Telegraph Media Group reports a record £244.6M loss in 2023 due to £277.6M of previously unidentified debt, despite operating profit rising 35.2% YoY to £54.2M (Bron Maher/Press Gazette)

Mediagazer: Telegraph Media Group reports a record £244.6M loss in 2023 due to £277.6M of previously unidentified debt, despite operating profit rising 35.2% YoY to £54.2M (Bron Maher/Press Gazette)

Top News:

Press Gazette:

Telegraph Media Group reports a record £244.6M loss in 2023 due to £277.6M of previously unidentified debt, despite operating profit rising 35.2% YoY to £54.2M— The company said a “historic review” had identified “potential irregularities” at TMG.
Discussion: Telegraph, @pressgazette and @josiahmortimer

Discussion:

Christopher Williams /
Telegraph: Telegraph reveals Barclay family left £278m black hole @pressgazette: Mystery Barclay loans drive Telegraph to record £245m loss despite underlying profitability Telegraph Media Group said the loss was the result “of a provision of £277.6m being recognised against amounts due from TMG's parent undertaking”: https://pressgazette.co.uk/...

Josiah Mortimer /
@josiahmortimer: Trouble brewing at Telegraph towers... Telegraph Media Group has reported a record £244.6m loss in 2023, despite a 35% rise in operating profit, Press Gazette reports... The Telegraph Media Group says that a “detailed historic review” of TMG, carried out as part of the

The Canadian Press:

Canadian officials won't say whether or how the new Online News Act should apply to AI companies using Canadian news for training or providing chatbot answers— AI bots using news, regulation remains uncertain — OTTAWA - The federal government is dodging questions about whether artificial …

Discussion:
MobileSyrup, @tara_deschamps and @nationalpost

Discussion:

Karandeep Oberoi /
MobileSyrup: AI chatbots using Canadian news is an Online News Act grey area

Tara Deschamps /
@tara_deschamps: The federal government is dodging questions about whether companies should be paying Canadian news publishers for content their AI chatbots are openly using. https://www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/ ... by @MickeyDjuric $GOOG $META

Wired:

A look at Rebind, a mysterious startup that turns Margaret Atwood and other authors' voices into AI reading companions, and an interview with CEO John Dubuque— Margaret Atwood, Marlon James, Lena Dunham, Roxane Gay: We've all agreed to be turned into AI reading companions by a mysterious company called Rebind.

Discussion:
Rebind AI, more at Techmeme »

Axios:

Forbes' lawyer demands that Perplexity AI remove articles sourced from Forbes, seeks assurances that Perplexity AI won't infringe on Forbes copyrights, and more— - The chatbot tried to give credibility to the Forbes story it presented by citing other “sourced” reports that were actually …

Discussion:
@johnvoelcker and Talking Biz News

Discussion:
@johnvoelcker: An AI-generated story using @Forbes' original reporting without appropriate credit led to an AI-generated podcast ... and an AI-generated YouTube video that “outranks all Forbes content on this topic within Google search.” Buy popcorn. Or weep. No, both. https://www.axios.com/...

Chris Roush /
Talking Biz News: Forbes threatens legal action against Perplexity

The Register:

A look at Mozilla's acquisition of Anonym, which offers “privacy-preserving” ad tools, and how Anonym might interact with a user base that tends to block ads— Is such a thing possible for an industry that never respected people's wishes? — ANALYSIS Mozilla this week …

Discussion:
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone: Firefox is too important to trust Mozilla to get it right. — https://www.theregister.com/ ...

Karl Emil Nikka /
@karlemilnikka: Mozilla (@mozilla) acquires “privacy preserving” advertising company Anonym. I don't understand why. There's a simple way to run privacy preserving ads: match the ads against website content, not the website visitor. https://blog.mozilla.org/... #Mozilla #Privacy #Anonym @checkmyadshq: “The data that is ‘securely shared’ by platforms and advertisers to enable ad targeting and measurement have to come from somewhere - and there's more to privacy than not leaking user IDs.” — Arielle Garcia https://www.theregister.com/ ...

