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.)

Trump setting stage to declare emergency around midterms

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-setting-stage-to-declare-emergency-around-midterms-former-white-house-attorney-says

Trump Just Did More Damage to American Elections Than China

Much of the previously classified material that Trump posted on the internet does not support his accusations, and in some cases, these declassified documents actually undermine and refute his charges.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/07/trump-address/687939/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweLGUhXWtW4_Ktx_0qW5AlJQ&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

What Happens When the Public Record Shrinks

Since last year, the Trump administration has been dramatically reducing the amount of federal data available to Americans. This new reality clouds our understanding of the economy, public health, and the environment

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/07/trump-administration-public-record-data-holes/687867/

Environmentalists decry Trump admin’s changing of ‘harm’ in Endangered Species Act

The definition was integral to the ESA’s role in preventing extinction.

https://abcnews.com/US/environmentalists-decry-trump-admins-changing-harm-endangered-species/story?id=134744300

Republican Senators Introduce Nationwide Book Ban Companion Bill, S. 4925

The only classic works of literature allowed in public schools would again only be those published before the year 1990–35 years ago–and those listed by the Christian homeschooling Compass Classroom publications. Classic works of art would be limited to those listed in one particular guide to the AP Art History exam and would not include art created post-2020. Once again, the definitions of “sexually oriented material” are vague and intended to be as far-reaching as whoever interprets the potential law wishes it to be. The one exception is that it clearly calls out anything related to “gender dysphoria” and “transgenderism” [sic] as violating the bill.

https://bookriot.com/senate-bill-4925/

Trump Media pitched $100,000 monthly fee for fastest feed of U.S. president’s posts

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/18/trump-media-pitched-100000/month-fee-for-fastest-feed-of-trump-posts.html

Technology

Patreon Blocks Crawlers From Stealing Creators’ Work for AI Training

“As AI agents become increasingly powerful and popular, creators deserve a meaningful say in how their work is used by AI companies. On most of the Internet, creators have to accept AI training on their work just to reach and grow an audience. Patreon has a different vision: creators should be able to grow their audience and control how their work is used.”

https://www.404media.co/patreon-cloudflare-partnership-ai-crawlers/

Publishers, Authors File Class Action Lawsuit Against Google

Publisher Hachette Book Group, Cengage Learning, and Elsevier, as well as author Scott Turow, are the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and the claims are being brought on behalf of themselves and a proposed class of authors and publishers. The suit follows an attempt by HBG and Cengage to join the Google Generative AI Copyright Litigation lawsuit first brought by a group of illustrators and writers in 2023, and which Google has been challenging the right for the publishers to participate. With the new lawsuit, Cengage and HBG have withdrawn their motion to take part in the 2023 suit, observing that Google could assert that a three-year statute of limitations pertains to the class member claims. Publishers allege that Google is using books that publishers provided the company to build its Google Books search service as part of an agreement to settle a long-running legal battle, which are supposed to be used to only provide “snippets.”

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/100820-new-lawsuit-aims-to-stop-google-from-copyright-infringement-in-creating-ai-models.html

German media regulator says Google’s AI Overviews subject to German media law

RT George Walkley Content published by the platforms are subject to regulation. Will AI companies reduce AI risk (as with Meta’s delayed release of its AI models in Europe).

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/german-media-regulator-says-googles-ai-overviews-subject-german-media-law-2026-07-14/

How to develop AI guidelines.

HT George Walkley

https://www.cjr.org/feature/how-to-develop-ai-guidelines-newsroom-leaders-policy-experts-rules-journalists.php

Music Industry Organizations, Including RIAA and the Grammys, Introduce Labels to Help Listeners Detect AI-Generated Music

The labels will identify songs that are are AI-generated and AI-assisted.

https://people.com/music-industry-organizations-introduce-labels-help-detect-ai-generated-music-12016464

OpenArt AI Launches ‘Vibe Directing’ Ad in AMC Movie Theaters

OpenArt AI’s Director tool generates videos of up to 5 mins from natural language prompts.

https://www.businessinsider.com/openart-ai-launches-ad-campaign-amc-movie-theaters-2026-7

Prime Video tests AI dubbing for select movies and TV series

Initially offering English & Spanish versions for 12 licensed titles that previously had no dubbed option, they say the feature combines AI with human localization experts to maintain quality.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/05/prime-video-tests-ai-dubbing-for-select-movies-and-tv-series/

Working in a maze of ambiguities – AI adoption in the book publishing value chain 1: writing and authoring

AI is so pervasive, and sometimes well hidden, in all tools along the author process that “AI free writing” means a travel typewriter in a log cabin.

https://dpr-future-book-magazine.com/en/fbf/ai-adoption-in-the-book-publishing-value-chain-1-writing-and-authorin

Google Photos adds a new AI ‘Video Remix’ tool

Google Photos is rolling out Gemini powered Video Remix, letting subscribers quickly relight clips, replace backgrounds, and apply artistic styles without professional editing software.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/08/google-photos-adds-a-new-ai-video-remix-tool/

Anthropic is bringing Claude Cowork to mobile and web

Anthropic announced that Claude Cowork, its agentic tool for delegating multistep work tasks, is expanding beyond desktop to mobile and web platforms.

https://mashable.com/tech/anthropic-claude-cowork-to-web-mobile-launch

Meta enters the crowded AI coding battle with Muse Spark 1.1

It can plan projects, delegate work to parallel subagents, automate desktop workflows, and adapt when requirements change.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/09/meta-enters-the-crowded-ai-coding-battle-with-muse-spark-1-1/

OpenAI releases new voice models for more natural live conversations

OpenAI’s GPT Live is a new real time voice model that enables more natural AI conversations through simultaneous listening and speaking.

