Extra, Extra
Godzilla v King Kong “We are no longer in a world where broadcast pioneers like Capital Cities/ABC’s Tom Murphy and local community owners who believed in acting in the public interest have any role. Courage in the face of governmental criticism and governmental power is barely present. Consolidation into behemoths with interests beyond the airwaves and the digital platform now rule. Whether it is Disney or Paramount, Universal or Nexstar, it is all about the bottom line, and the fear of retribution by a thuggish regime means that every value beyond the money goes out the window.” Norm Ornstein: Will Our Corporate Media Godzillas Have the Guts to Defend Democracy? “Five companies—five—now control 90 percent of the media marketplace.” (Here’s one clue: YouTube agrees to pay Trump $24.5m to settle lawsuit over account suspension.)
+ Lookie-Loo Larry: Since only a handful of people are gaining control of nearly all media, it’s worth noting how they think about things. Larry Ellison once predicted ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ amid constant recording. Now his company will pay a key role in social media. “Citizens will be on their best behavior because we are constantly recording and reporting everything that’s going on.”
+ Orange Pilled: “The White House is planning to unveil a direct-to-consumer website for Americans to buy drugs, dubbed TrumpRx, while also announcing that Pfizer plans to lower prices on several of its medications in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.” White House to Announce ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Website, Deal With Pfizer. (I guess the domain TrumpRex was already taken…)
+ Job Corpse: “It’s not just recent college graduates who are struggling to find entry-level positions. Out-of-work mid-career employees are taking part-time jobs, and hiring has stalled in industries from professional services to manufacturing. More than a quarter of the jobless have been out of work more than a half-year — the highest share since the mid-2010s excluding the pandemic-era years.” Bloomberg (Gift Article): Millions of Workers Are Left Out of the ‘Low-Hire, Low-Fire’ US Job Market.
+ Switching Sides: “When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Shamil Lukozhev was sure he’d die. The Russian soldier feared he’d be shot because he wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger on his own gun. He couldn’t bring himself to kill someone who was defending their homeland. More than 3½ years later, Mr. Lukozhev says he has no problem shooting at those he once served alongside.” Globe and Mail: The Russian reversal. A unit of deserters fights for Ukraine and hopes for Putin’s downfall.
+ Binded With Science: “Dr. Agarwal is among more than 20 researchers who have left their work at Meta, OpenAI, Google DeepMind and other big A.I. projects in recent weeks to join a new Silicon Valley start-up, Periodic Labs. Many of them have given up tens of millions of dollars — if not hundreds of millions — to make the move.” NYT (Gift Article): Top A.I. Researchers Leave OpenAI, Google and Meta for New Start-Up. “Periodic Labs aims to build artificial intelligence that can accelerate discoveries in physics, chemistry and other fields.” (Yes, more of this. I can figure out how to write my own emails…)
+ Beneath the Ice: “The move is a striking about-face, just a few days after the Department of Homeland Security released a statement denouncing the officer’s conduct as ‘unacceptable and beneath the men and women of ICE.'” ICE officer seen on video pushing woman to ground has returned to duty.
+ Talking Shop: “OpenAI said it will allow users in the U.S. to make purchases directly through ChatGPT using a new Instant Checkout feature powered by a payment protocol for AI co-developed with Stripe. The new chatbot shopping feature is a big step toward helping OpenAI monetize its 700 million weekly users, many of whom currently pay nothing to interact with ChatGPT, as well as a move that could eventually steal significant market share from traditional Google search advertising.”
