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CNN:
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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The Guardian:
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
Discussion:
@mikeelgan, more at Techmeme »
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Pranshu Verma / Washington Post:
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 »
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
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
Rodney Tiffen / Inside Story:
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
Nitish Pahwa / Slate:
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 »
BBC:
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.
Discussion:
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
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
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 …
Discussion:
@lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw and @lucas_shaw
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
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
New York Times:
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
Hayley Wong / South China Morning Post:
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
Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
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] …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
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.
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