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Twitter, Facebook, Reddit Among Tech Firms Asking Supreme Court to Not Hear Case Against Algorithms

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Twitter, Facebook, Reddit Among Tech Firms Asking Supreme Court to Not Hear Case Against Algorithms

A variety of interested parties defended “Big Tech’s” liability in a Supreme Court case about algorithms Thursday, with some contending that restricting AI-recommended algorithms would cause several changes to the way Americans utilize the internet.

Tech companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Yelp filed briefs stating that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is “vital to the basic function of the web” according to CNN.

Section 230 has been used as a de-facto shield by social media platforms and publishing websites alike to protect itself from content users publish.

The Supreme Court is considering hearing Gonzalez v. Google in which the tech company is being sued for providing pro-ISIS videos to YouTube users through its algorithm. Google has defended itself by saying Section 230 protects it from being held liable for the videos being recommended to users. The Gonzalez family saw one of its members killed in an ISIS attack in Paris in 2015, and are arguing YouTube’s recommended videos can be held responsible for the attack due to anti-terrorism laws.

“If merely displaying third-party content in a user’s feed qualifies as ‘recommending’ it, then many services will face potential liability for virtually all the third-party content they host,” Facebook parent company Meta wrote in a filing, “because nearly all decisions about how to sort, pick, organize, and display third-party content could be construed as ‘recommending’ that content.”

Twitter argued it would take the average user 181 million years to download the data from the internet today to parse through to ensure that each publisher wasn’t responsible for content curated on its platform.

Ben Shapiro: If My Show Loses The Daily Wire Money, I Lose Money

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A now public feud between The Daily Wire and conservative commentator Steven Crowder has many in news media discussing the contract proposed by the conservative digital outlet, with Ben Shapiro — co-founder of the company — now weighing in.

Crowder publicly blasted a contract offer he received after becoming a free agent. He claimed the offer featured not only “unreasonable demands for control, but what I would argue are immoral terms that actually punish conservative content creators on behalf of big tech.”

The Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing subsequently admitted in a YouTube video that the offer came from his organization. He claimed he was “really miserable” making the video, transparently going through the entire contract offered to the former Blaze Media star.

Shapiro went on the attack Thursday, claiming nothing in Crowder’s contract offer was out of the ordinary, saying many of the same provisions are in his own contract.

“If my show loses money, and it loses The Daily Wire money, I lose money,” said Shapiro. “It would’ve been precisely the same thing. If he had lost money in the ad space, and his show had lost money, then he also would’ve lost money because that’s how a joint venture works.”

Shapiro continued to ask his audience to support Crowder’s new efforts, but did say the conservative pundit was in the wrong for so harshly sharing so many details about the contract publicly.

“There is something rather nasty about attacking people who have been friends for over a decade…on the basis of your own misinterpretation of a document that offers you $50 million over the course of 4 years,” Shapiro concluded.

Sweeny Murti Departing WFAN

BSM Staff
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WFAN New York Yankees beat reporter Sweeny Murti has announced today is his final day with the radio station.

In a tweet announcing the move, Murti said “I tried to bring the right amounts of confidence and humility on the air. I strived to hold my own with the great hosts on our station and just tried to make good radio with every appearance.”

Sweeny started as a producer at WFAN in 1993, before eventually ascending to the role of the station’s Yankees reporter in 2001. He was grateful to his colleagues and friends for his time at the New York station.

“Thanks to everyone who helped to bring me here, keep me here, and thrive here. Thanks to so many wonderful friends and colleagues who made going to work fun. And thanks to every one of you for listening and taking this ride with me. It has truly been my honor, and I hope you will join me on the next adventure.

Sweeny Murti did not disclose what his next move would entail.

‘CNN This Morning’ Executive Producer Moving to Late Night Role

BNM Staff
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Eric Hall — the Executive Producer of CNN This Morning — is departing that role to move to the network’s late-night program. A report from The New York Post called Hall’s departure from the show a “reassignment”.

Hall is moving to CNN Tonight during the 11:00 PM hour after less than three months piloting CNN’s revamped morning show. CNN This Morning launched in November after pairing Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins.

The revamped morning show was the pet project of new CNN CEO Chris Licht. After launching on November 1st, the new show has actually seen a slight decrease in viewership compared to that of its predecessor New Day — previously anchored by Alisyn Camerota and John Berman. According to Deadline — who originally reported the news of Hall’s departure — CNN This Morning has averaged roughly 400,000 viewers per day, down from the 412,000 viewers that watched the Camerota and Berman anchored morning show.

The departure of Hall comes after CNN is reportedly interested in shuffling its nighttime lineup. A report from Semafor earlier this week claimed the network is interested in adding a comedian to host a “non-traditional version of the news”. Bill Maher, Trevor Noah, Arsenio Hall, and Jon Stewart were all names floated.

