Top News:
Isabella Simonetti / Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Fortune editor Nick Lichtenberg, who uses AI to research and write articles; AI-assisted stories made up ~20% of Fortune's web traffic in H2 2025 — A Fortune editor has cranked out more than 600 stories using the technology; 'this won't be seen as some people's idea of journalism'
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr, Marisa Kabas on LinkedIn, @olgakhazan, @meghanbobrowsky, @PeteTucker@mastodon.social, @charlottealter, Yahoo Finance, @marisakabas.bsky.social, @joshsternberg.com, @jfeej.bsky.social, @minakimes.bsky.social, Fortune, @michaelroston, @gwill2k.bsky.social, @grossdm and @marisakabas.bsky.social, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Maxwell Zeff / Wired:
How some independent tech reporters are using AI, which they say allows them to do more reporting and recreate newsroom resources like editors and fact-checkers — Independent writers are using AI agents all throughout their reporting process. What's the value of a human journalist, anyway?
Discussion:
@vcunningham, @jasminewsun, @harrymccracken@mastodon …, @alexeheath, @knibbs.bsky.social, @karlbode.com, Jordan Mitchell on LinkedIn, @zeffmax, @doog, @lizzieohreally.bsky.social, @joshdaws, @geek4dogs, @joannastern, @kevinroose, @jasminewsun, Talking Biz News, Business Insider and r/Journalism
New York Times:
Sources: Versant is one of multiple suitors in talks to buy Vox Media's podcast network as it seeks to diversify its revenue; NBCU invested $200M in Vox in 2015 — Versant, the parent company of CNBC and MS NOW, is looking to continue expanding its business beyond cable TV.
Discussion:
Awful Announcing, The Wrap, Mediaite and @mediaevan
Pew Research Center:
Religious radio stations make up ~25% of the US' 17K stations; 98% of adults live in range of at least one; 45% say they ever listen to religious audio shows — 25% of all AM/FM radio stations in the U.S. have a faith focus — The Pew-Knight Initiative supports new research …
Discussion:
Inside Radio, Poynter, @pewresearch.org and Catholic World Report
Rob Waugh / Press Gazette:
A look at Clickout, which has bought hundreds of websites to harvest their reputations and pack them with casino links; in 2024, it had £40M in revenue — Parasitical SEO companies are buying respected online news outlets in order to harvest their reputations before leaving behind a ruined shell.
Discussion:
CryptoNinjas, Search Engine Land, Convince & Convert and Blockonomi
Anu Adegbola / Search Engine Land:
Google rolls out its Veo video model globally within Google Ads, allowing advertisers to create 10-second videos for YouTube from up to three static images — Table of Contents — Veo lets advertisers turn up to three static images into 10-second videos ready to serve on YouTube — no video production required.
Discussion:
MediaPost, Ameet Khabra on LinkedIn, Search Engine Journal and PPC
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
FCC Chair Brendan Carr says that if the NFL puts too many games behind streaming services' paywalls, the league could risk losing its antitrust exemptions — The Scoop — If the National Football League puts too many games behind a paywall, it could risk losing its antitrust exemptions, FCC Chair Brendan Carr told Semafor.
Andrew Deck / Nieman Lab:
Meta's Oversight Board says Community Notes aren't a proper substitute for fact checking, and warns expanding them beyond the US could pose human rights risks — On Thursday, Meta's Oversight Board, a quasi-independent body that reviews the social media giant's moderation practices …
Discussion:
The Decoder, Just Security, Oversight Board, Poynter, MLex, Tech Policy Press, The Indian Express and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
Emily Goodin / New York Post:
The Trump administration launches the White House app, promising news “straight from the source, no filter”, with news, live, social, and gallery sections — The Trump administration announced the launch of the White House app on Friday, promising news “straight from the source, no filter.”
Discussion:
CNBC, The Post Millennial, The Hill, @whitehouse, Newsweek and TMZ.com, more at Techmeme »
Sophie Shulman / CTech:
Unity confirms plans to shut down its ironSource advertising network on April 30; the two merged in 2022 in a $4.4B all-stock deal — The moves leave little of the Israeli ad-tech firm within Unity, marking a quiet unwind of one of the sector's most high-profile mergers.
Discussion:
Proactive, Game Developer, Barron's Online, PocketGamer.biz, Benzinga, Game World Observer and Mobilegamer.biz, more at Techmeme »
John Koblin / New York Times:
Savannah Guthrie plans to return to the Today show on April 6, after taking a little more than two months' leave to search for her abducted mother — NBC said that she would return as an anchor of the show on April 6, a little more than two months after the disappearance of her mother.
