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Al Jazeera sets U.S. executive team. Eddie Sotelo out at Univision.

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After the coffee. Before seeing if I won the baby pool.

The Skinny: I was just thinking it is time to watch “Midnight Run” again when the sad news that Dennis Farina, who has a memorable role in that underappreciated comic classic, had died. I’ve been afraid to watch “Midnight Run” again because Robert DeNiro makes those Marlboros look so good. Tuesday’s headlines include Al Jazeera putting a management team in place, Netflix reporting second-quarter earnings and a popular Univision radio host is history.

Daily Dose: On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission released a report on the television industry revealing that small cable operators are starting to disappear. Although the regulatory agency did not go into specifics as to why this is happening, Matthew Polka, president of the American Cable Assn., cited rising programming costs, particularly for local broadcasters, as a major factor.

Team in place. After spending the last few months hiring on-air talent, Al Jazeera America finally named who would be calling the shots off camera. Veteran ABC News executive Kate O’Brian has been tapped as the inaugural president of Al Jazeera America, a U.S.-centric news network from the Qatar government-backed media giant Al Jazeera set to launch next month. The network also named former top CNN and CBS executives for key management roles. Coverage from the Los Angeles Times and Guardian.

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Numbers up, stock down. A few days after receiving 14 Emmy nominations for its original shows including “House of Cards,” Netflix reported subscriber, profit and revenue growth for its second quarter that ended June 30. But despite the acceptance from the creative community for its programming efforts and increased subscribers, Netflix stock has taken a hit since the numbers were released. Subscriber growth fell short of what analysts anticipated. More from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

The over-the-hill gang. In TV, the logic is that the older your audience, the less value they are to advertisers. But Fox News has a median age of 65 and still manages to make plenty of money selling commercials. Still, the network is seeing its share of the 25-54 audience slip and is starting to tweak its schedule and talent, perhaps with an eye on widening its audience. The New York Times on how Fox News makes gray pay and whether it can keep it up.

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Adios. Univision has pulled the plug on radio personality Eddie “Piolín” Sotelo, host of the Spanish broadcaster’s nationally syndicated morning show “Piolín por la Manana.” While the show has been a big hit, its ratings have tumbled somewhat as of late. There is speculation that there is a contract dispute between Sotelo and Univision, which declined to comment beyond confirming the departure. Details from the Los Angeles Times and Billboard.

PHOTOS: Overrated / Underrated : From ‘Moone Boy’ to corportate crowd-funding

Harder than it looks. ESPN’s hiring of political forecaster extraordinaire Nate Silver to write sports analysis and possibly weigh in on Oscar races and other pop culture topics, has Hollywood’s own awards show experts feeling antsy. The Hollywood Reporter with a memo to Silver.

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Inside the Los Angeles Times: An appreciation of character actor Dennis Farina, who died Monday at the age of 69. Paramount Pictures has named a president of its new TV unit. Richard Verrier on how the video game industry is boosting visual effects firms.

Follow me on Twitter and I’ll go easy on you. @JBFlint.


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