Journalism’s response to AI and misinformation, Instagram’s answer to Twitter, the NFL’s shift to streaming, Hollywood’s older audiences and comedy cryptocurrency are some of the topics explored in this week’s Trippant Takeaways, our round-up of stories on trends in sport, tech, entertainment and media.
NiemanLab and the BBC on new open journalism policies
The dawn of generative AI has inspired fears of deepening misinformation, while throwing up commercial and professional challenges for those in the business of journalism.
Now, we may be starting to see news organisations respond by demonstrating the value of high-calibre human reporters. In the UK, the BBC – with whom investigative titans Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward have been discussing the implications of AI – has minted the BBC Verify brand for myth-busting explainer journalism.
Meanwhile, in the US, The New York Times has created ‘enhanced bylines’ for deeper-dive articles and those that demand input from multiple journalists, explaining who picked up the story and when.
The Drum on Google’s generative AI ads
Part of Google’s plan to head off AI’s threat to its dominance of search is to integrate ads informed by generative AI. The Drum has tried to explain the impact of those plans on brands and marketers.
AdAge on Instagram’s new Twitter rival
Speculation has been mounting for months that Meta will seek to capitalise on the implosion at Twitter by launching a text-based feed for Instagram – and reports now suggest that could be here by the summer.
Details were leaked to UCLA social and influencer marketing specialist Lia Haberman, who revealed in her newsletter that that selected creators had already been given access to experiment with the platform. Sharing the news on her feed, incoming Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino responded: ‘Game on.’
The New York Times on a failure to launch for Musk and DeSantis
Twitter owner Elon Musk, meanwhile, thought he had a major showcase on his hands when controversial Florida governor Ron DeSantis chose to announce a US presidential bid in a Twitter Spaces interview.
But the set-piece only highlighted Twitter’s ongoing struggles, opening with ‘more than 20 minutes of technical glitches, hot mic moments and drowned-out and half-said conversations before the livestream abruptly cut out’.
Women’s Sport Trust on audience growth
Women’s sport continues to attract record broadcast audiences in the UK, according to a new survey by Futures Sport and Entertainment and the Women’s Sport Trust.
20.6 million British people watched at least three minutes of women’s sport coverage from 1st January to 30th April, up from 18.9 million in 2022. Women’s Super League football, rugby union’s TikTok Women’s Six Nations and cricket’s ICC T20 World Cup were among the big drivers of attention.
The FT and Bloomberg on fan resistance to Bundesliga private equity
German football’s Bundesliga has shelved plans to sell a stake in its media and commercial rights to private equity firms after the proposal failed to secure the backing of enough member clubs.
Opposition has been fervent among fan groups with second-tier side FC St Pauli, famed for its alternative and socially conscious identity, leading the way.
Vanity Fair on selling the NFL’s digital shift
The National Football League is not just the world’s richest sports property, it is also one of the most reliable pillars of US network television still standing. Live NFL games routinely dominate lists of the biggest TV audiences of the year.
For all that, more and more NFL viewing will now be happening online, with YouTube TV joining Amazon as a media partner and Disney-owned ESPN, home of Monday Night Football, increasingly seeing its future in streaming. For the league, that means bringing fans through the transition.
Esquire on the rise of the silver streamer
By 2030, there will be more people over 50 than under 18 in countries including the US, the UK and China.
Where entertainment and consumer culture have been geared towards younger demographics in recent decades, satisfying older generations could be the defining challenge of the years to come.
Wired on the art of the meme coin
Comedy cryptocurrency tokens like dogecoin start out as a joke but can end up costing investors serious money. Why do some of them take off and what do they say about the sector more broadly?
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