Mediagazer: WGA West President Meredith Stiehm asked studios to “stand up and fight back on AI” and said the guild recovered $78M in late pay and residuals owed in 2024 (Katie Campione/Deadline)

8:15 AM ET, February 17, 2025

Top News:

Max Tani / Semafor:

Documents: the NYT greenlights using select internal and external AI tools for editorial and product staff, including from OpenAI, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft — The Scoop — The New York Times is greenlighting the use of AI for its product and editorial staff, saying that internal tools …

Discussion: The Verge, Beyond Search, @corybe.com, @ranjnadas.bsky.social, @vcarchidi.bsky.social, @2xaught7.bsky.social, @rakeshsfnyc, @carnage4life.bsky.social, @dancow.bsky.social, @davidshepardson and @davidgerard.co.uk, more at Techmeme »

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

The WaPo rejected a print ad from Common Cause that said “Fire Elon Musk”, designed to wrap around the DC edition, after the group said it signed a $115K deal — The Washington Post this week backed out of a “Fire Elon Musk” advertising order that was to run as a wrap …

Discussion: The Independent, @amysiskind.bsky.social, @lr-detherage.bsky.social, Benzinga, @matthewcort.land, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Nelson Davis on LinkedIn, @leftcoastbabe.bsky.social, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @rethinkplaces.bsky.social, @commoncause, @jackofallwaze.bsky.social, @samlitzinger.bsky.social, @robpegoraro.com, @SteveRogers@progressivecafe … and @commoncause

The Age:

Sources: Australia's plans to threaten US companies like Meta with large fines for not paying local media outlets have been paused amid tariff talks with the US — Plans to threaten US tech giants such as Meta with hundreds of millions of dollars in Australian charges have been paused …

Discussion: Australian Financial Review, Crikey, @johnquiggin.bsky.social and @brucerguthrie.bsky.social

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Source: Spotify struck deals with Universal and Warner for its Music Pro plan launch, which includes concert tickets, but doesn't yet have rights from Sony — Spotify is developing a more expensive version of its service that will offer high-quality audio, early access to concert tickets and remixing tools.

Discussion: Billboard

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Sources: Spotify hopes to launch a Music Pro tier in 2025, a $6/month add-on that will include higher-quality audio, early access to concert tickets, and more

Discussion: Music Ally, Benzinga, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, Reuters, @jordanhr.bsky.social and Financial Times

Marc Caputo / Axios:

Sources: Trump is targeting AP to amplify GOP and conservative criticisms that the AP Stylebook shapes political dialogue by favoring liberal words and phrases — - “This isn't just about the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich told Axios.

Discussion: Society of Professional …, The Guardian, Twitchy, Reason, Mediaite and The Wrap

Sara Fischer / Axios:
The White House says it will bar AP from events in the Oval Office and on Air Force One over AP's refusal to use “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico”

Discussion: Poynter, Townhall, The Independent, Breitbart, Washington Post, @taylor47, Fox News, @kellyo, @reuterspr, The Hill, @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social, Reason, @kevinmkruse.bsky.social, CNBC, PoliticusUSA, @daralind.bsky.social, The Wrap, @helenkennedy.bsky.social, @jamellebouie.net, Pravda EN, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, @clarajeffery.bsky.social, @evansutton.bsky.social, @clarajeffery.bsky.social, @axioscomms, @stuartpstevens, @sykescharlie, @ron_fournier, @nealrubin_fp, @ron_fournier, @ron_fournier, The Hill, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social, @davelevitan.bsky.social, @lisafung.bsky.social, @augieray@mastodon.social, @peterbakernyt, @erikwemple, @sarafischer, @presssec, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @mcbridetd.bsky.social, Michael D Pendleton on LinkedIn, @kutalik.bsky.social, The Guardian, Daily Mail, Press Watch, Mediaite, National Press Club, Public Notice, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Convulsions, Daily Kos, Politico, Associated Press, @dangillmor.bsky.social, Justin's Political Corner, People, Bloomberg, New York Times, One America News Network, The Daily Wire, CBS News, @matthewkeys.net, @eborian.bsky.social, The Post Millennial, Deadline, New York Daily News, @brianstelter.bsky.social, Tennessee Star, KIFI-TV, New Republic, TVNewsCheck, E&E News, @atrupar.com, Variety, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, PEN America, Associated Press, Daily Caller News Foundation and r/Journalism

