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.
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Important Items
(There’s so much crazy stuff going on. Here’s some you may have missed.)
Leak Exposes Members of Peter Thiel’s Secretive ‘Dialog’ Society
More than 200 of the world’s elites registered for a retreat whose agenda runs from panels on cult-building and sex to prepping for World War III. It convenes US officials, foreign government figures, and Silicon Valley executives at off-the-record annual retreats, including sitting Trump administration officials, two US senators, a sitting ambassador to the U.S., along with the founders and directors of many of the country’s largest surveillance, data-broker, and advertising-data companies.
https://www.wired.com/story/leak-exposes-members-of-peter-thiels-secretive-dialog-society/
Women in Leadership Statistics Show a Growing Gap in Corporate America
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2026-women-leadership-corporate-america/
Hollywood Diversity Report: Streaming Films Have Abandoned Women and People of Color
Despite Netflix’s ‘KPop Demon Hunters,’ 2025 was not a great year for representation.
Innovation
2026 World Changing Ideas
Honoring new ways of tackling the climate and energy crises, human connection, and humanitarian work.
https://www.fastcompany.com/world-changing-ideas
Technology
Kindle adds Read Recap, Story So Far, and Ask This Book features
There is no way for publishers or authors to opt in or out.
https://www.bgr.com/2192985/kindle-cool-new-feature-story-so-far-june/
Google Play Books Launches AI Insights Feature–With A Little Time to Opt Out
Readers can get a recap or ask questions about the text. It will be enabled 7/6. Authors & publishers can opt out, either on an account level or book-by-book.
Storytel launched Storytel Genie
An AI-powered discovery tool that “can explain why a specific book will resonate, help [users] pick their next story, and generate recaps when a listener has lost the thread of a story in progress.”
https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2026/06/storytel-launches-ai-companion-feature/
John Wiley’s latest results included $50M of AI revenue for FY 2026
HT George Walkley $23 million of cost savings driven by AI, $9 million of which was in the last quarter, suggesting a quarter-on-quarter acceleration over the fiscal year.
Children’s authors and illustrators launch ‘We Are Better Than This’ campaign against AI
Publishers to bill AI firms for unwanted scraping – and take them to court if they don’t pay
Search-only contracts added to website terms open up new front in war with AI companies.
How AI Companies Can Pay Fair Rates for the Content They Need
Collective management organizations, like those used in the music industry, offer a model for how to distribute payments.
https://hbr.org/2026/06/how-ai-companies-can-pay-fair-rates-for-the-content-they-need
ChatGPT can now send emails directly through connected Gmail and Outlook accounts
But you can’t send attachments.
NotebookLM’s Gemini 3.5 upgrade adds a cloud computer and help finding sources
Google’s upgraded NotebookLM can now find sources, analyze information, and create deliverables autonomously.
https://www.theverge.com/tech/944325/google-notebooklm-ai-gemini-update
Google announces Gemini 3.5 Live Translate for instant voice-to-voice translation
Voice translations preserve speaker’s tone, pacing, pitch—with SynthID watermarks for security.
Apple Wins Consumer AI By Default
The iPhone becomes the first true AI device.
A Court Has Ruled That Google Is Liable for False Statements Generated by AI Overviews
The ruling holds that a company that designs, trains, operates, and manages an AI system must assume legal liability for any damages caused by the responses it generates
Jeff Bezos: The Man Who Wants to Engineer the Physical World With AI
Jeff Bezos’s Prometheus is betting AI’s next frontier is “artificial general engineering”: tools that design, simulate, & help build complex physical systems faster, from jet engines to spacecraft.
Le Monde blocked the bots. Now it’s working out what to do about paying readers showing up as agents
AI Needs Guardrails — the NO FAKES Act Can Create Them: Guest Post by Lyor Cohen and Harvey Mason Jr.
It Is Trivially Easy to Use Reddit to Manipulate AI Search, Research Suggests
A tiny snippet—just 13 words—of retrieved text on a UGC website like Reddit, Wikipedia, Quora, or Facebook can change AI agents to output spam/scam content pretty consistently.
