DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The digital media rollup dream is dead for the moment — now it's all about core brand strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

What's happening in the digital media space echoes trends from the biggest media companies, including Netflix , Disney and Warner Bros. The rollup dream's rise and fallFrom late 2018 to early 2022, the digital media industry had a shared goal. First, digital media companies needed more scale to compete with Facebook and Google for digital advertising dollars. Large legacy media companies such as Disney and Comcast 's NBCUniversal invested hundreds of millions in digital media in the early and mid-2010s. "The digital media rollup has proven successful only when assets are thoughtfully combined with an eye toward consumers," Goldberg said.

☆ A cryptic message that's been on Blockbuster's website for months has people wondering if it'll make a comeback
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

People recently noticed a message on Blockbuster's website: "We are working on rewinding your movie." The message sparked speculation of a possible comeback and nostalgia for the defunct rental stores. People recently noticed that a message greets you when you visit Blockbuster's website. Before that, the website showed a message from its current owner, Dish Network, directing people to Dish's on-demand service. So far, Dish hasn't commented on whether the message on the website means anything, and the company did not respond to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

☆ Morrison: All social media apps are set up to collect as much of our data as possible, and TikTok is no different
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMorrison: All social media apps are set up to collect as much of our data as possible, and TikTok is no differentSara Morrison, senior reporter at Vox, discusses whether TikTok's CEO will be able to sway opinion in Congress, and what a potential U.S. ban of the popular app would look like and be enforced.

☆ Spain's top court upholds euthanasia law in blow for far-right party
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, March 22 (Reuters) - Spain's Constitutional Court has dismissed a challenge by far-right party Vox against a euthanasia law approved in 2021, dealing a second blow to Vox on Wednesday as its no-confidence motion against the government failed in parliament. Spain is the fourth country in the European Union to have such a law. Both Vox and the conservative People's Party (PP) had voted against the bill. Euthanasia is strongly opposed by the Catholic Church, whose doctrine views life as a divine gift that should not be prematurely shortened. Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Inside the demise of Vice, from turning away a $3.5 billion Disney offer to a 'painful' downward spiral that has the media giant scrambling for a buyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

The talks fizzled, Disney backed off, and Smith set off for California to drum up other interest in Vice Media. Vice Media Group co-CEOs Bruce Dixon, left, and Hozefa Lokhandwala. Vice Media GroupOne former Vice insider familiar with the current situation told Insider that staffers were warning vendors they needed to threaten to stop work in order to get paid. Just a few months later, Rupert Murdoch tweeted, "Who's heard of Vice Media? Refinery29 quickly lost key staff and was not well integrated into Vice Media, the two former staffers said.

☆ Shoppers say secondhand stores like Goodwill are getting too expensive as Gen Z makes thrifting cool
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Mary Hanbury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TikTokers are complaining about high prices in secondhand stores like Goodwill and Salvation Army. The US thrift market has grown substantially in recent years and thrifting has become a popular pursuit of Gen Z shoppers, who have been credited with championing a more sustainable way to shop. But Gen Z shoppers aren't only buying secondhand items for themselves. That is a dubious delineation when it comes to major secondhand clothing corporations," Jennifer Le Zotte, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington told Vox. 23-year-old Stefani Colvin, who has been thrifting since 2016, told Insider that prices have been gradually on the rise in thrift stores.

☆ Obama wants companies to strip degree requirements from more six-figure jobs to address the labor shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Ethan Dodd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Former President Barack Obama said more states should drop degree requirements for government jobs. It's an example of "a smart policy that gets rid of unnecessary college degree requirements and reduces barriers to good paying jobs," Obama said on Twitter. In recent years, states have eliminated four-year degree requirements to shore up their understaffed governments, and Republican governors have led the way. Arizona and Oregon have temporarily loosened degree requirements to address a teacher shortage. Georgia and Alaska are considering dropping degree requirements to fill government vacancies as well.

☆ Tesla owners sue the carmaker, claiming they've faced long waits and high prices at service centers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tesla owners are suing, claiming they've faced long wait times and high prices at service centers. The carmaker has faced criticism over its service centers in the past. The electric-car maker has faced criticism over its service centers in the past. To date, Tesla has less than 200 service centers in the US. For comparison, GM or Ford owners can choose from thousands of independent repair and maintenance shops.

☆ Customers Are Being Asked to Tip Everywhere. They're Sick of It.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Many have taken a stand against the pressure to tip everywhere, saying the US has a "tipping culture." But the shift in American tipping culture has come with some consumer backlash. Even as consumers expect to be solicited for a tip when they're out and about, some on social media are working to draw a new line, spurring regular debates. Dubbed "tipping culture" by many on social media, the feeling that gratuities have become compulsory has also spread beyond North America and into other countries like Australia. Still, many on the side of service workers argue that tipping is necessary for many workers to be able to stay afloat and pay their rent.

