Media News

News about the media.

Canada Leads Battle of Media Titans

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Article in The Guardian by Leland Cecco, 11/29/24

Headline: “Canadian media companies sue OpenAI in case potentially worth billions”

Subhead: “Litigants say AI company used their articles to train its popular ChatGPT software without authorization”

“Canada’s major news organizations have sued tech firm OpenAI for potentially billions of dollars, alleging the company is “strip-mining journalism” and unjustly enriching itself by using news articles to train its popular ChatGPT software.

The suit, filed on Friday in Ontario’s superior court of justice, calls for punitive damages, a share of profits made by OpenAI from using the news organizations’ articles, and an injunction barring the San Francisco-based company from using any of the news articles in the future.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/29/canada-media-companies-sue-openai-chatgpt

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Article in the New York Times by Matina Stevis-Gridneff, 11/29/24

Headline:   “Major Canadian News Outlets Sue OpenAI in New Copyright Case”

Subhead:  “A coalition of some of Canada’s biggest media companies is seeking billions of dollars in compensation for what they say is copyright infringement on their work through ChatGPT.”

“These artificial intelligence companies cannibalize proprietary content and are free-riding on the backs of news publishers who invest real money to employ real journalists who produce real stories for real people,” said Paul Deegan, president of News Media Canada.

“A coalition of Canada’s biggest news organizations is suing OpenAI, the maker of the artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, accusing the company of illegally using their content in the first case of its kind in the country.

Five of the country’s major news companies, including the publishers of its top newspapers, newswires and the national broadcaster, filed the joint suit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Friday morning.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/29/world/canada/canada-openai-lawsuit-copyright.html

Gotta Catch ’em All (Media that is)

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Article in Daily Kos by Mark Sumner, 11/28/24

Headline:  “Media capture is no joke”

“For the past week, Elon Musk has repeatedly commented about buying MSNBC. At the same time, Musk accused the news outlet of peddling “puerile propaganda” and derided MSNBC’s ratings, which have—as might be expected—dropped since the election. The result has been a string of comments on Twitter and Fox News in which Trump supporters chortle over the thought of replacing Rachel Maddow with Joe Rogan and exult in the distress they believe Musk’s comments must be generating on the left.

“Many of Musk’s “jokes,” and those of toadies like Rogan, have been accompanied by the kind of homophobic, racist, or misogynist memes that have come to dominate Twitter since Musk laid down $44 billion to destroy that platform. But even as Musk and his social media pals laugh, no one should consider this a farce. It’s a threat. . . ”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/28/2289221/-Media-capture-is-no-joke?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Revenge Against Media Coming

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Article in The New Republic by Greg Sargent, 11/27/24

Headline:  “Trump’s Eruption of Rage at NYT Offers Unnerving Hint of What’s Coming”

Subhead:  “As Trump rants at the Times after coverage of his creepy young aide, former Times public editor Margaret Sullivan reflects on what his press crackdown may look like—and how the media can respond.”

“This week, Donald Trump erupted in fury at The New York Times. He appeared triggered by a story about an aide named Natalie Harp, who serves as his gatekeeper with creepy levels of devotion. What caught our eye is that in his rant, Trump demanded that the Times show obeisance to him because he won the election, perhaps providing an early glimpse of how he will seek to cow the media into submission. We talked to Margaret Sullivan, the former Times public editor and author of the great Substack American Crisis, who explains what Trump’s crackdown on the press might look like—and how well the media will respond to it. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is . . .” – in the link below:

https://newrepublic.com/article/188857/trumps-eruption-rage-nyt-offers-unnerving-hint-whats-coming

No More Social Media for Kids

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Update in UPI by Alasdair Pal and Cordelia Hus, 11/29/24

Headline:  “Australia’s under-16 social media ban sparks anger and relief”

“Australians reacted on Friday with a mixture of anger and relief to a social media ban on children under 16 that the government says is world-leading, but which tech giants like TikTok argue could push young people to ‘darker corners of the internet’

“Australia approved the social media ban for children late on Thursday after an emotive debate that has gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.”

 

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Article in New York Times by Victorieia Kim, 11/28/24

Headline:  “Australia Has Barred Everyone Under 16 From Social Media. Will It Work?”

Subhead:  “The law sets a minimum age for users of platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X. How the restriction will be enforced online remains an open question.”

“Australia has imposed a sweeping ban on social media for children under 16, one of the worlds most comprehensive measures aimed at safeguarding young people from potential hazards online. But many details were still unclear, such as how it will be enforced and what platforms will be covered.

“After sailing through Parliaments lower house on Wednesday, the bill passed the Senate on Thursday with bipartisan support. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said that it puts Australia at the vanguard of efforts to protect the mental health and well-being of children from detrimental effects of social media, such as online hate or bullying.

“The law, he has said, puts the onus on social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent anyone under 16 from having an account. Corporations could be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about $32 million) for ‘systemic’ failures to implement age requirements.

“Neither underage users nor their parents will face punishment for violations. And whether children find ways to get past the restrictions is beside the point, Mr. Albanese said.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/28/world/asia/australia-social-media-ban-law.html

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AP article by By ROD MCGUIRK, 11/28/24

Headline:  “Social media ban for under-16s passes the Australian Senate and will soon be a world-first law”

“The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.”

https://apnews.com/article/australia-social-media-children-ban-safeguarding-harm-accounts-d0cde2603bdbc7167801da1d00ecd056

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Article in Al Jazeera by staff 11/28/24

“Australia’s Parliament has passed a law banning children aged under 16 from using social media, one of the strictest regulations targeting the platforms in the world.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/28/australia-passes-legislation-banning-under-16s-from-social-media

Trad Media Off a Cliff?

