Mediagazer: The New York Times wins three 2024 Polk Awards, the most of any publication; The New Yorker, ProPublica, Vanity Fair, and The Baltimore Banner also won (Katie Robertson/New York Times)

12:25 PM 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 …

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 …

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, @johnquiggin.bsky.social, Crikey and @brucerguthrie.bsky.social

Katie Robertson / New York Times:

The New York Times wins three 2024 Polk Awards, the most of any publication; The New Yorker, ProPublica, Vanity Fair, and The Baltimore Banner also won — The Times was honored for an investigation into extremism in Israel, coverage of the civil war in Sudan and a narrative about a Russian soldier who defected from the war in Ukraine.

Discussion: ProPublica, New Yorker, Long Island University, Talking Biz News, @angrchen, @janemayernyer, @chuckrossdc, @adamfeuerstein, @cecianasta, @alissazhu, @regina_griffin, @justin_fenton, @lomikriel, @kyoshino, @katherineeban, @janemayernyer, @michaelluo and STAT

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: 9to5Mac, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, @lucas_shaw and 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: CMU, Music Business Worldwide, Music Ally, Benzinga, Lucas Shaw on LinkedIn, Financial Times, Reuters and @jordanhr.bsky.social

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: Mediaite, Society of Professional …, @mweinstock.bsky.social, @tommyxtopher, @brahmresnik.bsky.social, @marcacaputo, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, @realtuckfrumper.bsky.social, Townhall, @jmiers230.bsky.social, Breitbart, Twitchy, Reason 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: Mediaite, Poynter, The Independent, Breitbart, @taylor47, Fox News, Washington Post, @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, @axioscomms, @clarajeffery.bsky.social, @stuartpstevens, @sykescharlie, @ron_fournier, @nealrubin_fp, @ron_fournier, @ron_fournier, @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social, @davelevitan.bsky.social, @peterbakernyt, @erikwemple, @lisafung.bsky.social, @augieray@mastodon.social, @sarafischer, @presssec, @carlquintanilla.bsky.social, @mcbridetd.bsky.social, Michael D Pendleton on LinkedIn, @kutalik.bsky.social, The Hill, Daily Mail, The Guardian, National Press Club, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Convulsions, Daily Kos, Politico, Associated Press, Public Notice, @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, Tennessee Star, New York Daily News, Deadline, @brianstelter.bsky.social, New Republic, E&E News, KIFI-TV, TVNewsCheck, @atrupar.com, Variety, Vanity Fair, HuffPost, PEN America and r/Journalism

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:

UK's Advertising Standards Authority tells Reach to stop posting ad features on social media without clearly labeling them as ads — ASA closes Hull Live case informally but warns problem must be fixed. — The Advertising Standards Authority has investigated Reach regional website Hull Live …

Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:

Olyn, which bills itself as a “Shopify for filmmakers” that lets makers directly sell their films to viewers, launches, offering 90% of revenue to creators — The recent Brian Epstein biopic “Midas Man,” a film about the manager of The Beatles, debuted not on a platform like Netflix or Amazon …

Discussion: Financial Times

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 »

Financial Times:

Surj, the sporting arm of Saudi Arabia's PIF, plans to invest $1B in DAZN and a new joint venture with the sports streamer; source: Surj will take a <5% stake — Surj Sports Investment will take stake in DAZN and help fund a Middle East broadcasting joint venture

Discussion: Advanced Television, New York Times, Bloomberg and @martingrantross

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

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: The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Engadget, @youtubetv, Front Office Sports, @jbberrygirl.bsky.social, The Desk, CBS News, TechCrunch, The Streamable, New York Post, Streaming Better, Cord Cutters News, The Verge, 9to5Google and Awful Announcing

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More News:

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

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

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

Discussion: The Desk, @jeff_gluck, Awful Announcing and Fox 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

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

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

Earlier Picks:

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

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 and Tubefilter

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

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

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

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: in recent weeks, Meta executives including Mark Zuckerberg have pressed US trade officials to oppose an impending EU fine and cease-and-desist order

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