Regional UK news startup Mill Media, which offers online newsletters, plans to launch in London, as the Evening Standard scales back, and open a Glasgow office (Daniel Thomas/Financial Times)

Mediagazer: Regional UK news startup Mill Media, which offers online newsletters, plans to launch in London, as the Evening Standard scales back, and open a Glasgow office (Daniel Thomas/Financial Times)

Top News:

New York Times:

Sources: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis criticized Sally Buzbee's judgment in publishing a May 2024 article about a UK phone-hacking lawsuit that involved him— Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Washington Post, objected to coverage of a legal development involving him in a phone hacking case.
Discussion: Digiday, @mattdpearce@threads.net, @paulvieira, @benmullin, Puck, @katie_robertson, @harrymccracken, @nick_field90, @sulliview, @peterjukes, @tvhilton, @farnazfassihi, @edmundlee, @eisingerj, @rogerford.org, The Wrap, @nick_field90, @ChrisBoese@newsie.social, @rcmacleod, @davidbeard@threads.net, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @edmundlee@threads.net, @eisingerj, @janecoaston, @jswatz_tx@threads.net, @geisler_jill@threads.net, @fredvultee, @silvermanjacob, @davidbeard@threads.net, @farhip, @kevinmdraper, @kennysmith@mstdn.social, Press Watch, The Guardian and Vanity Fair

Discussion:

Sara Guaglione /
Digiday: The Washington Post's EIC succession plan shakes up newsroom, but does little to curb marketers' news avoidance @mattdpearce@threads.net: My sympathies with all the Washington Post journalists who are getting confirmation right now that they have better ethics and news judgment than their CEO.

Paul Vieira /
@paulvieira: “We are losing large amounts of money. Your audience has halved in recent years. People are not reading your stuff.” https://www.nytimes.com/...

Ben Mullin /
@benmullin: scoop: Former Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee clashed with its chief executive, Will Lewis, over her decision to publish a story that included allegations he was involved in attempts to cover up the phone-hacking scandal w/ @katie_robertson https://www.nytimes.com/...

Dylan Byers /
Puck: ‘Post’ Mortem — The real and surprising story behind Sally Buzbee's departure from The Washington Post.

Katie Robertson /
@katie_robertson: SCOOP w/ @benmullin: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis and editor Sally Buzbee clashed over an article about a phone-hacking lawsuit mentioning him in the weeks before she abruptly departed, contributing to tensions between the two https://www.nytimes.com/...

Harry McCracken /
@harrymccracken: Never good news when the CEO chimes in on a particular story in the works, even if it doesn't involve him. (Trust me, I know.)

Nick Field /
@nick_field90: “Mr. Lewis told Ms. Buzbee the case involving him did not merit coverage, the people said. When Ms. Buzbee said The Post would publish an article anyway, he said her decision represented a lapse in judgment and abruptly ended the conversation” https://www.nytimes.com/...

Margaret Sullivan /
@sulliview: ‘Mr. Lewis told Ms. Buzbee the case involving him did not merit coverage’ https://www.nytimes.com/...

Peter Jukes /
@peterjukes: Phone Hacking - the unresolved spectre which hangs over so many senior Murdoch executives - now haunts US news rooms

Tom Hilton /
@tvhilton: Someone should lose his job over this, and I'm not naming names but his initials are Will Lewis. And if you're still stumped, here's a hint: he never should have been hired in the first place.

Farnaz Fassihi /
@farnazfassihi: Stunning but not surprising from Murdoch orbit. Will Lewis clashed with the Washington Post editor over coverage of his role in the News Corp phone hacking scandal. So he pushed her out and replaced her with his buddies. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Edmund Lee /
@edmundlee: Hooboy ... @washingtonpost CEO Will Lewis told (now former) editor Sally Buzbee that a story she planned to run naming him as a possible party to a suit involving phone hacking, did not merit coverage. Nice reporting @BenMullin @katie_robertson https://www.nytimes.com/...

Jesse Eisinger /
@eisingerj: *That was my attempt to put it in language Will Lewis might understand. Actually, it may have accelerated Buzbee's exit from the WaPo. Lewis is worried his role in one of the biggest UK media scandals was facing further exposure: https://www.nytimes.com/...

Roger Ford /
@rogerford.org: Washington Post CEO Will Lewis apparently tried to kill a story about Washington Post CEO Will Lewis being named in Prince Harry's phone-hacking lawsuit. I don't understand how this is not disqualifying to run a major news organization. (Gift link.) www.nytimes.com/2024/06/05/b...