☆ Career coach shares 3 ways she stops her anxiety at work—even when she's convinced 'they must be about to fire me'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Phoebe Gavin, 37, is no stranger to anxiety at work. "And now I'm so anxious about what my next interaction is going to be with them in my on one-on-one on Thursday. Gavin is a full-time leadership and career coach but in the past has worked for companies like Vox and Quartz. Despite having struggled with anxiety her whole life, Gavin was only diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder at 23. Other apps targeting anxiety include the Calm app and Unwinding Anxiety.

☆ To survive nuclear apocalypse, you may have to eat nothing but mushrooms, rats, and insects
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Survivors could farm mushrooms on dead trees, or eat rats and insects. In order to survive, he says, people would need to adopt sunlight-free agriculture — cultivating mushrooms, rats, and insects. Vincent Kessler/ReutersWhile we're using the wood to grow mushrooms, we could use the dead trees' leaves, too, he said. Dead trees can feed other life forms, like rats and insectsRats, much like mushrooms, can digest cellulose, the sugar that makes up 50% of wood. So anything the mushrooms leave behind could be fed to the rats, Walsh suggests.

☆ NPR to cut 10% of its staff in ‘a major loss’ for the public radio network, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jon Passantino | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —National Public Radio will lay off 10% of its staff after projecting a $30 million budget shortfall, NPR’s chief executive John Lansing wrote in a memo to staff Wednesday. In his memo, Lansing said the network was grappling with a “sharp decline” in revenues from its corporate sponsors as a result of the uncertain economy. “With approximately 65% of our budget supporting personnel costs, we will need to eliminate many of the vacant positions that have been frozen. In recent months, the media and technology sectors have taken a battering as advertisers tighten spending amid economic uncertainty. CNN, NBC News, MSNBC, Vox Media, Gannett and other news organizations have cut their workforces in recent months.

☆ Amazon's internal Slack channel blows up after employees are told to return to office. Now they're creating a petition to fight back.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Within hours of Friday's announcement, over 5,000 Amazon employees joined the new Slack channel, called "Remote Advocacy," according to screenshots seen by Insider. The channel was created "to advocate for remote work at Amazon" and seeks "data, anecdotes, articles about the benefits of remote work," it said. 'Absolute chaos'Several Amazon employees in the Slack channel expressed frustration, confusion, and anger. An impromptu survey within the Slack channel showed almost 80% of respondents saying they'll look for another job because of this change. In the Slack channel, employees are putting together a petition to push back against the return-to-office mandate.

☆ TikTok's 'lucky girls' say they manifest success by simply believing things always work out for them — because, why not?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The "lucky girl" technique has been criticized as pseudoscience, wishful thinking, and little more than pop psychology. "If you want to be that lucky girl, you've got to step into her and embody her." She sees being a lucky girl as a "way to have control and hope," she said. "When you believe you're lucky, you follow the cues that come to you, and trust that the universe will do its part." Natasha BadgerFor Badger, "lucky-girl syndrome" is akin to a spiritual practice.

☆ YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki is stepping down, the company shared in a blog post Thursday. Chief product officer Neal Mohan will be the new head of YouTube. Wojcicki became CEO in 2014 after moving over from Google. Wojcicki became CEO in 2014, coming from Google, YouTube's parent company. Under her leadership, YouTube launched products like YouTube Gaming, YouTube Music, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV.

☆ Traditional automakers have one huge leg up on EV startups: A nationwide network of shops ready to service cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But today's EV startups don't operate that way. When in need of service, car buyers typically utilize the massive dealership network automakers like Ford, GM, Toyota and others have, or choose to take their vehicle elsewhere. Unlike Tesla, today's EV startups can't afford to tick their owners off with waits or make prospective buyers worry about repairs and service. The right-to-repair movement is also going to be significant for EV startups moving forward. "It comes down to how confident a given consumer feels when going with an electric vehicle from a new EV brand versus a traditional car from a traditional car company," Brauer said.

☆ There will be an 'unprecedented spike' in maternal mortality if a Trump-appointed judge bans the abortion pill, Democratic attorneys general argue
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Banning mifepristone will result in more women dying in pregnancy, Democratic attorneys general argued this month. The argument comes as a judge in Texas is considering a ban on the abortion pill. Republican attorneys general who have weighed in on the case also maintain that its approval infringed on state rights. In her brief, James noted that carrying a pregnancy to term poses significantly greater health risks than an early abortion. As Slate's Christina Cautertucci notes, mifepristone is only one of the two drugs used in a typical medication abortion.

