Top news and commentary for media professionals from all around the web
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg : Alex Cooper Leaves Long-Time Agent, Seeking New Help to Build Media Empire — Alex Cooper is leaving her long-time talent agent for CAA after raising money to expand her business — We just announced the second batch of speakers for the Screentime conference and they include:
Jason Douglas / Wall Street Journal : A profile of Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki, who aims to transform the company into a business focused on music, movies, video games, and the tech that underpins them — The company built its empire on electronics. CEO Hiroki Totoki says its future is entertainment
Todd Spangler / Variety : CBS News Chief Correspondent Matt Gutman is accused of harassment in a wrongful-termination lawsuit filed against ABC by one of his former coworkers at ABC News — Gutman was named in a lawsuit filed by Samira Said, who worked as a field producer for ABC News in its Los Angeles bureau from May 2021 until March 2025.
Max Tani / Semafor : An interview with Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl on the Suno deal, leverage over streaming platforms, Netflix's lost opportunity in music, and more — The Scene — Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl joins Mixed Signals — with Semafor business editor Liz Hoffman filling in for Ben …
Sophie Culpepper / Nieman Lab : Chicago Public Media and New_ Public partner to launch chicago.com, which will host online communities for Chicago neighborhoods, starting in the fall — If a news outlet announces a website launch, you might think it's safe to assume it's a news website that's launching.
Steven Kurutz / New York Times : A look at the long road from publication through Hollywood limbo to upcoming movie release for Ian Frazier's 1990 New Yorker humor piece “Coyote vs. Acme” — Ian Frazier, who has written for The New Yorker since the 1970s, in Montclair, N.J.Bryan Anselm for The New York Times
CNBC : Q&A with Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro: he's not interested in spinoffs of ESPN or ABC and says Disney will stand up for ABC's journalistic integrity against the FCC — Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC interview with Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-12PM ET) today, Friday, August 14.
Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter : California capped business tax credits at $5M/year in June and didn't exempt Hollywood, which is trying to fix the issue before the legislature ends August 31 — A new bill, signed into law on June 29, could persuade film and TV projects to take their business elsewhere.
Max Tani / @maxwelltani : New York Magazine says it will stop publishing Ross Barkan's column because his work did not live up to its standards and updates 67 of his columns in archives — Ross Barkan is no longer writing for New York Mag, per a statement. In a statement, the magazine says Barkan “did not adhere to our editorial standards,” cites 67 columns that did not have…
Suha Kidwai / The Independent : A University of Cambridge professor who quit after plagiarism allegations has been found dead at home; police say the death is not being treated as suspicious — The academic was found unresponsive at an address in Battersea on Friday — Former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday …
Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net : Four of five members of Tegna's board have resigned after a judge said Nexstar violated a court order by filling the board with Nexstar-affiliated people — Nexstar Media Group is in the process of replacing its Board of Directors to oversee its subsidiary broadcast operations TEGNA …
Bryan P. Sears / Maryland Matters : A Maryland court strikes down a state tax on some digital ads as a violation of the Internet Tax Freedom Act; Apple, Google, and Peacock TV challenged the tax — State court says first-of-its-kind tax violates federal Internet Tax Freedom Act — A first-of-its-kind state tax on some digital ads …
Josh Gerstein / Politico : The BBC is seeking to subpoena Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner in the defamation lawsuit the president is pressing against the broadcaster — The BBC is seeking to subpoena President Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr., his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner …
Emma Roth / The Verge : Google adds a toggle in Gemini and Flow to remove visible watermarks from AI-generated images, videos, and music; SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata remain — Google will still embed invisible SynthID and C2PA watermarks into AI-generated images, videos, and music.
Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac : Apple officially opens ad bookings for businesses on Apple Maps ahead of an upcoming full rollout across the US and Canada — Ads are coming to Apple Maps soon in the US and Canada, and today businesses can start booking their own ads. Here are the details, including a limited-time promotional offer for businesses.
Reuters : France's top court blocks a bill banning social media for under-15s, saying it infringed upon freedom of expression; Macron orders the PM to rework the bill — France's top court on Friday blocked a bill banning social media access for under-15s, saying it infringed upon freedom of expression …
Sara Guaglione / Digiday : TollBit: median AI scrapes were 4x higher on European sites than North American ones, with local news sites hard hit, as demand for non-English content rises — European publishers are getting hit harder than North American sites by AI bot scraping - and no one really knows why.