Malcolm Gladwell’s Pushkin Industries to lay off over 30% of staff →

“The Berlin-based media conglomerate, which was trumped by the Barclay brothers in a bidding battle for the Telegraph and the Spectator magazine in 2004, has notified bankers of its interest in joining the auction of Telegraph Media Group. Axel Springer is one of Europe’s leading media groups, owner of assets including daily Die Welt and tabloid Bild, and has long had an eye on ownership of a trophy UK newspaper.”

“The report…found that Beijing had spent billions of dollars annually on information manipulation efforts, including by acquiring stakes in foreign media through ‘public and non-public means,’ sponsoring online influencers and securing distribution agreements that promote unlabelled Chinese government content.”

“During that period, the presenters may not endorse or attack any political party, ‘criticise the character’ of any individual politicians in the UK, comment on issues that are ‘a matter of political debate’ during an election or referendum anywhere in the UK, take up an official role in a campaign group or get involved in fundraising or campaigning.”

“The thing is, if you’re mass-producing a gadget, the human body is kind of your enemy. No two people’s faces or vision are the same. Low nose bridges, strong prescriptions, astigmatism, and face shapes are all things you have to accommodate…just because most people look alright in Wayfarers doesn’t mean everyone wants to wear them.”

“Freelance entertainment journalist Emily Zemler recently interviewed the production designer from ‘Barbie,’ who relayed that crew members were definitely ‘getting more time in the spotlight,’ since the A-list cast was off limits.”

“She greeted the legislators, lobbyists and maintenance people she knew not by asking, ‘How are you?’ but instead calling out, ‘You doin’ somethin’ bad?'”

“This is Zucker’s splashiest deal since launching RedBird IMI, a $1 billion investment fund focused on media, entertainment and sports. Zucker now has a brand and platform that he can use to develop and license new documentaries and video projects, with a source saying FOS will seek to hire new on-camera talent.” —JB

“The new tool, called Google-Extended, allows sites to continue to get scraped and indexed by crawlers like the Googlebot while avoiding having their data used to train AI models as they develop over time. The company says Google-Extended will let publishers ‘manage whether their sites help improve Bard and Vertex AI generative APIs,’ adding that web publishers can use the toggle to ‘control access to content on a site.'”

“Tyler is joining forces with Dirt because we have seen a shift in the zeitgeist. Right now, there are a lot of excellent independent creators running their own publications on platforms like Substack and Patreon. But being on these platforms doesn’t offer the same advantages as being a part of a Condé Nast or Hearst where business development (ad sales, subscription strategy, new editorial hires) can be centralized and shared. Not everyone running a newsletter wants to run a business. Eventually, you have to do ads.”

“This figure is expected to soar to $170 billion in five years’ time in 2028, according to a new in-depth study from Juniper Research.”

Some of these ads seem to target Philadelphia residents who subscribe to The New York Times instead of their hometown newspaper. “Unsubscribe from I <3 NYC. Subscribe to Philly love."

“Michael Hudson, most recently senior editor at the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists…will lead a new editorial unit to investigate corporate and government misconduct, attacks on human rights, and other urgent challenges facing the United States.”

“It was an ominous expression of modern journalism’s obsession with bothsidesism — its constant impulse to give oppressors as much care and elevation as those they oppress. Worse, I see a trend away from centering progressive global voices speaking out for human rights. I sadly think that Arab writers such as Jamal find it harder to be platformed in our media today.”

“[Josh] Kruger was a journalist and former city spokesperson who advocated for more support for some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, including the homeless, people in addiction, and LGBTQ community. He worked for the City of Philadelphia for about five years…In 2021, he returned to journalism and wrote freelance articles about the LGBTQ community, city and state politics, and other issues for outlets including The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Citizen, LGBTQ Nation, and Billy Penn.”

“Vine was TikTok before TikTok. The company’s only problem was itself. Vine’s spectacular rise and fall showed the power of online creators. Its demise offers crucial lessons for platforms trying to engage with power users — and a deeper understanding of who ultimately controls a social product.”

“Mayor David Mayfield suspended the chief, Gideon Cody, indefinitely, according to Brogan Jones, the city’s administrator. Mr. Jones did not a provide a reason for the chief’s suspension, and it was not immediately clear whether the chief was suspended with pay.”

“The work continues to draw interest from new parts of the world, and some think tanks and good-government groups have begun offering their own fact-checking services, experts said. Harassment and government repression, however, remain major deterrents. Political polarization has turned fact-checking and other misinformation defenses into a target among right-wing influencers, who claim that debunkers are biased against them.”

“It’s the only real rivalry left in the NBA,” one reporter said of the battle between ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and his former protégé, The Athletic’s Shams Charania. “Everyone else likes each other.” —LO