MEDIA

"Way overblown," declared one, who said the backlash shows "that people ... really don't understand how documentaries are edited." Others weren't so certain: "If it was clear that this was a projection of a fantasy, that's fine. But faking his voice is a betrayal of the contract." - Slate

While the service already carries several podcasts, this venture, called Booksmart Studios, is its first major investment in audio, "Substack sees the venture … as a case study for what's possible for independent podcast networks." - Axios

The company "added a mere 1.5 million paying members globally in the second quarter, which is down 85% from the same period last year, when it reported 10.1 million subscriber additions." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

Actually, 'risible' is the adjective the headline for this article uses to describe the first month on air of GB News. Here's a shake-your-head rundown of the disarray, featuring Brexit archvillain Nigel Farage in the Tucker Carlson role. - Columbia Journalism Review

Said one securities analyst. "This is like Starbucks saying, 'We've decided to get into the FedEx business because people come to our store already. They can pick up their package when they get their coffee.'" - Fast Company

Korean-language programs have seen a surge in demand following drama “Parasite” winning best picture at last year’s Academy Awards and “Minari” receiving critical acclaim. Los Angeles Times

Rick Klein, a sysadmin by trade, has created a YouTube Channel called the Museum of Classic Chicago Television — "kids' shows like Bozo and Garfield Goose, news reports delivered by men with woolly sideburns and wide lapels" - Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)

SAG-AFTRA, IATSE, DGA, and the other major unions have a new agreement with the studios' trade association to reduce mask mandates and the frequency of COVID testing but allow productions to bar the unvaccinated from the set. - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

Under the deal, the Cinematheque will continue to program autonomously on weekends, while Netflix will use the theater for their premieres and special events during the week. - Hyperallergic

The deluge of nonfiction filmmaking and its seemingly endless permutations has rendered the term "documentary" almost meaningless. - Washington Post

A reenactment and a voice fake actually do different versions of the same thing: Both cement a reality in your mind — the image of something or the sound of something — that didn’t happen, at least not in the way it’s presented. - Variety

As anyone who's read the poem in English Lit classes (or for fun?) can imagine, the challenges ran deep. - LitHub

The cinema owners' association claimed that profits from Black Widow were less than expected, even when Disney added in those buying the movie to watch at home on Disney Plus. - Variety

The multiplex and the pandemic are a powerful one-two punch to the heart of "the talkies," as they're called. - NPR

"They basically told me they would only sign me if I permanently flat-ironed my hair. ... I was like, ‘I’m Black, I can’t get rid of my hair, can’t get rid of my curves, can’t get rid of my curls.'" - Los Angeles Times