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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. Please let me know what you think.
Important Items
Here’s how Trump’s megabill will affect you
MT @TimothyDSnyder This bill will shorten the lives of millions of Americans and bring the republic to the point of collapse. It’s a gift to oligarchs at home and enemies abroad. “Seniors, students, taxpayers, children, parents, low-income Americans and just about everyone else will be affected by the massive tax and spending bill.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/01/politics/congress-senate-bill-tax-spending-trump-gop-explainer
Technology
Law360 mandates reporters use AI “bias” detection on all stories
https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/law360-mandates-reporters-use-ai-bias-detection-on-all-stories/
UK and US publishers back move to block AI scrapers by default
HT @BoSacks Internet infrastructure provider Cloudflare now blocking all AI scrapers accessing content by default. The move has been backed by more than a dozen major news and media publishers including the Associated Press, The Atlantic, Buzzfeed, Conde Nast, DMGT, Dotdash Meredith, Fortune, Gannett, The Independent, Sky News, Time and Ziff Davis. Website owners can then decide if they want to give AI crawlers access to their content and how they can use it if they do. If a publisher did a deal with OpenAI they could specifically choose to allow access to only its GPTBot and no others. Or publishers could continue to exclude everything.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/major-uk-and-us-publishers-join-forces-to-block-ai-scrapers/
Cloudflare will now block AI bots from crawling its clients’ websites by default
Google faces EU antitrust complaint over AI Overviews as independent digital publishers seek action
Reuters study: In India, 44% are comfortable with AI-generated news
Reuters 2025 Digital News Report unveils global media shifts: AI, video & influencers dominate, traditional media struggles, trust stable but news avoidance soars. Despite rising AI use, most people still prefer human-led journalism for accuracy and trust. 40% of respondents across markets say they sometimes or often avoid the news, up from 29% in 2017.
Supreme Court agrees to hear record labels’ piracy case against Cox Communications, in pivotal moment for music industry
HT @copyrightandtec The three record majors sued Cox – one of the US’s largest internet providers – in 2018, arguing that Cox hadn’t done enough to prevent its subscribers from repeatedly pirating music online. If the Supreme Court sides with Cox, it could mean new protections for internet service providers that would shield them from liability for piracy committed by subscribers. That could affect a number of high-profile cases that music companies have brought against internet providers in the US, including a $2.6 billion case brought against telecom giant Verizon by Sony, Universal, Warner and ABKCO Music.
Denmark to tackle deepfakes by giving people copyright to their own features
HT @BoSacks Amendment to law will strengthen protection against digital imitations of people’s identities, government says.
Will Ad Agencies Survive The AI Era? Baidu And Meta Say No
They are leading a shift toward fully automated ad creation, targeting, and deployment, with Meta aiming to eliminate human involvement in ad production by 2026.
Anthropic tests AI running a real business with bizarre results
AI Killed My Job: Tech workers
Tech workers at TikTok, Google, and across the industry share stories about how AI is changing, ruining, or replacing their jobs.
https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/how-ai-is-killing-jobs-in-the-tech-f39
YouTube Pirates Are Cashing In on Hollywood’s Summer Blockbusters
More than a decade after they cracked down on copyright infringement, 9,000+ pirated movies, TV shows & live sports are available on YouTube, amassing a collective 250M+ views.
How YouTube Won the Living Room
Google to Develop ‘TV Seasons’ on YouTube: YouTube is said to be working on changes that will allow creators to package their content into shows and seasons
https://www.vulture.com/article/youtube-tv-devices-streaming-strategy.html
Yes, Your TV Is Probably Spying on You. Your Fridge, Too. Here’s What They Know.
Many of the devices living in your home are quietly collecting towering heaps of information about you. Your TV, your doorbell, your security system, your thermostat, even your earbuds — all of them are involved. Some of that data may be shared, analyzed, and then sold to the highest bidder, hundreds of times a day, by organizations you’ve never heard of.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-smart-devices-data-tracking/
The number of robots in Amazon facilities just surpassed one million, the most the e-commerce giant has ever had
https://www.wsj.com/tech/amazon-warehouse-robots-automation-942b814f
Publishing & Media
Accusations of plagiarism, AI use and author bullying: ‘BookTok’ rocked by recent scandals
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/booktok-rocked-recent-scandals-rcna213832
Inside Literary Agenting, Publishing Realities, and Money Smarts for Authors
RT @marcelalandres @LindaRandom on Nicole Op Den Bosch Inoa’s podcast Writer Unblocked.
https://www.reignitewithnicole.com/writer-unblocked-podcast/episode-020-linda-camacho
Resources & Opportunities
WMG Summer Networking Party
https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6215573
The Craft & Creation of Audiobooks
Want to learn how audiobooks are made, how they are produced, how narrators are discovered? Come to this awesome virtual lunchtime panel on 7/22 at noon ET. FREE for WMG members, $15 for nonmembers. Featuring Julia Whelan (brilliant narrator of >600 books), Julie Wilson (Director of Casting, Digital Production Platforms, and Strategic Partnerships at Penguin Random House Audio), Marnye Young (Founder and CEO of Audio Sorceress, an audiobook production house), and moderated by Jennifer A. Perry (Director of eCommerce Digital Content at Barnes & Noble). Register TODAY! https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6248057
AI for Editors: An AMA with Erin Servais
Writers, Journalists, Editors get answers to your questions about using AI for storytelling, enhancing creativity, and more! 8/6 12-1pm ET via Zoom. Free for Women’s Media Group members, $15 non-members.
https://womensmediagroup.org/event-6222466
WMG Members-Only Small Group Socials
WMG Members: There are a ton of in-person and virtual members-only Small Group Socials to choose from! Including lunch w me. Hope to see you there!!
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events
25 Writers’ Conferences, Retreats & Festivals to Attend in Summer and Fall 2025
Via @sangeeta_editor
IRE now accepting applications for the Freelance Fellowship
They help independent journalists pursue investigative projects. All types of media, incl long-form projects like books and documentaries, are eligible. Cash awards range from $2,000 to $4,000.
https://www.ire.org/training/fellowships-and-scholarships/freelance-fellowship/
Feminist Press Looking for Their Next Executive Director
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