A US district judge orders Missouri's AG to halt his probe into Media Matters' Nov. 2023 report about ads on X, after a similar order against Texas' AG in April (Jon Brodkin/Ars Technica)

Mediagazer: A US district judge orders Missouri's AG to halt his probe into Media Matters' Nov. 2023 report about ads on X, after a similar order against Texas' AG in April (Jon Brodkin/Ars Technica)

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: Reuters, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, BBC, Deadline, London Evening Standard, Committee to Protect …, @beaking_news, TVNewsCheck, @zelenskyyua, @kyivindependent_official …, @tggrove, Reporters Without Borders, @reuterszengerle, @christopherjm, @marikakatanuma, Associated Press, @williamsjon, The Wrap, @w7voa@journa.host, Voice of America, Financial Times, New York Post, CBS News, Metro.co.uk, Bloomberg and Talking Biz News

Discussion:

Rachel Armstrong /
Reuters: Reuters journalist in critical condition after strike on Ukraine's Kramatorsk

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

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

Helen William /
London Evening Standard: British man who worked for Reuters killed and two journalists injured in hotel missile strike in Ukraine Committee to Protect Journalists: Reuters safety adviser killed, three journalists injured in Ukraine

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/... @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] @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. Reporters Without Borders: Ukraine: RSF condemns Russian attack leaving two Reuters staff injured and one killed

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 /
@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

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. Associated Press: Russian missile strike on hotel in eastern Ukraine kills British safety advisor embedded with journalists

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

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]

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

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

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

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:
Dan Ackerman on LinkedIn, NewsGuild of New York, @ckrewson, @jeremymbarr, @andyorin, Marshall Nyman on LinkedIn, @danack@threads.net, @miarsato, @loudmouthjulia, @jaronschneider@threads.net, @daveleebbg@threads.net, @baekdal, @loudmouthjulia, @michaelbishop.me, @thomasgermain and @jhilburg

Discussion:

Dan Ackerman /
Dan Ackerman on LinkedIn: Shocked to hear that that Reviewed.com from Gannett is shutting down. Like so many others, they got saddled with some weird third-party and/or AI content … NewsGuild of New York: STATEMENT: THE NEWSGUILD OF NEW YORK RESPONDS TO GANNETT SHUTDOWN OF REVIEWED.COM

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

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.”

Marshall Nyman /
Marshall Nyman on LinkedIn: This is some very big news that Reviewed is being totally shut down. Google algorithm changes and the FTCs recent ruling on fake reviews likely had an impact on the decision. …

Dan Ackerman /
@danack@threads.net: Shocked that http://reviewed.com/ from Gannett is shutting down. Like so many others, they got saddled with weird third-party AI content, but there were also good hands-on reviews of things that very few outlets can really handle, like refrigerators. https://www.theverge.com/...

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/...

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.

Jaron Schneider /
@jaronschneider@threads.net: This fucking sucks. This was a good publication with great people and solid integrity ruined by a shitty publisher.

Thomas Baekdal /
@baekdal: It's always sad when a publisher site closes, but if they were indeed using AI, I'm really happy to see it go. AI's can't, by definition review products. It just pretends to, so any publisher doing this is an offense against everything journalism stands for.

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 $$$$.

Michael Bishop /
@michaelbishop.me: AI slop not profitable, news at 11 [embedded post]

Thomas Germain /
@thomasgermain: Everyday is a reminder that Google has *unilateral* authority to decide whether most online businesses live or die. If your business model doesn't align with Google's ever-shifting algorithm, kiss your job goodbye

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

New York Times:

Edgar Bronfman Jr. drops his 11th-hour bid to take control of Paramount and buy National Amusements, all but ensuring Paramount will be acquired by Skydance— Mr. Bronfman has frantically put a bid together over the last week even as Paramount raised questions about his financing.

Discussion:
IndieWire, Bloomberg, Axios, Variety, The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, The Desk, New York Post, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Cord Cutters News, @benmullin, @mediaevan, @royprice, @sarafischer, @oliverdarcy@threads.net, @benmullin, @beckyquick, Los Angeles Times, Media Play News and The Streamable

Discussion:

Hannah Miller /
Bloomberg: Edgar Bronfman Drops Out of Bidding War for Paramount Global

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Edgar Bronfman Jr. drops bid for Paramount

Cynthia Littleton /
Variety: Edgar Bronfman Jr. Drops Bid for Paramount Global, Congratulates Skydance Media on Pending Takeover: 'Paramount's Best Days are Ahead'

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Edgar Bronfman Jr. Drops Out of Paramount Bidding Process

Lauren Thomas /
Wall Street Journal: Edgar Bronfman Drops Bid for Paramount, Paving Way for Skydance Deal

Zoe G. Phillips /
The Hollywood Reporter: Edgar Bronfman Drops Paramount Bid

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: SOLD Pluto TV & Paramount+ Have Been Sold to Skydance As All Other Bidders Drop Out

Evan DeSimone /
@mediaevan: Welp, that was fun for a minute. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Roy Price /
@royprice: Congratulations to the Ellisons and Redbird. Time for Paramount to move ahead. Their first project can be a miniseries based on the sale process!

