Mediagazer: Sources: Spotify plans to raise its US ad-free premium tier's price for the first time, by $1 to $10.99/month, and increase prices globally in the coming months (Anne Steele/Wall Street Journal)

7:20 PM ET, July 21, 2023

Top News:

Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:

News reporters shouldn't write off AI assistance for first drafts of stories that aren't publishable; tools don't have to be perfect to be useful to journalists — Dystopian, yes — but tools don't have to be perfect to be useful to journalists. — Every other semester …

Discussion: @niemanlab@mastodon.social, @mmasnick.bsky.social, MediaNama, The Information, The San Diego Union-Tribune, CNN, Gizmodo, MediaPost and New York Times

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:

Memo: an Insider executive editor updates staff on AI experiments and recommends not using AI tools for quoting facts, data analysis, or getting up-to-date info — Insider's executive editor sent a note to staff today addressing how the newsroom's pilot group is using AI [image]

Discussion: @journalist_guy, @thenewsan, @scottnover, @kaylaepstein and @scottnover

Mathew Ingram / Columbia Journalism Review:
News organizations' deals with OpenAI and its rivals echo past Google and Meta “partnerships” and could ultimately help companies put journalists out of work

Discussion: New York Post, The Verge, @espiers, @mathewi, @cjr, @jayrosen_nyu, Platformer, The Information, @sarahposner.bsky.social and Vanity Fair, more at Techmeme »

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Sources: Disney CEO Bob Iger and ESPN head Jimmy Pitaro have held early talks with the NFL, the NBA, and MLB about bringing them on as minority ESPN investors — - ESPN has held early talks about strategic partnerships with the NBA, NFL and MLB that could include the leagues taking an equity stake in the business, sources told CNBC.

Discussion: New York Times, Awful Announcing, Bloomberg, The Desk, The Streamable, @sherman4949, The Information, @susanlitv, The Verge, Barrett Media, @sherman4949, @sherman4949, Front Office Sports and Cord Cutters News

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Spotify plans to raise its US ad-free premium tier's price for the first time, by $1 to $10.99/month, and increase prices globally in the coming months — Audio company had avoided raising prices, but faces investor pressure to increase profitability

Discussion: The Wrap, CNET, Billboard, Variety, Bloomberg, Forbes, The Information, @runciedan, @benfritz, @carnage4life@mas.to, Music Business Worldwide, @CStamp@mastodon.social, @liquor_american …, The Verge and 9to5Mac, more at Techmeme »

Adam Sherwin / The i Paper:

UK-based Global, which owns LBC, Capital, Heart, and Smooth, plans to restructure its 11 radio newsrooms across the country, which could mean up to 40 job cuts — Journalists warn Global radio plans could ‘decimate local news’ with 40 jobs under threat at the home to Capital, Smooth, LBC and Heart

Discussion: The Desk and Talking Biz News

David Robb / Deadline:

In a 23-page document, the AMPTP disputes SAG-AFTRA's version of the status of contract negotiations as of July 13, before talks broke off and the strike began — The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers is disputing SAG-AFTRA's “misleading” characterization of its proposals …

Discussion: The Wrap, @jbflint, @jbflint and The Hollywood Reporter

Marie Woolf / Globe and Mail:

Some Quebec radio stations and news outlets refuse to run Meta's ads that inform Canadians of the company's plan to block news links on Facebook and Instagram — Meta has started to run ads to inform Canadians of its plan to block the viewing and sharing of news content on Facebook …

Discussion: CBC News, @fancrtcprofling, @pagmenzies, @freemangrist, @dylanlindgren and @mgeist

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield joins CNN as an on-air political commentator; Bedingfield left her White House post in February 2023 — Former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield has joined CNN as an on-air political commentator.

Discussion: Mediaite, CNN, The Wrap, The Hill and Politico

Noam Scheiber / New York Times:

A look at TV writing becoming a dead-end job with dwindling weekly pay, as studios break down the complex job of making TV shows into simpler, lower-paid tasks — The writers say Hollywood studios are increasingly limiting their roles in television productions, highlighting a trend for white-collar workers.

Discussion: @noamscheiber, @wajahatali, @tylerdinucci, @wgawest, @brucebartlett, @hiattb, @bigmeaninternet, @alexnpress, @leavittalone, @shawnryantv, @whet.bsky.social and @aworkinglibrary@mstdn.social

Corbin Bolies / The Daily Beast:

Former ABC News producer James Gordon Meek pleads guilty to CSAM transportation and possession, but not distribution; the US DOJ arrested Meek in February 2023 — The harrowing legal saga—the type of story that could've appeared on Meek's former network— has reached its conclusion.

Discussion: The Wrap, Variety, The Desk, Insider, Deadline, Washington Post, TVNewsCheck, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Rolling Stone and Boing Boing

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

TikTok launches its Commercial Content Library, giving the public access to ad data, including targeting parameters, but only ad data from Europe is available — TikTok has finally launched an ads transparency library — starting with data on ads and other commercial content running in Europe but with plans to expand that.

Discussion: @tiktokcomms, @carolinegreer, @jadenester, @parkerjbach, Search Engine Land, TikTok and Gadgets 360

Nora Neus / Poynter:

A look at the ethics policy of not paying sources for stories or information, and how compensating people for their time could enable broader, deeper reporting — Amid industrywide conversations about whose stories get told and who profits, it's worth revisiting this blanket rule with some more nuance.

Discussion: @poynter

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Natalie Korach / The Wrap:
Hearst Magazines Media Union says 41 members were laid off due to “company restructuring”; Elle, Seventeen, and Men's Health are among the impacted publications

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Ken Stone / Times of San Diego:
The San Diego Union-Tribune Editor and Publisher Jeff Light is leaving after Alden acquired the outlet; nearly 30 staff are on an unofficial list taking buyouts

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Ellise Shafer / Variety:
Q&A with NME Networks COO Holly Bishop on relaunching the magazine as a global bimonthly using a “high-hype model” after shutting down print production in 2018

Discussion: NME, Complete Music Update, Mumbrella, Digital Music News, Press Gazette and Music Business Worldwide

Earlier Picks:

Ben Strauss / Washington Post:
The New York Times' newsroom union files a grievance over the company's plans to shutter its sports section and rely on The Athletic for sports news coverage

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Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
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Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
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From Techmeme:

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Hannah Lang / Reuters:
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