“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
Like, a lot. Deadpool & Wolverine "shattered the opening record for R-rated films previously held by the first Deadpool ($132m) and notched a spot in the top 10 openings of all time.” - The Guardian (UK)
Some similarities in plot exist: “There are usually high jinks involving behavior that one might not expect from seniors. They get high. They go on adventurous excursions like parasailing or ziplining. They experiment with technology and social media.” And then, the sex toys. - The New York Times
TV show memes lit up Instagram, texts, and group chats when President Biden stepped down. “One thing someone on text thread said is that Aaron Sorkin could never have thought this one up. … This is beyond what we were capable of imagining.” - Washington Post