Stephanie Kaloi /
The Wrap: Exited Washington Post Editor Clashed With CEO Over Coverage of His Ties to Murdoch Scandal

Nick Field /
@nick_field90: Exactly an hour after this damning report about Lewis, Dylan Byers published his own Buzbee-damning piece, along with the allegation that the Times piece was an attempt to get ahead of his https://x.com/... [image]

Chris Boese /
@ChrisBoese@newsie.social: Clash Over Phone Hacking Article Preceded Exit of Washington Post Editor — Will Lewis, the chief executive of The Washington Post, objected to coverage of a legal development involving him in a phone hacking case. — https://www.nytimes.com/...

Riley MacLeod /
@rcmacleod: Maybe... don't be in charge of journalism if you don't like journalism, bro? [image]

Dave Beard /
@davidbeard@threads.net: Would the @WashingtonPost publisher be added to a list of executives who UK plaintiffs argued were involved in a plan to conceal evidence of criminal phone hacking? It's not a story; don't cover it, the publisher told editor Sally Buzbee, who departed the Post abruptly.

Dan Gillmor /
@dangillmor@mastodon.social: 1. Washington Post CEO came from the Murdoch empire. — 2. He has been implicated in the (still not fully unraveled) UK “phone hacking” scandal that exemplified the sleaziness of the Murdoch empire. — 3. He told Post editor not to publish a story containing references to his alleged involvement. …

Jeff Jarvis /
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social: Will Lewis at work: — Clash Over Phone Hacking Article Preceded Exit of Washington Post Editor https://www.nytimes.com/...

Ed Lee /
@edmundlee@threads.net: Hooboy ... @washingtonpost CEO Will Lewis told (now former) editor Sally Buzbee that a story she planned to run naming him as a possible party to a suit involving phone hacking, did not merit coverage. Nice reporting @benjaminmullin @katie_rob https://www.nytimes.com/...

Jesse Eisinger /
@eisingerj: READ THE STORY WOT GOT BUZBEE FIRED* By @sarahellison & colleagues: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...

Jane Coaston /
@janecoaston: Which British news executives weren't involved in phone hacking, is this like how every British detective series has a choir competition episode

John Schwartz /
@jswatz_tx@threads.net: pro tip: if a source tells you a story about them is not really a story, well, it's really a story. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Jill Geisler /
@geisler_jill@threads.net: Journalistic independence is essential for for trustworthy journalism. Editors defend it, sometimes at great personal cost. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Fred Vultee /
@fredvultee: Pesky phone-hacking scandal!

Jacob Silverman /
@silvermanjacob: Someone being sued in a phone hacking case shouldn't be running a newspaper. (Besides the fact that this new three silo structure sounds bad!) https://www.nytimes.com/...

Dave Beard /
@davidbeard@threads.net: Without fear or favor:

Paul Farhi /
@farhip: Hoo boy. If events are accurately described here, this is a massive conflict of interest. https://www.nytimes.com/...

Kevin Draper /
@kevinmdraper: Will Lewis tells Post reporters “people are not reading your stuff” yet cares deeply when Post reporters have the temerity to write about him and a major court case he is involved in: https://www.nytimes.com/... [image]

Kenny Smith /
@kennysmith@mstdn.social: Though it was not the cause of the Post's changes, it surely did not help their internal dynamic. — From: @Mediagazer — https://mstdn.social/...

Dan Froomkin /
Press Watch: Beware the Tory takeover of the Washington Post

Margaret Sullivan /
The Guardian: Heavy-handed moves by The Washington Post's new publisher, Will Lewis, have alienated and angered some of its talented staff; a course correction is in order

New York Times:

A look at the now-shuttered news site BNN Breaking, which former staff say mostly published AI-generated content; Microsoft had licensed BNN content for MSN.com— The news was featured on MSN.com: “Prominent Irish broadcaster faces trial over alleged sexual misconduct.”

Discussion:
The Desk and @structstories

Discussion:

The Wall Street Journal:

Vice founder Shane Smith returns as Vice News EIC, but with no management responsibilities, and will host a series of shows and create social media content— Shane Smith is sorry, but not sorry. The 54-year-old co-founder of Vice Media said he has few regrets as he embarks on a new role at the company …

Discussion:

Sharon Knolle /
The Wrap: Shane Smith Returns to Vice as Editor-in-Chief, Sets New Podcast With Bill Maher

Hadas Gold /
@hadas_gold: Getting flashbacks.... https://www.wsj.com/... @mobute.bsky.social: When I think about Shane Smith, I always think about how meaningful and familiar he was to millions of people, who were always eager for more of the writing and videos he was famous for. “Did you hear? New Shane Smith dropped today,” my friends would often say to me.