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: That was a wild ride ... Edgar Bronfman Jr. dropping his bid for @paramountco / NAI after 11th hour Hail Mary. Statement below: [image]

Oliver Darcy /
@oliverdarcy@threads.net: News: Edgar Bronfman Jr. backs out of bid to acquire Paramount: “Tonight, our bidding group informed the special committee that we will be exiting the go-shop process. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to participate.”

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: 🚨 statement from Edgar Bronfman Jr. 🚨 story here w/@LaurenSHirsch: https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]

Becky Quick /
@beckyquick: BREAKING NEWS: Edgar Bronfman Jr. is dropping out of the bidding for Paramount. $PARA Statement from him tonight: “Tonight, our bidding group informed the special committee that we will be exiting the go-shop process. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to participate. We

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: Edgar Bronfman Jr. Drops $6 Billion Bid to Acquire Paramount Global

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

Discussion:

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

Tommy Christopher /
Mediaite: CNN's Kaitlan Collins Says Trump Really Doesn't Want To Debate Kamala Harris — Trump Sources Tell Her He's ‘Struggling’

Matthew Cullen /
New York Times: Harris and Trump Squabbled Over Debate Rules

Meg Kinnard /
Associated Press: Harris and Trump squabble over upcoming debate, raising questions about whether face-off will take place

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.”

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

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.

Dan Ladden-Hall /
The Daily Beast: Trump Threatens to Quit the Only Debate Agreed With Harris: ‘Stay Tuned’ @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]

Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling /
New Republic: Panicking Trump Scrambles for New Reason Not to Debate Harris

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

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

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

Julianne McShane /
Mother Jones: Trump's Campaign Sure Doesn't Seem to Want People to Hear Him at the Debate

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”

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

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?

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

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

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]

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

Natalie Korach /
The Wrap: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump Tussle Over Muted Microphones at ABC News Debate

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.

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 Wrap, The Desk, Cord Cutters News, @matthewkeyslive and @michellef_davis

Discussion:

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Paramount Exploring Sale of 12 Local TV Stations | Report

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

Matthew Keys /
@matthewkeyslive: Paramount has hired an investment bank to consider selling 12 independent and low-power TV stations, including outlets in San Francisco, Seattle, Indianapolis, Tampa, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Detroit https://thedesk.net/... $PARA

Michelle F. Davis /
@michellef_davis: scooplet: Paramount has hired a bank to help it find buyer(s) for a dozen independent TV stations, some which used to be The CW Network affiliates. The potential sale is part of a plan to dispose of noncore assets to raise cash. story with @chrispalmeri https://www.bloomberg.com/...

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

Discussion:

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

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: Just in: ESPN named Mike McQuade evp of sports production, a new role that puts him in charge of all sports-specific studio programs. Shows that span a wider array of topics, including First Take and The Pat McAfee Show, are now under David Roberts

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

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

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

Michael McCarthy /
Front Office Sports: Burke Magnus Explains His ESPN C-Suite Shake-Up

Australian Financial Review:

Sources: Google aims to slash what it spends on deals with some Australian outlets under the News Media Bargaining Code, after Meta said it wouldn't renew deals— Google is trying to reduce what it spends on commercial deals with some smaller digital news publishers, amid growing calls …

Discussion:
Capital Brief, Brendan Giles on LinkedIn and The San Francisco Standard, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

John Buckley /
Capital Brief: Google shrinks media code deals by 40% as Labor weighs options on Meta

Brendan Giles /
Brendan Giles on LinkedIn: I really don't understand this silly argument that traditional journalism should have some government mandated right to income. …

Greg Ferenstein /
The San Francisco Standard: Google's deal with publishers shows how to meet AI with innovation, not red tape

TechCrunch:

Viggle, developer of 3D-video foundation model JST-1, raised a $19M Series A led by a16z; Viggle says the model is trained on public sources, including YouTube— You might not know Viggle AI, but you've likely seen the viral memes it created. The Canadian AI startup is responsible …

Discussion:
BetaKit, @venturetwins, @allenlau, Viggle AI and @trisalvagni.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Josh Scott /
BetaKit: Viggle AI closes $26-million CAD Series A to expand AI-powered video generator

Justine Moore /
@venturetwins: Announcing our investment in @ViggleAI! Viggle makes it incredibly easy to put characters in videos or make them move. Since launch in March, millions have used Viggle to make memes, dancing videos, acting clips - and more. (see me, CEO Hang, and @kirbyman01 ⬇️) [video]

Allen Lau /
@allenlau: I am super excited to announce that Toronto-based startup @ViggleAI has raised $19M USD in funding! 🎉 The round was led by @a16z, with @twosmallfishvc as a significant investor. As part of the investment, I have also joined the company as an advisor. In short, Viggle makes it

