After layoffs and an AI scandal, CNET's staff is unionizing

CNET, the venerable tech site which began publication nearly 30 years ago, has become the latest digital media company whose staff have chosen to band together and demand more. The CNET Media Worker's Union (CMWU) today sent a letter to Red Ventures, the private equity concern which purchased CNET in 2020, seeking recognition of a bargaining unit of nearly 100 workers including editors, writers, and video producers. According to CMWU, a supermajority of those in the unit signed union authorization cards.Like the overwhelming majority of other organized digital publications, the workers who make up CMWU are responding in large part to an increasingly hostile financial climate in the industry. CNET has not been spared the same tumult that has led to the shuttering of Buzzfeed News and VICE's decision to file for bankruptcy: the company went through three brutal rounds of layoffs over recent months, the most recent of which stripped approximately a dozen staffers from the masthead. "We lost a lot of really great reporters," Laura Michelle Davis, an editor with CNET and organizing committee member, told Engadget.According to Davis, that sense of uncertainty led to a number of voluntary departures, but also to the surviving staff choosing to organize. Despite those cuts, according to the union's statement sent to management today, staff have continue to be "subjected to ongoing restructuring, cost-cutting austerity measures, shifting job roles and promotion freezes." CMWU has... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-05-16 16:13:18 UTC ]
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Will Human-AI Partnerships Make Publishing Workers More Innovative?

The journey is just beginning, but we can already see that publishing workflows are especially ripe for AI integration that enables the automation of rote tasks—and AI-driven support for more humans making more complex decisions and judgments. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Surface VP sitdown: How is AI going to change Microsoft’s PCs?

Microsoft Surface was the brand of devices Microsoft launched to lead the way into the PC market, showing its PC partners what could work in new categories of devices. Now it’s evolving into a new generation, led by AI and Copilot+ laptops. So what does this mean for Microsoft, Surface,... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2024-05-23 14:14:58 UTC ]
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‘AI’ is now a meaningless term — thanks, Cooler Master thermal paste

AI is being shoved into everything now, from laptops to kitchen appliances to celebrity gossip news. (No, none of that is an exaggeration.) The term is so ubiquitous that it’s fast becoming meaningless, just like “performative” or “green.” So, I’d like to thank Cooler Master for taking... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2024-05-22 14:28:16 UTC ]
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Seminary Co-op Bookstores Voluntarily Recognize Booksellers' Union

The management of Chicago's Seminary Co-op and and 57th Street Books has voluntarily recognized a union formed by bookseller employees of the member-owned cooperative. SCBU IU 660 is a branch of the Industrial Workers of the World. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The Shark AI robot vacuum and mop drops to a record low of $230 at Amazon

The Shark AI robot vacuum and mop combo unit has dropped to a record low of $230 at Amazon. This is a massive discount of 52 percent, which knocks nearly $250 off the price. It does look to be one of those deals that ends when the stock runs out, so you might want to act quickly instead of... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-05-15 18:42:59 UTC ]
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AI Challenges, Freedom to Read Top AAP Annual Meeting Discussions

Strategies to rein in illegal copying of copyrighted materials to fuel generative and efforts to defend freedom of expression were front and center at this year's annual meeting of the Association of American Publishers. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-05-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Google DeepMind’s latest medical breakthrough borrows a trick from AI image generators

Much of the recent AI hype train has centered around mesmerizing digital content generated from simple prompts, alongside concerns about its ability to decimate the workforce and make malicious propaganda much more convincing. (Fun!) However, some of AI’s most promising — and potentially much... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-05-08 19:47:26 UTC ]
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Publishers Association Blasts the UK Government’s Response to AI Report

'This report is a call to action for government' on the UK market's AI policy, says the Publishers Association's  Dan Conway in London. The post Publishers Association Blasts the UK Government’s Response to AI Report appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-05-08 00:00:35 UTC ]
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Google to pay News Corp to fund AI push

Deal part of Google News Initiative to fund various journalism projects and content from news organizations. Continue reading at Silicon Valley Business Journal

[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2024-05-01 13:36:48 UTC ]
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OpenAI will train its AI models on the Financial Times' journalism

The Financial Times has become the latest news organization to strike a deal with OpenAI. In a joint announcement on Monday, the Financial Times and OpenAI said that maker of ChatGPT will use the Financial Times’ journalism to train its AI models and collaborate on developing new AI products and... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-04-29 17:32:56 UTC ]
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Best Buy and CNET Are Combining Their Ad Inventory

Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy and digital publisher CNET are teaming up to create a new retail media model, the companies said Thursday. The electronics retailer and the publisher are combining their ad inventory, allowing advertisers to buy across Best Buy Ads'... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2024-04-25 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Alfonso Chardy, Who Helped Expose Iran-Contra Scandal, Dies at 72

A Miami Herald correspondent, he powered a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting and helped snare three other Pulitzers for the paper. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2024-04-24 22:42:22 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Partners With ElevenLabs AI on Non-English Audiobooks

The use of ElevenLabs' 'Projects' text-to-speech technology, HarperCollins says, can bolster its work in non-English-language audiobooks. The post HarperCollins Partners With ElevenLabs AI on Non-English Audiobooks appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-19 00:15:08 UTC ]
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HarperCollins UK Partners With ElevenLabs AI on Non-English Audiobooks

The use of ElevenLabs' 'Projects' text-to-speech technology, HarperCollins UK says, can bolster its work in non-English-language audiobooks. The post HarperCollins UK Partners With ElevenLabs AI on Non-English Audiobooks appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2024-04-19 00:15:08 UTC ]
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Schiff Introduces Bill to Require Transparency in AI Training

The measure would require AI companies to disclose all copyrighted works used in training an AI system. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-04-15 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Meta ‘discussed buying publisher Simon & Schuster to train AI’

Audio shared with the New York Times appears to record executives discussing purchase of the US books giant to feed into its large language modelsStaff at technology company Meta discussed buying publishing house Simon & Schuster last year in order to procure books to train the company’s... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-04-09 15:36:14 UTC ]
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The Sun loses £66m amid costs from phone-hacking scandal

British arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp empire reports near-£54m deficit due to TalkTV costsThe Sun lost £66m last year and its online audience dropped by 4 million readers as the newspaper continued to grapple with the fallout from the phone-hacking scandal.Total losses at the Murdoch-owned... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-04-09 14:02:36 UTC ]
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George Carlin's estate settles lawsuit against podcasters' AI comedy special

There will be no follow-up to that AI-generated George Carlin comedy special released by the podcast Dudesy. In January, Carlin's estate filed a lawsuit against the podcast and its creators Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, accusing them of violating the performer's right to publicity and infringing... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2024-04-03 07:52:24 UTC ]
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PEN Union Cries Foul in Contract Talks as Criticism of PEN America Intensifies

A proposal in ongoing contract negotiations between PEN America management and PEN America United, its staff union, has led to charges by the union that the organization’s leadership is trying to stifle union members’ free speech rights—an assertion PEN management firmly disputes. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2024-03-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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ADWEEK Announces Chief of Staff Appointment, Plus Promotions Across Company

This afternoon, ADWEEK CEO Will Lee announced the appointment of Conde Nast veteran Mike Beyman as chief of staff/head of strategy and business operations, a new role at the brand. In a memo, Lee also shared a number of promotions across the newsroom as well as the... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2024-03-27 21:00:35 UTC ]
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