Ingrid Burrington /
@lifewinning.com: Love this coming out as Eddie Huang works on a revenge documentary about trying to get his IP back from them lol

Hamilton Nolan /
@hamiltonnolan.bsky.social: I expect this Shane Smith and Bill Maher podcast to cut through all the BS that the media puts out there

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Shane Smith to Return to Making Content for Vice, Will Host Podcast for Bill Maher's Club Random @davidjroth.bsky.social: I don't work there anymore and haven't for years but I do hope that Shane finally gets to live his dream of working with the Saudi royal family. I hope he has a really meaningful collaboration with them.

Elizabeth Lopatto /
@lopatto.bsky.social: if you work at Vice and want yo talk with me about the “Shane Smith rides again” article in WSJ, I'm all ears www.wsj.com/business/med...

Bruce Haring /
Deadline: Shane Smith To Tackle New Programming At Vice, Including Show With Bill Maher

Reuters:

China-linked app NewsBreak used AI to write 40+ inaccurate local US stories since 2021 and in March added a note that its content “may not always be error-free”— Last Christmas Eve, NewsBreak, a free app with roots in China that is the most downloaded news app in the United States …

Discussion:
@wexler, @niubi, @nastyoldwomyn, @reuters, @robdecola, @pearswick, @reuters, @nanditab1 and @magneticcrow@catcatnya.com

Discussion:

Nu Wexler /
@wexler: “Newsbreak generates revenue by showing ads to its users, who are predominantly female, above the age of 45, without college degrees, and live in suburban or rural parts of the U.S. ... ” https://www.reuters.com/...

Bill Bishop /
@niubi: “A May 2022 company memo from a NewsBreak consultant to Zheng, reviewed by Reuters, raised concerns about NewsBreak's use of AI tools to re-publish stories from local news sites under five fictitious bylines. “I cannot think of a faster way to destroy the NewsBreak brand,” Norm @reuters: Billing itself as ‘the go-to source for all things local,’ NewsBreak says it has over 50 million monthly users. But the app's AI has resulted in some erroneous stories. NewsBreak blames incorrect source material https://www.reuters.com/... [image]

@reuters:
NewsBreak is a privately held start-up, whose primary backers are in San Francisco and Beijing. It's the most-downloaded news app in the US. And, using AI, it has also published erroneous stories, @pearswick writes https://www.reuters.com/...

Rob DeCola /
@robdecola: Hey hi hello it's me, a guy who's worked in news for 20+ years and monitors more than 50 news apps on shift. I need you to know that the @newsbreakApp is absolute junk. Useless at best, dangerous at worst. https://www.reuters.com/...

James Pearson /
@pearswick: The company launched in the U.S. in 2015 as a subsidiary of Yidian, a Chinese news aggregation app. Both companies were founded by Jeff Zheng, the CEO of Newsbreak, and the companies share a U.S. patent, registered in 2015 for an “Interest Engine” algorithm, which recommends news [image]

@reuters:
NewsBreak, the most-downloaded news app in the US, has Chinese origins and ‘writes fiction’ with the help of AI. It once wrote about a small-town New Jersey shooting that never happened, authorities said. Read the full story ⬇️https://www.reuters.com / ...

Nandita Bose /
@nanditab1: Last Christmas Eve, NewsBreak, a free app with roots in China that is the most downloaded news app in the United States, published an alarming piece about a small town shooting. The problem was, no such shooting took place. https://www.reuters.com/...

Leaf /
@magneticcrow@catcatnya.com: 'But in at least 40 instances since 2021, the app's use of AI tools affected the communities it strives to serve, with Newsbreak publishing erroneous stories; creating 10 stories from local news sites under fictitious bylines; and lifting content from its competitors …

Nieman Lab:

The Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson shares details on the OpenAI deal: publishers can benefit from tech platforms as long as they avoid becoming wholly dependent— Shortly before The Atlantic announced “a product and content” partnership with OpenAI, the magazine published a piece …

Discussion: LinkedIn and
The Atlantic, @sarahscire, @jessicalessin, Business Insider

Discussion:

Damon Beres /
The Atlantic: A Devil's Bargain With OpenAI

Sarah Scire /
@sarahscire: A four-minute video posted on LinkedIn by The Atlantic's CEO is an interesting artifact — one we might point to when asked “what were they thinking?” should these OpenAI deals go south. https://www.niemanlab.org/...

