Sources: Meta strikes a multi-year deal with Reuters to use its news content to provide real-time answers to user queries in Meta AI chatbot, a first for Meta (Sara Fischer/Axios)

Mediagazer: Sources: Meta strikes a multi-year deal with Reuters to use its news content to provide real-time answers to user queries in Meta AI chatbot, a first for Meta (Sara Fischer/Axios)

Top News:

Semafor:

Two more members of the Los Angeles Times editorial board have resigned over the paper's decision not to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election— The Scoop — Two more members of the Los Angeles Times editorial board resigned on Thursday over the paper's decision …
Discussion: The Wrap, @maxwelltani@threads.net, @marisakabas.bsky.social, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Status, @semaforben, @maxwelltani@threads.net, @margarita.bsky.social, Blaze Media, MediaPost, Townhall, Fox News, The Hollywood Reporter, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Deadline, Newser and Columbia Journalism Review

Discussion:

Ross A. Lincoln /
The Wrap: Two More LA Times Editorial Writers Quit Over ‘Chickens—’ Owner's Block of Kamala Harris Endorsement | Exclusive

Maxwell Tani /
@maxwelltani@threads.net: Karin Klein, another LA Times editorial board member, tells me she has also resigned https://www.semafor.com/...

Marisa Kabas /
@marisakabas.bsky.social: masterful gambit, pat. [image]

Mary Chastain /
Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: Los Angeles Times Editorial Editor Resigns After Owner Didn't Allow Presidential Endorsement

Oliver Darcy /
Status: Turbulence at the Times — The Los Angeles Times name remains visible on the former LA Times downtown building.

Ben Smith /
@semaforben: More fallout at the LA Times, @maxwelltani scoops https://www.semafor.com/...

Maxwell Tani /
@maxwelltani@threads.net: NEW: LA Times editorial board member Robert Greene tells me he has also resigned from the paper over the decision not to endorse in the 2024 presidential race, as well as the statement yesterday from owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.

Margarita Noriega /
@margarita.bsky.social: Los Angeles expects more from the LA Times than silence. www.cjr.org/business_of_...

Chris Enloe /
Blaze Media: LA Times owner tells the truth about Kamala Harris non-endorsement fiasco — and it exposes the rot in journalism

Ray Schultz /
MediaPost: Editorials Editor Of ‘The Los Angeles Times’ Resigns Over Blocked Endorsement

Leah Barkoukis /
Townhall: Here's What the LA Times' Editorials Editor Did After Owner Decided Not to Run Presidential Endorsement Fox News: LA Times editor resigns over the paper not endorsing Harris for president: ‘Not okay with us being silent’

Katie Kilkenny /
The Hollywood Reporter: Los Angeles Times Editorial Page Editor Resigns Following Paper's Decision Not to Endorse Presidential Candidate

Juliann Ventura /
The Hill: L.A. Times editorial editor quits after owner blocks plans to endorse Harris

Jim Hᴏft /
The Gateway Pundit: Leftist LA Times Editorial Page Editor Resigns in Protest After Owner Blocks Endorsement of Kamala Harris

Mallory Wilson /
Washington Times: L.A. Times, California's largest paper, decides to not endorse home-state Kamala Harris

Ted Johnson /
Deadline: Los Angeles Times Editorials Editor Resigns Over Owner's Decision Not To Endorse In Presidential Race

Jenn Gidman /
Newser: LA Times Is Missing One Big Endorsement

Sewell Chan /
Columbia Journalism Review: Mariel Garza, editorials editor of the Los Angeles Times, resigns after the outlet's owner blocked the editorial board's plans to endorse Harris for president

RELATED:

NPR:

Recent moves at the Los Angeles Times and NBC News, and the lack of a Washington Post presidential endorsement, raise concerns that owners are appeasing Trump— Recent episodes involving major U.S. news organizations have stoked fears that outlets are preemptively self-censoring coverage …

Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Media Nation, @jbrand07, @pattmlatimes, @mattdpearce, @maxwelltani, @davidfolkenflik, @azi, One America News Network, @sbasspersonal, @_hamilton_matt, @bgrueskin, Blaze Media, Fox News, Vanity Fair, HotAir, Raw Story, Matt Pearce, Washington Times, Breitbart, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, Poynter, Associated Press, Semafor, Newser, Axios, New York Times, The Guardian, UPI, Bloomberg, New York Post, SFGATE, The Independent, CNN and The San Francisco Standard

Discussion:

Zoe G. Phillips /
The Hollywood Reporter: More Editors Exit Los Angeles Times Amid Paper's Presidential Endorsement Scandal

Ross A. Lincoln /
The Wrap: Is Washington Post Another LA Times? Speculation Grows Without Presidential Endorsement 10 Days From Election

Dan Kennedy /
Media Nation: More fallout from the LA Times; plus, the Sun shines in Colorado, and news deserts spread

Jessica Brand /
@jbrand07: It is hard to describe what a loss this is. @robrtgreene was one of the most important, moral columnists in America on the critical issues of our time. @pattmlatimes: .@robrtgreene won a Pulitzer Prize for his wise, informed, invaluable writing about how government at every level works, and doesn't. This is a serious blow to the paper, a serious loss for readers, and for me, a gut-punch loss of a great colleague and friend.

