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Intelligence for the New World Economy

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Intelligence for the New World Economy
Semafor World Economy

Semafor Media

Fertile ground

Flagship’s lead writer Tom Chivers says goodbye after four years.
Bags of fertilizer.
Bhawika Chhabra/Reuters

Crooked Media’s nonprofit launches new political creator drive

The nonprofit arm of Pod Save America’s audio empire is hoping to lure younger voters back to the Democratic Party.
Screenshots
Crooked Media; Screenshot/TikTok/Crooked Ideas

YouTube cracks down on ‘ghost creators’

The enforcement action targeted accounts named in Semafor’s report earlier this week.

Paid actors, AI writing: How a new kind of video business cashed in on America’s divided politics

‘Ghost creators’ are reaching millions of viewers with nearly identical, sensationalized videos that take aim at Democrats.

New Leon Black book picks fight with the Times

Bill Cohan’s new biography is aimed, in part, at rebutting The New York Times’ coverage of Black and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
The New York Times building.
Kylie Cooper/File Photo/Reuters

Axel Springer invests in Abu Dhabi-based outlet The Circuit

Axel Springer is latest Western publisher to take a greater editorial interest in the business story in the Middle East.
Mathias Dopfner
Eleanor Kaufman/Semafor

AI writing has already begun to appear on the opinion pages

About 10 — of 310 — contributions to The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times over the past month appear to have been written by AI models.

UTA goes to war with Hollywood news giant

The CEO of United Talent Agency is going after a Variety reporter.

New York Times tests out AI-generated search summaries

In recent weeks, the paper has quietly rolled out a new AI-powered search page for a small subset of visitors.

YouTube ramps up podcasting with new ad test

The change could cement the Google-owned giant’s place at the center of the media world.

Mexico regulation proposal sparks censorship fears

Under the plan, officials would be able to determine whether news coverage was sufficiently true or balanced, with breaches potentially costing companies as much as 1% of their annual revenue.

China’s YouTube, Bilibili, plans global expansion, English-language site

The company is courting influencers to connect with “Gen Z Coded” users, and staffing up in cities around the world.

MS NOW to launch membership program for ‘super fans’

The cable news network will roll out the program next month in an effort to grow its digital business and reach new audiences.

‘The Daily Show’ faces uncertain future under Paramount

Jon Stewart’s deal is up at the end of the year, and while there is strong interest from Paramount to renew, the two sides have yet to ink an extension.

Daily Mail brings on exec as it plans video expansion

The US outpost of the UK tabloid told Semafor that it had hired Mike Rothman as the company’s new general manager.

CNN president pitches giving network an editorial board to shield it from Paramount

The editorial board is intended to assuage concerns about any future meddling by Paramount in the news network’s journalism.

Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl on AI, streaming power, and why music royalties are the safest asset on Wall Street

The Warner Music Group CEO joins Mixed Signals to explain what a record label actually does in a world where anyone can upload a song to Spotify.

Spotify’s new ‘skip’ button could end the podcast business as we know it

The Swedish streaming giant cast the move as streamlining a feature that already exists, the Spotify app’s 15-second skip button.