Licht’s previous work history lends itself to a comedian in the nighttime slot. He previously worked as the Executive Producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

TikTok Testing Podcast Feature

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TikTok is reportedly beginning a test of a podcast feature inside its short-form video app.

A report from Business Insider claims the social media app is testing a new “podcasts” feature that will allow users to continue listening to a video’s audio even while the app is not displayed on a user’s phone screen.

The feature was brought to the forefront after a user noticed she was part of a beta test that asked if she was interested in continuing to listen to the video she was watching as a podcast. After clicking “yes”, the video continued as a thumbnail accompanied by a message that read “audio will continue playing even after switching app to background”.

TikTok has yet to comment on the newly-developed feature.

It becomes the latest social media app to attempt a run at a podcasting space. Previously, both Facebook and Twitter had created areas inside their apps for podcasts, with limited results.

Facebook closed its podcast efforts in May of last year after a long effort to integrate audio into its app. Twitter has seen more success with its Twitter Spaces area, but has continually struggled to gain a foothold with users in the podcast arena on its mobile app.

The feature from TikTok comes as the social media platform’s future in the United States remains uncertain. Several lawmakers have pushed to remove the app as questions abound about its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. Several states — as well as branches of the United States military — have placed restrictions on allowing the app on mobile devices.

National Press Club Slams Nexstar For LIV Golf Partnership

BSM Staff
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Reactions were mixed Thursday after the rumored partnership between The CW network and the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour was officially confirmed The National Press Club is very clear on where it sits on the matter.

In a statement, the National Press Club shared its displeasure with Nexstar, the nation’s largest television ownership group, and majority owner of The CW.

“We are deeply disappointed that a company that makes money from news like Nexstar would agree to participate in such a shameful PR stunt as LIV Golf, which is fundamentally designed to rehabilitate the Saudi reputation, tarnished irreparably by the state-ordered gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018,” said National Press Club President Jen Judson to CNN’s Oliver Darcy. “We are left to wonder what, if anything, Nexstar stands for. You cannot have a brand in news and act this way.

“Saudi Arabia murdered a Washington Post journalist and cut him up with a bone saw. Riyadh wants to use golf to get Americans to forget about murder. We must not let them get away with it.”

Judson continued by saying “we call on Nexstar employees — many of whom are journalists — to demand management explain why they have partnered with the murderers of a journalist. We urge Nexstar to do the right thing and cancel their bloody golf show. And if they don’t drop the program here is what we can do: don’t watch it; and write each sponsor asking them not to sponsor.”

LIV Golf is scheduled to make its American television debut next month. The network will carry LIV’s competition at the Mayakoba Resort’s El Camaleón course in Mexico from February 24th-26th. The newly-struck television deal includes live coverage on The CW on weekends, with Friday event coverage streaming exclusively on The CW app and website.

Events held in 2022 by LIV Golf aired live on its website and YouTube after failing to find a suitor for its television rights. The organization attempted to strike deals with several different entities before being turned away. LIV Golf is financed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. Critics have said the Saudi Arabian government is utilizing the fund and LIV Golf to “sportswash” its poor record on human rights.

Barstool Says Bussin With The Boys Podcast Banned From Radio Row

BSM Staff
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The long-running feud between Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell continues and it sounds like Glendale, Arizona is becoming ground zero for their companies’ latest standoff.

According to a tweet and subsequent blog post from Portnoy, Bussin With The Boys — a podcast hosted by NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton — has been barred from entering Radio Row during Super Bowl week.

In a tweet, Compton — who has previously claimed he was kept out of the league in 2022 because of his association with Barstool Sports — purported to show a message from an NFL official that claimed “We credential current players but if this person has a contract with Barstool then we won’t be able to accommodate”.

Portnoy has been removed — sometimes forcibly — from NFL events over the course of the past few seasons. Barstool Sports led a large protest at Gillette Stadium during the 2017 season opener after the “Deflategate” scandal. The company also manufactured 70,000 towels with an image of Goodell with a bright red ball nose to insinuate that he is a clown.

Goodell has previously claimed – under oath – that he is not aware of a ban of Portnoy, even though Portnoy and members of the Barstool Sports staff have been removed from league events and have even been arrested at league headquarters during a protest.

According to rankings from Chartable, Bussin With The Boys is the 4th most-listened-to football podcast in the country, trailing only Pardon My Take, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, and The Herd with Colin Cowherd. It is the ninth most popular sports podcast according to those same rankings.

Candace Owens Accuses Steven Crowder of Lying About The Daily Wire

BNM Staff
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The Daily Wire host Candace Owens is speaking out about a public contract dispute between her company and former Blaze TV host Steven Crowder. On Tuesday, Crowder published a video titled “It’s time to stop.” In it, he accused The Daily Wire of offering “immoral terms that actually punish conservative content creators on behalf of Big tech.” 

