Mediagazer: An interview with Pinkfong CEO Kim Min-seok on Baby Shark Live, a live show based on the viral song, plans to expand into webtoons and theme parks, and more (John Kang/Forbes)

4:15 AM ET, June 27, 2023

Top News:

Analysis: in May and June 2023, 141 major brands ran ads, mostly via Google Ads, across 55 low-quality sites with AI-generated articles, some posting ~1,200/day — NewsGuard identified 141 brands that are feeding programmatic ad dollars to low-quality AI-generated news and information sites operating with little to no human oversight

Discussion: MIT Technology Review, @newsguardrating, @charlottejee, @jeffjohnroberts, @gsterling, @jimswiftdc, @accountabletech, @refocusedmedia, @jackmarshall, @jbruce218, MediaPost and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

James Vincent / The Verge:

AI is killing the web with spam sites, mass article producing “AI editors”, AI-generated junk on Etsy, Reddit, and Wikipedia that exhausts moderators, and more — In recent months, the signs and portents have been accumulating with increasing speed. Google is trying to kill the 10 blue links.

Discussion: @mmitchell_ai, The Overspill, @glenngabe, @paytobreed, @soldni, @nolan@toot.cafe, @ukuku@mstdn.social, @chrismoranuk, @brianroemmele, @harrymccracken, @darth_na, @glenngabe, @varunkrish and @waxy@xoxo.zone, more at Techmeme »

Colby Hall / Mediaite:

Fox News' new prime time: Jesse Watters takes Tucker Carlson's 8pm slot, Laura Ingraham moves to 7pm, Sean Hannity stays at 9pm, and Greg Gutfeld moves to 10pm — Fox News announced the new prime time lineup it's putting in place in the wake of Tucker Carlson's shocking ouster earlier this year.

New York Times:

As the use of AI-generated ads in political campaigns increases globally, consultants, election researchers, and lawmakers push for setting up new guardrails — Gaps in campaign rules allow politicians to spread images and messaging generated by increasingly powerful artificial intelligence technology.

Discussion: @shonin@mastodon.world, @mantzarlis, @repyvetteclarke, @brookingsgov, @danweiner329, @kevinokeefe, @samgregory, @neilturkewitz, @JamesBazan@mastodon.coffee, @penamerica, @peterdaou, @erikbryn, Inside Radio, @toddgregory.bsky.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, Insider and Fox News

Jared Diamond / Wall Street Journal:

Some question The Athletic reporter Shams Charania's commercial partnership with FanDuel after his June 22 tweet, which was wrong, moved NBA draft betting lines — Shams Charania works for both sports news site the Athletic and gambling company FanDuel. Things got complicated when he tweeted …

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Profits at the largest US entertainment companies have fallen 60%+ since 2013, despite mergers, as media companies spent record sums to build streaming services — Good afternoon from Los Angeles, wherever you may be. Thanks to those of you who came to Bloomberg's Tech Summit.

Discussion: Media Voices, @lucas_shaw, @conorsen, @stevewells11, @dkthomp, @ryanmcraver, @tiagodf, Digital Music News, @lucas_shaw and @tvgrimreaper, more at Techmeme »

Max Tani / Semafor:

Spotify, SiriusXM, iHeartMedia, and other podcast companies are shifting from A-list celebrities and big-budget audio narratives to professional audio talent — The News — CANNES — In 2020, Spotify's stock spiked on the news that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry signed an exclusive deal with the streaming platform.

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:

Analysis: the UK's NUJ had 24,528 members in 2022, of whom 20,722 pay, down by 21% since 2012 and 32% since 2004; some journalists blame high subscription fees — The journalists' union voted in April to raise membership fees by 5% this year and next. — Membership at the National Union …

Discussion: @nuj_leeds

John Kang / Forbes:

An interview with Pinkfong CEO Kim Min-seok on Baby Shark Live, a live show based on the viral song, plans to expand into webtoons and theme parks, and more — Seven years after posting “Baby Shark Dance” on YouTube, Kim Min-seok, CEO and cofounder of the Korean company behind the viral video …

New York Times:

A look at review-bombing campaigns on Goodreads, which can derail a book's publication long before its release, affecting both new and established authors — The website Goodreads has become an essential avenue for building readership, but the same features that help generate excitement can also backfire.

Discussion: @mariskreizman

Wall Street Journal:

The White House condemns the online harassment of WSJ reporter Sabrina Siddiqui for questioning PM Modi about human rights in India at a press event last week — Biden spokesman says harassment of journalist is unacceptable after attacks by officials from Indian prime minister's party

Discussion: @andrewrestuccia, @andrewrestuccia, @sajahq, The Wire, The Hill and @mythilisk

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Group Black is in talks to buy a majority stake in the Arena Group, which publishes Sports Illustrated and owns 50+ publications, including TheStreet — Black-owned media network has sought other acquisitions, though a deal hasn't materialized — Group Black is in talks to buy …

Discussion: @alexbruell, @davidclinchnews and Awful Announcing

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 4:15 AM ET, June 27, 2023.

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Who's Hiring in Media?

