NEW YORK: Global news publisher Axel Springer is partnering with OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT chatbot, in a first-of-its-kind deal that will deliver summaries of Axel Springer content in response to ChatGPT queries, the companies announced on Wednesday.
As part of the deal, when users ask ChatGPT a question, the chatbot will deliver summaries of relevant news stories from Axel Springer brands including Politico, Business Insider, Bild and Welt. Those summaries will include material from stories that would otherwise require subscriptions to read. The summaries will cite the Axel Springer publication as the source, and also provide a link to the full article it summarizes.
The summaries will be available on ChatGPT as soon as the article has been published, so that breaking news is part of the user experience, according to Tom Rubin, OpenAI’s head of intellectual property and content. The Axel Springer content will begin appearing in the first quarter of 2024, Rubin said.
The content will get a “favorable position” in ChatGPT search results, with the goal of helping to drive traffic and subscription revenue to Axel Springer brands, according to a source familiar with the deal.
OpenAI will also pay for the Axel Springer content it uses to train the large language models that power ChatGPT. That content includes archived material, Rubin said.
The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal, which is for multiple years and is not exclusive, according to Rubin.
“We want to explore the opportunities of AI empowered journalism – to bring quality, societal relevance and the business model of journalism to the next level,” said Axel Springer Chief Executive Mathias Doepfner in a statement.
The deal comes as publishers contemplate suing technology companies for violating their copyrights by using, without permission, their content to train large language models. In addition to striking deals with AI companies, they are threatening litigation over the possibility of copyright infringement and demanding to be compensated for the content used to train AI models.
AI companies, for their part, benefit from training their models on accurate, recent information, making news content a desirable source of training data. AI systems such as ChatGPT have dazzled consumers and businesses with their ability to plan vacations, summarize legal documents and write computer code.
The Axel Springer deal is the second between OpenAI and a major news publisher. In July OpenAI struck a deal with the Associated Press, in which the AP is licensing part of its archive of news stories to the Microsoft-backed tech company. The AP will gain access to OpenAI’s technology and product expertise as part of the deal, for which financial details were not disclosed. The AP deal “wasn’t about display of content,” said Rubin.
Other deals may soon follow. In November, News Corp. chief executive Robert Thomson said the company was in “advanced discussions” to strike deals on the use of its content for generative AI.
News publishers have been slow to adopt generative AI technology over concerns about its tendency to generate factually incorrect information, as well as challenges in differentiating between content produced by humans and computer programs.
Europe on Friday reached a provisional deal on landmark European Union rules governing the use of AI. The accord includes new transparency obligations for foundation models like those powering ChatGPT, including revealing what material they use to train their models. Those obligations could expose technology companies to more potential lawsuits or push them to strike deals.
Global news publisher Axel Springer partners with OpenAI in landmark deal
https://arab.news/863y8
Global news publisher Axel Springer partners with OpenAI in landmark deal
- OpenAI will pay to use Axel Springer’s content
- OpenAI’s ChatGPT will provide summaries of news stories citing Axel Springer brands as the source
Google has launched new film and TV production wing, Business Insider reports
- Move could help it capitalize on an industry reeling from rising production costs and potential US tariffs
- Google is looking to boost the visibility and adoption of its newer offerings including AI and spatial computing tools
The initiative, called “100 Zeros,” is a multi-year partnership with Range Media Partners, a talent firm and production company known for its work on films including “A Complete Unknown” and “Longlegs,” according to the report on Monday.
Alphabet-owned Google is looking to boost the visibility and adoption of its newer offerings including AI and spatial computing tools that blend the physical and virtual worlds through the initiative, which backed the marketing of indie horror film “Cuckoo” last year, the report said.
100 Zeros is among the producers for “Cuckoo,” according to entertainment-focused social platform Letterboxd.
Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The reported move comes as Hollywood grapples with higher costs after twin strikes in 2023 by actors and writers, as well as the threat of US tariffs on foreign-made films.
Google already has a partnership with Range Media — it announced last month the companies would work together over the next 18 months to commission films about AI. The first two films from the venture — called “Sweetwater” and “LUCID” — are set to release later this year.
