Wednesday, June 5, 2024 “If it’s good for the company now, work with them”: The Atlantic CEO on signing a deal with OpenAIPeople don’t trust the news media to use generative AI responsibly, RISJ finds What We’re ReadingWIRED / Reece Rogers
Google’s AI Overview search results copied my original work →“Reading the two paragraphs side by side, it feels reminiscent of a classroom cheater who copied an answer from my homework and barely even bothered to switch up the phrasing.”Reuters / James Pearson
NewsBreak, the news aggregator app, has Chinese origins and “writes fiction” with the help of AI →“…in at least 40 instances since 2021, the app’s use of AI tools affected the communities it strives to serve, with NewsBreak publishing erroneous stories; creating 10 stories from local news sites under fictitious bylines; and lifting content from its competitors, according to a Reuters review of previously unreported court documents related to copyright infringement, cease-and-desist emails and a 2022 company memo registering concerns about ‘AI-generated stories.'”The Guardian / Nina Lakhani
Nearly half of journalists covering climate crisis globally received threats for their work →“A global survey of more than 740 reporters and editors from 102 countries found that 39% of those threatened ‘sometimes’ or ‘frequently’ were targeted by people engaged in illegal activities such as logging and mining. Some 30%, meanwhile, were threatened with legal action – reflecting a growing trend towards corporations and governments deploying the judicial system to muzzle free speech.”The New York Times / Sheera Frenkel
Israel secretly targets U.S. lawmakers with influence campaign on Gaza War →“The campaign began in October and remains active on the platform X. At its peak, it used hundreds of fake accounts that posed as real Americans on X, Facebook and Instagram to post pro-Israel comments. The accounts focused on U.S. lawmakers, particularly ones who are Black and Democrats, such as Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader from New York, and Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, with posts urging them to continue funding Israel’s military. ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, was used to generate many of the posts. The campaign also created three fake English-language news sites featuring pro-Israel articles.”Press Gazette / Dominic Ponsford
Bloomberg Media reports 540,000 subscribers — up 40,000 in the past six months →Bloomberg also unveiled a series of “product improvements,” including more deep-dive longer reads on Business Week (which moves to a monthly print edition in July) and more weekend coverage aimed at consumers.Semafor
Judge orders Mississippi Today to turn over documents related to its Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by June 6 →“There has been no evidence presented to demonstrate our reporting was false, because it wasn’t. There has been no evidence presented that our reporting was defamatory, because it wasn’t. There has been no evidence presented that we relied on an unreliable source, because we didn’t. For those reasons, we should not be compelled to turn over privileged information,” editor-in-chief Adam Ganucheau said.WSJ / Joe Flint, Amol Sharma, and Isabella Simonetti
The NBA’s media deal spotlights the staggering value of sports rights and industry changes →“The NBA sweepstakes has turned into a defining moment for the TV industry, highlighting the anxieties of traditional media companies about the collapse of cable and their uncertain financial futures in the streaming world. It has put front and center the paradox that sports content is outrageously expensive but also critical to own in an industry in which it is one of the few reliable ways to draw in audiences.”Washington Post / Erik Wemple
The Washington Post’s deference to Justice Alito handed a scoop to The New York Times →“As for The Post’s claim that it wasn’t clear in January 2021 ‘that the argument was rooted in politics,’ well, that seems a bit naive. What argument involving a Supreme Court justice in January 2021 was not rooted in politics? If not politics, what was dividing these neighbors — Fairfax County’s protocols for the collection of bulk trash items?”Baltimore Sun / Lorraine Mirabella
Sam Davis, the first Black managing editor of The Baltimore Sun, will retire →“Tricia Bishop, The Sun’s director of opinion and features content since 2019, will take over management of the newsroom later this month from Sam Davis, who plans to retire from his role at the end of June … The announcement comes nearly five months after
The Sun was acquired in a private deal by David D. Smith, executive chairman of Hunt Valley-based television station owner Sinclair Inc., along with co-owner Armstrong Williams, a well-known conservative talk show host and syndicated columnist.”Bloomberg / Monique Mulima
The venture arm of the Financial Times invests in Canadian tech news site The Logic →“It’s the first Canadian investment for FT Ventures, which has also put money into
Sifted, a European website about startups, and The Business of Fashion …
The Logic will use the $2.9 million it has raised to expand its newsroom and business operations.”New York Times / Sharon Otterman
The Columbia Law Review website has been taken offline over article criticizing Israel →“Visitors to the website of the 123-year-old journal see only a blank page with the message ‘Website is under maintenance.'”The Hill / DOMINICK MASTRANGELO
The Daily Beast replaces editor-in-chief Tracy Connor →“Connor, who has led the tabloid since 2021, will exit the company and be replaced by Hugh Dougherty. Dougherty is currently a deputy editor at the New York Post, and has served in similar roles at British tabloids The Daily Mail and Evening Standard.”
Nieman Lab / Fuego
Twitter / Facebook
View email in browser
Unsubscribe
You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org.
Nieman Journalism LabHarvard University1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138
Add us to your address book
