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10:05 AM ET, August 8, 2023

Mediagazer

 Top News: 
Jane Friedman:
An author finds multiple “garbage books” uploaded to Amazon under her name, most likely AI-generated, and on Goodreads, which removed them after her complaint  —  Update (afternoon of Aug. 7): Hours after this post was published, my Goodreads profile was cleaned of the offending titles.
RELATED:
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Prosecraft, a site that compiled 27K+ books to compare and rank the “vividness” of their language, shuts down after writers' backlash over its possible AI uses
RELATED:
The Ringer:
Apple is “out-HBOing” HBO with quality scripted content filled with marquee casts, but its dividends in viewership, subscriptions, and revenue are murkier
Chris Lee / Vulture:
A group of 50+ Marvel VFX employees votes to be represented by IATSE, marking the first time VFX professionals have banded together to form a union  —  Call it the Hollywood-labor-organizing version of Avengers Assemble!  On the heels of more than a year's worth of damning disclosures around …
New York Times:
Paramount reaches a $1.62B deal to sell Simon & Schuster to private equity firm KKR; the prestigious US publisher was first put up for sale in March 2020  —  The deal, for $1.62 billion, will put control of a cultural touchstone in the hands of a financial buyer.
Wesley Hilliard / AppleInsider:
Apple Music launches Discovery Station, akin to Spotify's algorithmic suggestions, available via the Listen Now tab in the Stations for You category  —  Discovery and Personal Stations on Apple Music  —  Apple Music users hoping for more algorithmic discovery options akin to Spotify …
Discussion: The Verge, Music Ally and TechCrunch
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
Paul Sawers / TechCrunch:
Spotify expands its AI-powered DJ globally to ~50 markets, six months after its North American launch, available via the Music tab; the feature is English-only  —  Spotify is expanding its AI-powered “DJ” to dozens of markets globally, six months after debuting the feature in North America.
Casey Newton / Platformer:
After the countless times Elon Musk has walked back announcements, the business media must rethink its coverage of X, Musk, and the fight with Mark Zuckerberg  —  After a weekend of whoppers about X and fighting Mark Zuckerberg, the press should take a more skeptical approach
Killian Faith-Kelly / Press Gazette:
An interview with The Times obituary writer Damian Arnold on his workday, stock obituaries, the right way to die, writing his first obituary in 2008, and more  —  “The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is check to see who's dead.”  —  Imagine that, over the course of your life …
Mia Sato / The Verge:
TikTok unveils Gimme the Mic, a music competition hosted on livestreams where the US winner receives 50K Diamonds, the USD conversion rate for which is unclear  —  TikTok will host a music contest similar to popular talent shows like The Voice, the company announced today.
Katie Robertson / New York Times:
The NYT reports Q2 revenue up 6.3% YoY to $590.9M, adjusted operating profit of $92.2M, 9.88M subscribers, and $409.6M in subscription revenue  —  The company added 180,000 new digital subscribers in the latest quarter, and now has nearly 10 million subscribers in total.
 
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 More News: 
Sapna Maheshwari / New York Times:
After social media upended the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle magazine industries, some women turn to Facebook Groups and Substack for curated recommendations
Caitlin Huston / The Hollywood Reporter:
Paramount reports Q2 revenue down 2% YoY to $7.6B and a $250M loss; subscription revenue grew 47% YoY to $1.2B+; Paramount+ added ~700K subscribers to hit ~61M
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
UK regional media group National World debuts Shots!, a 24/7 Freeview channel showing short videos by its staff around the themes “real UK”, football, and crime
Discussion: HoldtheFrontPage
 Earlier Picks: 
Jon Henley / The Guardian:
Over half of the journalists at France-based Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche resign after their strike didn't prevent the arrival of a far-right editor
Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:
UK broadcast regulator Ofcom launches four impartiality investigations into GB News, after upholding two Mark Steyn COVID-19 coverage complaints earlier in 2023
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Comscore: Barbie earns $1B+ in worldwide box office sales 17 days after its release, becoming the first movie solely directed by a woman to cross the threshold
Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: the NYT placed Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf on leave earlier in 2023 during a probe into her possible misuse of funds, like overpaying non-US staff