☆ Here's what we know about Hamilton 68, the Russian online influence tracker called into question by the 'Twitter Files'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Michelle Mark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A recent "Twitter Files" drop revealed deep concerns among Twitter executives about a database that claimed to track Russian propaganda in "near real time." The now defunct database, Hamilton 68, was widely cited by media outlets, including Insider, before it was shut down in 2018. He wrote that based on his analysis, Hamilton 68 "falsely accuses a bunch of legitimate, right-leaning accounts of being Russian bots." Berger and ASD did not respond to a request to provide Insider with the list of accounts Hamilton 68 tracked. Roth also claimed, after reverse-engineering the list of accounts that Hamilton 68 tracked, that they were "neither strongly Russian nor strongly bots."

☆ Spain's Constitutional Court rules in favour of 13-year-old abortion law
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Feb 9(Reuters) - Spain's Constitutional Court on Thursday upheld a 13-year-old law that allows women to abort on demand within the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, after the divisive issue resurfaced following a regional far-right party's effort to limit abortion access. "The Abortion Law is constitutional," Equality Minister Irene Montero said on Twitter, adding that "never again will 13 years go by in which a single women's right is questioned". Since the abortion law was passed, there was a failed attempt to restrict rights in 2014 by the conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The proposal caused a big turmoil, with the central government threatening to step in if the region restricted women's rights. Women's rights are back under the international spotlight after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to terminate pregnancies in 2022.

☆ The claim by a discredited journalist that the US secretly blew up the Nord Stream pipeline is proving a gift to Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Once-celebrated journalist Seymour Hersh made unproven claims the US blew up the Nord Stream pipelines. In Russia, Hersh's story was immediately greeted with a sense of vindication. Biden had said he opposed opening the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and saying the US could "bring an end to" it if Russia invaded Ukraine. The invasion did take place, and officials in Germany — where the pipeline was due to pump its gas — axed the project before Nord Stream 2 moved any gas. Nord Stream 1 kept pumping until the explosion.

☆ Google is facing its first real competition in search
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This is the first time search engines are in legitimate competition — with all thanks to ChatGPT for the plot twist. Now, the chatbot is integrated in Bing and gives the search engine its first fighting chance against Google. Microsoft for now has a "first-mover" advantage, meaning its first-ever AI search engine can attract a large share of users. More on the first-ever search engine race here. Tech workers with skills in Web3, AI, and cybersecurity remain in high demand.

One of the really interesting questions here – this will be fascinating – the core of linear TV is sports rights. When you look at the size and scope of the linear TV business, it's huge. Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty ImagesByron Allen, Entertainment Studios founder and CEO: I think linear TV will exist for a very, very long time. Simmons: I believe Apple, out of nowhere, will start making their own awesome televisions that have Apple TV embedded in them. We are witnessing early stages of this dynamic with deals like "NFL Sunday Ticket" on YouTube and the MLS deal with Apple TV.

☆ These 6 CEOs are taking pay cuts to prevent more layoffs and fight tough times as industrywide reductions persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Apple CEO Tim CookCook at Code in 2022. Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Vox MediaApple CEO Tim Cook is taking a 40% pay cut in 2023, bringing his annual target salary to $49 million for the year, per documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in January. The executive requested the pay reduction himself, coming on the heels of recent controversy surrounding his hefty salary. In 2022, Apple investors were urged to vote against Cook's nearly $100 million pay package by a shareholder advisory firm. The SEC filing references "concern" over Cook's total annual compensation in 2021 and 2022, noting the 2023 reduction comes amid "balancing shareholder feedback, a desire to continue to create meaningful performance and retention incentives, and Mr. Cook's support for changes."

☆ Bill Gates said he'd rather fund vaccines to 'save lives' than go to Mars, but he thinks someday Elon Musk will be a 'great philanthropist'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bill Gates told the BBC he does not think traveling to Mars is a good use of money. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonprofit founded by Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French-Gates, has put billions of dollars towards researching, developing, and delivering vaccines to the world's poorest countries. Last year, Musk made a $5.7 billion charitable donation in Tesla shares to the Musk Foundation, which he launched with his brother, Kimball Musk, in 2002. Gates and Musk have publicly disagreed in the past, including on COVID-19, how to address climate change, and space travel. Musk and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Are the 'Avatar' movies animated? Here's why the Oscars don't think so.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A viral tweet over the weekend started a debate around the "Avatar" movies and animation. The tweet asserts that "Avatar: The Way of Water" should be considered an animated film at the Oscars. And, last week, it was nominated for best visual effects at this year's Oscars — an award that the first "Avatar" movie won 13 years ago. "Avatar is an animated film and should've been put in the animated film category," tweeted artist Matthew Robert Davies, who's worked on TV shows "Roy" and "The Adventures of Paddington." It would be hard to argue that the "Avatar" movies could not be mistaken for live action.

Search resuls for: "vox"

25 mentions found