Max Tani /
@maxwelltani: NEW: LA Times editorial board member Robert Greene tells me he has also resigned from the paper over the decision not to endorse in the 2024 presidential race, as well as the statement yesterday from owner Patrick Soon-Shiong.

David Folkenflik /
@davidfolkenflik: Did the L.A. Times and other news outlets pull punches to appease Trump? My story for NPR - (with cameos from @semaforben & @ianbassin) https://www.npr.org/...

Azi™ /
@azi: “One of the central media stories in the U.S. right now is the people who run big media companies making accommodations for a second Trump presidency and thinking about how to avoid antagonizing him” — @semaforben

Dr. Pat Soon-Shiong /
One America News Network: LA Times Editor Announces Resignation After Owner Blocks Planned Harris Endorsement

Steve Bass /
@sbasspersonal: I don't know how much endorsements matter. However, if owners are fearful about endorsements, will they stand behind critical reporting? Raises questions for sure.

Matt Hamilton /
@_hamilton_matt: Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Robert Greene is smart, deeply knowledgeable about L.A. County, and a decent colleague. His departure is a huge loss.

Bill Grueskin /
@bgrueskin: This behavior by the Washpost edit page — and the editors' unwillingness to be upfront about it — is bizarre. Smacks of “anticipatory obedience” as @TimothyDSnyder would put it. Via @davidfolkenflik Link below [image] Blaze Media: Panicked LA Times union begs readers to stop canceling subscriptions over presidential endorsement debacle

Fox News:
LA Times union begs readers not to cancel the subscriptions that pay their salaries after blasting owner

Natalie Korach /
Vanity Fair: Los Angeles Times Owner's Attempt at 2024 Neutrality Backfires Matt Pearce: That doesn't make any sense, Patrick — An embarrassing and avoidable episode for the owner of the Los Angeles Times.

Mallory Wilson /
Washington Times: L.A. Times owner says editorial board was given choice, ‘chose to remain silent’ on endorsement

Paul Bois /
Breitbart: Los Angeles Times Editor Resigns After Owner Blocks Kamala Harris Endorsement

Marita Vlachou /
HuffPost: Los Angeles Times Editor Resigns After Owner Blocks Presidential Endorsement

Jim Hᴏft /
The Gateway Pundit: LA Times Owner Exposes Editorial Board's Bias After Refusing to Draft Balanced Analysis of Trump and Kamala Harris Policies — Opts for Silence Instead of Informing Voters

Jenny Goldsberry /
Washington Examiner: Los Angeles Times editorials editor quits when owner won't endorse Harris

Germania Rodriguez Poleo /
Daily Mail: LA Times boss says editors were asked to come up with ‘fair’ analysis of Trump AND Kamala - but chose not to

Tom Jones /
Poynter: The Los Angeles Times won't endorse a candidate for president. Its owner offers a nonsensical explanation Associated Press: ‘Los Angeles Times’ editor resigns after newspaper withholds presidential endorsement

Evann Gastaldo /
Newser: LA Times Editor Resigns After Harris Endorsement Is Blocked

Rebecca Falconer /
Axios: LA Times editor resigns after owner blocks Harris endorsement plans

Katie Robertson /
New York Times: L. A. Times Editorial Chief Quits After Owner Blocks Harris Endorsement

Sheri Walsh /
UPI: L.A. Times editorials editor quits over decision to withhold presidential endorsement

Christopher Palmeri /
Bloomberg: LA Times Editorial Chief Quits After Harris Endorsement Quashed

David Propper /
New York Post: Los Angeles Times editorial boss resigns after billionaire owner Patrick Soon-Shiong scraps Harris endorsement

Farley Elliott /
SFGATE: LA Times editor quits after billionaire owner blocked paper's presidential endorsement

Josh Marcus /
The Independent: LA Times editorials editor quits after billionaire owner reportedly blocked paper from endorsing Harris

Liam Reilly /
CNN: Los Angeles Times editor resigns after newspaper owner blocked plans to endorse Harris

USA Today:

A poll of 1,000 likely US voters finds 72% had not seen Kamala Harris on a podcast and 77.5% had not seen a Trump podcast appearance— An exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll asked respondents whether they caught campaign appearances by Harris and Trump on podcasts.

