missing, two others hospitalised. Reminder, if needed, of terrible toll 2024 taking on journalists - from #Gaza to #Ukraine & beyond. #protectjournalists

Nick Beake /
@beaking_news: Many condolences to the family and colleagues of Ryan Evans - the British man killed in a missile strike in Ukraine last night. He was a safety advisor for Reuters, doing invaluable work looking after his team of journalists. https://www.bbc.com/...

Marika Katanuma /
@marikakatanuma: > The journalists, ages 38 and 40 years, suffered concussion, broken limbs, cuts and other wounds, Ukrainian officials said. The third is missing in debris as search efforts continue.

Steve Herman /
@w7voa@journa.host: Update: The body of Reuters safety advisor Ryan Evans has been found under the rubble of the Hotel Sapfir in Kramatorsk. — [image] @zelenskyyua: Today in Kramatorsk, the entire day was spent clearing the rubble after a Russian missile strike. Among the injured were journalists - a Reuters film crew, citizens of Ukraine, America, and Britain. A regular city hotel was destroyed by a Russian “Iskander” missile. Deliberately. [video] Associated Press: Russian missile strike on hotel in eastern Ukraine kills British safety advisor embedded with journalists @kyivindependent_official@threads.net: ⚡️UPDATE: Reuters safety adviser killed, 6 others injured in Kramatorsk strike. Ryan Evans, a member of the Reuters team reporting on the war in Ukraine, was killed, and two other Reuters journalists were injured in a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk that occurred late at night on Aug. 24, the news agency said.

Thomas Grove /
@tggrove: What's heartbreaking is that the many people who help us gather the news are rarely recognized, even while putting themselves in harm's way. So sorry to hear this.

Patricia Zengerle /
@reuterszengerle: Aug 25 (Reuters) - Ryan Evans, a member of the Reuters team covering the war in Ukraine, was killed and two Reuters journalists were injured in a strike on a hotel in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the news agency said on Sunday. [image]

Christopher Miller /
Financial Times: Reuters team member killed in Russian missile attack on Ukraine hotel

Christopher Miller /
@christopherjm: An unfortunate update to this story: The office of the prosecutor-general of Ukraine said on Sunday evening that the body of a UK citizen had been recovered from the debris of the hotel. I understand this person was a Reuters security advisor. Awful news. Thoughts with his family

Kateryna Chursina /
Bloomberg: Reuters Journalists Wounded in Russian Strike on Kramatorsk

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: Reuters staffer missing in Ukraine after strike

Semafor:

A group of media veterans and Democratic political operatives launch The Barbed Wire, a Texas for-profit digital news outlet; Olivia Messer is editor-in-chief— The Scoop — A group of media veterans and Democratic political operatives are launching a new for-profit digital news outlet in Texas.

Discussion:

Dan Solomon /
@dansolomon.bsky.social: real psyched about this! lotta talent in this newsroom, and lord knows there's enough going on in this state for em [embedded post]

Olivia Ruth Messer /
@oliviamesser: launching a news outlet is v brat summer https://thebarbedwire.com/... [image]

Olivia Messer /
The Barbed Wire: Are You There, Texas? It's Me, Olivia.

Jeff Rotkoff /
The Barbed Wire: A Note from Our Publisher — Like What You See? — All killer, no filler. — Let's Be Friends...With Benefits

Elizabeth Spiers /
@espiers.bsky.social: Been working on this for a while and we're really excited about it. More coming tomorrow! [embedded post]

Karen K. Ho /
@karenho.bsky.social: This opening letter from @oliviamesser.bsky.social is phenomenal, and worth reading in full: thebarbedwire.com/2024/08/22/ a... [embedded post]

Bloomberg:

Sources: Paramount is moving ahead with asset disposals, including a potential sale of 12 TV stations that it considers non-core, which could fetch $500M to $1B— - Independent stations could fetch $500 million to $1 billion — Paramount remains the subject of an ongoing takeover saga

Discussion:
The Desk and @matthewkeyslive

Discussion:

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Paramount hires bank to weigh sale of non-core TV stations

The Verge:

Gannett is shutting down its product reviews site Reviewed, sources say on November 1; staff previously accused Gannett of publishing AI-generated reviews— Newspaper giant Gannett is shutting down Reviewed, its product reviews site, effective November 1st, according to sources familiar with the decision.

