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

Discussion: @hearstunion, Daily Front Row, @fsp_nwu, @katie_robertson, @alisonbrower, @hannahorens, @eschumer, @emmaspecter, @kath_krueger, @bdwilliams910, @stacey_grant91, @tamara_fuentes, Insider, Business of Fashion and WWD

Wall Street Journal:
Artisan Gateway: box-office sales for US films in China hit $592M in H1 2023, down from $1.9B in H1 2019, as Chinese audiences gravitate toward local movies

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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

Discussion: @kenstonemedia, @kenstonemedia, KNSD-TV, The San Diego Union-Tribune and The Intersect

Byline Times:
Investigation: Dan Wootton was the subject of at least six bullying claims from Sun colleagues, but was promoted while they were silenced with payoffs and NDAs

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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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Katie Kilkenny / The Hollywood Reporter:
Production workers, 66 at Warner Bros. Animation and 22 at Cartoon Network, file an NLRB petition to form a union and ask WBD to voluntarily recognize the unit

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Sarah Scire / Nieman Lab:
The Taylor family donates The Moab Times-Independent to The Salt Lake Tribune, which plans to offer the weekly free in print to Moab residents and online to all

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Thomas Buckley / Bloomberg:
Sources: AMC Entertainment drops its seat location pricing plan; a test didn't grow revenue as moviegoers didn't pay up for better seats or less for worse seats

Discussion: Corporate Profile, NPR, TechCrunch, Variety, Insider, KGET 17, Deadline, CNET, CBS News, New York Times, The Verge, Screen Rant, The A.V. Club, Gizmodo, TMZ.com, Forbes, UPROXX, CNN, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, SlashFilm, The Hollywood Reporter and Collider

From Techmeme:

Tim Nudd / Ad Age:
Apple apologizes for the “Crush” iPad Pro ad and scraps plans to run it on TV; Apple's VP of marketing communications Tor Myhren says “we missed the mark”

Anna Tong / Reuters:
Sources: OpenAI plans to announce its AI-powered search product on May 13

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple's first server chips for its upcoming AI features will be the M2 Ultra; simpler AI tasks will be processed directly on iPhones, iPads, and Macs

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