While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important. I also try to include some resources & opportunities. This is a double issue, so there are a lot of links. Please let me know what you think.
Important Items
How To Critically Read a Press Release From The Federal Government
This is a phenomenal guide from Kelly Jensen @BookRiot.
https://bookriot.com/guide-to-critically-read-a-press-release-from-the-federal-government/
Download CDC Guidelines Removed By The Trump Admin
MT @JessicaValenti The Trump administration is scrubbing the CDC’s website of documents on reproductive rights issues, sexual health, intimate partner violence, and more. I’m trying to save them. You can find the deleted docs at http://CDCGuidelines.com.
https://jessica.substack.com/p/cdc-birth-control-guidelines-pdf
ReproductiveRights.Gov Vanished, So TheSkimm Brought It Back
https://www.theskimm.com/news/reproductive-rights-gov
56 Small Tasks to Be Proactive Against Book Censorship in 2025 and Beyond
ICYMI – a great list from @BookRiot
https://bookriot.com/56-small-tasks-to-be-proactive-against-book-censorship-2025/
On Donald Trump’s Aborted Executive Order and the Future of Congressional Power
This was a trial balloon, a strategic test of executive authority, and we can expect to see this tactic deployed again and again….
The administration has taken note of the pushback and legal vulnerabilities, and it will likely refine and reintroduce similar executive actions in the future. This episode serves as a warning: executive attempts to unilaterally reshape federal spending are not a passing anomaly, but rather a new front in the ongoing battle over the separation of powers….
Even without this particular order in effect, the groundwork has been laid for future attempts to bypass legislative control over federal spending. If a president can selectively freeze or redirect funds based on policy preferences rather than legislative mandate, the entire concept of budgetary oversight is called into question, potentially reducing Congress to a mere advisory role rather than the primary driver of fiscal policy….
This episode was not an isolated power play—it was a calculated move to test the limits of executive authority. And now that the legal and political landscape has been mapped out, we can expect to see this strategy deployed again in a more refined and potentially more legally resilient form. Whether through direct executive orders, bureaucratic slowdowns, or restructured agency mandates, future attempts to circumvent congressional spending authority are all but guaranteed.
Even if courts push back against overt attempts to freeze funding, more subtle approaches—such as delaying disbursement, imposing restrictive regulatory conditions, or prioritizing certain funding streams over others—could achieve similar ends without triggering immediate legal challenges….
If lawmakers fail to act decisively, either by reinforcing the Impoundment Control Act or by taking proactive legislative steps to limit executive discretion over budget execution, the erosion of congressional authority could become a long-term reality.
https://lithub.com/on-donald-trumps-aborted-executive-order-and-the-future-of-congressional-power/
Innovation
Scientists create diamond battery that can last thousands of years
Scientists discover a super-Earth
Scientists just confirmed the existence of a “super-Earth” six times as massive as Earth but relatively low-mass. It inhabits a region called the habitable or “Goldilocks” zone. This raises questions about the possibility its conditions may support life as we know it.
https://mashable.com/article/super-earth-planet-discovery-habitable-zone
Technology
Authors Guild Launches “Human Authored” Certification to Preserve Authenticity in Literature
AI-generated books are flooding online marketplaces and increasingly look like, and sometimes even read like, human-authored books. The Authors Guild unveiled “Human Authored”—an official certification system that writers and publishers will be able to use in their books and in marketing to indicate if the text of a book was human-written. The Human Authored logo and name will be registered with the US Patent and Trademark Office and supported by a registration system that will create a verifiable chain of trust between author and reader through a public database where anyone can verify a book’s human origins. The use of the Human Authored mark is restricted to books and other works where the text was written by humans, except for a de minimis amount of AI-generated text to accommodate uses of AI-powered grammar and spell-check applications and other minor AI use. Use of AI as a tool, other than to generate text, such as for research or brainstorming, does not disqualify a book, as long as the text was human written.
New Government Report Addresses ‘Copyrightability’ of AI Works
- Questions of copyrightability and AI can be resolved pursuant to existing law, without the need for legislative change.