Justin Hunter /
@polluterofminds: I've always liked Mozilla even if most of the things they do don't feel practical. This acquisition probably doesn't practically move the needle but symbolically lines up. https://blog.mozilla.org/...

Tim Chambers /
@tchambers@indieweb.social: Hmmmm. Not sure. Maybe. But never seen it done well to date. Ever. — “It's all about 'privacy-centric advertising... Is such a thing possible for an industry that never respected people's wishes? https://www.theregister.com/ ... @mozilla: We're at the forefront of a pivotal shift in advertising, and it's evident that current data practices are excessive and unsustainable. We're excited to welcome Anonym to the Mozilla team, so together we can raise the bar for this industry. 1/2 https://blog.mozilla.org/...

Laura Chambers /
The Mozilla Blog: Introducing Anonym: Raising the bar for privacy-preserving digital advertising

Trevor Flowers /
@trevorflowers@widerweb.org: At this point it's flogging a dead horse but dang, Mozilla has fallen. — https://www.theregister.com/ ...

O'Reilly Media:

How generative AI model providers can create business models that reward copyright holders and content creators, much like what has happened on the web— Last month, The New York Times claimed that tech giants OpenAI and Google have waded into a copyright gray area by transcribing …

The Seattle Times:

Carpenter Media told a Sound Publishing union that it plans to lay off 62 people, including over half the unionized newsroom at The Daily Herald of Everett, WA— The other shoe has fallen after Carpenter Media Group's huge push into the Northwest. — Carpenter, a Southern newspaper chain …

Discussion:
@ogvanniphoto

Reuters:

The US FTC says it has referred a complaint to the DOJ against TikTok and ByteDance over potential violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act— The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday it had referred a complaint against the social media platform TikTok …

Discussion:
@linakhanftc, LAW.com, Sherwood News, The Verge, Yahoo Finance, @swiftstories, @linakhanftc, @kevincolliernbc@threads.net, The Record, Engadget, Financial Times, CNBC, Barron's Online, Bloomberg Law, Wall Street Journal, Semafor, Politico, MediaPost, Gizmodo, The Hollywood Reporter, The Information, Music Business Worldwide, Variety, Digital Music News, TechCrunch, Federal Trade Commission, Bloomberg and Reuters, more at Techmeme »

Discussion:

Lina Khan /
@linakhanftc: 1. Today @FTC referred its case against TikTok to the Civil Division at @TheJusticeDept. Our investigation found reason to believe that TikTok is violating or about to violate the FTC Act and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). https://www.ftc.gov/...

Maria Dinzeo /
LAW.com: FTC Suspects TikTok of Violating Children's Privacy Again, Refers Matter to DOJ

Matt Phillips /
Sherwood News: FTC says TikTok is “violating or are about to violate” child privacy laws

Lauren Feiner /
The Verge: TikTok might soon face another legal headache.

Haleluya Hadero /
Yahoo Finance: Federal Trade Commission refers complaint about TikTok's adherence to child privacy law to the DOJ

Mike Swift /
@swiftstories: Some huge @FTC news as the enforcer says @tiktok_us has joined @Meta on claims that it violated an existing #privacy consent order. As @facebook $5 billion settlement in 2020 showed, that can be very costly indeed for a big platform. #socialmedia #childprivacy

Lina Khan /
@linakhanftc: 2. @FTC will continue to use all its tools to enforce the law without fear or favor and protect the American public from corporate lawbreaking. We look forward to our continued partnership with @TheJusticeDept as we advance these shared goals.

Kevin Collier /
@kevincolliernbc@threads.net: Unusual and intriguing: FTC recommends charges against Tiktok and Bytedance for violating privacy of US children under 13. Few specifics but “The investigation uncovered reason to believe named defendants are violating or are about to violate the law.” https://www.ftc.gov/...

