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

This could be the last Women’s History Month

More on The Heritage Foundation’s latest blueprint: Imagine a world in which IVF is banned and birth control is destroyed.

https://feminists.substack.com/p/if-project-2026-has-anything-to-do

Here’s Why Trump Posted About Iran ‘Stealing’ the 2020 Election Hours After the US Attacked

Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social about Iran echoed a conspiracy theory that has been circulating online for years.

https://www.wired.com/story/heres-why-trump-posted-about-iran-stealing-the-2020-election-hours-after-the-us-attacked/

Innovation

China’s Thermal Battery Breakthrough Might Change Everything

Scientists designed high-density thermal battery that uses novel cathode material that not only increases performance of the battery but cuts down on loss experienced due to the shuttle effect.

https://www.bgr.com/2081338/china-high-efficiency-cathodes-thermal-batteries/

Technology

News Corp, Meta in AI Content Licensing Deal Worth Up to $50 Million a Year

The multiyear pact gives Meta access to content for training and to retrieve information for users of its AI tools

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/news-corp-meta-in-ai-content-licensing-deal-worth-up-to-50-million-a-year-d4fbf244

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson warns AI companies scraping without paying: ‘We’re coming for you’

HT @talkingbiznews News Corp was early OpenAI partner and has just announced AI deal with Meta.

https://pressgazette.co.uk/north-america/news-corp-ai-meta-deal-robert-thomson/

Authors – Reminder: The Anthropic Claims Deadline is March 30

HT @authorsguild

https://authorsguild.org/advocacy/artificial-intelligence/what-authors-need-to-know-about-the-anthropic-settlement/

The Internet’s Most-Read Tech Publications Have Lost 58% of Their Google Traffic Since 2024

10 major tech publications lost a combined 65M monthly organic visits since their peaks. Digital Trends: 8.5M → 265K (-97%). ZDNet: 7.6M → 769K (-90%). The Verge: 5.3M → 790K (-85%). Even the least affected sites are down significantly: CNET lost 47%, Tom’s Guide lost 50%, Wired lost 62%.

NerdWallet lost 73% (25M → 6.8M) and Healthline lost 50% (111M → 56M), suggesting the pattern extends beyond tech. The steepest declines started in mid-2025, coinciding with the expansion of Google’s AI Overviews.

https://growtika.com/blog/tech-media-collapse

Condé Nast CEO calls Google AI a death blow as search traffic collapses

HT @BoSacks Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch says Google’s AI summaries have gutted search traffic, dropping from a majority to just 25% of visits – and he expects it to fall further.

https://ppc.land/conde-nast-ceo-calls-google-ai-a-death-blow-as-search-traffic-collapses/

Clickout Media Replaces Fired Staffers with AI

A UK-based network of gaming sites fired its human writers and replaced them with AI “writers,” complete with fake photos

https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/staff-journalists-sacked-and-misleadingly-replaced-with-ai-writers/

It’s bots vs. reporters at the AP

“Because local newsrooms are so strapped, they are turning for assistance on the news making process in every direction. Advance Publications got there first, others will follow,” AP Senior Product Manager for AI Aimee Rinehart wrote. “Resistance is futile.” “There are many — and I mean MANY — editors who would prefer an AI-written article to a human-written one. Reporting and writing are two different skill sets and rare — RARE — is the occasion when it’s wrapped into one person,” she wrote.

https://www.semafor.com/article/03/03/2026/its-bots-vs-reporters-at-the-ap

Grammarly’s ‘expert review’ is just missing the actual experts

Grammarly frames the “expert review” feedback as if it was coming from well-known authors, whether they’re living or dead. In some cases, it can even appear to come from tech journalists at The Verge, Wired, Bloomberg, The New York Times, and other publications. None of these figures appear to be involved in Expert Reviews or to have given Grammarly permission to use their names. Alex Gay, VP of product & corporate marketing at Grammarly’s parent company Superhuman, said the experts are mentioned “because their published works are publicly available and widely cited.” In what sense is Grammarly actually providing an “expert review”? Perhaps none at all, as historian C.E. Aubin told Wired: “These are not expert reviews, because there are no ‘experts’ involved in producing them.”

https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/07/grammarlys-expert-review-is-just-missing-the-actual-experts/

Apple Music launches AI transparency tags — but only if labels and distributors declare them

Apple Music’s Transparency Tags are a system of disclosure labels that record labels and music distributors can begin applying to content delivered to Apple Music immediately, and will be required to use when delivering new content in future. The new framework covers four key creative elements: Artwork, Track, Composition, and Music Video.