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/08/openai-releases-new-voice-models-for-more-natural-live-conversations/

GPT-5.6 Brings Stronger Design Skills to Creative Workflows

It has stronger design judgment + can create polished interfaces, interactive visualisations, presentations. It also follows templates better, including layouts, typography, colors, & spacing.

https://openai.com/index/gpt-5-6/

OpenAI’s new flagship model deletes files on its own, people keep warning

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/14/openais-new-flagship-model-deletes-files-on-its-own-people-keep-warning/

OpenAI’s much-anticipated push into consumer devices is slated to begin with a mobile, screen-free smart speaker designed to be a new type of home computer for the AI era

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/openai-s-first-device-will-be-moveable-screenless-speaker-built-as-ai-companion

Meta used AI to tag workers who took leave to be laid off, lawsuit claims

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/14/meta-ai-mass-layoffs-lawsuit

Anthropic Launches Claude for Teachers. Why Some Critics Are Concerned

https://www.edweek.org/technology/anthropic-launches-claude-for-teachers-why-some-critics-are-concerned/2026/07

A global workspace in language models

Anthropic found something like an internal notepad inside Claude, which holds ideas the model is thinking about before answering. This could help understand how AI reasons & detect hidden goals, mistakes, or deception.

https://www.anthropic.com/research/global-workspace

Meet “Robert the Robot”

Swiss AI robot changes its face in real time to look like Trump, Obama or Zuckerberg at Geneva AI summit:The tech could support research, education, exhibitions, & public engagement, but raises questions about AI-generated identities.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/meet-robert-the-robot-swiss-ai-robot-that-changes-its-face-in-real-time-to-look-like-donald-trump-barack-obama-or-mark-zuckerberg-at-geneva-ai-summit/articleshow/132317435.cms

Mistral launches first robotics model in physical AI push

https://www.reuters.com/business/mistral-launches-first-robotics-model-physical-ai-push-2026-07-08/

A Key to Problem Solving

By @rishad To bring human enhancement and insight to AI in solving problems we need to think like photographers:

FRAME: Focus on the right problem, ensure different points of view and choose what to leave out and in.

EXPOSURE: Quality and Quantity of Data. Determining the speed needed and how sensitive the result should be in its implications

CURATION: Editing, cropping, filtering and displaying the solution

https://rishad.substack.com/p/a-key-to-problem-solving

Publishing & Media

Your Book Was Just Challenged. Start Here.

A Book Ban Action Guide for Authors from The Authors Guild.

https://authorsguild.org/resource/book-ban-action-guide-for-authors/

‘Number one request’: Bookshop.org to sell audiobooks to support indies ‘in all formats’

Bookshop.org has launched audiobooks in the U.K., expanding its existing print and e-book offerings with a credit-based subscription priced at £12.99 ($17.50) per month and a catalog of about 500,000 titles. In the U.S., they partner with Libro.fm, directing customers there whenever an audiobook edition is available for a title sold in print or as an e-book.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/bookshoporg-to-sell-audiobooks-to-support-indies-in-all-formats

Traffic decline at 90% of newsbrands in June

https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/media_metrics/most-popular-websites-news-us-monthly-3/

How Amazon Is Turning the BookTok Boom Into Hit TV

Prime Video has notched hit after hit by tapping into the growing audience of young adult fans of love stories.

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/television/amazon-prime-obsessed-fest-off-campus-romance-c7132eb8

Tech Bros Puzzled by Why AI Hasn’t “Massively Disrupted” Books Yet

HT @Jellybooks ‘Why hasn’t AI text generation massively disrupted books yet, when it’s technically capable?Language and writing are the strongest abilities of LLMs. And yet, people are still reading human made books. Why is that? Just ask the LLM to write you the sequel to your favorite Harry Potter novel, and it will.’

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/tech-bros-puzzled-ai-disrupted-books-knowledge

Nine out of 10 bestselling novels in UK have one thing in common: a woman is murdered

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jul/14/nine-of-ten-bestselling-novels-uk-woman-murdered

Every year 6 student to be given Katherine Rundell book for Christmas

HT @PublishingWell More than 800,000 copies of Impossible Creatures will be distributed to year 6 and P6 children through The Queen’s Christmas Present initiative.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jul/17/every-year-6-student-to-be-given-katherine-rundell-book-for-christmas

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. New: A visit to the Studio Museum in Harlem & Tour of the NY Society Library!

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events

WMG Job Seekers Weekly Meetup

Are you unemployed, under-employed, or just thinking about a career change? WMG members join our free virtual weekly support group and come when you can to help each other rise.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events

WMG Monday Happy Hour Meetup

8/10 or 9/14 5:30-7:30 Monthly Members Only. NYC.

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

Switching the Shelf: How Rethinking Your Genre Can Land You That Book Deal

9/16 5:30-7:30pm at Penguin Random House, NYC. $20 for WMG members; $25 for non-members

Some books don’t need a rewrite. They need a different shelf.

Many successful literary projects began as something else entirely: a memoir became narrative nonfiction, a magazine article turned into a biography, or an adult novel found its audience as young adult fiction. Sometimes the fastest path to publication is rethinking where your story belongs.

In this conversation, editors Lee Oglesby and Kristine Puopolo, agent Kiele Raymond, and authors Katie Gee Salisbury, Stacy Kim, and Amy Klein will discuss how their own genre shifts happened, what prompted agents and editors to suggest them, and how writers can recognize when a different category may unlock their manuscript’s potential. It’s moderated by Susan Shapiro, the bestselling author of 18 books in eight different genres, several that started out something else.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6763324

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