Portside

1. We Need Local News More Than Ever
2. AI News
3. Musk Attacks Media Matters
4. Chicago Tribune Staffers Sue
5. Big Tech and Section 230
6. Why a TikTok Ban is a Terrible Idea 
7. Breaking Up Live Action Entertainment 
8. MAGA Communism
9. Soul-Crushing New iPad Ad
10. Black Women Caught in the Digital Crosshairs

We Need Local News More Than Ever

By Rivera Sun
Counterpunch

Heat waves. Super-storms. Forest fires. Floods. Reporting on climate events, disasters, and preparedness is essential, obviously. But local news has a bigger role to play in helping us apply climate solutions that make sense to the unique places that we live.

AI News

• Big Tech and AI Risk   By Alex Hern, The Guardian
   

• AI Startups and Antitrust Concerns   By Paul Sawers, TechCrunch

• Google’s AI-Powered Search   By Mathew Ingram, Columbia Journalism Review
   

Musk Attacks Media Matters

By Jon Queally
Common Dreams

Just months after mega-billionaire Elon Musk launched what he termed a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters for America, the nonprofit media watchdog outfit announced a round of punishing layoffs.

Chicago Tribune Staffers Sue

By Kade Heather
Chicago Sun-Times

Seven Chicago Tribune journalists filed a class-action lawsuit against the newspaper and its owner, alleging violations of equal pay based on sexual and racial discrimination. The lawsuit alleges systematic pay disparities between female and male employees, as well as between Black and white employees.

Big Tech and Section 230

By Cory Doctorow
Electronic Frontier Foundation

Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230) protects people who run online services from being dragged into legal disputes between their users. A bill introduced in the House Energy and Commerce Committee would sunset Section 230 as of December 31, 2025, with no provision to protect online service providers from being conscripted into their users’ online disputes and the legal battles that arise from them.

Why a TikTok Ban is a Terrible Idea

By Amy Kroin
Free Press

President Biden signed into law legislation built on misconceptions about how TikTok operates. Worse, it does nothing to protect people’s privacy or blunt the widespread manipulation users face across platforms, including those owned and headquartered in the United States. Here’s the lowdown on what’s happening and why it matters.

Breaking Up Live Action Entertainment 

By David Arditi
The Conversation

The U.S. Justice Department, along with 29 states and the District of Columbia, have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster. Here’s what’s behind the government’s decision to intervene in the ticket-selling business.

MAGA Communism

By Tess Owen
The Guardian

In the last few years, a self-styled political movement that sounds like a contradiction in terms has gained ground online. Two young men are promoting a grab-bag ideology celebrating ‘honor’ and condemning ‘global elites’ – and winning powerful friends on the right.

Soul-Crushing New iPad Ad

By Julian Sancton
The Hollywood Reporter

The dystopian spot, which depicts the relentless destruction of instruments and artworks, marks a dark turn for the company and begs the question: Will 2024 be like 1984?

Black Women Caught in the Digital Crosshairs

By Janell Hobson
Ms.

Black women are often in the crosshairs of abusive discourse driven by social media. That recent targets are often public figures suggests that social media abusers find it profitable to attack high-profile Black women who have become symbolic avatars for the group as a whole.