Top News:
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will likely strike “certain partnerships” for AI training content, but some publishers may be overestimating their content's value — 'If they demanded that we don't use their content, then we just wouldn't use their content.'
Discussion:
TechCrunch, @therealbobbymiller … and Ars Technica, more at Techmeme »
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney officially launches its password-sharing crackdown, letting users add an “Extra Member” for $6.99/month for Disney+ Basic, or $9.99 for Disney+ Premium — The company rolled out what it is calling its paid sharing policy this week, letting users add a member outside their household …
Gordon Rayner / Telegraph:
The Spectator appoints ex-UK cabinet minister Michael Gove as editor, starting on October 8, after its takeover by GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall — Former Cabinet minister will take over from Fraser Nelson on Oct 8 - three months after standing down as MP
Discussion:
New Statesman, Financial Times, Associated Press, Politico, Bloomberg, @strykermcguire, @jonnelledge, @rupertmyers, Press Gazette, @warwickmansell, @davidfolkenflik, The Guardian, @noahkeate, @euanrellie, @hasanpatel, @danbarker, @carolineslocock, @brokenbottleboy, @gordonrayner, @gordonrayner, @freddiesayers and @dhothersall
Sareen Habeshian / Axios:
Univision says Harris and Trump will appear at separate town halls in front of a Spanish-speaking audience in October, moderated by journalist Enrique Acevedo — - “There are more than 36 million Hispanics eligible to vote in the U.S., making them the largest minority in the country …
Discussion:
TelevisaUnivision, The Hill, @bsdtectr.bsky.social, @brianstelter, HuffPost, Variety, Adweek, The Wrap, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, TVNewsCheck and Deadline
Financial Times:
Sources: Bari Weiss' The Free Press raised about $15M at a ~$100M valuation; Bari Weiss posted an article this week that said the outlet had 800,000+ readers — The fundraise values Bari Weiss's venture at $100mn — US media start-up The Free Press has raised a further round of funding from investors …
Discussion:
@jayhawkjeff.bsky.social, @ivanlevingston and @pressgazette
New York Times:
How NBC News, CNN, Fox News, and others are preparing for election day, with contingency plans to push back against misinformation and cover legal reviews — Here's how they're preparing to make calls in a very tight race — and ensure that viewers and readers believe them.
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, @benmullin and @benmullin
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
X releases its first transparency report since Elon Musk took over; X took action on 2,361 accounts over hateful content in H1 2024, down from 1M in H2 2021 — In the first half of 2024, the report says, X received nearly 67 million reports of hateful conduct, and took action on more than 2,000 accounts.
Natasha Lennard / The Intercept:
CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash accused Rep. Rashida Tlaib of antisemitism and doubled down after the source of a statement attributed to Tlaib corrected them — In the last three days, CNN hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash have performed a masterclass in journalistic malpractice — better described in this case as “lying.”
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Automattic sends a cease-and-desist letter to WP Engine, alleging unauthorized use of the WordPress trademark, after WP Engine sent a C&D letter on September 23 — The brouhaha in the WordPress community looks likely to escalate into a legal battle around trademarks.
Discussion:
One Man & His Blog, @carnage4life, @carnage4life, Search Engine Journal and TechRadar, more at Techmeme »
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Chartbeat: Facebook traffic to 700 US news sites fell 40% from January 2023 to July 2024 to ~500M page views, as page views from Google Search grew 10% to 1.5B — Traffic from Google Discover now exceeds traffic from Google Search for some publishers, but what works there is a bit of a guessing game.
Discussion:
@laurahazardowen, Annemarie Dooling on LinkedIn and Adweek
Dave Collins / Associated Press:
A US bankruptcy judge says he will approve an auction of Alex Jones' Infowars and its assets in November 2024 to help Jones pay $1B+ to Sandy Hook families — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ' Infowars media platform and its assets will be sold off piece by piece in auctions this fall …
Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
Q&A with NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik on the Olivia Nuzzi and RFK Jr. saga, Ben Smith's defense of Nuzzi and sexual relations with sources, and more — The longtime media reporter sounds off. … Johnson was hired there in 2013 by then-Editor in Chief Ben Smith …
Discussion:
@justinbaragona, @thatjakepc, @mattdpearce, @davidgross_man, @marisakabas2, @nikkimcr, @marisakabas2, @tessaduvall, @leah_sottile, @samwangphd, @davitydave, @youngvulgarian, @marisakabas2, @jokelley, @marisakabas2, @tbridis, @teachequitably1, @tattersking, @radfemme74 and Los Angeles Times