Discussion:
NBC News, TODAY.com, The List, Deseret News, WSVN-TV, UPI, HELLO!, Variety, Daily Mail, @brianstelter, The Indian Express, TMZ.com, Page Six, Adweek, The Hollywood Reporter, Straight Arrow News, Business Insider, Mediaite, Fox News, MS NOW, CBS News, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, KBMT, Forbes, IJR, Celebrity News & …, Decider and One America News Network
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix raises US prices following a January 2025 hike; standard with ads rises $1 to $8.99/month; standard with no ads and premium rise $2 to $19.99 and $26.99 — Netflix, for the second time in a little over a year, is raising prices for its three plans in the U.S. The new pricing …
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Sports Illustrated, Appleosophy, Android Authority, Barron's Online, CNBC, Benzinga, Washington Times, Investor's Business Daily, Mercury News, Decider, Tech Times, Blockonomi, TechRadar, The US Sun, Proactive, Yahoo Finance, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Morningstar, The Shortcut, The American Bazaar, Suggest, Far Out Magazine, Kansas City Star, LADbible, @ddayen, ScreenCrush, Android Headlines, Barrett Media, CBS News, Wired, POST Wrestling, Quartz, Advanced Television, @tvgrimreaper, KEYE, NBC Bay Area, WPXI-TV, iDrop News, iClarified, The A.V. Club, @DharmaDog@mastodon.social, Awful Announcing, Complex, @thespaceshipper.com, Digital Trends, Reuters, Mashable, IGN, Neowin, The Streamable, Stuff, WBNS-TV, Kotaku, The Mac Observer, @blackskynews.blacksky.app, Tom's Guide, How-To Geek, TechCrunch, Thurrott, Polygon.com, Los Angeles Times, Ars Technica, BGR, AppleInsider, Engadget, Cord Cutters News, CNET, The Independent, Collider, MacRumors, MobileSyrup, What's Trending, Pocket-lint, Nerdist, 9to5Mac, The Wrap, The Verge, Bloomberg, Watcher Guru, Android Authority, PCWorld, Screen Rant, Consequence, Deadline, Forbes, KCRG-TV, Media Play News, Just Jared, Droid Life and Sherwood News
Cecilia Kang / New York Times:
As US lawmakers struggle to pass online safety laws, LA and New Mexico juries take the lead, holding social media companies accountable for harming young users — A pair of verdicts held social media companies accountable for harming young users, highlighting a growing backlash as Congress struggles to pass legislation.
Discussion:
UPI, American Greatness, The Week, JURIST, The Indian Express, Spyglass, Yahoo Finance, @juliaangwin, @meghanncuniff, @meghanncuniff, @outfrontcnn, Kelly Stonelake on LinkedIn, Fox Business, Baptist Press, @digiphile.bsky.social, Reuters, Politico, CBS News, Miriam Buiten on LinkedIn, @datasociety.bsky.social, @michaeljstern.bsky.social, The Guardian, Town & Country, The Guardian, Implicator.ai, Associated Press, Irish Examiner, MediaNama, The American Bazaar, New York Times, The Hans India and Pluribus News, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
The $6M LA social media verdict is a win for the plaintiffs bar, not kids or society; parenting helps mitigate the harms and most kids don't face severe issues
The $6M LA social media verdict is a win for the plaintiffs bar, not kids or society; parenting helps mitigate the harms and most kids don't face severe issues
Discussion:
Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg Law, Semafor, Newsbusters, Dow Jones Newswires, Ukrainian National News, Associated Press, @matthewstoller, @hannahgais, @taylorlorenz, Western Massachusetts News, 동아일 …, @reemamiribrahim, Breitbart, @astupple, @astupple, @astupple, @ennuiboy420, @eckhartsladder, @sachalouise, @venturetwins, @taylorlorenz, @michaelmcgough3, @moonchilerose, @chinatowndjake, @punishedhoots, @taylorlorenz, @nnnnnnxox, @meghanncuniff, @taylorlorenz, @tomfitton, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @wsjopinion, @matthewstoller, eMarketer, WRDW-TV, @jstewgie.bsky.social, New York Post, The Irish Times, Biometric Update, Lawfare, International Business Times, Reason, @Downes@mastodon.social, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, The Wrap, CBS News, Cafe Hayek, Pixel Envy, Hypebeast and Wall Street Journal
