Here’s how 7 news audience directors are thinking about Google’s AI Overviews

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Thursday, August 29, 2024 [Here’s how 7 news audience directors are thinking about Google’s AI Overviews]( Google’s generative AI search feature is here to stay, but will it actually impact how digital outlets do business? By Andrew Deck. [This news aggregator–slash–dating app helps news nerds meet]( “The idea is matching on the things that you enjoy.” By Hanaa' Tameez. What We’re Reading Wired / Kate Knibbs [Major sites are saying no to Apple’s AI scraping →]( “WIRED can confirm that Facebook, Instagram, Craigslist, Tumblr, The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Atlantic, Vox Media, the USA Today network, and WIRED’s parent company, Condé Nast, are among the many organizations opting to exclude their data from Apple’s AI training. The cold reception reflects a significant shift in both the perception and use of the robotic crawlers that have trawled the web for decades. Now that these bots play a key role in collecting AI training data, they’ve become a conflict zone over intellectual property and the future of the web.” Louisiana Illuminator / Felicia Alvarez [Oil and ink mix as Chevron reports the “news” in Texas, New Mexico →]( “Of the 61 counties considered part of the Permian Basin region in Texas, 13 counties had no local newspapers, and the majority had only one newspaper … A search of the Permian Proud’s two-year-old website shows just a smattering of stories about climate change or greenhouse gas emissions — despite the oil and gas industry’s leading role in causing the climate crisis. As of August 12, there were two stories mentioning climate change.” Poynter / Gabrielle Russon [University of Florida student journalists lead on breaking big stories about former President Ben Sasse →]( “Shanley had been under the gun. He knew the Associated Press and other media outlets were chasing the story too. It was also the end of the summer and the Alligator’s entire staff was on the verge of turning over. … The students view themselves as serious journalists working in a professional newsroom that’s often fighting against better-funded professional outlets for scoops. But this is also college, so Shanley once played DJ at a newspaper staff party.” Reuters / Jessie Pang [“A point of no return”: the fall of Stand News, Hong Kong’s once leading online media outlet →]( “Stand News started off as a struggling non-profit in 2014, with a skeleton staff heavily reliant on public donations. During Hong Kong’s months-long pro-democracy protests in 2019 the outlet’s popularity skyrocketed given its hours-long Facebook live streams, in-depth features and investigative reports, with more than 20 million page views per month. The liberal tone of Stand News reportage helped it attract fresh readers, as people sought more freedom and democracy amid China’s tightening control over the city …. On the night of the police raid, one Stand News journalist kept editing a story until police took away his earphones. ‘He really worked till the end.'” Misinformation Review / Renée DiResta and Josh Goldstein [How spammers and scammers leverage AI-generated images on Facebook for audience growth →]( “Much of the research and discourse on risks from artificial intelligence (AI) image generators, such as DALL-E and Midjourney, has centered around whether they could be used to inject false information into political discourse. We show that spammers and scammers—seemingly motivated by profit or clout, not ideology—are already using AI-generated images to gain significant traction on Facebook.” Substack / Richard J. Tofel [Lessons for the news industry from the California legislative debacle →]( “Almost half of the overall money from Google comes from its agreeing not to stop, again for five years, the Google News Initiative payments it had already been making, ostensibly out of the goodness of its corporate heart … Google has also committed some new money to accelerate the adoption of AI, which is a bit like GM agreeing to spend to encourage the purchase of new electric vehicles.” Los Angeles Times / Anita Chabria [The bills to save local journalism that turned into a backroom deal →]( “This deal does not provide close to the level of funding that is owed or that would be meaningful, but does help further decimate the once-dynamic California press corps, ensuring that the vital role of journalism in our democracy will continue to slide off a cliff until it is replaced by cheaper and less-nosy artificial intelligence.” Variety / Gene Maddaus [SAG-AFTRA wins passage of California bill to limit AI replicas →]( “AB 2602 would require explicit consent for the use of a ‘digital replica’ of a performer … ‘We’re looking to make sure people who aren’t currently covered by one of our agreements are protected. We don’t want to see the next generation of performers lose all rights to voice and likeness because they don’t have any leverage or ability to effectuate fair terms.'” Digiday / Kayleigh Barber [Amid layoffs and cost cutting, Time CEO Jessica Sibley is expecting a “very strong second half” →]( “We were very much alone in taking down the paywall, but we felt it was the right thing to do for our brand and our mission and our purpose … You should be able to get Time.com for free. And not just what we’re reporting on today, but information from 100 years [ago], to help inform your understanding of the events around the world.” Reuters / Jonathan Stempel [Sarah Palin wins new trial in New York Times defamation case →]( “The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Palin can again try to prove the Times should be liable for a 2017 editorial, ‘America’s Lethal Politics,’ that incorrectly linked her to a 2011 mass shooting that killed six people and seriously wounded Democratic U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Media critics, and Palin herself, have viewed the case as a possible vehicle to overturn New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark 1964 U.S. Supreme Court decision that set a high bar for public figures to prove defamation.” Washingtonian / Andrew Beaujon [Felicia Sonmez’s dismissal by the Washington Post will go before the NLRB →]( “A National Labor Relations Board judge will hear a complaint about the June 2022 firing of former Washington Post reporter Felicia Sonmez. Many unfair labor practice charges are filed before the board every year, but only a few result in complaints like this one being issued. Last year, for example, fewer than four percent of unfair labor practice charges resulted in complaints, while a little more than a quarter of them resulted in settlements. The Post fired Sonmez after she criticized then-fellow Post reporter Dave Weigel for retweeting a sexist joke.” New York Times / Isabelle Taft [Former Las Vegas official convicted in murder of journalist Jeff German →]( “Jeff was killed for doing the kind of work in which he took great pride: His reporting held an elected official accountable for bad behavior and empowered voters to choose someone else for the job.” [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. Nieman Journalism Lab Harvard University 1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138 [Add us to your address book](