Business of Media
Government clamp on AI likely to be part of new media deals
The federal government has left the door open for a potential crackdown on AI-generated news and training models as it forces the big tech companies to negotiate new deals with media publishers, reports The Australian’s Jared Lynch.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland have backed all five recommendations of Treasury’s review of the News Media Bargaining Code – which has sparked similar laws across the world.
The code, introduced in 2021, has resulted in tech titans Meta, owner of Facebook, and Google paying Australian media publishers more than $200m to publish news stories on their platforms.
X to be investigated for allegedly breaking EU laws on hate speech and fake news
The social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is being investigated for allegedly breaking EU law on disinformation, illegal content and transparency, the European Commission has announced, reports The Guardian’s Lisa O’Carroll.
The decision to launch formal infringement proceedings against the company, owned by the US billionaire Elon Musk, comes weeks after X was asked to provide evidence of compliance with new laws designed to eliminate hate speech, racism and fake news from platforms in the EU.
Under the Digital Services Act, which came into force in August, a company can be fined 6% of its global income or be banned from operating across the EU if it is found to have breached the law.
London police to “carefully consider” Prince Harry phone hacking ruling
London’s police said they will “carefully consider” the findings of a court ruling that found Prince Harry had been a victim of phone hacking and other unlawful acts by Mirror Group journalists with the knowledge of their editors, reports Reuters.
King Charles‘ younger son, who became the first senior British royal for 130 years to give evidence in court when he appeared at a trial in June, was awarded 140,600 pounds ($178,000) on Friday after the judge agreed he had been targeted by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers.
A spokeswoman for London’s police said that it would “carefully consider” the judgment in the civil case, adding: “There is no ongoing investigation.”
See Also: Court finds in favour of Prince Harry regarding phone hacking claims against British newspaper
Marvel actor Jonathan Majors found guilty by New York jury of assaulting former girlfriend
Actor Jonathan Majors has been found guilty by a New York jury of violently assaulting his former girlfriend, reports the ABC.
He was convicted by a jury of six after a two week trial in state court in Manhattan.
Prosecutors said Majors assaulted his then-girlfriend Grace Jabbari in a hired car in Manhattan in March, leaving her with a broken finger and swollen arm and ear.
News Brands
New York Times staffers form journalistic ‘Independence Caucus’ amid concerns over union’s actions
Dozens of New York Times NYT employees have formed a group to take a stand on journalistic independence as concerns grow that the labor union that represents the Times and other outlets has veered toward advocacy, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Alexandra Bruell.
The Times faction, which includes high-profile journalists such as Megan Twohey, Julian Barnes and Emily Bazelon, has created what it calls an “independence caucus” within the NewsGuild-CWA, the parent of the Times’s newsroom union that represents some 1,500 people at the publication.
James Chessell leaving Nine and publishing for ‘the dark arts’
James Chessell is leaving media after more than 20 years to join the world of consulting, reports The Australian.
The Nine Entertainment managing director of publishing will step down from overseeing The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review in mid-January to join consulting firm, Bespoke Approach, headed up by former journalists Ian Smith and Andrew Butcher.
It’s an outfit that specialises in “discreet, strategic corporate and political advice”.
ABC host Karina Carvalho quits after 17 years with the national broadcaster
An ABC host has announced she will be leaving the broadcaster after 17 years, with her last bulletin scheduled for later this week, reports News Corp’s Madeleine Achenza.
Karina Carvalho revealed in an interview with The Australian that she had quit her job as the ABC News channel presenter.
She is due to deliver her final news bulletin during Wednesday’s program.
Television
Remote communities of SA and NSW say axing of Spencer Gulf Nightly News has added ‘to our isolation’
Nine months on from the sudden cancellation of a nightly news bulletin that serviced South Australia’s Mid North and Eyre Peninsula as well as far west NSW, viewers are still feeling its loss, reports the ABC’s Oliver Brown.
For the past 50 years, the weeknight bulletin had broadcast to outback and remote communities as well as the larger towns of Port Pirie, Whyalla, and Broken Hill.
When the Spencer Gulf Nightly News ended without warning on April 12, viewers like Broken Hill resident Heidi Drenkhahn said it was another blow for regional media.
Streaming giants weigh costs of big licensed TV and movie libraries
As the streaming industry has come down from its blank-check era, it has rediscovered a time-honored way to keep revenue flowing: licensing TV series and movies to other outlets. Acquired shows are among the most watched programming on streaming — it’s the year of Suits, after all — and shows with high episode counts help keep users inside a streamer’s ecosystem, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Rick Porter.
Just as reliable is the uproar when streamers remove shows for tax write-downs or other cost savings, whether it’s a signature series (à la HBO’s Westworld being removed from Max last year) or originals that seemingly never had much chance to find an audience (as with Disney+ and Hulu purging Willow and Y: The Last Man, among others, this year).
Games Workshop strikes deal with Amazon to bring Warhammer universe to screens
Amazon Content Services struck an agreement with Games Workshop Group to develop movies and television series based on the U.K. company’s popular Warhammer 40,000 game, reports The Wall Street Journal’s Anthony O. Goriainoff and Michael Susin.
The licensing of Warhammer 40,000—a miniature tabletop space wargame—comes a year after the British company first said it was in talks to team up with Amazon.