Tuesday, February 6, 2024 |
| Plus: How researchers used OpenAI’s GPT model to take on a month’s worth of “boring” and “rote” work By Sarah Scire. |
“Ineptitude bordering on cruelty”: A roundup of recent news and takes on The Messenger What We’re ReadingTechCrunch / Amanda Silberling
Bluesky is now open for anyone to join →“After almost a year as an invite-only app, Bluesky is now open to the public…Before opening to the public, the platform had about 3 million sign-ups.”The Verge / Justine Calma
Taylor Swift has bad blood with a Florida student tracking celebrity flights via already public information →“Taylor Swift’s attorneys have threatened legal action against Jack Sweeney, a college student who has attracted the ire of celebrities and billionaires over his social media accounts that share publicly available information about private jet landings and takeoffs.”El País
El País launches a redesigned print edition for better readability →In Spanish: “Although we have redesigned everything, the project will be a success only if regular readers feel that this new El País continues to be their newspaper,” art director Diego Areso said.Semafor / Max Tani
A billionaire roofing family is in talks to buy Graydon Carter’s Air Mail newsletter for $50 million →“‘Strangely enough, they’re a very glamorous roofing company,’ Graydon Carter
told Business Insider in 2021.”Poynter / Tracie Powell
What a spat over nonprofits in Baltimore reveals about support of Black-led newsrooms →“The episode highlighted, once again, the disparity in support between Black-owned publications and their well-networked, white-led counterparts. Launched in 2017, The Beat raised $1 million in 2022 (which is $1 million more than most other Black-led newsrooms start with) while the Banner launched the same year with $50 million.”Proceso
Peru’s National Police is threatening to sue a cartoonist and newspaper for defamation over a comic about police misconduct →In Spanish: “The controversial cartoon was published on Tuesday by the newspaper La República and showed three identical police officers with a logo each: ‘Delinquent in a police suit’, ‘delinquent police officer’, and ‘policeman doing his duty’…the satirical drawing was published after the publication of recent stories showing the participation of some police officers in armed robberies, kidnappings, renting their weapons to criminals, as drug trafficking snitches or as cocaine thieves.”The Associated Press / Aamer Madhani and Frank Bajak
This United States will impose visa restrictions on people who misuse spyware to target journalists and activists →“The administration’s policy will apply to people who’ve been involved in the misuse of commercial spyware to target individuals including journalists, activists, perceived dissidents, members of marginalized communities, or the family members of those who are targeted.”Buenos Aires Herald
Argentina’s government has declared a year-long takeover of the country’s public media outlets →“Agustín Secchi, secretary general of the journalist’s union SIPREBA, told the Herald that the takeover is illegal. He added that the attempt to turn public media into for-profit companies ‘disrupts the role of public media as a guarantor of plurality of voices and plural information.’”The Atlantic / Keith O'Brien
You’ll miss sports journalism when it’s gone →“The sports world is being turned on its head. But there’s no one there to ask: ‘Wait—how is this really working? Who’s beating the system?'”The Intercept / Connor Echols
Northwestern students are facing criminal charges for a Pro-Palestine college newspaper parody →“The Class A misdemeanor charges, the highest level short of a felony, represent an escalation in the battle over free speech and protest on college campuses as the war in Gaza drags into its fifth month. Pro-Palestine activism on campus has faced a severe crackdown due to what Israel’s backers say is antisemitism and hate speech, with school administrations working closely with police.”The Hollywood Reporter / Katie Kilkenny
The Onion Union ratifies a strike-averting contract →“The deal additionally includes some specific language on generative AI, the prior use of which prompted an outcry at the company. Under the terms of the agreement, G/O Media will unveil a policy on implementations of the technology in the next year…The union secured a promise that G/O Media editorial staffers must evaluate any stories, images or graphics created with the help of generative AI and that bylines must specify that any such content was created with the technology.”Bloomberg / Amy Or
Reddit’s revenue rose 20% ahead of its public IPO filing, but it isn’t profitable yet →“The San Francisco-based social media company is telling potential investors it had more than $800 million in revenue last year, above the $666 million it saw in 2022.”The Washington Post / Laura Wagner and Will Sommer
The Atlantic cuts ties with a prominent contributor after a rape allegation →“‘We have not published any new work by the freelance contributor since being made aware of the allegation,’ the Atlantic statement read, adding that the magazine ‘suspended our relationship’ with the writer last month.”The New York Times / Mike Isaac
Meta is calling for an industry-wide effort to label A.I.-generated content →“If adopted widely, the standards could help identify A.I.-generated content from companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft, Adobe, Midjourney and others that offer tools that allow people to quickly and easily create artificial posts.”
Nieman Lab / Fuego
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