Crowder rejected the reported offer of $50 million. On Wednesday, Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing responded by saying he was disappointed he had to make a video to explain the situation. 

Owens appeared on the “TimCast” with Tim Pool Thursday. She said she has never come out to defend The Daily Wire in the three years she’s been subcontracted to work for them. 

“I tend to stay very much in my lane, I’m not employed with The Daily Wire, I’m not required to come out and defend them,” she said. “I’m usually not interested in these beefs that seem to be so fickle that they tend to linger for a day and go away. I have a good relationship with pretty much everybody.” 

Owens said she’s addressing the issue because she believes Crowder lied to the public to gain leverage to start his own network. 

“It’s shocking that people cannot see the amount of acting that is going into this,” she said. “We all understand he’s a childhood actor, at the end of the day, he’s an actor. That’s also why he’s so entertaining when it comes to politics, he’s a talented person. But that people cannot discern the amount of acting that is going on, is stunning to me.” 

Owens said Crowder crossed the line when he secretly recorded calls with The Daily Wire executives and released them on the internet. 

“I am not privy to negotiations at The Daily Wire,” she said. “I had no idea they were negotiating with Steven Crowder, not my business. I don’t know who they are hiring, I don’t own the company.” 

Owens also felt pressure to address the issue from some of her Daily Wire subscribers. She told Pool that some of the terms of her contract with the company are like some things that Crowder said he didn’t like. However, she added that the Daily Wire most likely provided Crowder with an offer sheet and that some of the terms could have been ironed out and negotiated through an attorney.  

“My interest in this is that it hit me, and it hit everybody else at the Daily Wire and it was unfair,” Owens said. 

Joe Pags: Geraldo Rivera Has Been Swayed By Radical Left 

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Journalist Geraldo Rivera has been on the front lines of some of the biggest stories of our lifetime. In the 1970s, Rivera exposed the horrible living conditions of disabled children and adults at a facility on Staten Island called Willowbrook. He’s also credited with an investigative report into the death of Elvis Presley.

In recent years, Rivera has taken a different role at Fox News. Heated exchanges with colleagues Dan Bongino and Greg Gutfeld have drawn criticism from pundits. On Wednesday, syndicated talk show host Joe Pags took exception to something Rivera said on “The Five.”

“If you were to bet on a reporter in the ’70s and ’80s, that’s the guy you bet on,” said Pags. “I don’t know what happened to him, but he went from a guy who was skeptical, questioned things, found things out, brought us information.”

Pags stated Rivera may have lost his “mojo” after he failed to find anything in Al Capone’s secret vault during a highly publicized national TV event.

“He (Rivera) has always been kind of a hot head; he’s always been kind of out there,” Pags said. “What he said about AR-15s tells you what the constant pounding of the radical left will do to somebody’s brain.”
“I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, there is no legitimate reason … to have an AR-15,” said Rivera.

Co-host Greg Gutfeld asked Rivera what AR stood for, to which Rivera replied, “automatic rifle.” According to The Firearm Industry Trade Association, the AR stands for ArmaLite, the company that developed the machine gun in the 1950s.

“Back in the day, Geraldo Rivera was the guy,” said Pags. “Something has happened to him.”

Pags reiterated his respect for Rivera’s journalistic accomplishments and shared that he interviewed Rivera when he was a TV anchor in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at WWMT.

“I told him I got into this business because of people like you,” added Pags.

Vince Coglianese: Media Has Moved On From Defending President Joe Biden

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White House Press Corps members are reportedly frustrated with the administration’s handling of an “information blackout.” The alleged stonewalling comes as reporters dig for information involving President Joe Biden keeping classified documents at two locations when he served as vice president. 

WMAL Radio host Vince Coglianese assessed the situation Wednesday. Coglianese said the mainstream media has moved from defending President Biden to being disappointed in him. 

“One of the other problems with transparency here is that it is possible to keep track of who goes in and out of the White House because the Biden administration, to its credit, has made the visitor logs public again,” he said. 

“That’s only 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We have no idea for the other 40 percent of Biden’s presidency who’s conducting business with him in Delaware.” 

A total of six pages of documents with classification markings were discovered at Biden’s Wilmington residence. Classified documents were also found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C. 

Real Clear Politics White House Reporter Phillip Wegmann joined “The Vince Coglianese Show.” Wegmann added that the Washington press pool does not have access to Biden’s private residence. He said reporters who show up at the property are kept away. 

“That raises a question which is, does the White House have any idea just how many people could have come across these documents?” At Real Clear Politics we reported very quickly that because the documents were found in the garage, Hunter Biden had access to them,” said Wegmann. 

According to The New York Post, White House Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre has referred questions to the Justice Department or the White House counsel’s office. 

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