Commissioning Editor - Practical Law — Reuters

Energy Markets Reporter, London — WSJ

Oil Reporter, Singapore — Bloomberg

Newsperson - State Govt. & Politics, CA — AP

Business Reporter, SC — Post & Courier

State Government Reporter, WA — Seattle Times

Climate Crisis Columnist — Prospect UK

Multimedia Journalist, CA — Paramount

Community Engagement Mgr., DC — Freedom Forum

Staff Writer - Business, NY — WIRED

Editor, MA — Nieman Reports

Team Editor - Breaking News, ON — Toronto Star

Senior Reporter & Event Host, NY/CA — Newcomer

Climate & Weather Reporter, MN — Star Tribune

Senior Tech Editor, Remote US — The Verge

News Reporter, MA — Berkshire Eagle

Multimedia Journalist, PA — Observer-Reporter

Managing Editor, WA — Everett Herald

Private Credit Reporter, NY — Debtwire

Legislative Reporter, CA — Sacramento Bee

Reporter, PA — Tribune-Review

Visual Editor, Remote — Rest of World

Staff Writer, MI — Watershed Voice

California Playbook Writer, CA — Politico

Senior Media Editor — Digiday

National Investigative Reporter, NY — HuffPost

Business & Gaming Reporter, NV — Las Vegas Sun

Coastal Climate Reporter, SC — Island Packet

Environment & Energy Reporter, CT — CT Mirror

Coordinating Editor, OR — OPB

Staff Reporter, CA — Daily Kos

Data Editor, NY — ProPublica

Editor-in-Chief, AZ — Phoenix New Times

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More News:

Stuart McGinn / Narcity:
Netflix quietly drops Basic, its cheapest ad-free tier, for “new or rejoining members” in Canada but lets current subscribers “remain on” the CA$9.99/month plan

Discussion: The Verge, TechCrunch, The Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, Gizmodo, TechRadar, Engadget, Cord Cutters News and gHacks Technology News

Nancy Tartaglione / Deadline:
Cineworld plans to file for the administration of its listed entity Cineworld plc in the UK as part of its restructuring, but will continue operating as normal

Discussion: Reuters and Variety

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Vox Media appoints executives to new c-suite positions to focus on new revenue streams, including commerce and subscriptions, while also growing its ad business

Discussion: Vox Media, MediaPost, Observer, @bankoff and @sarafischer

Emily Birnbaum / Bloomberg:
SCOTUS refuses to revive Genius' 2019 lawsuit accusing Google of scraping millions of song lyrics for search, leaving in place a ruling tossing out the lawsuit

Discussion: The Register, Billboard, Rolling Stone, The Hill, @phil_lewis_ and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »

Meara Isenberg / CNET:
Starz increases its ad-free subscription from $9 per month to $10 per month, the first price increase for the standalone service since its 2016 launch

Nikkei Asia:
How the rising popularity of K-pop and K-drama drove direct South Korean investment into the US; South Korean FDI jumped 70%+ since BTS' 2016 US breakthrough

Bron Maher / Press Gazette:
At Dublin's NewsXchange conference, experts discussed generative AI's impacts on journalism, including copyright infringement, misinformation risks, and more

Discussion: @pressgazette

Earlier Picks:

Duke Reporters' Lab:
An annual fact-checking census finds there are 417 fact-checking sites active globally in 2023 so far, roughly the same as in 2022 and 2021, up from 151 in 2015

Discussion: @billadairduke

A.J. Katz / Adweek:
Legendary TV news producer David Bohrman, who worked at ABC, NBC, CBS, and others, and was best known for his 12 years of pioneering work at CNN, dies at 69

Discussion: @johnnydollar01, @farhip, CNN, Adweek and Next TV

Diana Falzone / Rolling Stone:
Some Newsmax staff raised privacy concerns after Newsmax allegedly told them to hand over work and personal correspondence that Smartmatic subpoenaed them over

Discussion: @joshtpm and @rollingstone

Charlie Savage / New York Times:
How an intern at Indiana newspaper The Journal Gazette in 1995 helped popularize the mashup of The Wizard of Oz with Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon

Discussion: @peterbakernyt, @nataliapetrzela, @nytmag and Insider

Katie Deighton / Wall Street Journal:
Inside the Cannes Lions ad festival, which saw companies gingerly describing their AI use and a bigger presence from TikTok, Netflix, and Saudi publisher SRMG

Discussion: Ad Age, @dollydeighton and @wsj

Irene Chan / Hong Kong Free Press:
An interview with Hong Kong journalist Bao Choy on why the court overturning her 2019 conviction is “not a long-lasting victory”, her new media outlet, and more

Discussion: @theasianfmnst, @ifjglobal, @fy4chan, @tomgrundy, @defrog and @thecfhk

From Techmeme:

Dave Liedtka / Bloomberg:
MicroStrategy bought ~51,780 bitcoin for ~$4.6B between November 11 and November 17, its largest purchase since starting in 2020, and now holds $29B+ in bitcoin

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
How Tim Cook may navigate Trump's presidency, a closer look at Apple's upcoming smart home command center, sources detail a new AirTag coming in 2025, and more

Bloomberg:
How Wall Street is preparing to cash in on AI hysteria; analysis: delivering on AI's promise will require $1T+ for data centers, electricity, and comms networks

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