A courts reporter wrote about a few trials. Then an AI decided he was actually the culprit.

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Monday, September 23, 2024 [A courts reporter wrote about a few trials. Then an AI decided he was actually the culprit.]( For one German reporter, the statistical underpinnings of a large language model meant his many bylines were wrongly warped into a lengthy rap sheet. By Simon Thorne. What We’re Reading Semafor / Max Tani [The Bulwark’s YouTube reach has boomed →]( “Since President Joe Biden dropped out from the race, the publication has netted 88 million views on YouTube (for scale, total views on all of The Bulwark’s YouTube videos from the prior five years were 64.2 million). The publication told Semafor it has been averaging 296,000 views per video since Biden’s withdrawal, making it one of the most-viewed-per-video producers in all of English-language news media.” The Wall Street Journal / Alexandra Bruell [The Washington Post is laying off 25% of its Arc XP staff →]( About 54 people. “Arc XP, which began as an in-house publishing tool, has expanded in recent years to service non-Post businesses, such as Reuters, Gray Media and France’s Le Parisien. The unit, which a couple of years ago had considered a spinoff or sale, also has serviced non-publishing businesses, such as the Golden State Warriors and BP.” Minnesota Star Tribune / Suki Dardarian [The Minnesota Star Tribune is making its election coverage free until Election Day →]( “One of our most basic responsibilities as citizens is to vote, and one of our most essential jobs as a news organization is to inform our readers about the candidates, campaigns and issues and to track election results.” Intelligencer / Ryu Spaeth [The return of Ta-Nehisi Coates →]( “What matters to Coates is not what will happen to his career now — to the script sales, invitations from the White House, his relationships with his former colleagues at The Atlantic and elsewhere. ‘I’m not worried,’ he told me, shrugging his shoulders. ‘I have to do what I have to do. I’m sad, but I was so enraged. If I went over there and saw what I saw and didn’t write it, I am fucking worthless.’” The Wall Street Journal / Jan Wolfe and Miles Kruppa [Google trial docs show some internal uneasiness about its ad dominance →]( “Is there a deeper issue with us owning the platform, the exchange, and a huge network? The analogy would be if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE.” The Washington Post / Jeremy Barr [How the Haitian Times is covering dangerous rumors in Ohio →]( “The outlet is based in Brooklyn, but most of the staff of 17 is spread around the United States, while six employees are based in Haiti. The outlet’s reach is modest — about 15,000 people normally visit the website per day, according to [publisher Garry] Pierre-Pierre — but it plays an important role as the primary English-language outlet in the United States covering the Haitian community.” The Guardian / Mark Sweney [An Economist Group cancer conference has been cancelled due to its links to Big Tobacco →]( “Economist Impact, part of the Economist Group, which owns the eponymous weekly business magazine, was due to hold its 10th annual world cancer series in Brussels at the end of the month. The two-day event, at the Marriott Hotel Grand Palace, is touted as ‘shaping the cancer-control agenda’ and had attracted more than 300 attendees and 80 speakers.” Bloomberg / Lucas Shaw [How Hot Ones’ Sean Evans became a top interviewer →]( “Over the past decade, Hot Ones has grown into one of the most popular talk shows in the world and turned Evans into the David Letterman of Generation YouTube. Publicists compete, lie, and cajole for a chance to book their clients on the show, which has helped First We Feast generate about $30 million in revenue and $10 million in profit.” Vanity Fair / Eve Batey [The reported RFK Jr.-Olivia Nuzzi “relationship” casts new scrutiny on all journalists →]( “The reports regarding Nuzzi — which Kennedy has neither confirmed nor denied — come at a dangerous time for the mainstream media, the credibility of which has faced increasing attacks in recent years. It doesn’t help that pop culture depictions of real journalists suggest that unprofessional relationships are stock in trade.” The New York Times / Jessica Testa [How big should a little magazine be? →]( “That’s the Tyler Brûlé model to a T.” The Guardian / Mark Sweney [Axel Springer’s media assets will be split off from their profitable classified businesses →]( “We need to become even more market, customer, and revenue-focused than before. These priorities must be our focus if we want to be the leading transatlantic media company for digital journalism and related business models.” The Guardian [An Israeli military raid has shut down Al Jazeera’s West Bank bureau →]( “The Israeli communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, confirmed the closure in a statement that called Al Jazeera ‘the mouthpiece’ of Gaza’s Hamas and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah. ‘We will continue to fight in the enemy channels and ensure the safety of our heroic fighters,’ he said.” The New York Times / Victor Mather [Retiring from ESPN, “Woj” leaves behind a changed sports media world →]( “Wojnarowski, first