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/apple-music-launches-ai-transparency-tags-but-only-if-labels-and-distributors-choose-to-declare-them/

Why is Corporate AI Innovation so Hard?

Some good food for thought via @neilperkin about radical innovation and corporate inertia. “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution” – Clay Shirkey

https://onlydeadfish.co.uk/2026/03/03/why-is-corporate-ai-innovation-so-hard/

Anthropic Accuses 3 Chinese Companies of Harvesting Its Data

Anthropic claims that DeepSeek, Moonshot and MiniMax used approximately 24,000 fraudulent accounts to train their own chatbots.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/technology/anthropic-chinese-startups-distillation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.ZXmN.C8vzk_plsWzx&smid=tw-share

Google rolls out updates to image and video tool Flow AI

You can generate high-resolution images and use them as elements within Veo video generations all within the Flow system. And you can generate videos from photos using text commands.

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/google-rolls-out-updates-to-image-and-video-tool-flow-ai/813166/

Google launches Nano Banana 2 model with faster image generation

Nano Banana 2 can maintain character consistency for up to 5 characters + fidelity of up to 14 objects in 1 workflow for better storytelling. Faster, resolution up to 4K, diff aspect ratios.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/26/google-launches-nano-banana-2-model-with-faster-image-generation/

A Possible US Government iPhone-Hacking Toolkit Is Now in the Hands of Foreign Spies and Criminals

A highly sophisticated set of iPhone hijacking techniques has likely infected tens of thousands of phones or more. Clues suggest it was originally built for the US government.

https://www.wired.com/story/coruna-iphone-hacking-toolkit-us-government/

Publishing & Media

Yahoo is selling Engadget to Static Media

https://www.theverge.com/tech/888364/yahoo-engadget-sale-static-media

Not Simon & Schuster: Deconstructing an Impersonation Scam

HT @inkbitspixels How to identify a scam targeting authors. By @victoriastrauss.

https://writerbeware.blog/2026/02/28/not-simon-schuster-deconstructing-an-impersonation-scam/

SLA receives ‘landmark’ £500k to launch ‘low pressure, social’ school book clubs

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/sla-receives-landmark-500k-to-launch-low-pressure-social-school-book-clubs

Playbook by Mediabistro

MT @Mediabistro Our new Playbook platform launched today. It maps the right mix of people and tools to every step of your work. Describe what you do in plain language, and get a shareable workflow back. 435+ tools (more all the time). 28 categories.

https://playbook.mediabistro.com

Why We Must Fight to Stop HR 7661 Before It Destroys the Lives of American Children

Via @mariskreizman1 The bill defines “sexually oriented material” as any book that references “gender dysphoria or transgenderism,” which is a dangerous precedent. As Kelly Jensen put it at BookRiot: “It isn’t a stretch to see a bill like this used to outright ban all books by or about LGBTQ+ people under the guise of it being ‘sexually oriented.’” The bill has the ignominious distinction of being the very first national-level attempt to ban books. Book-banners have used state and local law to prevent children from learning about any topics, like gender fluidity, that make them feel a little bit uncomfortable or conflict with their “values.” This is egregiously unconstitutional. But this is the first time every single child in public schools across the country would be affected.

https://lithub.com/why-we-must-fight-to-stop-hr-7661-before-it-destroys-the-lives-of-american-children/

Oklahoma, Florida, Idaho Propose More Restrictive Book Bills

HT @publishingtrend States continue to try to control library collections in public schools across the country; congressional representatives reintroduce the Fight Book Bans Act.