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount and YouTube cut a new carriage deal that will keep Paramount channels available on the YouTube TV video service; terms of the deal were not disclosed — Channels like CBS, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV were at risk of going dark if the companies were unable to reach a new deal.

Discussion: Engadget, @youtubetv, The Desk, TechCrunch, CBS News, The Streamable, New York Post, Streaming Better, Cord Cutters News, The Verge, 9to5Google, Awful Announcing, TV Tech, Broadband TV News and Radio & Television …

David Barnett / The Guardian:

An interview with Nadia Odunayo on building Goodreads alternative StoryGraph, remaining bootstrapped, reaching 3.8M active users, not allowing DMs, and more — Software engineer and developer Nadia Odunayo created the social media readers' platform StoryGraph and its popularity has rocketed

Discussion: @davidmbarnett.bsky.social, @DazzlingDamo@mastodon.ie, @emgeekay.bsky.social, @beate251.bsky.social, @GeofCox@climatejustice.social, @jpspencer.bsky.social, @ben-esse.bsky.social, @Climatehistories … and @indieauthornews …, more at Techmeme »

Wall Street Journal:

A profile of Karoline Leavitt, the youngest White House Press Secretary in history at age 27, whose rise is marked by her loyalty to Trump — Karoline Leavitt's rapid rise to the White House showcases both precocious skill and confrontations with the traditional media

Discussion: @dannygroner.bsky.social, Daily Mail and New York Post

Bloomberg:

A look at Japan's efforts to crack down on exploitation in the anime industry, which is notorious for grueling hours and low pay, following a scathing UN report — After a scathing UN report, the government tries to improve the working conditions of animators and voice actors.

Discussion: Sohee Kim on LinkedIn, Comic Book, @business, Variety and @bloomberg.com

Washington Post:

How Elon Musk used a contract signed by a Reuters division during Trump's first term to promote “deep state” conspiracies and justify cuts to federal agencies — Trump's DOGE chief mischaracterizes a contract as he marshals “deep state” conspiracy theories to justify cuts to federal agencies.

Katie Campione / Deadline:

WGA West President Meredith Stiehm asked studios to “stand up and fight back on AI” and said the guild recovered $78M in late pay and residuals owed in 2024 — WGA West President Meredith Stiehm sought to reassure members that the guild is doing its best to work in their favor during …

Jeff Gluck / New York Times:

A survey of NASCAR fans shows frustration, anger, and often acceptance of the fragmented system for watching races over broadcast, cable, and streaming channels — As NASCAR enters the first year of a new seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal, its fans are the latest to face …

Discussion: Fox News, Awful Announcing and @jeff_gluck

Archived Page Info:

This is a snapshot of Mediagazer at 8:15 AM ET, February 17, 2025.

View the current page or another snapshot:

Who's Hiring in Media?

Bureau Reporter - Vietnam, HCMC — Bloomberg

Curation Editor (Contract), NY — Apple News

Business Editor, CA — TheWrap

Executive Ed. - Tech & Electronics, AZ — AspenCore

Economy & Industry Reporter, TX — Texas Tribune

Deputy Editor - Health Care, VA — Politico

Political Enterprise Editor, DC — Guardian US

Housing & Real Estate Reporter, ME — BDN

Associate Reporter - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo

Senior Editor, Remote — Raw Story

Deputy Politics Editor, CA — Sacramento Bee

Alphaville Reporter, London — FT

See Also:

