Top News:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Wired and Business Insider remove articles by journalist Margaux Blanchard that appear to be AI-generated and feature people who do not seem to exist — Wired and Business Insider have removed news features written by a freelance journalist after concerns they are likely AI-generated works of fiction.
Discussion:
@scottnover.bsky.social, @benmullin, @grspur.bsky.social, @jaywillis.net, Jem Collins on LinkedIn, @ogmcduck.bsky.social, @stokel.bsky.social, @mjanssen.bsky.social, @pressgazette.co.uk, @seywarddarby.bsky.social, @paris.nyc, @jamesrball.com, @jetjocko.bsky.social, @oisinmcgann.bsky.social, @garethtbij.bsky.social, @harryrose.bsky.social, @AlisonCreekside@mstdn.ca, @katebevan.com and Talking Biz News
Dominick Mastrangelo / The Hill:
Two House Democrats sent Paramount a letter on August 20 demanding documents, communications, and answers regarding the Skydance merger approval process — A pair of top House Democrats are launching an investigation into Paramount's $7 billion merger with fellow media conglomerate Skydance …
Discussion:
LateNighter, NBC News, Bloomberg, CNBC, Radio & Television …, Deadline, The Independent and Mumbrella
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal:
The Onion has 53K+ print subscribers and expects $6M in 2025 revenue, signaling a market for print media, also shown by print relaunches of Saveur and others — Publications turn to old-style products to appeal to readers and stand out in digital media landscape
Columbia Journalism Review:
Thirteen newsroom leaders and ethicists discuss elements of journalistic ethics, including dealing with AI, anonymous leaks, bias, lies, and audience needs — We asked newsroom leaders and ethicists what they're keeping or changing in an era of Trump, “fake news,” AI, and industry decline.
Discussion:
@columjournreview.bsky.social
Abid Rahman / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen and Adobe: the Premier League's opening weekend averaged 850K viewers across six matches on NBC/Peacock and USA Network, a record and up 4% on 2024-25 — The Manchester United-Arsenal game scored 2.3 million viewers across NBC, Peacock, Telemundo and NBC Sports' digital platforms.
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Analysis: 16 of the UK's top 50 biggest news websites now use a “consent or pay” model to let users opt out of cookies; almost 100% choose to accept cookies — Consent rates jump up and small number of holdouts tend to pay instead - experts say it's a win-win.
Gabriela Pomeroy / BBC:
Denmark plans to abolish a 25% sales tax on books, one of the highest globally, in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”; the measure will cost $50M per year — The Danish government has announced it will abolish a 25% sales tax on books, in an effort to combat a “reading crisis”.
Anna Nicolaou / Financial Times:
Fox launches Fox One, its $20/month streamer to reach younger viewers; Fox News' median viewer age is 69, and Emplifi says it had 332M YouTube views in July — App is aimed at growing the network beyond its ageing audience, with ‘modest’ expectations from executives
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
On its 10th anniversary, YouTube Music gets new features, including “Taste Match” playlists similar to Spotify Blend and event notifications through Bandsintown — YouTube is celebrating 10 years of its YouTube Music app on Thursday with the launch of new features that bring it closer to rival Spotify and others.
Discussion:
Billboard, PR Newswire, The Verge, YouTube Official Blog, Android Police and Android Authority
Committee to Protect Journalists:
India opens criminal investigations into The Wire editor Siddharth Varadarajan, the outlet's staff, and parent FIJ over articles on April attacks and Pakistan — Two police branches in northeastern Indian state of Assam opened separate criminal investigations into Siddharth Varadarajan …
Discussion:
The Indian Express
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple raises the price of Apple TV+ in the US and some markets globally after previously raising the price in 2023; in the US, the price will rise $3 to $12.99 — Apple today announced that the monthly price of Apple TV+ is rising in the United States and some international markets.
Discussion:
Screen Rant, TheDesk.net, Reuters, The Hollywood Reporter, The Streamable, Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch, Business Insider, The Wrap, TVLine, Bloomberg, Forbes, Tom's Guide, Digital Trends, Variety, Broadband TV News, Appleosophy, BGR, PCMag, iThinkDifferent, iDownloadBlog.com, Decider, iPhone in Canada, WPXI-TV, Thurrott, Pocket-lint, Cult of Mac, @edkane71.bsky.social, @goldengaytime.bsky.social, iClarified, PCWorld, Macworld, Engadget, The Verge, Streaming Better, MacRumors, AppleInsider, MacTech.com, Media Play News, MacDailyNews and Deadline, more at Techmeme »
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
A profile of Stability AI, which under CEO Prem Akkaraju and Chair Sean Parker has shifted from building frontier AI models to a Hollywood-focused SaaS company — An early winner in the generative AI wars was near collapse—then bet everything on a star-studded comeback. Can Stability AI beat the competition?
