Mediagazer: In his new book, Marty Baron says Jared Kushner pressured the Washington Post publisher to fire Baron as editor over the outlet's Russia investigation coverage (Martin Pengelly/The Guardian)

8:35 PM ET, September 27, 2023

Top News:

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Meta launches AI chatbots based on over a dozen influencers, including Snoop Dogg, MrBeast, and Charli D'Amelio, on Instagram and Facebook, and will add more — Meta has turned more than a dozen celebrities and influencers into robots. — The tech company, at the Meta Connect 2023 confab Wednesday …

Discussion: Meta, The Verge, The Verge, BetaNews, TechCrunch, The Information, New York Post, Rolling Stone, Mashable, @ct_bergstrom@fediscience.org, BGR and The Messenger, more at Techmeme »

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Meta's celebrity AIs are generated AI animations, built from filming the people the AIs represent; Meta did not comment on how the celebrities were compensated — Actors are in the middle of a major, protracted battle with Hollywood over what role AI will be playing in the future of entertainment …

Discussion: The Guardian, @brideoflinux, Gizmodo and New York Times

Jim Waterson / The Guardian:

GB News suspends presenter Laurence Fox after he went on a misogynistic on-air rant about the political journalist Ava Evans; Fox refused to apologize — Broadcaster says it will apologise to Ava Evans about comments Fox made about her on Dan Wootton's show on Tuesday

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

After suspending Laurence Fox, GB News suspends presenter Dan Wootton over “totally unacceptable” comments Fox made about a female journalist on Wootton's show — GB News has suspended both Laurence Fox and Dan Wootton over “totally unacceptable” comments made by Fox …

Discussion: The Mirror, Byline Times, Financial Times, The Guardian, @arusbridger, BBC, The Independent, @gbnews, @hardeep_matharu, NME, @shockproofbeats, @daveleebbg, The London Economic and Guido Fawkes

Hollywood Reporter:

A play-by-play of the final negotiations between the WGA and the studios, represented by Bob Iger, David Zaslav, Ted Sarandos, and NBCUniversal's Donna Langley — From the Chris Keyser-CEO calls that brought them back to the table to the ask that almost derailed the deal, a play-by-play of the final negotiations.

Discussion: @rking618, @dmaguz, @thatrebecca, @jbflint, @maghielse, @corbinbolies and @timothydowling

Jennifer Maas / Variety:
WGA leaders lift the strike order as of 12:01am PT on September 27, release the tentative AMPTP deal, and let writers return to work before final ratification

Discussion: WGA Contract 2023, Forbes, The Register, Bloomberg, @adamconover, WGA Contract 2023, Rolling Stone, Defector, UPROXX, WORLD SCREEN, Decider, @jesserodriguez, @whipsical, @baldur@toot.cafe, @lpcprof, @scobie, ComingSoon.net, Engadget, Sputnik News, Advanced Television, @raymondpert@mstdn.social, @ianrosewrites@scicomm.xyz, New York Daily News, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, The Hill, @millsjenjen@aus.social, The A.V. Club, CBS News, @antimnguyen@mastodon …, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, @deweyritten@infosec.exchange, Us Weekly, @danhon@dan.mastohon.com, The Verge, @tananarivedue.bsky.social, @mikedrucker.bsky.social, @the2scoops.bsky.social, Deadline, The Wrap, @emilystjams.bsky.social, @phillewis.bsky.social, IndieWire, KNSD-TV, The Hollywood Reporter, ET Canada, making this up as I go, Publishing Perspectives and Press Telegram

Alex Cranz / The Verge:
The WGA contract calls for streaming data transparency, requiring studios to provide “the total number of hours streamed” of self-produced high budget programs

Mark Kleinman / Sky News:

Source: National World lines up advisers for a £600M takeover bid for The Daily Telegraph, joining multiple other interested parties, including Lord Rothermere — David Montgomery's National World is lining up Cavendish Capital Markets and Peel Hunt to muster the firepower for a £600m takeover bid, Sky News learns.

