Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Memo to Bari Weiss Re: CBS News: You’re doomed

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 1d

Who's a creator or media entrepreneur you'd love to see me interview for my newsletter and/or podcast?

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 1d

I don't know that I subscribe to the view in this piece that CBS News is a doomed institution no matter who runs it; in just the past 10 years we've seen legacy news organizations that were on the decline pull themselves out of their death spiral and return to their former glory -- the two most pro

Bari Weiss has sold her company, The Free Press, to manage the decline of broadcast news at CBS. How many ways can it go wrong?

www.theverge.com

For Substack, The Free Press’ Sale Is a Tenuous Victory

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 1d

I ultimately don't think it would be a big deal to Substack if the Free Press were to "leave" the platform. While the Free Press does generate a not-insignificant portion of Substack's revenue, that's just the nature of publishing platforms -- outlets will move on and off.

If the publisher leaves the platform, it could puncture a key thesis and take a chunk of revenue with it

www.adweek.com

Netflix Brings Video Games to Its TV Service for First Time

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 1d

Netflix's foray into video games has always seem half-hearted to me. It's clear the company isn't willing to invest the money required to build a truly blockbuster game studio, but my guess is that its gaming strategy basically boils down to making its service slightly more sticky. If even a porti

Netflix Inc. wants you to play Boggle in between binges of Stranger Things.

New Podcast From Twitch Streamers Is Making Over $58,000 a Month on Patreon

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 2d

It seems like Vox Media, perhaps more than any other large media company, has really hit its stride with partnering with outside creators, at least in the podcast space. Its value add is that it can not only handle ad sales for independent podcasters, but also leverage its massive distribution to he

The business show Lemonade Stand has an audience that is 91% male and 60% Gen Z

How a government contractor built a media empire around his niche content

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 2d

The best media businesses are the accidental media businesses. Eric Coffie launched his YouTube channel because he got tired of answering basic questions about government contracting. He had no idea how big his audience would get.

simonowens.substack.com/p/how-a-gove...

Eric Coffie built out multiple revenue streams, including online courses, events, and a paid community.

simonowens.substack.com

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 2d

In the 1990s, Kevin Costner became one of the most bankable actors, starring in hit after hit after hit, but then his career took a tumble when he became know for being difficult to work with. In the late 2010s, the show Yellowstone revived his stardom after it became the highest-rated drama on TV,

How Kevin Costner Lost Hollywood

On-set brawls. Courtroom battles. Epic bombs. Why the world's most bankable cowboy is suddenly shooting blanks.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Nvidia to Finance Musk’s xAI Chips as Part of $20 Billion Deal

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 2d

Dear Krispy Kreme employees, I know you think you're being charming when you memorize our go-to donut orders, but all you're doing is shaming us.

I want you to pretend this is the first time you've met me.

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

Well, when you put it that way...

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

I can’t tell if Nvidia is engaging in a Ponzi scheme or a pyramid scheme by investing hundreds of billions of dollars into the very companies that buy its chips.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI is raising more financing than initially planned, tapping backers including Nvidia Corp. to lift its ongoing funding round to $20 billion, according to ...

How America’s elite colleges breed high-status careers—and misery

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Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

A striking number of Ivy League graduates end up in finance or management consulting, even though many had little interest in these fields when they first arrived on campus. This happens because firms like McKinsey begin recruiting early, often targeting students as freshmen and offering lucrative

“They funneled the shit out of me.”

www.motherjones.com

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

Ukraine's ingenious use of drone warfare not only caught Russia by surprise, it also lit a fire under governments across the world, many of whom suddenly realized that their expensive defense technologies are no match for the asymmetric nimbleness of drones that can be deployed in high numbers at ve

How Canada Squandered Its Drone Lead | The Walrus

We slipped from pioneer to bystander, but the war in Ukraine is forcing a reboot

thewalrus.ca

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

Whatever your thoughts are on the Paramount acquisition of the Free Press, it does seem to be further validation of Substack's founding thesis: that there's a huge market for independent writing. When Substack was founded in 2017, it was already pretty common for independent YouTubers, podcasters, a

The home for media startups

There has never been a better time to start a media business

post.substack.com

‘I Became the Jubilee Girl’

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

YouTube has seen a proliferation of "debate" shows in recent years where the point isn't to change anyone's mind on an issue, but rather to generate viral video clips that can spur outrage and engagement. Sometimes creators will go on a show where they know they'll be painted in a bad light simply b

Inside the debate show boom, where everyone’s arguing but no one’s really winning.

www.vulture.com

Automated PR tool is bombarding UK media with AI-generated content

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

There's an easy fix to this: whenever a PR person sends me a shitty pitch that isn't remotely relevant, I create a gmail filter that blocks all of their future emails. I also do this to PR people who send relentless follow up emails.

Nieman Lab @niemanlab.org · 3d

Kill it with fire: "A feature called 'Relentless Follow-up' automatically pesters journalists who have not replied to the emails."

pressgazette.co.uk/news/automat...

'Olivia Brown' reads websites, writes press releases then 'relentlessly' sends emails.

pressgazette.co.uk

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 3d

I increasingly feel like the genie is out of the bottle when it comes to AI-generated video, and Hollywood is just going to find itself embroiled in guerilla warfare when it comes to fighting it -- similar to its efforts in the late 2000s when it tried so hard to get movie and TV clips off YouTube.

Hollywood is Already Falling Behind on AI Video

The entertainment industry wants to avoid a repeat of what happened at the dawn of the internet.

Reddit is winning the AI game.

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 4d

Reddit once penalized publishers by banning domains that posted too many of their own links. Today, the platform has flipped its approach, encouraging publishers to launch dedicated Subreddits and build communities there. With Reddit gaining prominence in Google search results and increasingly feedi

Since the site struck licensing deals with Google and OpenAI, its traffic—and its importance to legacy media outlets—has surged.

www.cjr.org

This local newsletter covering a Dallas suburb has the highest paid conversion rate on Substack

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 4d

Absolutely amazing how many fitness influencers on steroids give prescriptive advice on how people can look like them without mentioning the steroids. It’s like a baking influencer teaching you how to make a cake without ever mentioning the flour.

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Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 5d

The Coppell Chronicle has created a local news model that could probably replicated in every city and suburb across the US. It turns out audiences will pay if you give them vital information they can't get anywhere else.

simonowens.substack.com/p/this-local...

Dan Koller is often the only reporter covering government meetings in Coppell, Tx.

simonowens.substack.com

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 5d

Who's taking bets on how long it take Bari Weiss to publish an open letter explaining why she's resigning from CBS News?

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Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 7d

There is no actor in Hollywood more talented at picking dogshit movies to star in than Mark Wahlberg. The guy is like a truffle pig for terrible scripts.

The best longform journalism we consumed this week

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 7d

Want some good weekend reading? I compiled the best longform journalism I consumed this week. I guarantee you there's something on this list you'll enjoy.

thelongstory.substack.com/p/the-best-l...

Welcome to The Long Story, the weekly newsletter where we curate the best longform journalism on the internet.

thelongstory.substack.com

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 7d

Imagine if Democrats ran on defunding ICE just as fervently as Republicans ran on defunding the Education Department

AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring

Simon Owens @simonowens.bsky.social · 7d

Institutional investors have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into building AI data centers, but it can be argued that we're all subsidizing the industry by being forced to pay higher power bills. The problem is compounded by the Trump Administration’s efforts to undercut renewable energy, lea

Wholesale electricity costs as much as 267% more than it did five years ago in areas near data centers. That’s being passed on to customers.