Jessica Lessin /
@jessicalessin: This is a good summary of the ongoing debate about news, platforms and AI. @nxthompson's LinkedIn was interesting for sure. https://www.niemanlab.org/... Every day, one of my peers whom I respect tells me I am wrong about these deals because they are zero margin revenue to Nicholas Thompson / LinkedIn: Nicholas Thompson's Post [Video]

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: the NBA is closing in on deals with NBC, ESPN, and Amazon that would bring in ~$76B in media revenue over 11 years; the deals will include WNBA rights— The National Basketball Association entered its first TV negotiations in a decade with a problem: Its main business partners seemed to be on shaky footing.

Discussion:
@morningbrew, Amol Sharma on LinkedIn, The Desk, @patrick1kennedy, Robert Dee on LinkedIn, Los Angeles Times, Front Office Sports, @benfritz, Adweek, @asharma, @jbflint, @webbarr, @jbflint, ESPN Press Room U.S., Media Play News, Christian Grece on LinkedIn, Next TV, Business Insider, The Wrap, Sports Media Watch, Awful Announcing, Barrett Media, Chris Pfaff on LinkedIn, Cord Cutters News and New York Post

Discussion:

Amol Sharma /
Amol Sharma on LinkedIn: With the NBA Finals set to begin, the league is working behind the scenes to finalize a massive TV rights deal worth $76 billion over 11 years. …

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: NBA close to $76 million deal with national TV broadcasters

Patrick J Kennedy /
@patrick1kennedy: The looming loss of Inside the NBA is such a bummer. https://www.wsj.com/...

Robert Dee /
Robert Dee on LinkedIn: The Premier League, with its unparalleled global viewership, is leaving money on the table by not securing robust deals with streaming platforms. …

Chuck Schilken /
Los Angeles Times: ‘Inside the NBA’ ending? Charles Barkley sounds off as cancellation reportedly close

Ben Fritz /
@benfritz: NBCU is preparing to pay $2.5B per year for new NBA rights on-air and on Peacock and it could have major repercussions for the company's entertainment spending. [image]

Ben Fritz /
@benfritz: Great scoop on the details of the NBA's next blockbuster, $76 billion(!!) TV deal by @JBFlint @asharma + @thesimonetti full of juicy details. https://www.wsj.com/...

Amol Sharma /
@asharma: A few of the details in here: — About half of NBC's 100 games will be exclusively available on Peacock, a big bet on streaming. — NBC likely raising Peacock price and planning significant budget cuts — Amazon was invited in during the “exclusive” TNT/ESPN negotiations.

Amol Sharma /
@asharma: The NBA is closing in on deals with NBC, Amazon and ESPN that point to the staggering value of sports rights and the anxieties of media's biggest players. “Entertainment is a swamp, and sports is the only firm ground.” w/ @JBFlint @ @thesimonetti https://www.wsj.com/...

Joe Flint /
@jbflint: Don't be surprised if the next court Adam Silver and David Zaslav see each other in isn't at Madison Square Garden. W/⁦@asharma⁩ & ⁦@thesimonetti⁩ https://www.wsj.com/...

Joe Flint /
@jbflint: What divided the NBA and TNT wasn't a couple hundred million bucks. It was the NBA cherry picking playoffs and other big games from TNT to sell to Amazon and NBC. https://www.wsj.com/... @webbarr: “Entertainment is a swamp, and sports is the only firm ground,” - former Fox Sports chief David Hill https://www.wsj.com/...

Joe Flint /
@jbflint: For Comcast and NBC an NBA deal puts pressure on Peacock which will need to raise prices. Deal also causing tensions with entertainment teams who fear significant cost cuts to help sports foot bill for massive bet. A lot has to go right for this to work. https://www.wsj.com/...

Ronce Rajan /
ESPN Press Room U.S.: ESPN NBA Full Court Press: ESPN Tips Off the 2024 NBA Finals Presented By YouTubeTV on Thursday as the Boston Celtics Host the Dallas Mavericks on ABC

Erik Gruenwedel /
Media Play News: NBA Reportedly Eyeing Record $76 Billion Media Rights Deal With NBC/Peacock, Prime Video, ESPN

Christian Grece /
Christian Grece on LinkedIn: From the Journal: — TNT parent Warner Bros. Discovery was saddled with more than $40 billion in debt, while ESPN parent The Walt Disney Company …

Peter Kafka /
Business Insider: Why a new NBA deal could mean cuts to your favorite NBC and Peacock shows

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: NBA Close to $76 Billion TV Rights Deal With NBC, Amazon and Disney | Report

Joe Lucia /
Awful Announcing: NBC's NBA deal reportedly includes 100 games annually, half on Peacock Barrett Media: Report: NBA Closing In on $76 Billion TV Media Rights Deal With Disney, NBCUniversal, Amazon

