The Los Angeles Local News Initiative, which plans a nonprofit news org to support local newsrooms in LA, raised $15M from media leaders and philanthropists (Sara Fischer/Axios)

Mediagazer: The Los Angeles Local News Initiative, which plans a nonprofit news org to support local newsrooms in LA, raised $15M from media leaders and philanthropists (Sara Fischer/Axios)

Top News:

Financial Times:

GB News and UnHerd owner Paul Marshall acquires The Spectator for £100M and plans to expand the magazine overseas; Spectator chair Andrew Neil resigns— Acquisition bolsters hedge fund boss's position as one of UK's most influential right-leaning media barons
Discussion: The Independent, New York Times, Press Gazette, The Guardian, @afneil, BBC, London Evening Standard, Bloomberg, @rowandean, The Spectator Australia, Telegraph, Sky News, The Times, The i Paper, Bloomberg, @afneil, White \u0026 Case, Spectator, @frasernelson, Irish News, @ian_fraser, @peterjukes, @semaforben, @colinbraziertv, @nfmusic, @montie, @aphclarkson, @danwootton, @peterjukes, @aphclarkson, @jamesrbuk, @sangitamyska, @peterjukes, @jdportes, @mattwridley, @peterjukes, @notthatbigian, @lefoudubaron, @twlldun, London Evening Standard, Reuters, @danielthomasldn and Guido Fawkes

Discussion:

Alex Croft /
The Independent: Andrew Neil steps down as Spectator chair after £100m sale to GB News investor finalised

Bron Maher /
Press Gazette: Paul Marshall pledges to fix ‘underinvestment’ in Spectator as sale goes through

Andrew Neil /
@afneil: My Farewell to The Spectator 1/2 It is with great sadness that I write to tell you I am resigning as Chairman of The Spectator, with immediate effect. I made it clear many months ago that I would step down when a new owner took over. That time has now come. It has been my

Anna Wise /
London Evening Standard: The Spectator magazine bought by ‘long-time reader’ Sir Paul Marshall for £100m

Rowan Dean /
@rowandean: Andrew Neil's sad but superb letter of resignation from The Spectator. Andrew is a legend of the media whose mentorship will be greatly missed but The Spectator Australia and Flat White readers can rest assured that the magazine and the website will continue in the magnificent

James Warrington /
Telegraph: GB News owner Paul Marshall completes £100m deal for The Spectator

Sarah Taaffe-Maguire /
Sky News: Spectator magazine finally sold to GB News investor Sir Paul Marshall

Helen Cahill /
The Times: Paul Marshall buys Spectator for £100m

Andrew Neil /
@afneil: My Farewell to The Spectator 2/2 My greatest regret is that I have not been able to find you a new home guaranteed to nurture the unique chemistry of The Spectator, which makes it so special and successful. I'm sorry about that but the matter was taken out of my hands. We White \u0026 Case: White & Case advises Sir Paul Marshall and Old Queen Street Ventures Limited on acquisition of The Spectator magazine

Fraser Nelson /
Spectator: The Spectator's new owner - and new era

Fraser Nelson /
@frasernelson: Congratulations to Sir Paul Marshall, new owner of The Spectator. The price, £100m, is a huge vote of confidence in The Spectator, its writers and (most of all) its potential. After a long auction, the next chapter in our 196-year history can finally begin https://www.spectator.co.uk/ ...

Ian Fraser /
@ian_fraser: Reminder of the hateful “likes” of hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, who has just snapped up The Spectator for £100m. Marshall is piecing together a right-wing media empire which already includes GB News and Unherd. @arusbridger https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ ...

Peter Jukes /
@peterjukes: Siri. Give me an example of how cheaply you can buy the British intelligentsia

Ben Smith /
@semaforben: A domestic owner with populist right politics, after the government blocked foreign ownership ....

Colin Brazier /
@colinbraziertv: Fantastic news. The @spectator remains one of the most important voices in Britain's public square. It will continue to provide a shop window for some of the writers - Moore, Liddle, Murray - who consistently diagnose our nation's ills with wisdom, waspish humour and courage.

