The actor who made his name in raunchy movies like Swingers and Wedding Crashers says that Hollywood execs are too concerned with IP now. "The people in charge don’t want to get fired more so than they’re looking to do something great,” he claims. - Variety
Another sudden, grim, creepy reminder to journalists to save PDFs. One former staffer: “Heart is breaking for the folks that have been there so much longer, poured so much of themselves into it just for it to be taken away with ZERO notice. How is this ok?” - The Verge
But he was young, see? So it was just a boy being a boy! MrBeast, for those who don’t know, makes a lot of money as the person running. YouTube's most subscribed-to channel. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“The BBC continued to employ Edwards, formerly its most high-profile newsreader, for five months after he was arrested on three counts of making indecent images of children, during which time he was paid £200,000.” Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is not pleased. - BBC
Ad revenue at Snap is weaker than expected, and its stock price has fallen by a quarter. With the giants' dominance of the social media ad marketplace, is there any hope for Snap? Yes, says one analyst, "if they can continue to shift away from brand dollars to performance advertising." - Variety
“I’ve had mixed feelings about the effectiveness of NBC’s strategy — do I care about what John Mulaney has been watching (and wagering on) in Paris? No. … These athletes have star power on their own, and this is their moment to shine.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
"Gaming employees at every level … (labor in) a highly profitable and popular sector that has long exploited their creativity and devalued their work. Now, with the specter of generative AI hovering, … (they) are proving their worth and value — and ensuring that their workplaces will no longer treat them as disposable." - Slate (MSN)
"He’s the curator at Shudder, the bespoke streaming service owned by AMC Networks that, alongside the movie studios Blumhouse and A24, is shaping the modern landscape of horror as the genre becomes more mainstream. Shudder is the only true streaming service dedicated to horror." - The Washington Post (MSN)
Editors are, rightfully, worried - and they’re unhappy with their union, which they believe sold them out on AI - perhaps out of necessity. One member: “If a 70,000-member union like IATSE can’t protect workers, what does it mean for everybody else? … For society going forward?” - The New York Times
There are still nearly 450,000 active shows that have published recent episodes, according to Podcast Industry Insights. But the top 25 podcasts reach nearly half of U.S. weekly listeners, according to Edison Research. The top talents have tours, merchandise and multiyear deals in the nine figures. Big advertisers want in. - The Wall Street Journal
"Editorial staff at Nine Entertainment, which owns The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age (Melbourne), The Australian Financial Review, the Brisbane Times and WAtoday, stopped working at 11am on Friday, hours before the opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games." - Al Jazeera
Instead of worrying about the quantity of screen time that preschoolers engage in, the new guidelines suggest, parents should consider the quality of it. Preference should be given to activities like interactive educational programs or family movie nights over solo passive viewing of, say, cartoons on a tablet. - The Walrus
The movie brought in $205 million in its first weekend domestically at the box office, according to Comscore estimates. It cost $200 million to produce, according to Variety. - Los Angeles Times
Billions of people access social media monthly, but users are posting less and favoring a more passive experience, surveys of users and research from data-analytics firms say. - The Wall Street Journal