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Article in Daily Kos by Sinai, 11/26/24

Headline:  “Legacy Media Plummets as Leftist Independent Media is Reborn”

“Anyone who has followed my diaries this year will be no stranger to the fact that I am a huge critic of mainstream media, now being relabeled “legacy media.” For years, I have grown disgusted watching them normalize Donald Trump and treat him as a normal everyday politician. The corporatist greed stinks on nearly all of them as they breathlessly cover every little dramatic thing that happens, hoping to scare or enrage as many people as possible without actually addressing the problems of politics — all for the sake of making cash.

Since the election, however, legacy media has hit a speedbump in their gambit to capitalize as much as possible on political drama: No one is watching them.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/26/2288899/-Legacy-Media-Plummets-as-Leftist-Independent-Media-is-Reborn?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Thom Hartman Interviewed by FCM

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Spencer Graves, president of Friends of Community Media,  interviewed prominent liberal talk show host and prolific author Thom Hartman which will air on Tuesday 11/26/24 6-6:30 CST on community radio station KKFI FM 90.1 on the Radio Active public affairs show in Kansas City. . The interview is also available on Wikiversity and will be available on the Pacifica Network.

Mr. Hartman spoke in September at the Grass Roots Radio Conference in New Orleans, attended by a representative of FCM on the topic of promoting democracy on our media platforms.

He has a streaming radio show at https://www.thomhartmann.com/radio/listen-live

Information about Thom Hartman may be found on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom_Hartmann

To listen to the interview at 6:00 Central Time you may logon to kkfi.org.  https://kkfi.org/

 

 

 

 

 

Will Media Approach “Truth Social”?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Jem Baertholomew, 11/25/24

Headline:  “Truth Social and Consequences”

Subhead:  “The political press gears up for an unprecedented story: the social media executive in chief.”

“. . .Trump’s post—or “re-truth,” to use the platform’s lingo—flashed a signal to journalists now entering uncharted territory, as they cover a president-elect who owns a controlling stake in a social media company. Truth Social’s parent . . .  launched its platform in 2022, after Trump’s encouragement of the Capitol insurrection prompted mainstream social media—Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.—to kick him off. ”

“. . . How seriously journalists should take his 4am posts is another question. “When he became a candidate, it became a more important tool,” Tara Palmeri, senior political correspondent for Puck, told me. “Truth Social is going to remain relevant as long as Trump is around, as much as we might want to turn a blind eye to it,” Sarah Jones, senior writer covering politics for New York’s Intelligencer, said. “I do think it’s worth paying attention to and following

https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/truth-social-trump-media-how-important-stocks-shares-announcements.php

Media Never Exaggerate, Right?

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Article in Daily Kos by Chitown Kev, 11/24/24

Headline:  “Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Media Illusions”

“It’s hard to blame them: Even as the counting progressed, Trump’s victory was described as “resounding” by news organizations ranging from the Associated Press to the The Washington Post to the The New York Times to POLITICO. Others offered “commanding win,” “runaway win” and “dominant victory.”

“Say what?

“To coin a phrase, we’ve defined dominance down. After years as a 50-50 country, it seems, even a small win gets talked about like a shellacking. Wriggling into office with a puny plurality and less than half the vote in an essentially two-way race used to be considered pretty weak sauce. ”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/24/2288338/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-Media-Illusions?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Too Late to Save the Media?

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Article in Common Dreams by Thom Hartmann 11/24/24

Headline: “Will Trump’s Return Coincide With the Death of Progressive Media?”

Subhead:  “We all must support (and share with our friends) those outlets where we find useful news and information. If we fail to do so, America’s media landscape may soon mirror those of the autocratic nations the incoming president so admires.”

“Have you heard that Comcast is planning to sell MSNBC? Is Rupert Murdoch planning to buy it? Will America’s media landscape soon resemble those of Hungary and Russia?

Without the rightwing media juggernaut, Donald Trump probably wouldn’t be president next year and wouldn’t have won in 2016. That said, the progressive media landscape looks like it might be about to get a whole lot worse.

Comcast, which owns NBC and its subsidiaries CNBC and MSNBC (among other media outlets) announced this week that they’ll be spinning off MSNBC (among others) next year.

And the consequences are already showing up. It was reported this week that Rachel Maddow just took a substantial annual pay-cut because of the uncertain future of the network.”

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/progressive-media-trump

Did Almost-Monopoly Media Select Winner

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Article in Daily Kos by Bill Addis, 11/24/24

Headline: “Sinclair Media Helped Trump Win The Election”

Subhead:  “Sinclair is a right wing media company, but different from Fox News.”

“Sinclair’s 185 stations are affiliated with Fox, NBC, ABC, CBS, MyNetworkTV, and the CW. In contrast, NBC, ABC and CBS own only 80 stations between them covering the large markets.

“Sinclair has made their stations run prepackaged video segments and had newsmen read scripts favorable to Trump. Even criticizing mainstream media as fake news, when they’re part of it. Trump has tweeted his support for watching Sinclair over CNN and NBC. Make no mistake about it. Their propaganda was a factor in the election disaster.”

Sinclair Media has had a history of butting head with other media groups like Comcast, DirectTV, Dish, Time Warner, Hulu and others over carriage fees.. . ”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/11/24/2288390/-Sinclair-Media-Helped-Trump-Win-The-Election?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web