Chris Pfaff /
Chris Pfaff on LinkedIn: At the buzzer...Turner is shut out of the new National Basketball Association (NBA) TV deal. This is extraordinary, given Turner (Turner Broadcasting System, Inc)'s legacy with the NBA. …

Financial Times:

Regional UK news startup Mill Media, which offers online newsletters, plans to launch in London, as the Evening Standard scales back, and open a Glasgow office— Regional UK news start-up says there is an opportunity after years of savage cutbacks in local media industry

Reuters:

Four educational publishers sue Google, accusing it of promoting pirated copies of their textbooks and ignoring copyright infringement notices— Google (GOOGL.O) was hit with a lawsuit on Wednesday by educational publishers Cengage, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill and Elsevier accusing …

Discussion:
Publishing Perspectives, Bloomberg Law and Search Engine Land

Discussion:

Porter Anderson /
Publishing Perspectives: Major Publishers Sue Google Over Ads for Pirated Ebooks

Press Gazette:

How New Zealand's Stuff is using a sentiment tracker, which asks readers for their response to stories, and a softer explainer-style for contentious stories— New Zealand's Stuff “abandoned” the traditional inverted pyramid structure for its “most contentious” stories as part of its battle against news avoidance.

Discussion:
@pressgazette

Discussion:
@pressgazette: The Stuff newsroom has “abandoned the inverted pyramid for some of the most contentious stories and politics stories and planning stories, things that would often sew division, and taken more of a real-time explainer approach to structuring those stories” https://pressgazette.co.uk/...

TechCrunch:

Stability AI releases Stable Audio Open, a text-to-audio model for generating up to 47 seconds of samples and sound effects, prohibited for commercial use— Stability AI, the startup behind the AI-powered art generator Stable Diffusion, has released an open AI model for generating sounds …

Discussion:
@stabilityai, @hugovntr, @Tamasg@mindly.social, @benjedwards, @andymac3d, @iscienceluvr, @minimaxir, @simonw, @nickadobos and Stability AI, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:
@stabilityai: We're excited to announce Stable Audio Open, an open source model optimised for generating short audio samples, sound effects and production elements using text prompts. This release marks a key milestone as we further open portions of our generative audio capabilities to [image]

Hugo Ventura /
@hugovntr: Stability release a slimmer version of their Audio model, under a non-commercial license (reminds me of SD3...) Anyhow, this is a new fun toy to play with, so enjoy!

Tamas G /
@Tamasg@mindly.social: Stability AI releases a sound generator (May not be as good as Eleven Labs as it is for noncomercial use, but worth a try as it uses royalty-free audio) https://techcrunch.com/... demo Space: https://huggingface.co/... model: https://huggingface.co/...

Benj Edwards /
@benjedwards: @simonw The word “Open” has sort of become like greenwashing in software. The appearance of doing good without necessarily doing it

Andy McNamara /
@andymac3d: I'm a big fan of Stable Audio (use it a lot!) and seems to fly under the radar more than most other popular AI audio generators like Suno. Worth a look as it can do some cool stuff inc. using your own custom audio. Oh yes, its free and trained on open source data! Yay!

Tanishq Mathew Abraham, Ph.D. /
@iscienceluvr: Stability AI releases Stable Audio Open announcement: https://stability.ai/... model weights: https://huggingface.co/... Weights for Stable Audio model trained on audio data from FreeSound and the Free Music Archive, can generate up to 47 seconds of audio. The model specialises in [image]

Max Woolf /
@minimaxir: @simonw I'm not a fan of HN's repeated insistance that “open source only means 100% reproducible”, but “open” should mean that the model can be used without hitting roadblocks, with noncommercial use only being a giant roadblock.

Simon Willison /
@simonw: I really wish Stability would stop abusing the term “open source” like this - it's under a custom non-commercial license “Openly licensed” or “open weights” are fine alternatives

Nick Dobos /
@nickadobos: Non-commercial license. Stability is dead lol. Remember when I said bearish on open source models? It's cuz business models are equally as important as the technical models Stability AI: Introducing Stable Audio Open - An Open Source Model for Audio Samples and Sound Design

Nikkei Asia:

An analysis finds 90K+ images of popular anime characters on generative AI image sharing sites; ~2.5K images had multiple similarities to the original artwork— —An animator working for a Tokyo-based production company — “This Pikachu” was drawn by generative AI.

Discussion:
Nikkei Asia and @hrfm_yamamoto

Discussion:

Voice of America:

Five former colleagues of exiled Uyghur journalist Kasim Kashgar have been imprisoned in China's Xinjiang region, seemingly over their ties to the VOA reporter— Former colleagues of exiled Uyghur journalist Kasim Kashgar have been imprisoned in China's Xinjiang region …