These fake AI ads are perfectly soulless
A pair of comedians designed fake tech ads that skewer the medium simply by amping up its tropes: AI industry gobbledegook and design minimalism. The result shows just how real the problem of “slop voice” has become.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91559603/these-fake-ai-ads-are-perfectly-soulless
Midjourney pivots from AI image generation to body scanning medical spa where patients bathe in ‘golden light’
The underlying technology is real…and borrowed from a partner the company failed to mention
Disney’s AI-Generated TV Ads Set to Launch in July
https://www.businessinsider.com/disneys-ai-generated-tv-ads-set-to-launch-in-july-2026-6
Walmart Tests Ads Inside AI Shopping Assistants
Walmart testing ads in its AI-powered shopping assistant Sparky. Conversational shopping points to a future where AI assistants influence both product discovery and ad placement.
https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-growth-chief-says-ai-is-rewriting-ad-strategy-2026-6
Electronic Arts launches a new way to advertise directly into gameplay
Electronic Arts is announcing EA Advertising, a new way for brands to connect with fans through its games.
P&G to Screen Drama Series in Supermarkets
Proctor & Gamble is teaming with US supermarket chain Albertsons to screen a scripted comedy-drama series
https://massmarketretailers.com/albertsons-and-p-g-make-retail-media-fun-with-sitcom-series/
‘Wait… what?’ — Lionel Messi’s new ChatGPT World Cup partnership feels like marketing written by AI for people who don’t watch soccer
Fans can use ChatGPT to create personalized content, generate images, and engage with football in new ways.
Snap unveils $2,195 AR glasses as CEO Evan Spiegel bets on post-smartphone future
Tech companies desperately want to film you doing chores
Startups are paying people for the real-world data needed to train their robots.
Publishing & Media
Simon & Schuster Backlist Titles Made Available On The Black List’s Database
https://deadline.com/2026/06/simon-and-schuster-the-black-list-database-integration-1236956026/
From Online Fandoms to Blockbuster Films and TV Shows: What Books Get Optioned Now
via @janefriedman
https://janefriedman.com/from-online-fandoms-to-the-big-screen-what-books-get-optioned-now/
13 publishers, including Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan and the Assn. of American Publishers bring lawsuit against pirate site WeLib
News sites are the new newspapers
People are abandoning them for social media
Fox Is Buying Roku in $22 Billion Deal
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/fox-acquiring-roku-1236781308/
Penske Media Is Buying What’s Left of Vox Media
The deal will put online publications like Popsugar, Eater, and The Verge under the same roof as Rolling Stone and Variety.
Booksmaxxing: how reading became sexy
HT @publishingtrend ‘Reading is having a moment,’ according to Tinder. But do its users actually appreciate books, or just talk about them to get dates?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/17/booksmaxxing-how-reading-became-sexy
Resources & Opportunities
WMG Small Group Socials
Take a look at WMG’s exciting mix of in-person and virtual members-only small group socials! Affinity groups include children’s books, audiobooks/podcasts, and beachgoers. I’m hosting one in July and hope to see you there!!
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events
LinkedIn Strategies for Career Growth
8/5 12:30-1:30pm via Zoom. FREE for WMG members, $15 for non-members.
Join this event to learn how to improve your LinkedIn profile and position yourself for new career opportunities. Lynne Williams, Executive Director of the Great Careers Network, will share practical tips for strengthening your personal brand and optimizing your profile. Lynne will cover:
- How to clearly define and communicate your personal brand
- How to effectively incorporate keywords throughout your profile
- How to strengthen your headline with a unique selling proposition
- Where to find free tools and resources to enhance your LinkedIn presence
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6715943
International Women’s Media Foundation Events
MT @IWMF We’re on the road this summer bringing panels, trainings, and events to journalism conferences across the US! If you’re at IRE26 in National Harbor tomorrow, join us for our panel and safety training.
https://linktr.ee/iwmf#569253565
NYC Mayor’s Office to Offer Music & Entertainment Industry Job Training Via New Media Academy
The new program will include training in audio production, graphic arts, digital content creation and emerging technologies. Applicants for each program must be New York City residents aged 18 or older, be authorized to work in the U.S. and make under $60,000 if employed.
https://www.billboard.com/pro/new-york-music-entertainment-job-training-new-program/
The 15th Annual New York City Poetry Festival
Free. More than 100 collectives and literary organizations will bring their voices to five outdoor stages.
https://www.newyorkcitypoetryfestival.com
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