OpenAI and Microsoft executives admitted that their AI tools pose a threat to the publishing industry, Bloomberg Law reports. The admissions were visible in an unsealed motion for a summary judgement in the copyright case filed by The New York Times and other publishers. It was released on Thursday. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified in discovery that conversations with chatbots have “substituted” for publisher sites. And Nick Turley, a senior executive at OpenAI, wrote “[o]ur products are largely substitutive, period.”

Pinterest unveiled a new ad format, Visual Search Ads, at its Pinterest Presents event, as it moves closer to performance marketing, Trading View reports. The new offering is designed to reach users when they are comparing products. Visual Search Ads will place brands inside Pinterest search results and pin close-ups. Advertisers will appear as users browse products. 

Like many publications, The Atlantic has seen referrals from Google decline. But The Atlantic is getting more subscribers from the Google traffic that does exist. “Google is sending us fewer people who aren’t going to subscribe,” said Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic.  The publication has 1.6 million paid subscribers and has been in the black since 2024. In another development, The Atlantic is getting micropayments from Parallel Web Systems, an AI startup that builds web search infrastructure for non-human AI agents. 

Several organizations, including the News/Media Alliance, have signed a letter urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign a “news-neutral” employment tax credit to preserve local journalism, the News/Media Alliance reports. The “Community NEWS Act,” (AB-2222) is a “news-neutral” mechanism creates refundable employment tax credits for qualifying local news organizations, whatever their size, speech and structure as long as they hire and retain journalists in the state. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the legislation. 

The Federal Communication (FCC) is seeking comments on its guidance on discounts for political ads, TVTechnology reports. The guidance issued in March seemed to expand the types of organizations that are eligible for the “lowest unit charge” discounts. This could deprive broadcasters of significant ad revenue. There were no comments sought in March, but the FCC’s Media Bureau has set a deadline of Sept. 25 for input on the guidance, which also been challenged in the courts. 

R/GA is launching an AI tool called the BRDNA Sequencer that can help marketers maintain their brand integrity, Fast Company writes. The new offering trains itself on a company’s brand guidelines and puts them into a format that AI agents can read and understand. The platform-agnostic BRDNA Sequencer allows the company to use simple prompts to generate marketing emails, social assets and CRM systems that can then be edited. The BRDNA Sequencer will be available this month. BRDNA stands for “Brand DNA.” 

Macro, a multi-platform entertainment company, has entered the direct-to-consumer streaming field, acquiring Allblk, a streaming platform serving Black audiences, from AMC Global Media, Variety reports. “At a time of significant disruption and consolidation across the media industry landscape, Macro sees an opportunity to invest in a focused platform with a clear audience and strengthen it through greater resources, content and creative partnerships,” said Charles D. King, the founder of Macro. 

Auto dealers are finally getting the clarification they have been seeking from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on vehicle price advertising, RVBusiness reports. The FAQ document specifies that dealers must provide the total price the buyer will pay, including the doc fee and all other possible costs. But government charges can be excluded from the all-in price. “The FTC’s FAQ addresses the key all-in pricing questions we’ve been hearing from dealers, both directly and through KPA’s compliance webinars, and gives dealers better guidance on how the agency will interpret the rule moving forward,” said Phil Ingrassia, president of RVDA. 

Roughly 75% of Americans feel press freedom is extremely or very important for society’s well-being, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center, the Associated Press reports. But 50% support government restrictions on reporting in certain instances — for example, to protect national security. But many respondents say it is never acceptable to revoke the broadcast license of a news provider. About 70% of Americans believe the Trump administration and the U.S. news media have a very or somewhat bad relationship. 

The New York Times has hired Michael Hirschorn as media columnist as the column returns in the face of numerous problems facing the industry, including a White House that is hostile to media, the Times reports. Earlier media columnists were David Carr, who started the column two decades ago, Jim Rutenberg and Ben Smith. Hirschorn, who in 2008 wrote that the Times could “plausibly go out of business,” writes that he is “thrilled to have not only been proven wrong, but so wrong; that the Times was able to hire him.