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Nicole Shanahan, ex-wife of Google's Sergey Brin and a rising MAGA star, allegedly offered WaPo reporters writing a profile piece on her $500K to reveal sources (Sarah Rumpf/Mediaite)

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Mediagazer: Nicole Shanahan, ex-wife of Google's Sergey Brin and a rising MAGA star, allegedly offered WaPo reporters writing a profile piece on her $500K to reveal sources (Sarah Rumpf/Mediaite)

Top News:

Mediaite:

Nicole Shanahan, ex-wife of Google's Sergey Brin and a rising MAGA star, allegedly offered WaPo reporters writing a profile piece on her $500K to reveal sources— Nicole Shanahan has been “tapping a vast divorce settlement” from Google co-founder Sergey Brin to launch herself …
Discussion: Washington Post, The Hill, @glennthrush, @lizzadwoskin, @jcarole, @ashleyrparker, @billkuchman, @wexler, @pkafka, @_cingraham and @jackshafer, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Nicole Shanahan offered $500K to Washington Post reporter to share sources, be a ‘whistleblower’

Glenn Thrush /
@glennthrush: Jaw dropping

Elizabeth Dwoskin /
@lizzadwoskin: The bribe offer is just the tip of the iceberg

Elizabeth Dwoskin /
@lizzadwoskin: One of the stranger things that has happened to me in my journalistic career.

Jennifer Carole /
@jcarole: @lizzadwoskin @MollyJongFast Damn integrity. The plague of so many. Alas, I too would have demurred.

Ashley Parker /
@ashleyrparker: When we began reporting on Nicole Shanahan, she offered us $500,000 to be “whistleblowers” and share our sources. We declined — but kept reporting our profile. W @lizzadwoskin, @MerylKornfield + @aaronjschaffer: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Bill Kuchman /
@billkuchman: “Half a million dollars to be a whistleblower.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... [image]

Nu Wexler /
@wexler: Definitely would NOT recommend this media relations tactic https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... [image]

Peter Kafka /
@pkafka: Everyone says the business model for journalism is screwed. But there are plenty of opportunities to make money if you're willing to be creative and ethically flexible.

Christopher Ingraham /
@_cingraham: Wow. Does kind of make you wonder about typical business practices in Silicon Valley and elsewhere.

Jack Shafer /
@jackshafer: “Shanahan said she would ‘pay your friend’ — The Post reporter — ‘half a million dollars to be a whistleblower’ to expose people Shanahan claimed were spreading false information about her.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Newcomer:

Eric Newcomer, founder of the Newcomer newsletter on startups and VCs, marks its four-year anniversary and says he expects $1M in profit on $2M in 2024 revenue— Newcomer is on track to generate more than $1 million in profit on more than $2 million in revenue this year.

Discussion:
@sqs and @ericnewcomer

Discussion:

Quinn Slack /
@sqs: @EricNewcomer Congrats on the incredible revenue! I am a happy subscriber and love what you do. And as a founder whose revenue estimate you did reveal, I appreciate you not giving yourself special treatment. Seriously! :)

CNN:

CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward describes being held captive by a militia in North Darfur in Sudan for 48 hours— North Darfur, Sudan CNN — “La tasweer! La tasweer!” ("Don't film! Don't film!") the general shouted, his eyes flashing with anger, his jaw clenched as he stormed towards us.

Discussion:
New York Post, The Wrap, @saskiadekkers, Politico, @_hudsonc, @clarissaward and Deadline

Discussion:

Alexandra Steigrad /
New York Post: CNN reporter Clarissa Ward, crew held captive as ‘spies’ by militia in Darfur

Kayla Cobb /
The Wrap: CNN's Clarissa Ward Describes ‘Clawing Sense of Panic’ in 48 Hours of Captivity in Darfur

Saskia Dekkers /
@saskiadekkers: CNN's international correspondent Clarissa Ward details experience being held captive by a militia in North Darfur... 'The world doesn't see us:' What a militia chief said while holding me captive in Darfur https://www.cnn.com/...

Eric Bazail-Eimil /
Politico: Top CNN reporter: I was captured by gun-toting militia in Darfur

Cameron Hudson /
@_hudsonc: Amazing story from @CNN chief foreign correspondent @clarissaward who was detained while reporting from North Darfur. A good reminder of why there is little on the ground coverage of #Sudan's conflict by international media. But these stories must get out. https://www.cnn.com/...