Discussion:

Lori Lewis /
Inside Radio: Candidates Embrace Podcasts, But Is It Working? Here's What One Survey Shows.

Brian Stelter /
@brianstelter: A new USA TODAY/Suffolk U poll finds that 1 in 4 American adults have heard Kamala Harris on a podcast and 1 in 5 have heard Donald Trump - impressively high totals if you ask me https://www.usatoday.com/...

Daniel Strauss /
@danielstrauss4: Watch this become the new normal for campaigning 👇

Brandi D. Addison /
Austin American-Statesman: Former President Donald Trump is coming to Texas for ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ appearance

Stephen Quillen /
Al Jazeera: Trump, Harris turn to podcasts, and maybe Joe Rogan, for US election boost

Kevin Dolak /
The Hollywood Reporter: Harris and Trump's Much-Hyped Podcast Appearances Aren't Transforming the Election: Poll

TechCrunch:

In a post, Perplexity criticizes media companies that have sued over AI, saying they wish AI tools didn't exist and prefer that corporations own reported facts— Perplexity shot back at media companies skeptical of AI's benefits in a blog post Thursday responding to News Corp's lawsuit filed against the startup earlier this week.

Discussion:
@carnage4life@mas.to, The Verge, The Hollywood Reporter, Pocket-lint, Digital Trends and TVNewsCheck, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Dare Obasanjo /
@carnage4life@mas.to: The big difference between the AI era and Web 2.0 is that the former are quite happy to eat their seed corn. — Why support the business models of the companies your entire product is built around when you can destroy them instead? 🤷🏾 ♂️ — https://techcrunch.com/...

Alex Weprin /
The Hollywood Reporter: Perplexity CEO Speaks at News Corp. Event Days After Lawsuit: “Let's Talk About the Elephant in the Room”

Craig Donaldson /
Pocket-lint: AI search tool in legal trouble (again) since it can't stop plagiarizing

Andrew Tarantola /
Digital Trends: ‘Massive copyright violation’ threatens one of the world's hottest AI apps

Jon Accarrino /
TVNewsCheck: News Corp's Perplexity AI Lawsuit Signals The Need For News Data Licensing

RELATED:
Wall Street Journal: At a conference, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas says he'd like the company to reach ad revenue sharing agreements with publishers, rather than licensing deals

Discussion:
Reuters, San Francisco Business Times, MediaPost, Digiday, Adweek and Business Insider

Discussion:
San Francisco Business Times: Perplexity AI's quest for curiosity and cash, Mira Murati's new startup: Week in AI

Ray Schultz /
MediaPost: Perplexity CEO ‘Surprised’ By Dow Jones Lawsuit

Marty Swant /
Digiday: Perplexity faces new legal pressure even as it attempts to win over publishers and advertisers

Axios:

Sources: Meta strikes a multi-year deal with Reuters to use its news content to provide real-time answers to user queries in Meta AI chatbot, a first for Meta— - Meta has backed away from news content in its platforms' main feeds amid regulatory scrutiny, but news content may prove harder …

Discussion:
@sarafischer

Discussion:

Sara Fischer /
@sarafischer: NEW: @Meta's first news deal in the AI era... $META has struck a multi-year deal with @Reuters to use its news content for real-time answers to user queries about news in its Meta AI chatbot - Reuters is a fact checking partner but never had news tab deal https://www.axios.com/...

Music Business Worldwide:

TikTok strikes a licensing deal with indie music distributor UnitedMasters, a member of Merlin; the current TikTok/Merlin licensing deal ends October 31— TikTok has announced that it has struck a multi-year direct deal with prominent indie artist services and distribution platform UnitedMasters.

Discussion:
TikTok, Social Media Today, Billboard, Digital Music News and Music Ally

Discussion:

Andrew Hutchinson /
Social Media Today: TikTok Establishes New Deal With UnitedMasters to Promote Independent Musicians

Kristin Robinson /
Billboard: UnitedMasters Forges Direct Deal With TikTok After Merlin Negotiations Collapse

Ashley King /
Digital Music News: And Just Like That, TikTok Inks a Direct Deal with UnitedMasters — Bypassing Merlin

Stuart Dredge /
Music Ally: Merlin member UnitedMasters signs a direct deal with TikTok

Bloomberg:

