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Ted Merz Joins The Show
(A big legal win for publishers, Altman and Musk's public feud and Morning Brew enters a new era)
Table of Contents
This Week’s Episode (Ted Merz)
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Episode Highlights
We kind of took out the middleman that was the media and we have people going direct to platform
And it is a big deal, because it was one of the first that went against the AI companies.
I think in a way the legacy media realized that there were skillsets, and things they couldn’t do, in order to create brands that resonate with younger audiences
The Host Weighs In
I met Ted for the first time in November. We had a wonderful lunch and since the show kicked off, I knew Ted was a must get guest.
Also, a shoutout to Ted’s son Hayden!
Now to the show. The ongoing feud between Sam Altman and Elon Musk clearly has massive implications for the future of AI and Tech.
But, what about the media world?
For Ted, it represents a historic moment, with Altman and Musk bypassing traditional media to instead "negotiate" directly through social media, in this case, X.
While Musk is not new to airing out corporate grievances online, more and more founders and executives are realizing the power that social and alternative media platforms can bring them.
For Musk, X represents a village square in which he controls the narrative. In doing so, he puts Altman in a tough PR situation, as Altman now must convince the public that he is not actually at OpenAI for money, as he says, even with OpenAI poised to switch from a non-profit to for-profit organization.
Furthermore, we’ve frequently discussed AI’s impact on the media world, especially with an increasing number of media and AI companies agreeing to content partnerships with each other. Media companies, many of whom face financial challenges, not only view these AI content partnerships as an easy revenue driver but as a critical instrument in their fight to protect their content from infringement.
For publishers, Thomson Reuters historic AI copyright court victory provides much needed legal precedent, solidifying media’s “fair use” argument in the age of AI.
Therefore, it’s not surprising that yesterday, several major media organizations, including Politico, Business Insider and Condé Nast, announced a copyright infringement lawsuit against AI company, Cohere, accusing the company of stealing their content. It’s clear that media companies view Thomson Reuters’ legal victory as a green light.
Finally, Austin Rief stepping down as CEO of Morning Brew represents a watershed moment for both the Morning Brew and the business media world. The Morning Brew has ushered in a new era of business media, by tapping into the informal and funny rhetoric that appeals to younger generations.
Axel Springer becoming the sole owner of Morning Brew is not huge news considering they already held a majority stake. But, it does provide a north star for other up and coming brands in the business media space.
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