Mediagazer: site main

Mediagazer River: reverse chronological Mediagazer

Mediagazer Mobile: for phones

Mediagazer Leaderboard: Mediagazer's top sources

Subscribe:

Mediagazer RSS feed

Mediagazer on X

Mediagazer on Mastodon

More News:

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
While Hollywood has shown resistance to AI use, the tech has already become a standard tool to aid in dubbing and subtitling in international and indie films

Discussion: Jim Rivera on LinkedIn

Dan Whateley / Business Insider:
Maryland-based Uscreen, which helps creators launch apps, engage fans, monetize memberships, and more, raised $150M from PSG Equity, giving PSG a majority stake

Discussion: PJ Taei on LinkedIn

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Kadrey v. Meta: Meta paused some AI-related book licensing efforts in April 2023 after contacting publishers and seeing “slow uptake” and logistical setbacks

Discussion: @markriedl.bsky.social

Henry Larson / 404 Media:
YouTube has taken down a “true crime” channel with millions of views for 150+ AI-created videos about fake, lurid crimes, for breaking community guidelines

Discussion: Forbes, Futurism, @hemrylarson, @hemrylarson, @paul@oldfriends.live, @josephcox@infosec.exchange, Fast Company, Tubefilter, @pensadorlouco@kolektiva …, Gizmodo, @jalefkowit@vmst.io, @agasramirez@freeradical.zone and @ubiquity75.bsky.social

Haroon Siddique / The Guardian:
UK-based lawyers for Apple Daily founder and activist Jimmy Lai say they are being targeted by the Chinese state and its supporters in an intimidation campaign

Discussion: @icarszoey.bsky.social, @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social, @aoifenolan.bsky.social, @mbrooker.bsky.social, @andyscollick.bsky.social, @amfchina.bsky.social and @sensehofstede.nl

Earlier Picks:

Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Filing: Trump Media reports 2024 revenue down 12% YoY to $3.6M and a $400M net loss, up from $58.2M in 2023; the company has a $6.6B market cap

Discussion: The Independent, @j12t@j12t.social, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Axios and Bloomberg

Jessica Toonkel / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Paramount execs weigh risks of settling Trump's lawsuit against CBS News, concerned about potential shareholder litigation or criminal bribery charges

Discussion: Yahoo Finance, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, Raw Story, @katiefallow.bsky.social, @annmlipton.bsky.social, @annmlipton.bsky.social and @davidenrich.bsky.social

Andrew Liszewski / The Verge:
Amazon will remove the ability to download ebooks to a computer and send them to a Kindle over USB on February 26; it enabled easy backups and file conversions

Discussion: @ianrogers@mstdn.social, @vacheestfachee.bsky.social, @videograndpa@mastodon.social, @sethanikeem.bsky.social, @jasondashbailey.bsky.social, @jenreadsromance.bsky.social, @mariabustillos.bsky.social, @leokitty.bsky.social, @tkristinwilson@mas.to, @papapishu.bsky.social, Gizmodo and Android Police

McKay Coppins / The Atlantic:
James and Kathryn Murdoch detail the succession battle that has pitted James and Lachlan Murdoch against each other, leaving the family empire's future unclear

From Techmeme:

CNBC:
OpenAI closes a $40B round, the most raised by a private tech company, at a $300B post-money valuation; SoftBank led with $30B; source: ~$18B is for Stargate

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
OpenAI's new GPT-4o-powered image generator is now available to all users; Sam Altman last week mentioned a limit of three images per day for free-tier users

Sean Endicott / Windows Central:
Microsoft expands Copilot+ PC features exclusive to Snapdragon, like Live Captions, Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator, to PCs with AMD or Intel chips

Sister Sites:

Techmeme
Top news and commentary for technology's leaders, from all around the web

memeorandum
What US political commentators are discussing online right now

WeSmirch
The top celebrity news from all around the web on a single page