Discussion:
@andyorin, @miarsato, @jhilburg, @ckrewson, @loudmouthjulia, @jeremymbarr

Discussion:

Mia Sato /
@miarsato: Scoop: Gannett is shuttering Reviewed, the product reviews site that staff said published AI-generated articles last year. The unionized employees were critical of the content, which was produced by a third party marketing firm. https://www.theverge.com/...

Jonathan Hanukkahburg /
@jhilburg: Lol just found out they're dissolving the company and I'm unemployed as of November 1st

Chris Krewson /
@ckrewson: (In 2023) Michael E. Reed made $3,862,232 in total compensation. https://www1.salary.com/.... But yeah, the algorithm.

Julia Alexander /
@loudmouthjulia: Reviews, which Google Overview AI/Perplexity/Chat GPT can summarize as “pros and cons” lists directly within their search engines, is a perfect example of the coverage most in danger of being bulldozed via article lifting. Especially if you don't have an NYT audience of 10M subs.

Julia Alexander /
@loudmouthjulia: Summaries won't carry context or nuance of a professional reviewer's article, but it's just good enough for someone who wants a top line breakdown. It's what happens when the first link on Google is replaced by Google. Publishers should band together, demand, and fight for $$$$.

Jeremy Barr /
@jeremymbarr: News: Gannett has decided to shutter its Wirecutter-like reviews operation, Reviewed. “Google's constant algorithm changes have degraded our current business model, and our ability to operate Reviewed effectively,” a Gannett exec says in a memo. Employees will be “impacted.”

Politico:

Sources: the Harris-Trump negotiations for the ABC debate on September 10 have hit an impasse; the Harris campaign says they want open mics during the debate— With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine — DRIVING THE DAY — SCOOP: IS THIS THING ON?

Discussion:
HuffPost, Mediaite, Washington Post, The Wrap, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Raw Story, The Hill, New Jersey Online, The Guardian, New Republic, @nbcpolitics, CNN, Vanity Fair, @brianefallon, Fortune, New York Post, CBS News, Rolling Stone, Deadline, @katesullivandc, @yair_rosenberg, @tommyxtopher, @blueboxdave, @vincecoglianese, @scarylawyerguy, @keithboykin, @kneerecon, @selinawangtv, @kaitlancollins, @maxkennerly, @selinawangtv, @skylerforny, @metzgov, @sahilkapur, @samstein, Media Play News, @eugenedaniels2, Forbes, @justinbaragona and @brianefallon, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Sarah Rumpf /
Mediaite: Trump Undercuts His Campaign's Push For Muted Mics at Debate: 'Doesn't Matter to Me, I'd Rather Have It Probably On'

Marianne LeVine /
Washington Post: Trump suggests he might skip ABC debate with Harris

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump Tussle Over Muted Microphones at ABC News Debate Fox News: Harris preps for debate with Google lawyer, creating ‘conflict of interest,’ Trump campaign says

Clay Walker /
The Daily Beast: Don't Silence Me! Trump ‘On Steroids’ Fights with Aides Over Debate Mics

David Badash /
Raw Story: Harris camp calls Trump's bluff on debate

Cate Martel /
The Hill: 12:30 Report — Harris, Trump fight over debate rules

Matt Arco /
New Jersey Online: Harris vs. Trump: Who got higher ratings at their conventions? Here's the answer.

Richard Luscombe /
The Guardian: Donald Trump threatens to pull out of 10 September presidential debate

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: Panicking Trump Scrambles for New Reason Not to Debate Harris @nbcpolitics: .@jake__traylor: “Would you want the microphones muted in the debate whenever you're not speaking?” Donald Trump: “We agreed to the same rules. I don't know, doesn't matter to me. ... The agreement was that it would be the same as it was last time. In that case, it was muted.” [video]

Brian Fallon /
@brianefallon: Trump should honor his commitment to debate VP Harris on ABC on Sept 10 and he should reject his handlers' attempts to muzzle him via a muted microphone. The VP is ready to debate Trump live and uncensored. Trump should stop hiding behind the mute button https://www.politico.com/...