Suzanne Smalley /
The Record: FTC files complaint against TikTok for alleged data privacy practices

Karissa Bell /
Engadget: The FTC has referred its child privacy case against TikTok to the Justice Department

Hannah Murphy /
Financial Times: TikTok complaint referred to US justice department

Jennifer Elias /
CNBC: FTC refers TikTok complaint to Justice Department

Eric J. Savitz /
Barron's Online: FTC Sends TikTok Complaint to Justice Department Over Child Safety Issues

Emily Birnbaum /
Bloomberg Law: TikTok Child Privacy Case Referred to Justice Department

Diego Mendoza /
Semafor: FTC refers TikTok complaint to Justice Department

Oscar Gonzalez /
Gizmodo: TikTok Is in Some Minority Report-Style Legal Trouble

Winston Cho /
The Hollywood Reporter: TikTok Threatened With New Lawsuit As National Ban Fight Intensifies

Murray Stassen /
Music Business Worldwide: TikTok is forming an investment team to acquire music content and companies

Todd Spangler /
Variety: FTC Refers TikTok Child Privacy Complaint to Justice Department

Dylan Smith /
Digital Music News: TikTok v. USA Oral Arguments Set for September 16th — A Little Over Four Months Before the Forced-Sale Deadline

Variety:

Venu Sports, the Fox/WBD/Disney streaming venture, announces more hires, including Chief Business Officer Tim Connolly, who had led Apple TV+ subscriber growth— Key senior hires include chief business officer Tim Connolly, CTO Skarpi Hedinsson and CMO Brian Borkowski

Discussion:
Pete Distad on LinkedIn, @thedeskdotnet, The Desk, Awful Announcing, Next TV, Radio & Television …, Deadline, The Wrap and Barrett Media

Discussion:

Pete Distad /
Pete Distad on LinkedIn: Feel super lucky to be working with such a talented group of people to get this thing off of the ground. Rockstar team. Let's go! … @thedeskdotnet: Venu Sports drafts execs from Paramount, FanDuel, SiriusXM to fill leadership roster 📰 Read more here: https://thedesk.net/...

Matthew Keys /
The Desk: Venu Sports drafts execs from Paramount, FanDuel, SiriusXM to fill leadership roster

Daniel Frankel /
Next TV: Venu Sports Announces Management Team Under CEO Pete Distad

Dade Hayes /
Deadline: Venu Sports Streaming Venture Fills Out Executive Roster With Appointments Across Departments

Lucas Manfredi /
The Wrap: Venu Sports Adds Tim Connolly, Skarpi Hedinsson to Sports Streaming Venture Leadership Team

The Keyword:

Google launches News Showcase in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania; several publishers added a feature where Google pays for reader access to paywalled content— News and Publishing Partner Manager, Central and Eastern Europe — For more than two decades, Google has partnered with journalists …

Discussion:
Neowin

Discussion:

Aditya Tiwari /
Neowin: Google's curated news panels are now available in more countries

Adweek:

Subscription platform Zuora is acquiring AI company Sub(x) to use AI to enhance paywall offerings for the news industry; Sub(x)'s 10 employees will join Zuora— EXCLUSIVE: With Sub(x), Zuora moves beyond propensity scoring to reinforcement learning — Subscription technology platform Zuora …

Discussion:
@markstenberg3, Chris Scott on LinkedIn and Zuora

Discussion:

Mark Stenberg /
@markstenberg3: New: The subscription platform Zuora has acquired Sub(x), an AI firm whose technology aims to “eliminate A/B testing” in paywall strategy. Zuora, whose clients include The NYT and The FT, will use Sub(x) to improve retention and reduce churn. For @ADWEEK:https://www.adweek.com/ ...

