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OpenAI's deals with publishers, like the one the company recently inked with Axel Springer, offers a glimpse of how AI and the media might eventually intersect — This past week, Axel Springer, the German media conglomerate that owns Politico and Business Insider, signed a “multiyear licensing deal” …
Discussion:
@jjvincent, @ednewtonrex, @jwherrman, @jwherrman, @intelligencer, @jwherrman, @jwherrman, @alexgraveley, The Verge and @ianbetteridge@writing …


Substack writers Matthew Yglesias and Brian Beutler plan to launch politics podcast Politix on January 3, covering the 2024 US election from the center-left — In a shock Tuesday night decision, Colorado's Supreme Court booted Donald Trump from the state's Republican primary ballot for his role …
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Indian Express, @brianbeutler, Washington Post, Forbes and The Daily Beast


BAFTA changes the rules for its Best Film category to increase its minimum theatrical screenings requirement from 70 in total to at least 350 screenings — - Audrey Diwan On The Challenge & Liberation Of Making Erotic Drama ‘Emmanuelle’: “I'm Not Trying To Capture Pornography”
Discussion:
Variety


Prince Harry's and Hugh Grant's lawsuits against News Corp's UK papers accuse new Washington Post CEO Will Lewis of phone hacking coverups between 2010 and 2012 — When Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos wanted an assured hand to right the newspaper's shaky finances, he turned to Will Lewis …
Discussion:
@davidfolkenflik


Poland's new government dismisses the management of TVP, Polskie Radio, and the Polish Press Agency; TVP's website and news channel TVP Info are now offline — Controversy has erupted around Poland's public media, with members of the conservative former ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party …
Discussion:
Reuters, @annettedittert, @bdstanley, The First News, @wojciechkosc, @wojciechkosc, @danieltilles1 and @notesfrompoland
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Media monitoring and analytics company Meltwater raised ~$65M from PE firm Verdane for an 11% stake at a $592M valuation, down from $1B+ in December 2020 — Meltwater, which first made its name around media monitoring and then got active in business intelligence using AI and big data analytics techniques, is picking up a new investor.
Discussion:
Verdane


Sources: ByteDance's 2023 sales surged to $110B+, broadly matching 2022's 30% growth rate, despite economic turbulence in China and scrutiny in the US and India — - TikTok's Chinese owner expects revenue growth of about 30% … The world's most valuable startup's growth broadly matched …


Memo: Time EIC Sam Jacobs promotes Kelly Conniff from senior executive editor to deputy editor, in charge of day-to-day and strategic decisions — Dear all, — I am delighted to announce that Kelly Conniff has been promoted to Deputy Editor. In this role, Kelly will be my partner …


Gower Street Analytics predicts 2024 global movie ticket sales of $31.5B, down 5% YoY, and 2024 North American box office revenue of $8B, down 11% YoY — Leading London-based box office analytics firm Gower Street attributes the downturn to Hollywood's historic labor strikes and the resulting slowdown in production.


Q&A with Human Rights Center Investigations Lab co-founder Alexa Koenig on the promises and challenges of OSINT for journalism, OSINT ethics training, and more — On October 17, the parking lot outside Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, where hundreds of displaced Palestinians had amassed, was hit by an explosive of uncertain origin.


Google plans to limit the types of election-related queries for which Bard and SGE respond to, starting in early 2024, in preparation for elections worldwide — The move is intended to curb misinformation as the 2024 election nears — What you need to know
Discussion:
The Indian Express, The Keyword and MediaPost, more at Techmeme »


The Baltimore Banner names Bob Cohn as its CEO, following Imtiaz Patel's departure in July 2023; Cohn was the president of The Atlantic and now The Economist — The Montgomery County resident has helped drive digital transformation and revenue growth at The Atlantic and The Economist


A deep dive into The New York Times' big bet on its Games team, which grew from ~15 people in 2015 to ~100, about the same size as the newspaper's Business desk — Wordle. Connections. Spelling Bee. Ye olde Crossword. The Times is home to beloved brainteasers that are helping boost the paper's bottom line.
Discussion:
Media Voices, The Overspill, The Information, Charlie Stadtlander on LinkedIn, Jenna Hoffstein on LinkedIn, @stephentotilo, @kenherts, @davidclinchnews, @mlcalderone, @ahbseaborn, @phkeane, @elleactually, @bgrueskin, @charlottetklein, Joel Leeman on LinkedIn, @jalefkowit@octodon.social and Zoe Bell on LinkedIn, more at Techmeme »