Stephanie Lai /
Fortune: Harris campaign says Trump's team is afraid to let him debate without mute button

Josh Christenson /
New York Post: Trump takes up Harris campaign's dare to debate without ‘muted microphones’

Nikki McCann Ramirez /
Rolling Stone: Trump Hints He May Ditch Debate as Rules Negotiations Stall

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: “Stop Hiding Behind The Mute Button”: Kamala Harris' Campaign In Debate Dispute With Trump Campaign Over Shutting Off Mics

Kate Sullivan /
@katesullivandc: Trump tells @jake__traylor he'd rather keep the mics on during the debate despite his campaign pushing to keep the same rules as the last debate when mics were muted except when it was the candidate's turn to speak. “Doesn't matter to me, I'd rather have it probably on.”

Yair Rosenberg /
@yair_rosenberg: The Harris team wanting to unmute Trump's debate mic so he can interrupt her suggests they may have finally learned the lesson liberals until now have not: the key to beating Trump is not muzzling him, but letting voters hear him unfiltered so they remember why they dislike him. @tommyxtopher: CNN's Kaitlan Collins Says Trump Really Doesn't Want To Debate Kamala Harris — Trump Sources Tell Her He's ‘Struggling’ https://mediaite.com/a/bxldj via @mediaite [video]

David Marcus /
@blueboxdave: I guess, what's the difference who the candidate is, is out the window now. “The rules for the CNN debate were never agreed to by Harris' campaign; they happened when Biden was still the candidate.” https://www.politico.com/...

Vince Coglianese /
@vincecoglianese: I'm for open mics, but it's pretty obvious the Kamala camp is pining for another “I'm speaking” moment — a quick hack to secure corporate media headlines @scarylawyerguy: Harris's team probably wants the mics to be open b/c it was clear from the Trump/Biden debate that the moderators let Trump lie continually w/o fact checking him and she's going to need to do that b/c reporters refuse to, in addition to making her own case for election.

Keith Boykin /
@keithboykin: I don't think Trump wants to debate Kamala Harris, but I think he will. He craves attention, and he's not getting it. The debate over debates gives him some attention, and the debate, itself, gives him a much needed audience as his campaign loses steam. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Karl Rosenfeld /
@kneerecon: Trump now suggests he may back out of Harris debate. Says he doesn't trust ABC hosts. Maybe the people he's practicing with are too tough on him. Or, more likely, our orange laden strongman is concerned that a Black woman will ‘light’ him up.

Selina Wang /
@selinawangtv: Harris campaign: “We suspect Trump's team has not even told their boss about this dispute because it would be too embarrassing to admit they don't think he can handle himself against Vice President Harris without the benefit of a mute button”

Kaitlan Collins /
@kaitlancollins: Trump's post about “staying tuned” for the ABC debate isn't a huge surprise to those around him given how he's been talking about it privately.

Max Kennerly /
@maxkennerly: Sometimes I wonder if Trump is trying to look afraid of debating Harris because that will lower expectations for his performance at the debate, which will inevitably be an old angry dude with a bad brain ranting about nonsense.

Selina Wang /
@selinawangtv: Harris campaign says they want mics hot during the entire ABC News debate on Sept 10, adding “Our understanding is that Trump's handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don't think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own”

Skyler Johnson /
@skylerforny: Wow. Trump's own people do not trust that he can stay quiet while Kamala Harris is speaking. Why are they afraid of the American people hearing what their candidate really thinks?

Bryan Metzger /
@metzgov: I think the specifics of who's reneging on what are less significant than the fact that Harris's campaign thinks having Trump unmuted will benefit her, while Biden's campaign did not think that.

Sahil Kapur /
@sahilkapur: 👀 New post from Donald Trump attacking ABC and raising the prospect of backing out of the Sept. 10 presidential debate that he agreed to: “why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?” He ends it with a “Stay tuned” [image]

Sam Stein /
@samstein: Harris camp argued Trump was reneging on the debate deal when he initially backed out of the debate he and Biden agreed to. Now Harris camp is trying to change the specifics of that deal by saying there should be no mic cut off. And the argument is, they were never party to

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Disney+/Hulu to Live-Stream First Harris-Trump Presidential Debate on Sept. 10

Eugene Daniels /
@eugenedaniels2: FIRST IN PB: Negotiations over the Harris-Trump debate have hit a speed bump over ... A muted mic. The Trump camp wants the CNN rules while the Harris folks want them to be open the whole time just in case he has “an intemperate outburst.” Deets 👇🏾👇🏾 👇🏾 https://www.politico.com/...