Filing: Grupo Televisa SAB Executive Chairman Emilio Azcarraga steps down amid a US DOJ probe into the Mexican conglomerate's dealings in international soccer— - Grandson of broadcaster's founder stepping down immediately — Investigation ongoing, company says it's cooperating

Discussion:
Financial Times and The Desk

Discussion:

Christine Murray /
Financial Times: Grupo Televisa's chair Emilio Azcárraga steps down amid Fifa probe

Esquire:

How the uncertainty of elections affects the US book publishing industry, as publishers try to schedule relevant nonfiction books in the fall in hopes for a hit— Every election season, American readers cling to buzzy political books. But how do publishers make plans despite an uncertain outcome …

Discussion:
@svershbow, @adriennemwest, Jane Friedman and Simon Owens's Media Newsletter

Discussion:

Sophie Vershbow /
@svershbow: In my latest for @esquire, I explored how a presidential election year impacts the book publishing industry, from distracted media, to buzzy drop-in titles, to the Hillbilly Elegy of it all. https://www.esquire.com/...

Adrienne Westenfeld /
@adriennemwest: Every election season, American readers cling to buzzy political books. But how do publishers make plans despite an uncertain outcome, and how do their decisions influence the national conversation? Insiders take @svershbow behind the scenes for @esquire. https://www.esquire.com/...

Notes From Poland:

A state-owned Polish radio station relaunches with AI “presenters” after firing its journalists; station head says layoffs were due to a lack of listeners— A Polish radio station has stirred controversy after relaunching one of its channels in a new version run almost completely …

Discussion:
The Register, Marcos Bravo C. on LinkedIn and Associated Press

Discussion:

Brandon Vigliarolo /
The Register: Polish radio station ditches DJs, journalists for AI-generated college kids

Marcos Bravo C. /
Marcos Bravo C. on LinkedIn: The beginning of the end? — Or the end of the beginning?

Reuters:

IAB, cable trade group NCTA, and the Electronic Security Association sue to block the US FTC's “click to cancel” rule, alleging it oversteps the FTC's authority— An industry group representing cable and internet providers sued along with two others on Wednesday to block …

Discussion:
@fight@mastodon …, Politico, MediaPost, Variety, Engadget, The Verge, USA Today, Cord Cutters News, Policyband and AV Club

Discussion:
@fight@mastodon.fightforthefuture.org: Another reason why we still need Lina Khan — https://www.reuters.com/... Politico: Should Kamala Harris embrace Lina Khan? Democrats are split — and some worry it will cost her

Wendy Davis /
MediaPost: IAB, Cable Lobby Challenge Click-To-Cancel Regulations

Todd Spangler /
Variety: Cable Industry Trade Group Sues FTC, Seeking to Block ‘Click-to-Cancel’ Rule

Lawrence Bonk /
Engadget: Of course telecom companies are suing the FTC to block the new ‘click-to-cancel’ rule

Luke Bouma /
Cord Cutters News: Cable TV & Internet Industry Sues to Stop FTC's “Click to Cancel” Rule

Bluesky:

Bluesky says it has 13M+ users, has raised a $15M Series A, and plans payment services to creators and a subscription for features like higher quality video— Bluesky now exceeds 13 million users, the AT Protocol developer ecosystem continues to grow, and we've shipped highly requested features like direct messages and video.

Discussion:
Gizmodo, Silicon Republic, The Verge, SiliconANGLE, jwz, Amir Shevat on LinkedIn, Decrypt, Tubefilter, Social Media Today, @timbray@cosocial.ca, Engadget, @molly.wiki, @andy@social.seattle.wa.us, TechCrunch, @parismarx.bsky.social, @chrismessina@mastodon.xyz, @pixel@desu.social, @hikarisoph.bsky.social, @eramdam.me, @triangulator.org, @tante@tldr.nettime.org, @danilo@hachyderm.io, @brendelbored.bsky.social, @coreypein.bsky.social, @coachfinstock.bsky.social, @rose.bsky.team, @bnewbold@social.coop and @bsky.app, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Matt Novak /
Gizmodo: Bluesky Teases Creator Payments While New Sign-Ups Explode After Elon Musk's Destruction of Twitter

Jenny Darmody /
Silicon Republic: X rival Bluesky raises $15m to grow network

Duncan Riley /
SiliconANGLE: Bluesky raises $15M to expand decentralized social network and developer ecosystem

Amir Shevat /
Amir Shevat on LinkedIn: The entire team at Darkmode Ventures are so excited about this! Big congratulations to Jay Graber, Rose Wang and the Bluesky Social team🦋💙

Liz Napolitano /
Decrypt: Bluesky Raises $15 Million From Crypto Firms—But Says No to Tokens

