Newspapers unite! [#179]
AI Plan B. Plus: A talk w/ Carole Cadwalladr on How to Survive the Tech Broligarchy.
Great to see the papers come together for a change, with the #MakeItFair campaign on the front page of every UK paper last week.
What a brilliant day of action! Really cheered me up. It was on the home pages of most of the websites too, on the final day of the Copyright & AI consultation.
On the back of some intense lobbying from big figures and unions, ministers are working on Plan B to protect the creative industries.
The TUC launched its AI Manifesto for creative workers.
CMS and SCIT committee chairs have written to government on copyright & AI - read the letter.
An excellent piece by Matthew Goldstein on how publishers should fight back against ‘The greatest heist in history.’ [Press Gazette].
More than 1000 musicians released a silent protest album, which hit no 38 in the UK charts. All profits are being donated to the charity Help Musicians.
It’s been the main topic of conversation in the NUJ London Freelance group chat this week. Good to have different perspectives from radical campaigning photographer Andrew Wiard and others.
He [Andrew] and late Ann Bolt, were the two main NUJ reps to the consultation that led to the 1988 Copyright Act, which despite downsides, still underpins freelance/self-employed creator rights to this day. - ex-music journo
.
I’m trying to figure out if/how I can stop AI bots scraping my website (WordPress.com). On Substack, I’ve blocked AI training though it says that limits discoverability on ChatGPT etc. I see I had two referrals from ChatGPT!
A good tip from
to put ©your name on every article on your website, not just in the footer.So, what’s Plan B?
The Guardian published this piece on how ministers are considering a change of plan, which would exempt certain sectors from the opt-out system and give preferential access to British AI companies.
Abandoning the plans altogether is not seen as an option as it would put British AI companies at a disadvantage, but there are ways to protect certain sectors which are particularly important.
Certain sectors!? I agree on this one: “The idea of tearing up copyright law for some sectors but not for others is frankly a nonsense.”
Given they’ve announced a ‘£60 million boost for the creative industries to turbocharge growth’, it’s important to get this right.
As they review the responses, here’s a promise from Peter Kyle MP…
Britain’s government now has an opportunity to set a global standard for how AI and human creativity can coexist. - FT Editorial Board 👏
Final plans will be announced later this year. In the meantime, keep pushing – there’s hope in the UK!
Here’s a template letter if you want to write to your MP about the changes.
Cheers, Nika
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A Journalist’s Guide to AI – a course and resource for journos and content creators to learn about AI and how to use it in their day-to-day content production. | NCTJ. [Book now]
A talk w/ Carole Cadwalladr on 10 March following IWD. Carole has been on the receiving end of sexist abuse from prominent male commentators for her journalism. Her newsletter is
. [Read more]
Next week: 99 problems but a book ain’t one. Want to read more? Join my Spring Reading Challenge! 📚 🤓
