“Everything you’re watching on the feeds could, potentially, be an ad programmed to make someone a Discourse Topic and/or Zeitgeist Definer, made famous thanks to paid spammers instead of organic attention. The effect is to make one wonder whether anything on social media is ‘real,’ even if it isn’t A.I.” - Slate
With ads like these, it begs the question, is programmatic advertising legal for public radio? “FCC regulations only apply to broadcast,” Henry says. “The only caveat is, if you are wildly successful selling a ton of programmatic advertising, be careful not to do too much commercial business that could risk your IRS tax-exempt status. - Inside Radio
Right-wing lawmakers have issued a report following a five-month inquiry into the “neutrality, workings and financing” of French public broadcasting. The paper’s recommendations include reducing the overall public broadcasting budget by 25%, merging several major channels, and reducing the sports budget by 33% and the entertainment budget by 75%. - The Guardian
The SEC is proposing to change its rules, allowing for public companies to report financials semi-annually rather than quarterly. Will major studios buy in? - The Hollywood Reporter
“Media investor James Murdoch is in advanced talks to buy Vox Media’s New York magazine and podcast division, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal, which is through Murdoch’s Lupa Systems investment company, isn’t yet final, and could still fall apart, they said.” - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
Broadcast once provided a predictable, repeated structure built into daily life. As the “tune-in” habit has eroded, we haven’t been deliberate enough in designing something to take its place. - Greater Public
The cancellation of Colbert’s show right before a deal that needed government approval has given his exit an additional resonance. - The New York Times
“WGBH Educational Foundation and New England Public Media plan to formally merge operations by the summer of 2026. ... The merger will combine Boston-based GBH, Springfield-based NEPM and Cape Cod’s CAI into what executives describe as one of Massachusetts’s largest statewide public media networks, reaching more than 1.3 million people weekly.” - Inside Radio
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said that only performances “credited in the film’s legal billing and demonstrably performed by humans with their consent” will be eligible for Academy Awards. Similarly, the academy said that screenplays must be “human-authored” to be eligible. - TechCrunch
“The division, home to about a quarter of all BBC staff, is being saddled with one of the highest cost-cutting targets as the corporation attempts to cut as many as 2,000 jobs in the biggest downsizing of the public service broadcaster in 15 years.” - The Guardian
“Some scenes in union documentaries are almost guaranteed: organizers rallying the rank and file at meetings, workers expressing concerns about the strike’s impact on their families, tensions flaring up at the picket line. There will be corporate spokespeople, union-till-I-die old-timers, and scabs.” - The Guardian (UK)
But after an international outcry, Lufthansa managed to find it. The blame, though, rests with certain U.S. security forces: “A TSA agent stopped him and said the Oscar could be used as a weapon.” - CBC
Every era (and country) gets the mummy movies it deserves. And “in recent decades, the mummy film has taken on a decidedly populist and, in some cases, postmodern status.” - Reactor
In another rule change, “the Academy also requires screenplays to be ‘human-authored’ and said it reserved the right to investigate the use of generative AI in any submission.” - NPR