- The use of AI tools to assist rather than stand in for human creativity does not affect the availability of copyright protection for the output
- Copyright protects the original expression in a work created by a human author, even if the work also includes AI-generated material
- Copyright does not extend to purely AI-generated material, or material where there is insufficient human control over the expressive elements
- Whether human contributions to AI-generated outputs are sufficient to constitute authorship must be analyzed on a case-by-case basis
- Based on the functioning of current generally available technology, prompts do not alone provide sufficient control
- Human authors are entitled to copyright in their works of authorship that are perceptible in AI-generated outputs, as well as the creative selection, coordination, or arrangement of material in the outputs, or creative modifications of the outputs
- The case has not been made for additional copyright or sui generis protection for AI generated content
ABC News Agrees to AI Protections for Writers in Latest Contract
G/O Media Boosts Use of AI-Generated News
Staffers at G/O Media are pointing out a new proliferation of AI-generated articles on news site Quartz. “The whole thing just sucks.”
https://aftermath.site/quartz-ai-articles-go-media
AI Strategies for Book Publishing Companies
Via @ThadMcIlroy, complete with known typos in the infographic, courtesy of AI.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ai-strategies-book-publishing-companies-thad-mcilroy-tbebc/
Leaked Instagram deals reveal Meta is offering TikTok creators as much as $300,000 to post. Read the contract terms.
What Is China’s DeepSeek and Why Is It Freaking Out the AI World?
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-deepseek-why-freaking-ai-080636212.html
DeepSeek’s Popular AI App Is Explicitly Sending US Data to China
Amid ongoing fears over TikTok, Chinese generative AI platform DeepSeek says it’s sending heaps of US user data straight to its home country, potentially setting the stage for greater scrutiny.
https://www.wired.com/story/deepseek-ai-china-privacy-data/
Hands On With DeepSeek’s R1 Chatbot
DeekSeek’s chatbot with the R1 model is a stunning release from the Chinese startup. While it’s an innovation in training efficiency, hallucinations still run rampant.
https://www.wired.com/story/deepseek-chatbot-hands-on-vs-chatgpt/
Meta to Begin Test of Advertising on Threads
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/24/meta-to-begin-testing-ads-on-threads-its-micro-blogging-app.html
Amazon in Effort to Block Washington Post
The company that Jeff Bezos founded is going to court to keep the newspaper he owns from finding out too much about its business.
Publishing & Media
Bookshop.org Now Sells Ebooks
The bookseller is applying its sales model—where online purchases support indie bookstores—to digital books. It has also released a mobile app for shopping and reading ebooks.
https://www.wired.com/story/bookshop-now-sells-ebooks/
‘Blade’ writer David S. Goyer debuts his latest sci-fi franchise on Incention, a new platform built on Story blockchain
Incention built an AI agent called “Atlas” to help Emergence collaborators generate ideas and answer questions about the world or specific characters to ensure accuracy. Atlas can also create videos and images.
The Internet Almost Killed Barnes & Noble, Then Saved It
It was a town’s only Black-owned bookstore. It is now a refuge for those displaced by the California fires
HT @BookRiot ICYMI Nikki High’s Octavia’s Bookshelf in Pasadena was spared by the fire, but touched by change, it became a hub of relief
The First Trailer for The Adaptation of Judy Blume’s Forever . . . Is Here!
https://bookriot.com/the-first-trailer-for-the-adaptation-of-judy-blumes-forever-is-here/
It’s official: Research has found that libraries make everything better.
https://lithub.com/its-official-research-has-found-that-libraries-make-everything-better/
ALA to U. S. Department of Education: Book Bans Are Real
Resources & Opportunities
Galentine’s Day Soirée
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6017795
Celebrating Black History Month: Clips & Conversation with a Filmmaker
In celebration of Black History Month, WMG member Lisa Durden will share the inspiration behind Blind Divas, a documentary film she is writing, directing, and producing. She will speak about her journey as a Black journalist, the importance of telling stories that reflect the Black experience, and the behind-the-scenes process—from production to fundraising to marketing—involved in making this film. Via Zoom 2/19 6-7:15pm ET. FREE for WMG Members, $20 for non-members.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6039817
Are you into Contemporary Art, Film + TV, or Video Art?
BRIClab offers emerging to mid-career artists $2,500 stipend, mentorship, skills-based learning and professional development, and documentation of their work. Applications open until 3/14.
https://bricartsmedia.org/art-artists/opportunity/briclab/
Grants Promote Traditional Arts Across the United States
MT @GrantStation Walking Together: Investing in Folklife in Communities of Color, a national funding program by 6 U.S. regional arts organizations, supports folklife & traditional arts rooted in communities of color. Deadline 3/19/25.
https://grantstation.com/GrantStation-Insider/01-30-25#national2
Calling all first-gen college students!
HT @CenCom
https://americaneedsyou.org/firstgenu/
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