Using Hollywood’s cultural clout could also help the tech giant in the AI race as it rushes to drive up adoption of its services such as Gemini, which competes with the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The company, however, is not looking at YouTube as a primary distribution platform for 100 Zeros’ work, Business Insider reported, adding the goal instead was to sell projects to traditional studios and streamers such as Netflix.
YouTube had ventured into original programming in 2016 with the launch of “YouTube Originals.” The project was shuttered in 2022 as it pivoted back to its core focus on user-generated videos and ramped up its TikTok-style short-form offering, Shorts.
New York Times wins 4 Pulitzers, New Yorker 3; Washington Post wins for coverage of Trump shooting
- The Pulitzers honored the best in journalism from 2024 in 15 categories, along with eight arts categories including books, music and theater
NEW YORK: The New York Times won four Pulitzer Prizes and the New Yorker three on Monday for journalism in 2024 that touched on topics like the fentanyl crisis, the US military and last summer’s assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.
The Pulitzers’ prestigious public service medal went to ProPublica for the second straight year. Kavitha Surana, Lizzie Presser, Cassandra Jaramillo and Stacy Kranitz were honored for reporting on pregnant women who died after doctors delayed urgent care in states with strict abortion laws.
The Washington Post won for “urgent and illuminating” breaking news coverage of the Trump assassination attempt. The Pultizers honored Ann Telnaes, who quit the Post in January after the news outlet refused to run her editorial cartoon lampooning tech chiefs — including Post owner Jeff Bezos — cozying up to Trump.
The Pulitzers honored the best in journalism from 2024 in 15 categories, along with eight arts categories including books, music and theater. The public service winner receives a gold medal. All other winners receive $15,000.
The Times’ Azam Ahmed and Christina Goldbaum and contributing writer Matthieu Aikins won an explanatory reporting prize for examining US policy failures in Afghanistan. The newspaper’s Doug Mills won in breaking news photography for his images of the assassination attempt. Declan Walsh and the Times’ staff won for an investigation into the Sudan conflict. Alissa Zhu, Nick Thieme and Jessica Gallagher won in local reporting, an award shared by the Times and The Baltimore Banner, for reporting on that city’s fentanyl crisis.
The New Yorker’s Mosab Abu Toha won for his commentaries on Gaza. The magazine also won for its “In the Dark” podcast about the killing of Iraqi civilians by the US military and in feature photography for Moises Saman’s pictures of the Sednaya prison in Syria.
BBC to investigate Arabic service over allegations of antisemitism
- The Telegraph reported last week that freelance contributors had made antisemitic comments or expressed support for Hamas
LONDON: The BBC is preparing to launch an independent investigation into its Arabic-language service following allegations that it has featured contributors accused of antisemitic remarks and support for Hamas.
BBC Chairman Dr. Samir Shah confirmed over the weekend that the corporation would appoint an external figure to lead a review into the broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict and examine the issues raised by a recent report in The Telegraph.
“The Arabic service, we are looking at it, we’ve been examining it,” Shah told Times Radio. “I think this whole business of how we’ve covered Israel-Gaza is a proper thing to examine thoroughly, which is why we’re going to identify … we’re going to get hold of an independent figure to look at our coverage.”
According to BBC sources cited by UK media, the review will be “independent and published in full” and presented to the BBC board as part of a broader evaluation of its Middle East reporting.
Shah, who became chairman of the BBC in March 2024, said the corporation must remain vigilant regarding bias but maintained that the BBC continues to be a trusted source for impartial news.
The announcement follows a report by The Telegraph that some contributors to BBC Arabic had made antisemitic comments or expressed support for Hamas, a group proscribed as a terrorist organization by the UK, US, EU, and others, including Saudi Arabia.
One contributor, Gaza-based journalist Samer Elzaenen, reportedly posted in 2011 that Jews should be burned “as Hitler did.” Another, Ahmed Qannan, allegedly praised a 2022 shooter who killed five people in Israel and expressed hope that victims of a 2023 synagogue shooting would die.
The BBC has said that neither contributor is a member of staff but did not deny their appearances on air. Both are understood to be freelance contributors.
