Mediagazer: Former ABC News producer James Gordon Meek pleads guilty to CSAM transportation and possession, but not distribution; the US DOJ arrested Meek in February 2023 (Corbin Bolies/The Daily Beast)

8:10 PM ET, July 21, 2023

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News reporters shouldn't write off AI assistance for first drafts of stories that aren't publishable; tools don't have to be perfect to be useful to journalists — Dystopian, yes — but tools don't have to be perfect to be useful to journalists. — Every other semester …

Discussion: @niemanlab@mastodon.social, @mmasnick.bsky.social, MediaNama, The Information, The San Diego Union-Tribune, CNN, Gizmodo, MediaPost and New York Times

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

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Alex Sherman / CNBC:

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Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

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Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

Former ABC News producer James Gordon Meek pleads guilty to CSAM transportation and possession, but not distribution; the US DOJ arrested Meek in February 2023 — The harrowing legal saga—the type of story that could've appeared on Meek's former network— has reached its conclusion.

Discussion: US Department of Justice, The Wrap, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, The Desk, Washington Post, Insider, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Rolling Stone and Boing Boing

Justin Garcia / Tampa Bay Times:

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Discussion: Awful Announcing, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida and @bubbaprog.ilovecitr.us

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Adam Sherwin / The i Paper:

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Marie Woolf / Globe and Mail:

Some Quebec radio stations and news outlets refuse to run Meta's ads that inform Canadians of the company's plan to block news links on Facebook and Instagram — Meta has started to run ads to inform Canadians of its plan to block the viewing and sharing of news content on Facebook …

Discussion: CBC News, @fancrtcprofling, @pagmenzies, @freemangrist, @dylanlindgren and @mgeist

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield joins CNN as an on-air political commentator; Bedingfield left her White House post in February 2023 — Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield has joined CNN as an on-air political commentator.

Discussion: Mediaite, CNN, The Wrap, The Hill and Politico

David Robb / Deadline:

In a 23-page document, the AMPTP disputes SAG-AFTRA's version of the status of contract negotiations as of July 13, before talks broke off and the strike began — UPDATED with SAG-AFTRA response: The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is disputing SAG-AFTRA's “misleading” …

Discussion: The Wrap, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @slack2thefuture, @jbflint, @jbflint and The Hollywood Reporter

Noam Scheiber / New York Times:

A look at TV writing becoming a dead-end job with dwindling weekly pay, as studios break down the complex job of making TV shows into simpler, lower-paid tasks — The writers say Hollywood studios are increasingly limiting their roles in television productions, highlighting a trend for white-collar workers.

Discussion: Deadline, @noamscheiber, @wajahatali, @tylerdinucci, @wgawest, @brucebartlett, @hiattb, @bigmeaninternet, @alexnpress, @leavittalone, @shawnryantv, @whet.bsky.social and @aworkinglibrary@mstdn.social

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