Siladitya Ray /
Forbes: Trump Signals He May Skip ABC News Debate After Bashing Network

Justin Baragona /
@justinbaragona: So definitely looks like Trump is laying the groundwork to pull out of the ABC News debate. [image]

Brian Fallon /
@brianefallon: Trump said unmuting the mics “doesn't matter to me.” Always suspected it was something his staff wanted, not him personally. With this resolved, everything is now set for Sept 10th.

Semafor:

Sources: ABC News adjusted 538's US election model after taking it down for nearly a month; Nate Silver and Nate Cohn criticize ABC over a lack of transparency— The Scoop — The most scrutinized election forecast model in the US is back online after a mysterious month-long hiatus.

Discussion:
@briangaar, @semaforben, @nate_cohn, @walthickey, @nick_field90, Newsweek, @nate_cohn, @maxwelltani, @mikeroe, @lxeagle17, @natesilver538 and @mappingfl

Discussion:

Brian Gaar /
@briangaar: Very happy to announce the launch of The Barbed Wire, a new site devoted to Texas culture & politics. I'm the senior editor and my first piece is about Star Citizen, the $700 million video game developed in Austin that STILL hasn't released. Enjoy! https://thebarbedwire.com/...

Nate Cohn /
@nate_cohn: FiveThirtyEight released a new model today, showing Harris with a 58% chance to win. But it's clearly a very different model and I think it's important to hear more about the differences

Walter Hickey /
@walthickey: transparency and integrity were core principles of FiveThirtyEight's modeling for years, what the hell is happening at 538. https://www.semafor.com/... [image]

Nick Field /
@nick_field90: “Network sources said 538 staff have had the model largely ready for publication for the past several weeks, but were prohibited by ABC News and the network's communications team from discussing or disclosing many details about the changes publicly” https://www.semafor.com/...

Nate Cohn /
@nate_cohn: And in case it's not clear: I think the new model makes a lot more sense. There are entirely plausible reasons for these kind of shifts, from finding a bug to the differences between incumbent and open races and so on. But you have to explain it!

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: Per people I've spoken with at ABC, 538 staff have been prohibited by ABC News and the network's communications team from discussing many details about the changes publicly https://www.semafor.com/...

Mike Roe /
@mikeroe: It makes me sad that the replies show how opaque ABC News has been about the fact that Nate left and the current 538 model isn't his famously accurate one. Glad that they're trying to fix it though, and my thanks to both for the data and probabilities they share!

Lakshya Jain /
@lxeagle17: It seems ABC has made it extremely hard to find the new FiveThirtyEight model. Perhaps I am missing something, but I can only find it via clicking the “How 538's 2024 presidential election forecast works” article link, which then contains a link to it. It's not on the home page.

Nate Silver /
@natesilver538: The 538 model was very obviously broken before and it's good they fixed it but man you gotta admit that it was broken and that you radically changed it.

Bloomberg:

Despite some global box office hits, China has been a total washout for US studios this summer; 80%+ of China's box office is now generated by homegrown movies— Ticket sales are down, and fans aren't turning out for US films like they used to — We'll run through why the Chinese box office …

Discussion:
@thedragonfeeder and @lucas_shaw

Discussion:

Chris Fenton /
@thedragonfeeder: ""Most, if not all, studios project zero revenue from China now at the green-light process," said Chris Fenton, a producer & author of #FeedingtheDragon. “If a film eventually makes money in China, it's now viewed as gravy."" @tgbuckley @soheefication https://www.bloomberg.com/...?

Semafor:

Megyn Kelly's “The Megyn Kelly Show” YouTube channel, which has 2.3M subscribers, had ~117M views in July 2024, more than NBC News, CBS News, BBC News, and CNBC— The News — When then-host Megyn Kelly was pushed out of NBC News in 2019, many television network insiders thought her broadcast career was likely over.

Discussion:
Mediaite, Reason, @jasoncolavito, @politicalmath and TVNewsCheck

Discussion:

Isaac Schorr /
Mediaite: Megyn Kelly Singlehandedly Had Over 30 Million More Views on YouTube in July Than NBC or CBS News

Liz Wolfe /
Reason: J.D. Vance's Revisionist History

Jason Colavito /
@jasoncolavito: The conclusion doesn't follow from the premises. Kelly's YouTube show is on YouTube and Sirius, averaging 150K views per video, while network news operates across multiple platforms and YouTube channels, with the majority of viewers watching on TV or streaming.

