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Alice Stewart, a CNN political commentator and veteran political adviser who worked on several GOP presidential campaigns, dies at 58 — Alice Stewart, a veteran political adviser and CNN political commentator who worked on several GOP presidential campaigns, has died. She was 58.
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How China is using AI news anchors to spread its propaganda on social media; Microsoft: some AI anchors were created using ByteDance's video editing app CapCut — News avatars are proliferating on social media and experts say they will spread as the technology becomes more accessible
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@mikeelgan, more at Techmeme »
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A look at an ISIS-affiliated media program called News Harvest, which is using AI-generated news anchors to disseminate extremist propaganda quickly and cheaply
Discussion:
@humancell, @washingtonpost, @mo2dmax, @pranshuverma_, @azelin and Futurism, more at Techmeme »


Culture secretary Lucy Frazer says the UK is working on rules around the use of creative work for training AI after media and arts executives voiced concerns — Culture secretary Lucy Frazer says focus will be on transparency after media and arts executives voiced concern


Court discovery docs from the UK's News Group phone hacking cases give more detail about evidence destruction and indicate the company gathered political intel — Fresh revelations suggest that the scandalous behaviour at London-based Murdoch newspapers was wider and deeper than previously believed
Discussion:
@drjm_fernandez, @onyadon, The Sun and @quentindempster


How bots monopolizing DeviantArt's promotional and revenue apparatuses and the platform's unwillingness to address the issue are driving artists to abandon it — Once a vibrant platform for artists, DeviantArt is now buckling under the weight of bots and greed—and spurning the creative community that made it great.
Discussion:
elena, more at Techmeme »


Tony O'Reilly, one of Ireland's leading businessmen, who had owned the Independent, Belfast Telegraph, and over 100 newspapers, dies at 88 after a short illness — Tony O'Reilly, the former owner of the Independent and Belfast Telegraph newspapers, has died in Dublin following a short illness.
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Irish Independent, The Irish Times, The Sunday Times, RTÉ, The Wrap, @lionsofficial, RTÉ, @cooper_m, @simonharristd, Bloomberg, @dairekeogh, Irish Star, The i Paper, @alanenglish9, Telegraph, The Guardian, @ianbirrell, Business Post, Irish Mirror, Sky News, @michealmartintd, @ian_hyland, Reuters, @jackorugby, Reuters, @drbambrick, Irish Examiner, @donlav and The Irish Times


A profile of Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters, who led the company's successful crackdown on password sharing and is now pushing a focus on live programming — Now all he's got to figure out is live programming, sports, gaming, pricing and, oh, advertising. — In mid-February, Greg Peters …
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@lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and @lucas_shaw


Sources: WBD continues to hold talks with the NBA about keeping the rights, but it's more likely the league signs papers with NBCUniversal, forcing WBD to match — Whether it's two people in a marriage or a company and a sports league, it's not easy to break up a 40-year partnership.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, @kentfoss, @alvierado, @sherman4949, Sports Media Watch, The Streamable, Barrett Media, Awful Announcing and Vanity Fair


Sources: Sony and Apollo sign NDAs but back away from their $26B offer for Paramount's assets, partly due to Sony shareholders' concerns over streaming costs — The two companies have expressed interest in acquiring the media conglomerate, but are backing away from their $26 billion all-cash offer.
Discussion:
Deadline, @benmullin, @shanabellucy, Reuters, The Wrap and Deadline


The US says it is deeply concerned over reports that Zhang Zhan, imprisoned after covering COVID-19 in China, has disappeared after her expected prison release — - Zhang Zhan, arrested in 2020 after reporting on coronavirus in Wuhan, has not been heard from since her expected prison release date, advocates say
Discussion:
@statedeptspox, @angoffinet, @ameshaa, Daily Mail, UPI and BBC


Q&A with New Yorker journalist Rachel Aviv on her Lucy Letby article, the cost of trial transcripts in the UK, the police documentary about the case, and more — “So much of the media coverage — and the trial itself — started at the point at which we've determined that [Lucy] …


Reddit reintroduces the awards system it shut down in 2023, ends the replacement Golden Upvotes system, and expands its Contributor Program to 35 countries — Reddit announced on Wednesday that it is reintroducing its awards system after shutting down the program last year.