Discussion: HoldtheFrontPage and Press Gazette

Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Sources: GB News co-owner Paul Marshall, along with Citadel founder Ken Griffin, plans a bid for the UK-based Telegraph through his UnHerd Ventures media group

Discussion: Telegraph, The Wrap, City A.M. and Financial Times

Brian Steinberg / Variety:

A profile of Kasie Hunt as she launches State of the Race, a weekday show about US politics for CNN's international service, after moving from NBC News in 2021 — Two years later, she's just starting to find out whether she might sink or swim. — On Wednesday, Hunt will launch …

Discussion: Adweek and CNN

Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Warner Bros. Discovery launches CNN Max in an open beta in the US, offering a 24/7 live news streaming feed and 900 hours of CNN Originals to Max subscribers

Discussion: @dcnorg, @tomaxwell, Variety, The Streamable, CNN, @2xaught7.bsky.social, @cnnpr and Media Play News

Martin Pengelly / The Guardian:

In his new book, Marty Baron says Jared Kushner pressured the Washington Post publisher to fire Baron as editor over the outlet's Russia investigation coverage — Marty Baron says Trump's son-in-law leaned on Post publisher to withdraw support of Russia election interference investigation

Discussion: Puck, New Republic, @froomkin, @DemocracyMattersALot …, @stevesilberman@newsie.social and @kbeninato@mstdn.party

Martin Baron / The Atlantic:
An excerpt from Marty Baron's upcoming book, Collision of Power: the “Democracy Dies in Darkness” slogan, Trump asking Bezos for better Post coverage, and more

Discussion: The Messenger, @edokeefe, @postbaron, @jmart, @mckaycoppins and CNN

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl: AI will greatly impact the music industry in the next year and YouTube Content ID can be a blueprint for protecting rightsholders — Warner Music CEO Robert Kyncl believes AI will be significantly impacting the music industry within the next year.

Discussion: Billboard, Gizmodo and Music Ally

Matt Tamanini / The Streamable:

In a message to Canadian users, Disney+ says it updated its subscriber agreement to limit the usage of the service to a single household, effective November 1 — The streamer is updating its subscriber agreement in Canada to limit usage to a single household.

Discussion: CNET, Engadget, The Verge, MobileSyrup, BGR and IGN, more at Techmeme »

Emma Garland / Huck:

A look at The Paper, an independent magazine about the “confusing, hopeless but hilarious” state of life in Wales, funded via a Michael Sheen-backed Kickstarter — Founded by three friends from South Wales and funded by a Kickstarter backed by Michael Sheen …

Discussion: @emmaggarland and @emmaggarland

Max Tani / Semafor:

Sources: Fox News is charging ~$200K for a 30-second ad during the second GOP primary debate, down from ~$495K for the first, as the primary becomes a “snoozer” — The Scoop — Advertisers paid a premium for airtime during the first Republican presidential debate on Fox News …

Discussion: The Messenger, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair, @semaforben, @imyourmoderator and @maxwelltani

Sara Atske / Pew Research Center:

US survey of 4,742 Black adults: 63% say news about Black people is more negative than news about other races and 43% say the coverage stereotypes Black people — Black Americans are critical of news coverage of Black people and say educating journalists would make coverage fairer

Discussion: American Press Institute, Forbes, Columbia Journalism Review, WISH-TV, Nieman Lab, @black_intellect@mstdn.social, @mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io, @twrling@sfba.social and Poynter

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Linda Yaccarino reflects on her first 100 days as X's CEO, says the intense public scrutiny is “hard on me”, as sources describe her relationship with Elon Musk — Can the chief of the company formerly known as Twitter survive Musk's chaos and win back advertisers?

Discussion: The Information, UPI, Jerusalem Post, MobileSyrup, The Messenger, Insider, @cordeliaj, @chris_skinner, TechCrunch, @ft, @rmac18, @mattvella, Reclaim The Net, @kateconger and @janinegibson, more at Techmeme »

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

Memo: New York Public Radio President and CEO LaFontaine Oliver plans to cut NYPR staff by ~12% due to a “free fall in the advertising market” — The chief executive of New York Public Radio, which operates WNYC and the classical music station WQXR, said the organization was facing a “free-fall” in advertising.