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Memo: BuzzFeed plans to rely on OpenAI to enhance quizzes and personalize content; a spokeswoman says the newsroom remains focused on human-generated journalism — CEO Jonah Peretti intends for artificial intelligence to play a larger role in the company this year — Cheating With ChatGPT: Can an AI Chatbot Pass AP Lit?
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CNN, The Verge, Insider, Financial Times, Forbes, Gizmodo, @samitsarkar, Fortune, @jon_christian, @thataldendiaz, @mylesudland, @ktmboyle, @sizpatel, The Hill, @mattmitovich, @jessicalessin, @katienotopoulos, @abrahamjoseph, @dandock, Newser, @jimprosser, @carnage4life, Social Media Today, @loudmouthjulia, CBS News, @rosiegray, @henereyg, The Guardian, @paultassi, @kylebuchanan, @jackmirkinson, @emmmzyne, @bendwalsh, @sokane1, @katehydeny, @timmarchman, @kantrowitz, @nxthompson, @glenngabe, @mattshuham, The Wrap, @azalben, @lindsaygoldwert, @tomwarren, @dellcam, @pranavdixit, @henereyg, @azalben, Transistori, @kevincollier, @kelsaywhat, @tomgara, @rcmacleod, @adribbleofink, @je_somerton, @sockjig, @yoda, Variety, Yahoo Finance, Engadget, Free Press Journal and Nieman Lab, more at Techmeme »
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Sources: Meta pays BuzzFeed to generate creator content for Facebook and Instagram and to train online creators to grow, as part of a ~$10M deal reached in 2022
Discussion:
The Rebooting, The Information, Observer, Social Media Today, The Hollywood Reporter, Insider, The Wrap and @chrisharihar


Sources question The Washington Post CEO Fred Ryan's strategy, after top executives left in 2022, union distrust grew, and layoffs hit beside new job postings — After a decade of growth, the paper is laying off staff and was reportedly on track to lose money last year.
Discussion:
@michaelluo, @dabeard, @harrispolitico, @claremalone, @newyorker, @genepark, @brianmfloyd and @_cingraham


In a memo to staff, Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel announces layoffs affecting 274 people, or ~7% of the outlet's workforce, across nearly all departments — Dotdash Meredith, one of the largest print and digital publishers in the country, is laying off 274 people, roughly 7% of its staff …
Discussion:
@parkermolloy, @simonowens, @petersterne, Quartz, @jeffjarvis, @elieraine, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, The Wrap, New York Times, Variety, Observer and MediaPost, Thanks:@petersterne


Medium updates its standards to welcome “the responsible use” of AI-assistive technology and to require stories created with AI assistance to be clearly labeled — Transparency, disclosure, and publication-level guidelines — Last month, we asked the Medium community …
Discussion:
@bmorrissey and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »


Former employees of Russia-backed broadcaster RT America take over its former Washington, DC studios and ramp up GlobalTek, a media venture formed in April 2022 — Former employees of Russian propaganda broadcaster RT America have taken over its old studios in downtown D.C. and are ramping up a new media venture, Axios has learned.
Discussion:
@sarafischer, @lachlan, @lachlan and @annalecta


NBCU reports Q4 revenue rose 5.9% YoY to $9.89B as EBITDA fell 36.3% YoY to $817M; Peacock had 20M+ paid subscribers and its EBITDA loss grew 75% YoY to $978M — Parent company Comcast reported its broadband and pay TV subscriber figures for the latest period.
Discussion:
Variety, MediaPost, Seeking Alpha, The Desk, @tvgrimreaper, @carlquintanilla, @thr, CBR, IndieWire, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, The Wrap, The Streamable, Deadline and Media Play News
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Comcast and NBCUniversal executives expect Peacock's EBITDA losses to peak in 2023 at “around $3B” and “improve steadily from there”; Peacock lost $2.5B in 2022
Discussion:
The Wrap, @richlightshed, @loudmouthjulia, @tvgrimreaper, The Information, Next TV, Adweek, TVNewsCheck and Awful Announcing


Springer Nature, the world's largest academic publisher, doesn't let LLMs like ChatGPT be credited as an author but allows AI to help write papers, if disclosed — Springer Nature, the world's largest academic publisher, has clarified its policies on the use of AI writing tools in scientific papers.
Discussion:
@jcreswellbaez, @mmitchell_ai, @jjvincent, @mkmasud_bd, @altustro, @altustro and @iethics


Russia designates Meduza an illegal, “undesirable organization”, meaning anyone who “cooperates” with the outlet, including sources, can face felony prosecution — The Russian Prosecutor General's Office designated Meduza as an illegal, “undesirable organization” on Thursday, January 26.
Discussion:
The Guardian, @ianbremmer, Financial Times, @vonelisa, @awinston, @billbarhydt, @kevinrothrock, @meduza_en, Committee to Protect … and Al Jazeera


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences partners with Letterboxd, a film-focused social network that has 8M members, ahead of the Oscars on March 12 — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has launched a partnership with Letterboxd, the growing social network …


Nielsen's most-streamed titles on US TVs in 2022: Stranger Things, followed by NCIS, CoComelon, Ozark, and Encanto; streaming content consumption rose ~27% YoY — Nielsen's year-end rankings put the Netflix hit head and shoulders above every other title. — One of Netflix's biggest shows ever is …


The New York Times launched its flagship TikTok account on January 24, after creating specialized accounts including for NYT Cooking and the Hard Fork podcast — On March 21, 2007, The New York Times announced itself on Twitter: “Word up! It is I, the Gray Lady, with a ‘shoutout’ to all my hip young friends.
Discussion:
@ylichterman and @arjunbasu


Mainstream outlets made important missteps in the Hamline University controversy, particularly by not publishing the painting of Muhammad that sparked it all — The omission is curious because the drawings are central to both the reporting and the cause of academic freedom


Q&A with David Cohen, the CEO of ad trade group IAB, who has blasted Apple's ATT rules and legislators' labeling of personalized ads as surveillance capitalism — Digital advertising's biggest trade organization, the IAB, took a shot at Apple on Monday.