Top News:
New York Times:
Retail investors, who hold 40% of Disney stock, may decide the Disney-Peltz proxy fight, which is expected to be one of the most expensive in history — Individuals hold as much as 40 percent of the company's shares, and they may decide a proxy battle that is one of the most expensive in history.
Discussion:
Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, @annmlipton, @annmlipton@esq.social, Quartz and The Wrap
Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:
Some tech CEOs are turning to friendly podcasters like Lex Fridman as a way to “go direct” and avoid traditional media, which they view as unfairly critical — Tech CEOs have a growing set of ways to sidestep traditional media. But first... Don't press
James Pomfret / Reuters:
US-funded Radio Free Asia closes its Hong Kong bureau, citing concerns over staff safety after a stricter national security law came into effect on March 23 — U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia said on Friday it had closed its Hong Kong bureau citing concerns over staff safety after the enactment …
Discussion:
Radio Free Asia, JURIST, Reporters Without Borders, The Guardian, NPR, Semafor, Fox News, Voice of America and New York Times
New York Times:
A look at the impact of Georgia's filming incentives on tiny Thomasville; the state paid $5.2B+ in incentives between 2015 and 2022, compared to New York's ~$7B — When movies are made in Thomasville, Ga., it welcomes celebrities and an infusion of cash. But the financial incentives that attract studios have cost the state billions.
Discussion:
@rob_abiera
RELATED:
Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
Several legal experts say Section 230 will not protect firms from lawsuits over the outputs of generative AI, echoing SCOTUS Justice Gorsuch's 2023 statement — Legal scholars, lawmakers and at least one Supreme Court justice agree that companies will be liable for the things their AIs say and do …
Frank Landymore / Futurism:
Many of Amazon's Kindles are displaying ads for blatantly AI-generated books on the lock screen, with some appearing to be flagrant copies of existing works — “I've never minded the ads on them... until they became flooded with AI-generated books.” — Amazon has been a huge staging ground …
Podnews:
Survey of Americans aged 12+: 47% of have listened to a podcast in the last month, up 12% YoY, 76% listened to online audio in the past month, and more — The portion of Americans who listen to any kind of online audio, and the portion who listen to podcasts, have both reached new record highs …
Discussion:
Edison Research, Inside Radio, RADIO ONLINE and RAIN News, more at Techmeme »
Jerusalem Post:
Iran International says journalist Pouria Zeraati was hospitalized with multiple knife injuries after he was attacked by a group outside his London home — The Iranian regime has planned multiple attacks against Iran International. — Iran International announced on Friday that one of its journalists …
Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Google informs users in the US that Google Podcasts is shutting down April 2 and recommends exporting podcast subscriptions to YouTube Music — U.S. users have just a few more days to make the transition from Google Podcasts as the company moves forward with the process of discontinuing the service globally.
Jackie Snow / Quartz:
How newsrooms like Semafor and Skift are using generative AI for internal editing, story summaries, paywalled chatbots trained on their archives, and more — Beyond high-profile wins and faceplants, understated but impactful applications of generative AI are transforming newsrooms
Discussion:
@rafat, @thinkverum, @ismaelnafria and @semaforcomms
NPR:
How Richmond Standard, a newspaper funded by the California town's biggest employer Chevron, puts its own spin on events as the town's primary news source — NPR's David Folkenflik reported this story with Miranda Green of Floodlight, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates the powerful interests stalling climate action.
Discussion:
John BV Kelly on LinkedIn and Columbia Journalism Review
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg:
How MowPod, which sells podcast advertising tools, uses mobile game ads to incentivize gamers to follow shows on Apple Podcasts in order to earn in-game tokens — At least nine of the current top 50 shows on Apple Podcasts have been promoted in mobile games — Welcome back to Soundbite.
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