Neil Fisher /
@nfmusic: “The digital temptations that can lure publications to their grave ('Look at the clicks! Drop the opera review!') are dangerous-they come dripping in what looks like supportive data. You can end up not just being edited by algorithm but stripping a publication of nuance and soul”

Tim Montgomerie /
@montie: The biggest congratulations should go to @FraserNelson. At a time when print journalism is fighting for its life, Fraser and @afneil have turned The Spectator into a hugely profitable and influential magazine and because of its innovative digital products - it has its biggest

Alexander Clarkson /
@aphclarkson: Owner of GBNews and Unherd expands his right wing media empire. T here is a risk here for a Conservative Party that has increasingly abandoned a traditional Tory ethos that Marshall's particular obsessions drag it further away from the broad mainstream of British society

Dan Wootton /
@danwootton: Last year Sir Paul Marshall arrived at The Spectator's summer party only to discover his name had been taken off the guest list. He had to turn around and leave. Today he's just paid £100 million to buy The Spectator. His first decision may well be to sack its chairman Andrew [image]

Peter Jukes /
@peterjukes: Oof. Sharp passing shot at Marshall “No doubt the new proprietor will bring assets to the table, perhaps even bigger budgets. However you can have all the resources in the world but if you don't understand what really makes The Spectator tick then they will be as naught.”

Alexander Clarkson /
@aphclarkson: Andrew Neil ends up like the National Review editors and commentators in the US who were steamrollered by ideological forces they were instrumental in unleashing

James Ball /
@jamesrbuk: Warm post from Fraser paying tribute to the Spectator's outgoing chairman Andrew Neil and its old owners. But to a general audience the observations on business model and valuation might be more interesting - no to clicks and programmatic ads, yes to value through loyalty...

Sangita Myska /
@sangitamyska: Andrew Neil 🧵 takes a pot shot at Paul Marshall, the Spectator's new owner and biggest shareholder at GB News, implying he will not grasp that an Editor must be free of interference from the proprietor & external influences for it to be a credible news/current affairs outlet.

Peter Jukes /
@peterjukes: For all my many many criticisms of @afneil he at least had the decency to walk away from Paul Marshall's GB News. Is this a case of ‘better the devil you know’. Will we actually miss him?

Jonathan Portes /
@jdportes: Reminder of a few of @afneil's “highlights” as Chairman of the Spectator -Taki's endorsement of what *Neil himself* described as an “openly Nazi” party Murray's call for ethnic cleansing in Gaza Liddle's toxic racism.. Puff pieces for Zemmour, the AfD and Thierry Baudet..

Matt Ridley /
@mattwridley: A great journalist who made a journal greater.

Peter Jukes /
@peterjukes: Shocking insight into former Speccie owners - the Barclays “Suddenly and without warning we were placed in receivership because our then proprietors had used us as collateral for massive debts unrelated to us (without ever telling us). They then failed to pay these debts”

Ian Acheson /
@notthatbigian: I am proud to have played a v small role as a contributor to the best current affairs magazine in the country, brilliantly led & populated by writers I am frequently in awe of. We need intelligent thought diversity more than ever and I know @spectator will continue to deliver. @lefoudubaron: A grateful farewell to @afneil - an iconic journalist and friend for 25 years. Andrew nurtured @spectator with integrity and flair. He was an example and inspiration. He didn't interfere, but he set a tone of independence, authority and ethics. I've been privileged to

Godspeed You Black Tamperer /
@twlldun: Oh this is bad news. The spectator might end up publishing all sorts. Mad cranks, racists, climate change deniers, people who praise the Wehrmacht... Hold on. I'm just hearing something from my producer

Henry Saker-Clark /
London Evening Standard: GB News backer Sir Paul Marshall buys The Spectator magazine for £100m

Paul Sandle /
Reuters: Britain's Paul Marshall buys The Spectator magazine

Daniel Thomas /
@danielthomasldn: The Spectator has only its 15th owner in its 200 year history after hedge fund tycoon Paul Marshall completed his acqusition today for £100m. The FT reveals the plans for the storied title sold at a whopping price https://www.ft.com/... via @ft

Financial Times:

UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy is considering mutualizing the BBC, giving direct ownership to license-fee payers, as part of a review of funding options— Culture secretary Lisa Nandy says ‘nothing off table’ as government and broadcaster prepare for talks over funding

Discussion:
London Evening Standard

Discussion:

New York Times:

Business Insider names Jamie Heller, the business editor of The Wall Street Journal, to lead its newsroom as its next editor in chief— Ms. Heller spent two decades at The Wall Street Journal, most recently leading corporate coverage. — Business Insider is expected to name Jamie Heller …

Discussion:

Barbara Peng /
Business Insider: Warm welcome to our new editor in chief!