Jason D. Salvagni /
@trisalvagni.bsky.social: If creators' art can be stolen whole cloth from YouTube and called “public sources” then we can absolutely walk into the a16z and TechCrunch offices, steal everything in sight and drain their bank accounts because that's the same definition of “public sources” [embedded post]

Ars Technica:

A US district judge orders Missouri's AG to halt his probe into Media Matters' Nov. 2023 report about ads on X, after a similar order against Texas' AG in April— Judge: Missouri AG's actions chill speech about extremist content on Musk's X. — A federal judge ordered Missouri's attorney general …

Discussion:
Media Matters for America: Media Matters statement on winning injunction against Missouri AG Andrew Bailey in federal court

Kurt Erickson /
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Judge halts Missouri attorney general's probe of media advocacy group

AJ McDougall /
The Daily Beast: Judge Kills Missouri AG's Elon Musk-Inspired War Against Media Matters US District Court for the District of Columbia: Media Matters For America, et al. v. Andrew Bailey, AG of the State of Missouri, et al.

Justin Baragona /
@justinbaragona: Media Matters president Angelo Carusone released the following statement after a federal judge blocked Missouri AG Andrew Bailey's Elon-inspired retaliatory “investigation” into MMFA: [image]

Angelo Carusone /
@goangelo: Media Matters won our lawsuit against Missouri AG Andrew Bailey. Bailey (at Musk's encouragement) launched an investigation into Media Matters. We sued asking court to bar him from proceeding; court just granted our injunction. We won similar case against Paxton in April. @thedailybeast: A federal judge on Monday ordered Missouri's attorney general to stand down on an investigation into Media Matters for America launched in the wake of a lawsuit filed against the progressive watchdog last year by X owner Elon Musk. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ ... @chrisgeidner: NEWS: Missouri AG Bailey's little-brother-to-Texas attempt to go after Media Matters was shut down for now earlier today, as Judge Mehta (Obama appointee) issued a preliminary injunction blocking the investigation: https://storage.courtlistener.com/ ...

Eugene Volokh /
Reason: Judge Preliminarily Blocks Missouri AG's Enforcement of AG's Investigative Demand Against Media Matters

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: Judge Halts Missouri AG's Elon Musk-Triggered Investigation Of Media Matters @arstechnica@mastodon.social: Missouri AG's legal war against Media Matters shot down by federal judge — Judge: Missouri AG's actions chill speech about extremist content on Musk's X. — https://arstechnica.com/... [image]

Mike Masnick /
Techdirt: Judge Blocks Missouri AG's Elon-Inspired Censorial Vindictive ‘Investigation’ Into Media Matters

Matthew Chapman /
Raw Story: Republican AG smacked down by judge for trying to silence journalists

TechCrunch:

Tidal introduces free tools to let US songwriters track royalties and claim and manage their catalog on the service— Music streaming service Tidal has launched new features that let artists track royalties and manage the music they have songwriting credits for on the platform.

Discussion:
TIDAL, Digital Music News, Music Business Worldwide, Slate, @tidal, BetaNews and Silicon UK

Discussion:

Ashley King /
Digital Music News: Tidal Takes a Dive Into Songwriter Services with Catalog Registration and Tracking Tools

Daniel Tencer /
Music Business Worldwide: TIDAL launches tool for US songwriters to claim and manage their work

Andy Vasoyan /
Slate: Spotify Has a Fake-Band Problem. It's a Sign of Things to Come. @tidal: Introducing new tools for songwriters, helping you understand, manage, and maximize the value of your credited catalog in one convenient place. Claim your Songwriter profile in TIDAL Artist Home to get started. Available only to US-based songwriters. 🔗 https://tidal.com/... [image]

Brian Fagioli /
BetaNews: TIDAL launches new tools for US songwriters to manage royalties

Businesswire /
Silicon UK: Songwriters Can Now Manage Their Catalog with TIDAL

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:
The Wrap, @lxeagle17, ABC News, @briangaar, @semaforben, @nate_cohn, @walthickey, @nick_field90, Newsweek, @nate_cohn, @maxwelltani, @mikeroe, @natesilver538, @mappingfl and FiveThirtyEight

Discussion:

Mike Roe /
The Wrap: Trump Campaign Manager Accuses ABC's 538 Election Model of Being a ‘Suppression Tool Used by the Media’

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.

G. Elliott Morris /
ABC News: How 538's 2024 presidential election forecast works

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!

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. @mappingfl: Once the election is over and I have something resembling free time, I might discuss why campaign folks largely view these models (back from 2008 to present) with a big time “meh” Just give us polling averages with weighting for bias, nothing else

G. Elliott Morris /
FiveThirtyEight: Who Is Favored To Win The 2024 Presidential Election?

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

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Chris Fenton /