Clarissa Ward /
@clarissaward: Two weeks ago, our team was held captive by a militia in Darfur. As a journalist, one never wants to become the story. But I wanted to write this because in some ways our experience tells a bigger story of the complexities of the situation in Darfur and the challenges of getting

Notes From Poland:

Poland launches an antitrust probe into Meta for limiting visibility of Facebook posts linking to Polish media; Meta cited legal doubts over a new copyright law— Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has launched an investigation into Meta, the owner of Facebook …

Discussion:
@uokikgovpl

Discussion:

Press Gazette:

Bloomberg Media says it added 200K subscriptions in the past four months, and launches a magazine-style Weekend Edition led by ex-Quartz EIC Katherine Bell— Bloomberg Media says it has added 200,000 subscriptions in the last four months as part of a growth plan that also saw it launch a new …

Wall Street Journal:

Jefferies says the anime market in North America has grown from $1.6B in 2018 to $4B in 2024, as once-niche anime is shaping up as Japan's next big export— As Japanese animation and comics go global, opportunities abound for investors — Move over, Marvel. The next blockbuster entertainment franchise might come from Japan.

Discussion:
Douglas Montgomery on LinkedIn and Semafor

Discussion:

Douglas Montgomery /
Douglas Montgomery on LinkedIn: Anime the Apple of NY's Eye — The Wall Street Journal and the The Economist have both written articles on the global strength of #anime in the last few weeks. …

Paige Bruton /
Semafor: Fast-growing anime industry boosts Japan's soft power

TechCrunch:

Google makes SynthID Text, which lets developers watermark and detect text generated by AI models, generally available— Google is making SynthID Text, its technology that lets developers watermark and detect text generated by generative AI models, generally available.

Discussion:
MIT Technology Review and Digital Trends, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Melissa Heikkilä /
MIT Technology Review: Google DeepMind is making its AI text watermark open source

Andrew Tarantola /
Digital Trends: Google's AI detection tool is now available for anyone to try

Variety:

Yahoo News partners with McAfee to utilize its deepfake image detection tech to identify pictures and photos that may have been generated or altered by AI— Yahoo News is bringing in a partner to help keep misinformation at bay. — The news-distribution giant, the holder …

Discussion:

Kat Downs Mulder /
Kat Downs Mulder on LinkedIn: We are excited to partner with McAfee to implement their new deepfake image detection technology into the content quality system on Yahoo News. … McAfee: McAfee Introduces AI-Powered Deepfake Image Detection Technology on Yahoo News to Verify Authenticity of News Images

Jon Healey /
Los Angeles Times: To keep deepfakes from infiltrating its site, Yahoo News enlists help from McAfee

Sona Iliffe-Moon /
Sona Iliffe-Moon on LinkedIn: In the evolving age of AI, it's more important than ever to promote a reliable news environment. To help us ensure we're staying steps ahead …

Axios:

The NewsGuild of New York files an NLRB unfair labor practice charge against the NYT, claiming management violated rules by interrogating staff about strikes— - “While we respect the union's right to engage in protected actions, threatening a strike at this time feels both unnecessary …

Discussion:
@crguildny, @sarafischer, @bymikedavis, @anastasiakeeley and NewsGuild of New York

Discussion:

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: Scoop: @newsguild files unfair labor practice charge against @nytimes —Claims at least 20 Tech Guild members have been pulled into 1:1 interrogation mtgs w managers to ask if they supported a strike. (Tech guild voted to authorize a strike last month.) https://www.axios.com/...

Mike Davis /
@bymikedavis: “Only contracts negotiated under the current NewsGuild leadership have taken more than two years” yeah because newsguild members decided they were absolutely fed up with acting like doormats for billionaire bosses. solidarity forever with @NYTGuildTech

Annie Shields /
@anastasiakeeley: NEWS: NYT Tech Guild members have been pulled into interrogation meetings with managers in the past few weeks to ask if they support a strike, and to tell employees that if they choose to work during the strike, the company will help them scab discreetly. https://www.axios.com/...

Press Gazette:

The UK's Reach plans to hire 60 new editorial staff, including “audience writers” and “general assignment journalists”, after cutting 700 staff in 2023— Reach has said it is hiring 60 new editorial staff which will include “audience writers” and “general assignment journalists”.

Discussion:
HoldtheFrontPage

Discussion:

Reuters Institute:

Q&A with Benjamin Toff, recently senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute, about how news avoidance could shape the US election and candidates' tactics— “News avoiders see journalists as part of a disconnected elite,” says Benjamin Toff, who led our Trust in News Project and authored a book on the subject

Discussion:
Nieman Lab and American Press Institute

TechCrunch:

TikTok brings its STEM feed to all users in the US, the UK, and Ireland by default to help find educational content, after launching the feed to under-18 users— TikTok announced on Wednesday that it's bringing its STEM feed to all users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland by default.

Discussion:
MediaPost, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Colin Kirkland /

Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics

State of Play

Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:

  • Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
  • Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
  • Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
  • Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. 

On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”

More informationabout Climate economics