Top News:
New York Times:
People, The Washington Times, MarketWatch, and others fell for an elaborate hoax that claimed Barbie dolls would be plastic free by 2030; most removed the posts — The false campaign by environmental activists claimed that the toy giant was launching a new line of decomposable Barbies and would stop using plastic by 2030.
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Hill, Washington Times, Yahoo Entertainment, @corbinhiar, @therockfather, @weareyellowdot, @dhlovelife, New York Post and The Toy Book
John Koblin / New York Times:
The Writers Guild of America told screenwriters in an email that it agreed to restart talks with Carol Lombardini, the studio negotiator, on Friday, August 4 — A strike by writers and actors has caused nearly a complete production shutdown of scripted entertainment.
Discussion:
Next TV, Deadline, CBS News, @wgaeast, @alexblagg, @ddayen, Screen Rant, The A.V. Club, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and Vanity Fair
John Herrman / New York Magazine:
Three theories about how AI will change the news: replace some outlets entirely, be a helpful tool, or turn news organizations into wire services — Here are three theories of the case. — In early July, the Associated Press made a deal with OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, to license …
Discussion:
@omkar_raii, @cyrilsam, @mediaevan, Poynter, New York Post and What's New in Publishing
Mark Caro / Local News Initiative:
Q&A with ex-Washington Post chief Marty Baron on the need for outlets to figure out a commercially successful model by themselves, the role of owners, and more — In Pt. 1 of interview, Marty Baron calls on journalists to stop the nostalgia and doom-and-gloom and to focus on solving problems and making tough choices
Discussion:
@tvgrimreaper, @dicktofel, @palewire, @markcaro, @mollybeck, @petercanellos, @dicktofel, @timafranklin, @timafranklin, @sarahscire and @ssuttell
Charley Piringi / The Guardian:
The Solomon Star and other newspapers in the Solomon Islands face criticism after accepting funding from China in exchange for positive coverage — The Solomon Star denies accusations of ‘giving away’ its independence by accepting thousands of dollars' worth of equipment
Helen Coster / Reuters:
Thomson Reuters reports Q2 operating profit up 111% YoY to $825M and revenue up 2% YoY to $1.6B; News revenue grew 1% to $194M — Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO), on Wednesday reported higher sales and operating profit in the second quarter, helped by strong performance at its “Big 3” segments …
Discussion:
@jonchevreau and Thomson Reuters
Patrick Frater / Variety:
Pluto TV plans to launch in Australia on August 31 with over 50 FAST channels, as a branded area within Paramount Australian and New Zealand's 10 Play — Comprising more than 50 free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels, Pluto TV will be sold as a dedicated branded area within Paramount Australian …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, WORLD SCREEN, The Desk, Paramount ANZ, Mumbrella and Cord Cutters News
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
A look at news avoidance, a real threat to the news business, as many once-loyal readers and viewers say some news topics have become relentlessly toxic — The news was a lifelong habit for Claudia Caplan. It surrounded her like a blanket. Two newspapers in the morning, read nearly in full.
Discussion:
@jonathanstray, @melissafleming, @dabeard, @lauranissen, @kncukier and @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social
Richard Ruelas / Arizona Republic:
James Larkin, one of two Backpage.com owners and former publisher of New Times, dies at 74 by suicide, days before his trial on charges of aiding prostitution — James Larkin, who helped turn the Phoenix alternative weekly New Times into a chain that took over the venerated Village Voice in New York …
Discussion:
@msmaggiemayhem, @jrgzztx, @gabrielle_qld and @jackshafer
Emilia David / The Verge:
Meta releases AudioCraft, a new open-source AI model that lets users create music and sounds via prompts, consisting of MusicGen, AudioGen, and EnCodec models — It consists of three AI models, all tackling different areas of sound generation. MusicGen takes text inputs to generate music.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Meta, Engadget and @stockmktnewz, more at Techmeme »
Liz Shackleton / Deadline:
MPA: Southeast Asia added only 7K net new streaming subscribers in H1 2023, down from 7M in H2 2022, for 47.6M total; TikTok had 42% of video streaming minutes — Southeast Asia only added 7,000 net new SVOD subscriptions in the first half of 2023, a big slowdown from 7 million new subscribers …
Discussion:
WORLD SCREEN and Variety
Sahil Patel / The Information:
Sources: some top ad agency executives plan to commit at least 10% to 20% more with YouTube this fall than in 2022; traditional TV ad commitments are down 15% — The Hollywood labor strikes have proven a boon for YouTube, with Google's video-streaming service luring television ad buyers …
Discussion:
MIT Technology Review, @aagave, @theinformation and @carnage4life@mas.to, more at Techmeme »
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