Brad Pareso /
Adweek: WSJ's Jamie Heller Named New EIC of Business Insider

Charlotte Tobitt /
Press Gazette: Business Insider names WSJ business editor Jamie Heller as next editor-in-chief

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: Statement from new BI editor-in-chief @JamieHeller: “Every day I've worked at The Wall Street Journal has been an honor...” [image] @bipressroom: Thrilled to welcome @JamieHeller as incoming editor in chief @BusinessInsider. Read on in a note from @BLPeng: https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: It's official: @JamieHeller taking the reins of @BusinessInsider as editor in chie. ‘I subscribed several years ago because I had to - it is that good. Now, I am beyond excited to lead this tremendous publication to new heights,’ she says in statement

Nicholas Carlson /
Nicholas Carlson on LinkedIn: Congratulations and good luck, Jamie Heller! — You have brilliant team to work with and I'm excited to see what they do under your leadership. …

Rob Copeland /
@realrobcopeland: My media scoop debut w/ @BenMullin: longtime @wsj editor @JamieHeller to be next top editor of @thisisinsider https://www.nytimes.com/...

Corbin Bolies /
@corbinbolies: Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng welcomes @JamieHeller as the publication's new EIC in an email to staff: [image]

Alyson Shontell /
@ajs: This makes me so happy for the fiercely talented @BusinessInsider newsroom, which deserves the best next leader to compliment their already-extraordinary newsroom leadership team. Congratulations, @JamieHeller (and great hire, @BLPeng @jessicaliebman) https://www.businessinsider.com/ ...

Hadas Gold /
@hadas_gold: Here's BI CEO Barbara Peng's email to staff about @JamieHeller joining as editor-in-chief [image]

Dylan Byers /
@dylanbyers: Scoop @PuckNews: Business Insider has hired its next Editor-in-Chief: Jamie Heller, currently business editor at The Wall Street Journal. @JamieHeller

Variety:

Jorge Ramos, one of the best-known Spanish-language TV journalists in the US, plans to leave Univision at the end of 2024— Jorge Ramos, a news anchor who is perhaps the best-known Spanish-language TV journalist in the United States and who has grilled top politicians and covered top world events …

Discussion:

Brad Pareso /
Adweek: Jorge Ramos to Depart Noticias Univision

Adam Jacobson /
Radio & Television Business Report: Acclaimed Univision News Anchor Jorge Ramos To Depart

Caitlin Huston /
The Hollywood Reporter: Jorge Ramos to Exit Univision at End of Year

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Jorge Ramos leaving Univision after nearly 40 years

Jon Lafayette /
Next TV: News Anchor Jorge Ramos Leaving Univision At Year End

Isabela Espadas Barros Leal /
NBC News: Jorge Ramos, one of America's most consequential Latino journalists, is leaving Univision

Dylan Byers /
@dylanbyers: News: Jorge Ramos is leaving Univision https://corporate.televisaunivision.com / ...

Brian Steinberg /
@bristei: Jorge Ramos, the Univision news veteran who is perhaps the best-known Spanish-language anchor in the U.S., will exit his current job at the end of 2024 https://variety.com/... via @variety

Carlos Lozada /
@carlosnyt: Jorge Ramos is leaving Univision⁩ after the 2024 election, following 40 years with the network and leaving “an indelible mark on Hispanic journalism.” https://corporate.televisaunivision.com / ...

Stephen Battaglio /
Los Angeles Times: Univision news anchor Jorge Ramos will exit network at the end of the year

Evan DeSimone /
@mediaevan: Feels like a pretty significant departure for Univision. https://corporate.televisaunivision.com / ...