Chris Scott /
Chris Scott on LinkedIn: The Sub(x) acquisition is so important because it adds #ReinforcementLearning to Zephr. These days, publisher can't rely on legacy technologies like propensity scores: …

@brianstelter:

Email to staff: Jeff Bezos names and copies Will Lewis and says WaPo “needs to evolve” and has his “commitment on maintaining quality, ethics, and standards”— New: Jeff Bezos writes to newsroom leaders and says “the journalistic standards and ethics at The Post will not change.” [image]

Discussion:
The Hill, Financial Times, @alexbruell, @johnrobinson, @farhip, @hadas_gold, @karaswisher, @geisler_jill@threads.net, Business Insider, New Republic, Fox News, The Guardian, Politico, CNN, @sokane1@threads.net, The Daily Beast, @kbode@threads.net, @johnmcquaid@threads.net, @karaswisher@threads.net, Axios, Mediaite, @karaswisher@threads.net and The Wrap

Discussion:

Dominick Mastrangelo /
The Hill: Bezos backs new Washington Post editor in wake of staff backlash

Anna Nicolaou /
Financial Times: Jeff Bezos supports embattled CEO of Washington Post in memo to staff

Alexandra Bruell /
@alexbruell: Also have learned that Bezos continues to support Lewis in his role as CEO amid a series of controversies

John Robinson /
@johnrobinson: @brianstelter This is...insufficient. Doesn't address the elephant in the room: the new chief executive and incoming editor.

Paul Farhi /
@farhip: Jeff Bezos finally breaks his silence re: turmoil at the @washingtonpost. This memo to leadership can be read, at best, as non-commital—check back later. But I'd say it's mostly being read as a validation of the status quo by a very restive newsroom. [image]

Hadas Gold /
@hadas_gold: I do not think Bezos' email will do much to quell the concerns I've heard from Post staffers....

Kara Swisher /
@karaswisher: Next big shoe to drop 👞 💧: Major talent exodus of the folks they don't want to leave. And, let me be clear, I am not speculating here. [image]

Jill Geisler /
@geisler_jill@threads.net: A bigger fear when it comes to ethical journalism: What if someone doesn't care about losing the room and its important ethical standards? Or even WANTS to lose that room?

Kelsey Vlamis /
Business Insider: Jeff Bezos weighs in on the chaos gripping his newspaper Fox News: Jeff Bezos tells upset Washington Post staffers that standards won't change under embattled publisher

Edward Helmore /
The Guardian: Jeff Bezos stresses commitment to ‘quality, ethics and standards’ in Washington Post memo

Isabella Ramírez /
Politico: Jeff Bezos weighs in on Washington Post leadership saga

Oliver Darcy /
CNN: Jeff Bezos moves to calm concerns at The Washington Post as new publisher faces mounting ethics questions

Sean O'Kane /
@sokane1@threads.net: prompt: write an all-staff email to the newsroom assuring them that i care without mentioning anything specific of value. don't mention that i'm currently vacationing in greece on my $500 million yacht.

Corbin Bolies /
The Daily Beast: Yachting Jeff Bezos Throws WaPo CEO Will Lewis a Lifeline (For Now)

Karl Bode /
@kbode@threads.net: jeff bezos says hiring a right wing UK tabloid exec with ties to rupert murdoch and a history of criminal activity to run the washington post will in no way harm its integrity so that's all settled then and nobody has to worry

John McQuaid /
@johnmcquaid@threads.net: Good that Bezos is backing the Washington Post's high standards. But this is a tortured workaround. Ethically-compromised publisher lacks the credibility to assure the newsroom he will not lower standards, so it falls to the owner, who cc's the publisher

Kara Swisher /
@karaswisher@threads.net: Maybe there is another shoe to drop especially if there is more problematic reporting on Bezos picks — dump the rat boy hire for optics, for example — so we will see. Amazon always was a company that always and forever modulated with more data and I don't think that will be different here.

Kara Swisher /
@karaswisher@threads.net: One note on the Bezos note: The journalistic standards and ethics at the Post HAVE changed and, IMHO, in the wrong direction. Others can disagree and I get it, since the media biz is definitely tougher. I was a young reporter under folks like Ben Bradlee and the Grahams, so my standards might be too high for the current low bar age we find ourselves in.

Sara Fischer /
Axios: Washington Post turmoil reels in familiar faces

Zachary Leeman /
Mediaite: Jeff Bezos Emails Washington Post Staff, Signals Support For CEO Amid Ethics Scandal

Kara Swisher /