Today’s AJ highlights: A game-changing media deal that could redefine copyright.
The most significant story today is the massive investment and licensing deal, which sees Disney license its vast character library to OpenAI’s new AI platforms in a deal that will redefine copyright (The Wall Street Journal (MSN)). This arrangement is a watershed moment that places AI at the center of the creative economy’s intellectual property landscape. The traditional media world faces its own upheaval as an analysis unpacks David Ellison’s dangerous play for Warner Bros. (The New Yorker) and his history of mixing business with political connections. Adding to the industry drama, a scandal involving production funding fraud saw a Netflix director found guilty (The Hollywood Reporter) of swindling $11 million.
The political assault on cultural institutions continues to escalate, as Arkansas becomes the first state to sever its public television’s ties with PBS (Arkansas Advocate). A major institutional leadership story sees the Director of Britain’s Tate Galleries to step down (The Guardian) after a nine-year tenure. Finally, in a victory for public culture, the World’s Third-Busiest Public Library withdrew a restructuring plan (The Guardian) after a significant public and writers’ outcry.
All these stories and more, below.
