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Media Bits and Bytes – August 6, 2024

Wrong on so many levels

Gary Trudeau, 1999
  1. NABJ: Trump’s Last Stand?
  2. Antitrust: Google Loses Heavily
  3. Argentinas Boss is Watching You
  4. Kamala’s Online Army
  5. The Silicon Valley Election
  6. Meet the Murdochs: The Agony of Succession
  7. China’s e-Commerce is Gaining on Amazon
  8. Video Game Performers On Strike
  9. Social Media and Climate Change
  10. The Great Olympics Conspiracy

 

NABJ: Trump’s Last Stand?

By Jelani Cobb
Columbia Journalism Review

Donald Trump has been a central figure in American political life for nearly a decade, yet the debate about his appearance in Chicago illustrated the extent to which the press is still grappling with the same questions that attended his emergence in 2015. 

Antitrust: Google Loses Heavily

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By Kyle Wiggers and Rebecca Bellan
TechCrunch

Google will appeal a U.S. District Court judge’s opinion that found the technology giant acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search. The decision from Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is a major defeat for Google that could alter the way it does business and even change the structure of the internet as we know it, should the decision stand. 

Argentina’s Boss is Watching You

By Javier Lorca
EL PAÍS

The adjustment and streamlining of public agencies that President Javier Milei is driving in Argentina does not apply to the areas of security and defense. He has now created a special unit that will deal with cyberpatrolling on social media and the internet, the analysis of security cameras in real time and aerial surveillance using drones, among other things.

Kamala’s Online Army

By Drew Harwell, Taylor Lorenz, Justine McDaniel and María Luisa Paúl
yahoo! news

Harris’s rise has triggered a flood of online energy in the form of videos and memes designed to bolster her mass appeal. The videos, often called “fan edits” or “fancams,” have cast Harris in the kind of light typically reserved for pop-culture icons, with thumping soundtracks, fast cuts and glittering visual effects. Many feature what supporters see as her most endearing moments.

The Silicon Valley Election

By Lily Lynch
The New Statesman

Silicon Valley’s embrace of Trump, along with the selection of Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel’s chosen candidate JD Vance as his running mate, already signalled that the home of Big Tech (and “Little Tech”, meaning start-ups) would play a much bigger role in this election than it ever had. 

Meet the Murdochs: The Agony of Succession

By Lauren Aratani
The Guardian

Rupert Murdoch, 93, the billionaire owner of News Corp and Fox Corporation who helped inspire the show, is trying to give his eldest son, Lachlan, full control of his media outlets upon his death. While his other adult children – James, Elisabeth and Prudence – will still receive equal shares of company profits, this would leave them with no say over the companies upon his death.

China’s e-Commerce is Gaining on Amazon

By John Deighton and Leora Kornfeld
East Asia Forum

With Shein leading in fast fashion, Temu’s extensive list of goods and affordable prices, and TikTok Shop’s use of audience preference data for market targeting, these new contenders employ algorithms to grow their brands rapidly without depending on traditional manufacturers, posing potential long-term challenges for Amazon.

Video Game Performers On Strike

By James Dawes
The Conversation

After nearly two years of negotiations with gaming companies, video game performers, who are represented by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union, announced that they would go on strike due to an impasse over protections from generative AI. The strike began at 12:01 a.m. on July 26, 2024.

Social Media and Climate Change

By Afrooz Mosallaei
Free Press

We need to talk about and highlight the need for an affirmative approach: Platforms must actively promote credible climate-change news for the sake of the public interest. Social-media platforms can adapt content for social-media consumption and the distracted audience online, making complex topics such as climate change more accessible and appealing. 

The Great Olympics Conspiracy

By Matt Gertz
Media Matters

The right-wing media has become pickled in its own outrage. They simply cannot let themselves — or anyone else — enjoy good things that normal Americans enjoy, like the dominance of U.S. women at the Olympics. Instead, they build their audiences and make their money by constantly trying to find something they can get mad about.