Hacker News with Generative AI: Media

Public Relations Spending by Police (2023) (equalityalec.substack.com)
I have been wanting to write for a while about the shadowy world of police “public relations” budgets. It is not widely understood how much of what is presented as "news" is carefully curated propaganda that taxpayers fund.
Public Relations, Police, Media, Transparency
7 points by nativeit 1 day ago | 0 comments
The FCC Must Reject Efforts to Lock Up Public Airwaves (eff.org)
President Trump’s attack on public broadcasting has attracted plenty of deserved attention, but there’s a far more technical, far more insidious policy change in the offing—one that will take away Americans’ right to unencumbered access to our publicly owned airwaves.
Politics, Public Policy, Telecommunications, Media
11 points by hn_acker 1 day ago | 0 comments
The Rise and Fall of the Visual Telegraph (2017) (parisianfields.com)
Sometimes we go looking for blog ideas, and sometimes they come along and tap us persistently on the shoulder. This one did – three times.
History, Technology, Media
37 points by geox 2 days ago | 8 comments
Are We Living in a Time of Cultural Collapse? (honest-broker.com)
Many articles have been written about me over the years. But I’ve never been hit with an opening sentence like the one published on Monday by The Atlantic.
Culture, Society, Media, Opinion
7 points by pseudolus 3 days ago | 0 comments
Predictions from the METR AI scaling graph are based on a flawed premise (garymarcus.substack.com)
Seen this? It (and the update to it) have been all the rage lately, among “AI forecasters”, on social media, and it has even made it into mainstream media like the Financial Times.
Artificial Intelligence, Science, Social Media, Media
50 points by nsoonhui 7 days ago | 25 comments
Why do econ journalists keep making this basic mistake? (noahpinion.blog)
Economics journalists, like any writers, aren’t perfect. Perhaps in a previous age, people thought that everything they read in the news was exactly true; perhaps some still do. But reporting is a human activity, and humans make mistakes. In order to get the true story, you have to read multiple sources, and be skeptical of what you read — and even then, mistakes will slip through.
Journalism, Economics, Media
34 points by paulpauper 7 days ago | 11 comments
“An independent journalist” who won't remain nameless (thehandbasket.co)
For the past 3+ months I’ve tried to keep my head down and do the work. I often remind myself that my problems are wholly insignificant compared to those of the people I speak to and write about, and complaining is a bad look. But even the most hard-nosed journalist has her breaking point, and last night I found mine.
Journalism, Ethics, Privacy, Media
259 points by mooreds 7 days ago | 104 comments
How LWN is faring in 2025 (lwn.net)
Just over six months ago, The Economist described the US economy as "the envy of the world".
Technology, Media, News
133 points by leephillips 7 days ago | 23 comments
The secret recipe of powerful AI coding Agents (medium.com)
The latest Black Mirror season is on brand — dystopian, twisted, and sometimes downright harsh in its commentary about the intersection of the human condition with technology. Throw in a good measure of dark humor sprinkled around moments when you least expect and you have a binge-worthy mind-bender on your hands.
Artificial Intelligence, Coding, Technology, Dystopia, Media
13 points by ghuntley 8 days ago | 0 comments
Trump says he's ending federal funding for NPR and PBS (freepress.net)
WASHINGTON — Late Thursday night, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to end federal support of NPR and PBS “to the maximum extent allowed by law.” 
Politics, Media, Government Funding
10 points by thm 8 days ago | 2 comments
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Statement Regarding Executive Order (cpb.org)
WASHINGTON, D.C, (May 2, 2025) — Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), issued the following statement today regarding the President’s Executive Order on public media:
Public Broadcasting, Government, Media, Policy
392 points by coloneltcb 8 days ago | 557 comments
Executive order directs federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR (apnews.com)
Drones strike ship carrying aid to Gaza, organizers say
Politics, Government, Media, Funding
34 points by geox 9 days ago | 5 comments
Gaming news site Polygon gutted by layoffs amid sale to Valnet (arstechnica.com)
Vox Media has sold video game specialist website Polygon to Internet brand aggregator Valnet, the publisher of content-churning sites including Game Rant, OpenCritic, Android Police, and Comic Book Resources.
Gaming, Layoffs, Media, Acquisitions
10 points by pseudolus 9 days ago | 2 comments
Polygon Sold to Valnet and Hit with Mass Layoffs (kotaku.com)
The video game website Polygon has been sold to click-farm powerhouse Valnet and much of its masthead has been laid off, Kotaku has learned.
Video Games, Media, Business, Acquisitions, Layoffs
16 points by jmsflknr 9 days ago | 2 comments
CBS Folds in Response to Baseless Trump Threats (techdirt.com)
Politics, Media, Lawsuits
17 points by DanAtC 10 days ago | 0 comments
Brendan Carr's FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine (theverge.com)
Protecting broadband access is out — fighting diversity and the free press are in.