James Hale /
Tubefilter: As X fumbles, Bluesky announces $15 million raise and plans for creator monetization

Andrew Hutchinson /
Social Media Today: Bluesky Reaches 13 Million Users, Announces New Funding

Tim Bray /
@timbray@cosocial.ca: At the moment I'm committed to the #Fediverse platform and to #CoSocial, or member-owned co-op instance, for my primary online social life. But at the same time I'd like #Bluesky to succeed, because the ATProtocol is technically interesting and having alternatives is good. Having said that, this doesn't make me happy. …

Molly White /
@molly.wiki: i do think the degree to which bluesky is stressing that they do not use blockchains really underscores how toxic even a faint whiff of blockchain has become to any normal platform @andy@social.seattle.wa.us: #Bluesky raising a series A round from #Blockchain really makes me want to keep my primary home in the #ActivityPub ecosystem. Blockchain is a grift and a plight upon the world (in the literal global warming sense as well as the figurative scam perspective). — Eventually these investors will want to make their money back. …

Amanda Silberling /
TechCrunch: Bluesky raises $15M Series A, plans to launch subscriptions

Paris Marx /
@parismarx.bsky.social: this isn't going to help with the ongoing concerns about this place being run by crypto people and what might eventually happen with it once commercial pressures increase [embedded post]

Chris Messina /
@chrismessina@mastodon.xyz: Bluesky raises $15M Series led by Blockchain Capital with participation from Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, SevenX, Amir Shevat of Darkmode, co-creator of Kubernetes Joe Beda, and others. — https://bsky.social/...

Andy /
@pixel@desu.social: Ah yes, Bluesky announced that they will pull off a subscription model for higher quality audio and profile customization. — Bluesky Nitro. — https://bsky.social/... @hikarisoph.bsky.social: People losing their minds over the word “blockchain” should consider reading 😭 [embedded post]

Kevin Webb /
@triangulator.org: Honestly, I hope this works out for everyone involved...hard to raise big sums of money these days and not take the cryptobucks. — Also, TIL: Bob Young, founder of Red Hat, participated in their seed round. Wish the industry had more folks like him around. [embedded post] @tante@tldr.nettime.org: What's going on over at Bluesky? — Oh they fundraised and got a whole bunch of money from a blockchain investor who has money in basically ever fucked up scam you have heard of. — Great. — https://bsky.social/...

Danilo Campos /
@danilo@hachyderm.io: Bluesky has raised a $15m series A — This just in time for the weekend, so we'll be treated to endless tirades about the satanic rites of venture capital — and why the One True Way of building a pure and decent social platform is a grumpy dude paid a terrible wage to ignore user feedback …

Brendel /
@brendelbored.bsky.social: Devs threading the needle here between wanting the millions of dollars and also knowing there's words in there that'll cause all of us to hoot and holler like feral maniacs [embedded post]

Corey Pein /
@coreypein.bsky.social: This is fine. 🔥 [embedded post] @coachfinstock.bsky.social: Hoping the new investor has seen that this isn't a place that's down with crypto because the user base will be looking for Bluesky 2 somewhere else if that shit starts to show up [embedded post]

Rose /
@rose.bsky.team: We're proud of our vibrant community of artists, writers, developers, and more, and in the near future, we will build a way for you to support them directly. Read more about Bluesky's Series A fundraise and our plans here: bsky.social/about/blog/1...

Rose /
@rose.bsky.team: Paid subscribers won't get special treatment elsewhere in the app, like upranking premium accounts or blue checks next to their names. We won't sell your data. And we won't hyperfinancialize the social experience (through tokens, NFTs, etc.).

Rose /
@rose.bsky.team: To grow sustainably, we're working on a subscription model for premium features like higher-quality video uploads and profile customizations (think colors and avatar frames), but Bluesky will always be free to use. We believe information and conversation should stay accessible to everyone.

Bryan Newbold /
@bnewbold@social.coop: bluesky got more funding, and is working on several sustainable revenue models: subscriptions, domain registration, and payments. — work continues on atproto: tooling for independent Lexicon development; more docs/specs and testing for interop; more complete and documented SDKs — https://bsky.social/... … @bsky.app: Our lead, Blockchain Capital, shares our view that tech should serve people, not the reverse, and their extensive experience with dev communities is helpful as we invest in the ATmosphere. — This does not change the fact that the Bluesky app and @atproto.com do not use blockchains or cryptocurrency.

TechCrunch:

Goodreads co-founder Otis Chandler launches Smashing, an app that aims to create community around articles, podcasts, and more, and has an AI Questions feature— Smashing, a new app curating the best of the web from Goodreads co-founder Otis Chandler, is now available to the public.

Discussion: