Walking the tightrope

The Muck Rack Weekly newsletter includes some of the most talked about stories in the journalism and public relations communities over the past week, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of Muck Rack.

Media statistic of the week

As of February 2024, just under half of the titles in Netflix’s U.S. catalog were originally recorded in English. What’s more, “Non-English content is set to account for more than half of Netflix’s spending for the first time this quarter, according to a recent report from Ampere Analysis .” Rest of World’s Russell Brandom has more, including how the success of the Telugu-language film RRR has led to Telugu’s spot as the ninth most popular language in Netflix’s U.S. catalog.

This past week in the media industry?

Re: The whole mess

There’s been plenty of activity and digital ink spilled in the wake of Uri Berliner’s critique of NPR in an essay for the Free Press two weeks ago. As Margaret Sullivan observes, “It took only days from Uri Berliner’s publishing his fiery essay about his employer, NPR, to his suspension, to his resignation in a blaze of bad-faith glory.”

In her Guardian column (which she describes as “My @GuardianUS column on the whole mess at @npr”), Sullivan argues, NPR needs a serious critique not a politically charged parting shot .?

“Walking the tightrope of staying neutral in national media is so difficult, and this @Sulliview column is right on the nose,” says Natalie Fertig .

“Want to know what happened with NPR this week? Read @Sulliview,” Jay Rosen suggests,? adding, “My read: too often the possible worlds are said to be two. Biased journalism soaking in ideology or some form of professional neutrality. Left out: ‘here's where we're coming from’ journalism.”

Meanwhile, Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple took “A closer look at Item No. 1 in the now-former editor’s indictment of NPR’s news coverage” and concluded, Here’s why Uri Berliner couldn’t stay at NPR . In which “@ErikWemple analyzes Uri Berliner’s critique of NPR Russia collusion story as case study - and argues it falls short,” tweets David Folkenflik .

“Wemple does the reporting here that Berliner did not on the Trump-Russia probes ... good piece,” says Tom LoBianco .

All in on AI

At Nieman Lab, Andrew Deck reports on how Newsweek is making generative AI a fixture in its newsroom . “Since a policy change last September, the outlet has rolled out AI tools for video production, reporting, and to help draft select stories,” Deck explains. “It's also hiring for a new AI-integrated breaking news desk.”

Jacob Aron thinks “An AI-powered breaking news desk sounds like a recipe for disaster,” while Chris Moran quotes from the article Newsweek’s chief product officer Bharat Krish, “Where the future goes, we don’t know,” and comments, “I think anyone who reads this (excellent) article - a portrait of what looks like complacency and mindless adoption - will have a pretty clear idea of Newsweek’s future.”

Moving on to the world of documentary filmmaking, Jason Koebler notes, “Finding and using archival photos/footage is one of the most important and hardest things to do when making a documentary.” A controversial new workaround involves using generative AI images.

Emanuel Maiberg of 404 Media reports the Netflix doc ‘What Jennifer Did’ used AI images to create a false historical record . “Netflix using generative AI images in a true crime doc is extremely irresponsible and exactly what archivists are telling documentaries not to do,” he points out.

That’s not all on the AI beat from 404 Media. Maiberg also shares, “We've been reporting on a lot of bad Instagram ads over the last 6 months, and these are some of the worst yet. Obvious, explicit ads for nonconsensual AI generated nudes.” Here’s that story, Instagram Advertises Nonconsensual AI Nude Apps .

Or as Samantha Cole puts it, “1.2 trillion dollar company can't figure out how to moderate its own advertisers.”

Over on LinkedIn, is it a ‘Cesspool of AI crap’ or slam-dunk success?

“LinkedIn’s AI-powered collaborative articles offer a sobering peek at the future of content,” as Sharon Goldman details at Fortune.

Put another way, “LinkedIn goes all in on AI. But what it produces is elegantly described as ‘thought leadership wank and AI word vomit,’” Verne Kopytoff highlights.

And Kate Knibbs of WIRED Magazine explains How One Author Pushed the Limits of AI Copyright . “The Copyright Office just awarded ‘compilation’ copyright to a novel written with ChatGPT,” she shares. “I went behind-the-scenes in what may be the new blueprint for AI-heavy works getting registered.”

What is media

“What is a magazine now, what is an editor now, what is award-winning journalism now, what is celebrity now, what is a store now, what is”...

Jessica Testa links to her New York Times piece What Is a Magazine Now? a profile of Highsnobiety, which is “a store, a website, a production agency and a clothing line. Oh, and Pamela Anderson is on the latest cover.”

Eric Newcomer thinks “the reality is that ‘what is media’ is breaking down. here's a magazine that makes money selling t-shirts.”

This seems like the right opportunity to mention Graydon Carter has launched a brick-and-mortar venture, Air Mail Newsstand, which is an extension of his Air Mail newsletter. Ruth La Ferla has more on that at the Times, A Celebrity Editor Opens a Store .

Farewell

Terry Anderson, the AP reporter? who was abducted in Lebanon in 1985 and held captive for years , died on Sunday at 76. The cause was complications from recent heart surgery. John Rogers wrote the Associated Press’s obituary for “the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages.”

Ted Anthony shared, “Terry Anderson is one of the reasons I became an @AP reporter. His body of work in journalism and his courage during and after his captivity were guiding lights for young journalists. I am proud to be part of the AP generation that followed him. His post-journalism life was epic, too.”

“What an extraordinary life,” as Scott Simon says. “RIP, Terry, and thanks.”?

More notable media stories

• Charlie Smart of The New York Times charted out Where Jurors in Trump Hush-Money Trial Say They Get Their News , confirming this group of New Yorkers are New York Times readers.
• This week, the Senate passed a bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban , as AP’s Haleluya Hadero reports. Love, Hate or Fear It, TikTok Has Changed America , and The New York Times has put together a package detailing “19 ways of understanding how TikTok became part of American life.”
• From Corbin Bolies of The Daily Beast, Columbia U. Newspaper Kids Working 'Overtime' to Get Protests Right .
• Emma Roth of The Verge reports that Twitter alternative Post News is shutting down “within the next few weeks.”
• Jessica Goldstein links to the “V thorough and damning reporting by @abeaujon on the closure of DCist/chaos at WAMU.” From Andrew Beaujon of the Washingtonian, Why Did WAMU Close DCist?
• Sara Fischer of Axios reported last week that California news nonprofit CalMatters has acquired tech news nonprofit The Markup and that Essence's parent has agreed to buy Refinery29 from Vice Media .
• From Michael Schneider of Variety, a look at How O.J. Simpson’s Impact on Media Coverage Still Leaves Mixed Feelings Among Broadcast Journalists .?
• For The Hollywood Reporter, Judith Regan remembers her harrowing five-hour, on-camera conversation with Simpson: The day O.J. Simpson (almost) confessed . As John Fleming puts it, “How OJ Simpson sort-of admitted to the murder... and how the Rupert Murdoch empire tried to destroy the interviewer…”
• Alissa Quart and Mark Bittman teamed up to create recipes for a joint effort by The Bittman Project and The Economic Hardship Reporting Project, which supports independent journalists as they forward fresh narratives about inequality, and to “reimagine the modern recipe.” Check out Good recipes for tough times at Mother Jones. And from The Guardian, Introducing the Feast app .

From the Muck Rack Team

In December 2023, more than 200 Muck Rack team members from more than 25 states—plus South America, Europe and Canada—packed up and headed to an all-inclusive resort in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico, for the inaugural Muck Rack all-team retreat. Head over to the blog to find out more about the two days that were definitely not your typical all-staff retreat: 200+-member Muck Rack team met in Mexico for adventure-filled bonding .