FCC, Regulation, Free Speech, Media
8 points by leotravis10 10 days ago | 1 comments
Henry Blodget Invents, Sexually Harasses, Blogs About Nonexistent AI Subordinate (defector.com)
Former Business Insider CEO and co-founder Henry Blodget, these days the sole proprietor and staffer of the blog/media company Regenerator, published a curious blog on his website on Monday.
Business, Media, AI, Controversy
11 points by wk_end 12 days ago | 0 comments
Bill Owens, executive producer of 60 Minutes, resigns (cbsnews.com)
In tonight’s Last Minute, a note on Bill Owens who, until this past week, was executive producer of 60 Minutes.
Media, Journalism, News, Television
10 points by colinprince 12 days ago | 2 comments
Reality Check (wheresyoured.at)
I'm sick and god-damn tired of this! I have written tens of thousands of words about this and still, to this day, people are babbling about the "AI revolution" as the sky rains blood and crevices open in the Earth, dragging houses and cars and domesticated animals into their maws. Things are astronomically fucked outside, yet the tech media continues to tell me to get my swimming trunks and take a nice long dip in the pool.
Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Society, Media
129 points by elorant 12 days ago | 106 comments
A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul (nytimes.com)
The Times unraveled a financial network that stretches from Chicago to Shanghai and uses American nonprofits to push Chinese talking points worldwide.
Propaganda, China, United States, Media, Nonprofits
15 points by libpcap 14 days ago | 2 comments
SCOTUSblog has been acquired by The Dispatch (scotusblog.com)
As one era ends, an exciting new one begins.
News, Law, Media, Acquisition
13 points by everybodyknows 14 days ago | 2 comments
An AI-generated radio host in Australia went unnoticed for months (theverge.com)
For months, a popular Australian radio station has used an AI-generated DJ to host one of its segments — and no one seemed to notice, as reported by the Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Artificial Intelligence, Radio, Australia, Media
18 points by thm 14 days ago | 7 comments
BBC licence fee 'unenforceable', says culture secretary (bbc.co.uk)
The culture secretary has said the BBC's licence fee is "unenforceable" and insisted "no options are off the table" when the government begins a review into the corporation's current funding model later this year.
BBC, Government, Funding, Media
24 points by ndsipa_pomu 15 days ago | 11 comments
"You Wouldn't Steal a Car" But Would You Pirate a Font? (torrentfreak.com)
Twenty years ago, the statement "You Wouldn't Steal a Car" launched one of the most iconic anti-piracy campaigns. Through a memorable commercial, the movie industry forcefully equated digital piracy with physical theft. While the PSA became instantly recognizable, spawning countless parodies, it also attracted its own controversy. New revelations suggest that the campaign's distinctive font may have itself been copied, or dare we say 'stolen'.
Copyright, Piracy, Media, Fonts, Advertising
8 points by gaws 15 days ago | 3 comments
Judge blocks Trump administration plans to dismantle Voice of America (npr.org)
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from dismantling Voice of America, the government funded broadcaster, at least temporarily.
Politics, Journalism, Law, Government, Media
11 points by austinallegro 17 days ago | 0 comments
Jury Rules Against Palin in Libel Case Against the New York Times (nytimes.com)
A federal jury on Tuesday ruled against Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and Republican vice-presidential nominee, in her yearslong defamation lawsuit against The New York Times.
Law, Politics, Media
23 points by jaredwiener 18 days ago | 4 comments
Washington Post Inks OpenAI Licensing Deal for Search (variety.com)
The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has gone into business with artificial-intelligence powerhouse OpenAI.
AI, Technology, Media, Business
4 points by ulrischa 18 days ago | 0 comments
Eight of the top online shows are spreading climate misinformation (yaleclimateconnections.org)
Gone are the days when “Global warming isn’t real” was the primary claim of those most vocally opposed to climate action. As more people experience the firsthand effects of climate-change-juiced-up heat waves, hurricanes, wildfires, and crop failures, a new kind of climate denial has emerged.
Climate Change, Misinformation, Media, Online Content, Science
12 points by debo_ 18 days ago | 1 comments
With 'AI slop' distorting our reality, the world is sleepwalking into disaster (theguardian.com)
There are two parallel image channels that dominate our daily visual consumption. In one, there are real pictures and footage of the world as it is: politics, sport, news and entertainment. In the other is AI slop, low-quality content with minimal human input.
Artificial Intelligence, Reality, Media, Journalism
7 points by Vox_Leone 19 days ago | 2 comments
Trump-allied prosecutor sends letters to medical journals alleging bias (nytimes.com)
A federal prosecutor has sent letters to at least three medical journals accusing them of political bias and asking a series of probing questions suggesting that the journals mislead readers, suppress opposing viewpoints and are inappropriately swayed by their funders.
Politics, Media, Healthcare, Journalism
21 points by anigbrowl 21 days ago | 1 comments