PoIiMath /
@politicalmath: This news got me thinking: This could be the year that actually breaks the power of the major news networks If people want to genuinely investigate the Harris-Walz campaign and the press refuses to do so, maybe that is what breaks their reliance on TV news channels

Max Tani /
TVNewsCheck: Inside Megyn Kelly's YouTube Success

New York Times:

After a string of misses at theaters, Apple reverses course on upcoming action comedy Wolfs, starring Brad Pitt, by opting for a very limited theatrical release— “Wolfs,” a new film starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, was going to get a robust theatrical release. But the company is curtailing that plan.

Discussion:
Dexerto, @tvgrimreaper, @lokimicap, @tvgrimreaper, @traceyryniec, @culturecrave, Rotten Tomatoes and Screen Rant

Discussion:

Kayla Harrington /
Dexerto: Brad Pitt's new Apple TV movie slammed for “absurd” budget that “makes no financial sense” @tvgrimreaper: I like @MattBelloni's idea that Apple is bailing on wide theatrical releases because besides the financial results being terrible, they're also very public, and heavily covered in the media. Apple likes to control its narrative, and that's completely out of its control. @lokimicap: Not even as rich a company as Apple is good at everything. It has failed so far at the theaters and despite having many quality movies and series, it has done a crappy job promoting such content on Apple TV+ $AAPL https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]

Tracey Ryniec /
@traceyryniec: How much longer before Apple just gets out of the content business altogether? You cannot “win” at it. You will have big failures and likely lose money. $AAPL Apple Rethinks Its Movie Strategy After a String of Misses https://www.nytimes.com/... [image] @culturecrave: Brad Pitt and George Clooney were each paid $35M to star in #Wolfs Director Jon Watts was paid $15M The movie will be in theaters for one week before releasing on Apple TV+ September 27 (via @nytimes) [image]

Reuters:

OpenAI supports CA bill AB 3211 to require companies generating AI content to add watermarks; the bill passed in the state Assembly 62-0 and heads to Senate— ChatGPT developer OpenAI is supporting a California bill that would require tech companies to label AI-generated content …

Discussion:
@psychosort, @cfgeek, @deanwball and Silicon Republic, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Brian Chau /
@psychosort: California's AB 3211 is a bill with good intentions: making it harder to misrepresent deepfakes. But it suffers from magical thinking, setting standards based on solutions which do not yet exist, that could impose unintended burdens on ALL AI researchers as soon as september🧵 [image]

Charles Foster /
@cfgeek: Reminder that SB 1047 is not the only consequential AI-related bill that may pass the California legislature this week. There's also SB 892, SB 896, SB 942, AB 1836, AB 2013, AB 2602, AB 2930, and AB 3211.

Dean W. Ball /
@deanwball: AB 3211 (CA deepfake bill) is more problematic than SB 1047. Its provisions, while not as expensive as 1047's, apply equally to frontier AI companies and grad students who fine-tune models. (Also: 3211 was rewritten yesterday, so much of my original analysis doesn't apply).

The Hollywood Reporter:

Memo: ESPN outlines a reorganization, including promoting David Roberts to oversee sports news and entertainment, and plans to cut “a few dedicated colleagues”— The Disney-owned sports media giant promoted Mike McQuade and David Roberts to oversee sports, news …

Discussion:
Sportico, Awful Announcing, The Wrap, Variety, Deadline, Sports Media Watch and @bristei

Discussion:

Anthony Crupi /
Sportico: ESPN's Burke Magnus Overhauls Network's Management Structure

Ben Axelrod /
Awful Announcing: ESPN announces reorganization, including Mike McQuade as EVP of sports production

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: ESPN Restructures Content Division, Elevates Mike McQuade to Sports Production EVP

Brian Steinberg /
Variety: ESPN Elevates Mike McQuade, David Roberts in Content Overhaul

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: ESPN Unveils Vast Reorg Of Exec Ranks, Promoting Mike McQuade To Key New Production Role

Semafor:

Q&A with Nigerian satirist Bello Galadanci, aka Dan Bello, a trained journalist who has 1M+ TikTok followers of his videos blending social commentary and comedy— THE FACTS — Nigerian satirist Bello Galadanci, best known by his stage name Dan Bello, has amassed more than a million followers …

Discussion:
@hamzaish and Al Jazeera

Discussion:

Hamza Ibrahim /