https://www.slj.com/story/newsfeatures/Oklahoma-Florida-Idaho-Propose-More-Restrictive-Book-Bills-Censorship-News

Resources & Opportunities

Stop Stalling, Start Posting: Live Social Media Audit with Miral Sattar

3/9 12-1pm at Penguin Random House, NYC

$10 for WMG members; $20 for non-members

Have you been meaning to show up on social media but keep overthinking it? Join Miral Sattar, award-winning podcaster (>2M subscribers) and digital strategist, for an interactive workshop combining a live social media audit & practical training on short-form video storytelling for authors. Miral will review select attendees’ profiles in real time, sharing clear, actionable guidance. You’ll leave with concrete video ideas you can post right away.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6574011

WMG Job Seekers

New date: 3/16, 12-1pm, NYC. WMG members only; FREE

Looking for a job, planning to pivot, or underemployed? Join us to network, share tips, and offer support. Connect with each other, hear from an expert, & come armed with questions! Former WMG Membership Chair Susan McCulloch will be in conversation w WMG Board member Keline Adams, Director at Penguin Random House.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6509718

Film Screening: Women Laughing

3/19 5:30-7:30pm, Society of Illustrators, NYC

$25 for WMG & Society of Illustrators members; $30 for non-members

SOLD OUT – You can join the waitlist!

Join acclaimed cartoonists Roz Chast, Liza Donnelly, & Emily Flake for a private screening of the acclaimed documentary, Women Laughing, in which Donnelly, director and producer, set out to explore her lifelong passion for women’s humor & cartooning with a probing look at the history of women cartoonists at The New Yorker. In a panel discussion after the screening, the producer, Judith Mizrachy, talks with Chast, Donnelly, & Flake about their creative processes and opportunities for women cartoonists.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6542015

Built to Belong: Creating Impact Through Connection & Purpose

3/24, 5:30-7:30 pm, Penguin Random House, NYC

$20 for WMG members, $25 for non-members

We’re often told that impact requires independence and hustle. But the truth is simpler—and more powerful: the most meaningful legacy is built together. Aiko Bethea (Author, Anchored, Aligned, Accountable), Allison Gilbert (Co-Author, The Joy of Connections), Genevieve Piturro (Speaker & Founder, Pajama Program), and Karen Salmansohn (Author, Your To-Die-For Life), join Moderator Ann Shoket (CEO, The Li.st) for an extraordinary discussion you won’t want to miss! Come for inspiration and insight; leave activated with a plan to build connection, lead in harmony with your values, and shape a legacy rooted in community (and maybe make a new friend).

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6573185

Annual Business Meeting

3/25 12-12:30pm ET; WMG members only; FREE (Zoom)

Spend 30 minutes with Co-Presidents Jane Wesman and Jodi Brockington, and members of the Board, in a brief virtual meeting to vote in the new Board and review highlights of the past year.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6573950

Well-Read & Well-Fed in NJ with Elisa Ung and Nicole DiMella

4/9, 4/9 6:30-9pm [words] Bookstore, NJ; WMG members only; FREE

You can never have too many books—or bookstores. Meet WMG members Elisa Ung and Nicole DiMella at [words] Bookstore, an independent shop with a mission to provide vocational training and employment for individuals with autism. At 7:30, we’ll continue next door to Coda Kitchen and Bar for dinner. Note: attendees pay for their own books, food, and beverages.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6566129

NY Book Forum Publishing Bootcamp

Attn. Junior Book Production Folks! 3/23 8:30-5:30 at Macmillan

https://newyorkbookforum.org/event/publishing-bootcamp-103/

Lit for Queer Liberation Auction

3/8-3/14. Lit for Queer Liberation is a virtual auction where lovers of books, art, and music uplift LGBTQIA2+ folx facing financial hardship. By bidding on signed books, query critiques, artwork, and more, your support directly fuels our work to empower queer and trans people in Texas and beyond. Our work changes lives. When queer and trans people achieve financial liberation—whether that’s affording rent, getting out of debt, or escaping abusive relationships—our community can thrive.

https://www.32auctions.com/LitforQueerLiberation2026

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