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: Another big shakeup in the broadcast world - Jorge Ramos, probably best known Spanish language TV news anchor in America, is leaving @Univision at the end of the year https://variety.com/...

Nick Caruso /
TVLine: Jorge Ramos Exiting Univision by Year's End

Tomás Mier /
Rolling Stone: Legendary Mexican Journalist Jorge Ramos Will Leave Univision After 40 Years

Armando Tinoco /
Deadline: Jorge Ramos To Exit Univision By The End Of 2024 After 40 Years

CNN:

The Washington Post launched a redesigned homepage last week and plans “several” enhancements; reporters and editors have long complained about its dated nature— New York CNN — — The Washington Post is trying to fix one of its biggest problems: an outdated homepage loathed by its own staff.

Discussion:
@fletchtopper, @brianstelter, @jakewilkns and @patrickdehahn

Discussion:

Fletcher Keel /
@fletchtopper: I kind of like the WP's home page 🤷 ♂️ WP, NYT - I like that style of homepage, where you can tell it's a newspaper. All WP really needs to do is turn their landscape stories portrait so you can see more at once and it's golden

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: As first reported in this morning's Reliable Sources newsletter... Washington Post is trying to fix one of its biggest problems: an outdated homepage loathed by its own staff. More changes TK. Full story here: https://www.cnn.com/...

Jake Wilkins /
@jakewilkns: 👀 Meanwhile, @axios just launched a completely revamped website and i think it looks amazing. Check it out: https://axios.com/ [image]

Patrick deHahn /
@patrickdehahn: Homepages still matter. Signed, a homepage editor

Axios:

The Los Angeles Local News Initiative, which plans a nonprofit news org to support local newsrooms in LA, raised $15M from media leaders and philanthropists— - The research included input from 900 L.A. residents about gaps in community coverage, said Monica Lozano, the Initiative's board chair …

Discussion:

Feven Merid /
Columbia Journalism Review: L.A. Local News Initiative launches @journalismproj: The L.A. Local News Initiative, announced today, is a $15M effort to grow & support #localnews in the region. The initiative will operate & support local newsrooms covering neighborhood, regional & state levels in service of LA communities. https://www.theajp.org/...

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: NEW: BIG LOCAL PLAY — Media leaders, philanthropists raise $15M for local news initiative in L.A. — Big names involved, including @meridak @evanspiegel — Funders & board working w @JournalismProj to fund new newsrooms and support existing More on @axios https://www.axios.com/...

Semafor:

Former SI and The Players' Tribune executives launch OffBall, a site, newsletter, and social feed with curated sports news from social media and other sources— The Scoop — A new brand is hoping to provide a hub for the booming conversation around the culture of sports.

Discussion:

Joe Pompliano /
@joepompliano: I've been enjoying the new website @OffBall_News. It's essentially a curated list of the top sports stories each day, but rather than an algorithm determining what makes the cut, humans pick each item. Sports has needed this for a long time: https://www.offball.news/ [image]

Chris Stone /
@lat_chrisstone: It's a big deal to me to be able to reconnect with my old @sinow colleague on this new journey, who brings so much talent and joy to everything he touches. Fired up for this reunion.

Chris Stone /
@lat_chrisstone: Before I left The @latimes in March, a Times friend told me 'Your next job shouldn't be the job you've always had.' Wise words! And affirmation of a decision I'd already made: After a long career at two great places to be a journalist, it was time for something different 🧵

Boris Kachka /
@borisk: I have a low interest in sports but will follow this religiously because having worked with @LAT_ChrisStone at the LAT in its recent prime, I'll always like and subscribe to whatever he does.

B.W. Carlin /
@baileycarlin: OffBall is a project that I have been super fortunate to have had early looks at and access to for a bit now. Let me tell you: It rules. Hard. Highly recommend following this page and keeping up with everything going on with the launch an dsite itself. Super sick

Kelly McLaughlin /
@kelmclaugh: I'm so excited to share @OffBall_News with you all! It's a project I've been working on for the last few months, and it has been a blast delving into all things sports and culture. Highly recommend checking out our homepage and socials and subscribing to our newsletter.