The broadcaster is also facing criticism over a recent documentary on the war in Gaza, after it was revealed that the narrator was the son of a Hamas government minister — information that was not disclosed in the film. The BBC said it was unaware of the familial connection at the time of production.
The documentary has since been removed from its on-demand platform pending a separate review.
The incident has reignited debate over the BBC’s editorial stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict, with critics on both sides accusing it of bias. Hundreds of media figures have defended the film, arguing that a narrator’s family connections should not disqualify them from participating or undermine their testimony and criticizing the BBC for pulling an “essential piece of journalism” that offers “a rare perspective on the lived experiences of Palestinians.”
The BBC, which has been marred by controversy since conflict broke out between Hamas and Israel in October 2023, has also faced political pressure over its decision not to label Hamas a terrorist organization in its reporting.
Defending the approach, Shah told Times Radio the BBC board had agreed to use the term only when it is attributed to a source, consistent with the broadcaster’s editorial guidelines.
State of the Saudi media sector and investment opportunities it offers
RIYADH: The General Authority for Media Regulation has released a report, “The State of the Saudi Media Sector and Investment Opportunities for 2024,” which provides an overview of the media landscape in the Kingdom and highlights the significant transformations the sector is undergoing to keep pace with Saudi Vision 2030.
The report reflects promising investment opportunities, in addition to the technical and regulatory shifts that support the growth and sustainability of the sector. It also illustrates the magnitude of the boom in the Saudi media sector, which has achieved remarkable development driven by digital transformation and technological advance, improving the efficiency of media content and enhancing its global competitiveness.
The media authority’s estimates in the report indicate that the contribution of the media sector to the direct and indirect gross domestic product increased to 0.57 per cent in 2024, amounting to SAR16 billion ($4.26 billion), compared with 0.52 per cent in 2023.
The authority continues to work towards achieving its ambitious goals of raising this percentage to 0.8 percent by 2030. In terms of investment in human capital, job growth reached 67,000 jobs, with a rate of 22 percent by the end of 2024, with the aim of reaching 160,000 jobs by 2030.
The report also identified six key transformations in the media industry in the Kingdom, including the increasing demand for local content, developing media infrastructure, adopting modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and augmented reality, improving the regulatory environment, supporting national talents and competencies, and expanding investment opportunities.
The report confirms that the Kingdom has become a prominent destination for media investment, providing a flexible regulatory environment and mega-projects aimed at enhancing the media industry.
It also addressed the opportunities available to investors in content production, the development of electronic games, investment in media infrastructure, and international partnerships in the Saudi media market. In addition, the continued innovation and adoption of modern technologies to enhance the competitiveness of Saudi media globally is a crucial factor because the sector has elements that make it one of the main drivers of economic and cultural development in the Kingdom.
The report details the opportunities and challenges in the sector and covers the five media divisions supervised by the General Authority for Media Regulation: publishing; audio; visual; advertising; and games sectors.
The authority, through the report, hopes to improve understanding of the local media landscape and provide clear and accurate data to media entities and local and international investors, to highlight the promising opportunities in the sector.
The report is a comprehensive reference for the state of media in the Kingdom and is provides a guide for local and international investors and researchers in the sector. The authority urges interested partis to view the report on its website at https://gmedia.gov.sa/ar/media-status-report
Algerian TV channel suspended for racism against African migrants
- Since the start of April, Algeria has expelled some 5,000 Africans to neighbouring Niger, according to state television. About half were from Niger
ALGIERS: Algerian authorities on Friday suspended broadcasts by a television news channel for 10 days after it used a racist word on social media to describe African migrants.
Echorouk News TV used the derogatory word in a Facebook post after police raids in which migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were detained.
The ANIRA broadcasting authority called the publication "extremely serious".
The report contained "a racist and discriminatory term, an attack on human dignity, conveying hate speech against a category of people because of their race," said ANIRA which demanded that the channel's management make an official apology.
Tens of thousands of undocumented African migrants have used Algeria as a staging post to attempt to get to Europe. Many have sought jobs in the North African country.
Since the start of April, Algeria has expelled some 5,000 Africans to neighbouring Niger, according to state television. About half were from Niger.