at Yahoo and then at ESPN, became a model for many other reporters who embraced his style. ESPN emphasized other accomplished journalists, like Jeff Passan on baseball, Adam Schefter on the N.F.L., and Pete Thamel on college sports, who focused on breaking news that would then drive hours or even days of coverage on the company’s various shows. Other media companies tried to match that lineup with scoop-breakers of their own who could race to share their knowledge on social media.” The Washington Post / Jeremy Barr [Smartmatic’s case against Newsmax will test 2020 defamation claims →]( “The Newsmax case, scheduled to begin Sept. 30 in Wilmington, has implications both for the media industry and the cable channel, which has presented itself as a more conservative alternative to Fox News but is a much smaller business. ‘This is a bet-the-company case for Newsmax,’ network attorney Howard M. Cooper said during a Sept. 16 hearing.” Bloomberg / Leah Nylen [A federal judge called Google’s claims of “fierce competition” “highly questionable” →]( “US District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who will decide whether Google violated the law, chastised the company’s lawyers for presenting testimony she viewed as irrelevant. ‘This doesn’t get to the core issues in this case,’ she said, questioning [Google VP Scott] Sheffer’s views on ad tech competition because the company has been aware of antitrust probes for more than four years.” The New York Times / Jack Nicas and Ana Ionova [Elon Musk’s Twitter backs down in Brazil →]( “After defying court orders in Brazil for three weeks, Mr. Musk’s social network, X, has capitulated. In a court filing on Friday night, the company’s lawyers said that X had complied with orders from Brazil’s Supreme Court in the hopes that the court would lift a block on its site.” The Wrap / Josh Dickey [Gannett names Caren Bohan as editor-in-chief of USA Today →]( “Bohan had served as executive editor for politics until July, when she was named interim EIC following the departure of Terence Samuel, who stepped down after just one year. She will report to Monica Richardson, senior vice president of the national publication.” Business Insider / Peter Kafka [“I agonized over it”: Behind the scenes with the reporter who uncovered the RFK Jr./Olivia Nuzzi story →]( “It’s a journalism story because it presents a conflict of interest. Olivia is one of the most high-profile journalists in America, and she arguably wrote one of the most consequential pieces of the 2024 campaign, which was about what she called the conspiracy of silence to protect Joe Biden.” Press Gazette / Charlotte Tobitt [The Economist is using AI translation to get its content into French, German, Spanish, and Mandarin →]( “I wouldn’t say that translation is a solved problem, it is never going to be a solved problem, especially in journalism, because journalism is really difficult to translate. But it’s good enough for that type of content.” The Verge / Victoria Song [Meta has a major opportunity to win the AI hardware race →]( “The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses exceeded expectations in a year when AI gadgets flopped. But can it keep the momentum going?” Vox / Andrew Prokop [What happened to Nate Silver? →]( “People have never really stopped being mad at Silver since the last election, and the people maddest at him are Democrats and progressives. In some of these circles, the mere mention of Silver’s name brings derision, contempt, or even fury.” The Washington Post / Will Sommer [Why reporters are shut out of the big Murdoch family trust case →]( “Reporters who had hoped for days of trial that could expose the financial and interpersonal guts of the Murdoch empire have instead had to make do with brief glimpses of the family passing from their black SUVs into the courthouse.” The New York Times / Benjamin Mullin [Air Mail, a digital weekly for the smart set, is said to be exploring a sale →]( “Air Mail has 34 full-time employees in New York, where it is based, and contributors in Milan, Paris, and London. The company, which was founded in 2019, is known for its weekend email newsletter of deeply reported features, travel recommendations, and shopping tips.” The Wall Street Journal / Alexandra Bruell [Ted Williams once worked at the Charlotte Observer. Now he wants to buy it. →]( “His ideal news operation employs 75 people, totaling $10.25 million in payroll. That includes 50 newsroom staffers making an average of $125,000. His plan, based on an approach that gives priority to newsletters, events, and a metered paywall, would generate $1 million in annual profit on $13.5 million in revenue, he says.” Press Gazette / Charlotte Tobitt [Former Guardian media editor Jim Waterson launches a local newsletter for London →]( “London Centric…promises original reporting on politics, transport, housing, crime, cultural institutions and life in the capital. Waterson is charging £7.95 per month or £79.50 per year although the first 150 paying subscribers to sign up will get a 25% discount. Free subscribers will get only ‘occasional updates about London.'” [Nieman Lab]( / [Fuego]( [Twitter]( / [Facebook]( [View email in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org. 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