Sydney Bauer /
@femme_thoughts: This seems like sports by Brooks for 2024 and that's great except there are fewer sites than ever devoting to sports and culture coverage 🥰🥰

Michael J. Miraflor /
@michaelmiraflor: A new media entrant to the Anti-Algorithm Club™️ (seriously, they say so). Comeback season for curators. Revenge of the cultural gatekeepers 🫡 @OffBall_News @jacobfeldman4: Execs with ties to SI, Players Tribune and SpringHill just launched a new hub for sports coverage. Notably it's all off-field stories, rather than scores. You know I believe the future is curated experiences, so definitely curious to see how this develops. [image] @offball_news: OffBall celebrates the culture of sports. Our homepage and newsletters are curated twice daily and give you the amazing stories, posts, and narratives in sports — the things we are all talking about in our group chats, happy hours, and cookouts. OffBall curates the best, most [video]

Philip Lewis /
@phil_lewis_: NEWS: A team of sports culture obsessives and leaders from across sports have launched a new homepage-driven platform called OffBall. The site aims to focus on the culture of sports—curated by real people, not algorithms or AI. https://www.offball.news/ [video]

Brendon Kleen /
Awful Announcing: Former Players' Tribune, L.A. Times, SpringHill execs launch new sports outlet ‘OffBall’

The Guardian:

Ofcom: internet replaced TV as UK's most popular news source; 71% of adults get news online, vs. 70% via TV; 52% use social media for news, up from 47% in 2023— Media regulator describes change as a ‘generational shift in the balance of news media’ — Online platforms have overtaken TV channels …

Discussion:

Julian Clover /
Broadband TV News: Online erodes television's command of news

Ingrid Lunden /
TechCrunch: Online, led by social media, overtakes TV as the most popular source of news in the UK, Ofcom says

Charlotte Tobitt /
Press Gazette: Online overtakes TV as biggest source of news in UK for first time

Max Goldbart /
Deadline: UK Hits Generational Landmark As Online News Consumption Overtakes TV For First Time — Ofcom Research

Charlotte McLaughlin /
London Evening Standard: Ofcom launches review after TV and online ‘on par’ as main source of news

Daniel Thomas /
Financial Times: TV news overtaken by digital rivals for first time in UK

The Guardian:

A writer who works for a tech company describes how he helps train AI models how to write, by making up pretend responses to hypothetical chatbot questions— Journalists and other writers are employed to improve the quality of chatbot replies. The irony of working for an industry …

Discussion:
Mark Little on LinkedIn

Bloomberg:

Audible plans to invite some US-based audiobook narrators to train AI on their voices, to clone the voices for recordings through a royalty-sharing model— The audiobook service is inviting some US-based narrators to train artificial intelligence on their voices

Discussion:
TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Jess Weatherbed /
The Verge: Amazon is allowing Audible narrators to clone themselves with AI

Adweek:

The WSJ offers advertisers a performance guarantee between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15 to dissuade them from pausing ad campaigns during the US presidential election— Some brands are going dark for the presidential election. WSJ has data to convince them otherwise.

Discussion:

Mia Lehmkuhl Libby /
Mia Lehmkuhl Libby on LinkedIn: Our data reveals that ads run during an election period on the Wall Street Journal significantly boost ad recall, brand research, and purchase intent. …

Mark Stenberg /
Mark Stenberg on LinkedIn: New: The The Wall Street Journal is offering advertisers a performance guarantee for any ad campaign they run between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15—the two weeks before and after the presidential election. …

Zach Kubin /
Zach Kubin on LinkedIn: 🗳 Excited to announce Adelaide's partnership with The Wall Street Journal to launch “attention guarantees” during the upcoming election season! …

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: WSJ promising ad guarantee during election

The Verge:

Q&A with Mike Krieger on his new role as chief product officer at Anthropic, co-founding and selling news app Artifact, copyright issues, AI content, and more— Anthropic's new chief product officer on the promise and limits of chatbots like Claude and what's next for generative AI.

