Mediagazer: A look at the problems of new legislation to support journalism, through state tax money or fees on Big Tech, in California, New York, and Canada (Jeff Jarvis/Whither news?)

Boone Ashworth / Wired:

Yahoo debuts a revamped version of its free Yahoo News app, powered by Artifact's AI tech, after acquiring the Instagram co-founders' news app in April 2024 — Artifact, the news app startup from Instagram's cofounders, was purchased by Yahoo earlier this year.

Discussion: Engadget, The Verge, Yahoo Inc., Yahoo Inc., Andrew Machado on LinkedIn, Coleen O'Lear on LinkedIn, Vera H-C Chan on LinkedIn, Caragh Fisher O'Connor on LinkedIn, @jlanzone, @jlanzone and The Wrap, more at Techmeme »

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Yahoo confirms it has been testing an AI summaries feature for a few months on the Yahoo News website for a small, single-digit percentage of articles — Yahoo's AI push isn't over just yet. The company, also TechCrunch's parent, recently launched AI-powered features for Yahoo Mail …

Jeff Jarvis / Whither news?:

A look at the problems of new legislation to support journalism, through state tax money or fees on Big Tech, in California, New York, and Canada — Newspaper lobbyists look out only for themselves — Whither news? — · — Just now — California legislators have amended …

Discussion: @gaufre, @danablankenhorn@threads.net, @jeffjarvis, @timmcguire, @progresschamber, @gaufre, @jeffjarvis and @pehoco@threads.net

Digiday:

GroupM expects global ad spending excluding political advertising to grow 7.8% in 2024, a bump from its original 5.3% forecast; Dentsu also bumped its forecast — Don't ever say that uncertainty stops ad spending. — So far this year, it's held up strong despite regional conflicts …

Discussion: Michael Burke on LinkedIn, Gregory Jensen on LinkedIn, @digiday and WORLD SCREEN

Casey Newton / Platformer:

Sources: Stanford Internet Observatory is winding down after five years and won't conduct research into any future elections; Stanford may retain SIO's branding — After five years of pioneering research into the abuse of social platforms, the Stanford Internet Observatory is winding down.

Discussion: @Mikal@sfba.social, @knutson_brain@sfba.social, @juliascribe, @evacide, @AnnemarieBridy@mastodon …, @metacurity@infosec.exchange, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @lauren@mastodon … and @caseynewton@mastodon.social, more at Techmeme »

Megan Cattel / Nieman Reports:

Q&A with Ibrahaim Abdelbaki, the editor of BBC Arabic's Lifeline Service in Gaza, on providing information to displaced citizens, reporting challenges, and more — How the BBC Arabic's Lifeline Service in Gaza is delivering vital information to displaced citizens and airing first-hand accounts of survivors.

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Investigation: Google returned AI-written summaries for ~25% of news-related US search queries in mid-May 2024, with organic links pushed far down the page — The dramatic impact of Google's AI-written summaries on search result visibility for publishers has been revealed through exclusive new research.

Discussion: Future Media, Dominic Ponsford on LinkedIn, @laurahelmuth@mastodon.social and KHOU-TV

Brooks Barnes / New York Times:

Disney and Ron DeSantis reach a 15-year agreement to let Disney undertake a $17B expansion of Walt Disney World near Orlando; Disney will end all litigation — The deal locks in a 15-year expansion plan for Disney World and clears a path for Disney to restart political donations in Florida.

Discussion: The Hollywood Reporter, Fox Business, Gizmodo, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Associated Press, Quartz, Orlando Sentinel, Reuters, Axios and CNN

Sheila Dang / Reuters:

A US judge orders X's lawsuit against Media Matters over accusations of misrepresenting the amount of antisemitic content on X will go to trial on April 7, 2025 — Social media platform X's lawsuit against media watchdog group Media Matters will head to trial on April 7, 2025, a U.S. District judge ordered on Thursday.

Discussion: New York Post and CNN

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

UK nonprofit The Bureau of Investigative Journalism launches paid memberships and explores other revenue streams to address a £250,000 funding shortfall — The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ) is on a mission to diversify its revenue away from relying on foundations as …

Mark Stenberg / Adweek:

Disney debuts two new ad products across its streaming portfolio: shoppable ads and advergames, which let viewers play branded games rather than watch ads — Exclusive: The products aim to make CTV ads more engaging — Disney has debuted two new ad products across its streaming portfolio …

Discussion: StreamTV Insider, The Media Leader, Rob Aksman on LinkedIn, Jamie Power on LinkedIn and Kevin Kraft on LinkedIn

Adam Sherwin / The i Paper:

Sources detail Evgeny Lebedev's decision to end the Evening Standards' daily print edition under pressure from a Saudi investor, after prevaricating for years — Current and former employees tell the story behind the daily edition's closure — Evgeny Lebedev agreed to axe …

Discussion: @richjamesuk