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US Playwright Ken Ludwig Gives £1 Million To Preserve Shakespeare Family Home

The author of the farce Lend Me a Tenor and the book for the Gershwin musical Crazy for You donated in order to fund desperately-needed preservation work on Hall's Croft, the home of Shakespeare's daughter Susannah and a very rare example of intact Jacobean architecture. - Time Out UK

How The Salt Lake City Tribune Went Nonprofit, Reinvented Its Culture And Made It Work

We’ve seen news organizations open communication that gives journalists a better idea of what, exactly, needs to happen for their publication to survive and thrive — and where they fit in. - NiemanLab

The Inherent Tension In Children’s Books

 Should we pander to the little rotters’ desires (BURRRP!) or should we give them impossibly pious characters Doing Good? The answer, of course, lies somewhere in between. - Literary Review

Giller Prize Drops Bank From Its Name Over Controversies

The rebranding follows months of controversy surrounding Scotiabank’s investment in the Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems and comes amid an ongoing campaign calling on arts organizations like the Giller Foundation to distance themselves from the financial institution. - Toronto Star

Venezuelan TV News Agency Is Using AI-Created Avatars

Amid a harsh crackdown by the Maduro regime following an election he claims to have won but apparently lost badly, a news service called Connectas is airing its (genuine) reports using two AI-generated anchors in order to shield the actual journalists' identities from police. - The Hollywood Reporter

Scientists Studied Eye Movements To See How Our Brains Process Stories

"Traditionally, we've thought of eye movements as a simple response to what's happening in front of us. But recent research shows that's not the whole story. Eye movements are as unique as personality traits. Some people focus more on faces, while others are drawn to text or other elements." - Medical Express

The State Of The New York Philharmonic Through Its Tax Return

The Philharmonic released its 2022 tax return Wednesday, covering its first season back at David Geffen Hall following a $550 million renovation. Ticket revenue rebounded to $29.76 million from $11.18 million in the prior fiscal year. - AP News

FBI Arrests Musician For Alleged $10 Million Scam With AI-Created Songs

"An indictment in Manhattan federal court said (Michael) Smith created thousands of accounts on streaming platforms so that he could stream (tens of thousands of AI-created) songs continuously, generating about 661,000 streams per day … (for) annual royalties of $1.2 million." - AP

Internet Archive Loses Appeal On “Fair Use” Of Books

Notably, the appeals court’s ruling rejects the Internet Archive’s argument that its lending practices were shielded by the fair use doctrine, which permits for copyright infringement in certain circumstances, calling it “unpersuasive.” - Wired

Might AI Kill Off Amateur Novels? Good!

The world needs fewer novels, certainly fewer novels that have been written in a month. And artificial intelligence is itchy for distractions; we need to give the robots something to do before they start messing with nuclear codes or Social Security numbers. - The Atlantic

Ticket Bots Overwhelm Sales Of Oasis Concert Tickets, Enraging Fans

As soon as the presale for the band’s upcoming gigs went online on Friday, tickets—which started at around $100 apiece—popped up on resale sites, with fans on X reporting that they were seeing prices in the $800 to $1,200 range. - Wired

Fyre Festival II Is Coming, I Promise! Says The Producer Of The Original Fiasco

"Billy McFarland is a little over a year into planning Fyre Festival II, and he still doesn’t know where it’s going to be. Or when. Or who’s performing. But he says it’s definitely happening. One hundred percent, absolutely for-sure happening. After all, he’s already sold tickets." - The Wall Street Journal (MSN)

Creative Rights Group Advocates For New AI Rules On Using Data

The DPA advocates for an opt-in system, meaning that data can be used only after consent is explicitly given by creators and rights holders. This represents a significant departure from the way most major AI companies operate. - Wired

How AI Is Helping To Authenticate Artwork

“Our program needs about three days to learn the characteristics from around 700 training images, and less than five minutes to calculate the probability of the authenticity of an artwork.” - ARTnews

The “Black List” Of Best Unproduced Screenplays Is Being Extended To Books

"The Black List … has morphed over two decades into a multifunctional web platform focused on screenplay development and discovery. … Now, with relations between Hollywood and New York publishing closer — and the book-to-screen pipeline bigger — than ever before, the Black List is shifting its gaze over to the slush pile." - Publishers Weekly

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