Washington Post:

The US DOJ's case against Google's ad business may benefit Meta, Amazon, and news organizations that pay Google a cut of revenue for brokering their website ads— Federal prosecutors are seeking a divestment of Google's multibillion-dollar online advertising business, saying its monopoly power harms advertisers and publishers.

Discussion:

Nick Robins-Early /
The Guardian: Google's second antitrust suit brought by US begins, over online ads

Sacha Haworth /
@sachalouise: There are few close parallels of a single company dominating the buy side, sell side and the exchange of a market. “I don't think if that happened in, say, cars or steel, that it would take very long for [everyone] to say, 'Wait, something's wrong,'”. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Martin Peers /
The Information: Google's Antitrust Trial No. 2 Starts

Ashley Belanger /
Ars Technica: DOJ claims Google has “trifecta of monopolies” on Day 1 of ad tech trial

Thomas Barrabi /
New York Post: DOJ launches case against Google in historic trial over digital ad dominance, attorney warns of ‘unintended consequences’

Marta Biino /
Semafor: Google faces its next major antitrust test

Matthew Barakat /
WKYC-TV: Google finds itself in another antitrust lawsuit — this time over its advertising technology

Francesca Micheletti /
Politico: Margrethe Vestager's legacy faces day of reckoning in Apple and Google rulings

Allison Schiff /
AdExchanger: DOJ vs. Google, Day One: Who's Testifying And Google's Main Arguments In Brief

Lara O'Reilly /
Business Insider: Inside the landmark Google adtech antitrust trial that could transform the $700 billion global digital ad market

Matthew Barakat /
Associated Press: Google keeps up to 36% of every ad sale it brokers, government says in antitrust lawsuit

Lee-Anne Mulholland /
The Keyword: Google competes by offering tools that deliver for both ad buyers and sellers

RELATED:
Reuters: In the first day of the antitrust trial focused on ads, US prosecutors allege Google abused its size to dominate the sector through acquisitions and more

Discussion:

Jason Kint /
@jason_kint: Cited G emails “we'll do to display what we did to search” striking after losing search trial last month"-Bender and “use AdX or you don't get access to our demand.”-Spencer /3 @vafrmmd: Prosecutors say Google has largely dominated the technological infrastructure that funds the flow of news and information on websites through more than 150,000 online ad sales every second. https://www.reuters.com/...

Jason Kint /
@jason_kint: US subtly established stock market metaphor early (ad market is 342x larger than stock market transactions per day) with bonus reminder of evidence purge ("a written email Google actually preserved"). /2

Alex Rogers /
Financial Times: US accuses Google of dominating ad tech market as antitrust trial begins

Vidushi Dyall /
@vidushi_law: Oh boy, it's finally a wrap of Day 1 DOJ v. Google II. They call it the rocket docket for a reason, and Judge Brinkema is wasting no time pushing this trial full steam. We heard from 4 witnesses already! It's day one but we are ahead of schedule. Breakdowns coming shortly.

Vidushi Dyall /
@vidushi_law: From 2008-2022, there has been 18x growth in digital ads In 2010, G got about 15% of that rev In 2022, it got 10% This is a sign of a health marketplace that is not in need of govt interference. It's also a market that is rapidly evolving.

Vidushi Dyall /
@vidushi_law: Next up was Andrew Casale, the president and CEO of Index Exchange, an exchange focused on the programmatic market aka automating ad transactions.

Vidushi Dyall /
@vidushi_law: G argued: https://1.it/'s innovations supercharged the market 2.Choices in ad tech tools have increased 3.G has helped grow the ad tech pie

Vidushi Dyall /
@vidushi_law: Google's opening statements countered the DOJ, saying this case was actually about a transformative innovation that G has invested heavily in to the benefit of itself, small publishers, and users who want free content and a free internet.

Daniel Hart /
@okayy_dan: Haha “word and tech salad.” A bit like “Just keep writing good content, and we'll catch up.” “The helpful systems are now baked into the core and applied broadly” “You can recover in a couple of weeks, no, I meant several... sorry, did we say anyone was going to recover?”

Lauren Feiner /
The Verge: Google and the DOJ's ad tech fight is all about control

David McCabe /