Jeff Zucker discusses the state of media, David Zaslav said he's "hopeful" for an NBA deal, Gannett fires an editor for disclosing info to Poynter, Steve Bannon's disturbing threats about jailing Donald Trump's political opponents draws muted response from press, Newsmax ratings plummet a year after Tucker Carlson's firing prompted a surge, Apple apologizes over controversial ad, Peter Jackson returns to produce two new "Lord of the Rings" films, Bravo clears Andy Cohen, Taylor Swift adds "Tortured Poets" set to her "Eras Tour," and so much more. But first, the A1.

An Eye for An A.I.

CNN Photo Illustration/Meta/YouTube/TikTok

Big Tech is racing to address the stream of A.I.-generated images inundating social media platforms before the machine-crafted renderings further contaminate the information space.

With less than 200 days until the high-stakes November election, and as the technology advances at break-neck speed, the three largest social media companies have each outlined plans to ensure their billions of users can differentiate between content generated by machines and humans. 

TikTok announced on Thursday that it will begin labeling A.I.-generated content. Meta (the parent company of Instagram, Threads, and Facebook) said last month that it will begin labeling such content. And YouTube introduced rules mandating creators disclose when videos are A.I.-created so that a label can be applied. (Notably, Elon Musk's X has not announced any plans to label A.I.-generated content.)

Meanwhile, OpenAI, the ChatGPT-creator that allows users to also create A.I.-generated imagery through its DALL-E model, said this week that it will launch a tool that allows users to detect when an image is built by a bot. Additionally, the company said that it will launch an election-related $2 million fund with Microsoft to combat deepfakes that can "deceive the voters and undermine democracy."

The efforts from Silicon Valley represent an acknowledgment that the tools being built by technological titans have the serious potential to wreak havoc on the information space and inflict grave injury to the democratic process.

A.I.-generated imagery has already proven to be particularly deceptive. Just this week, an A.I.-created image of pop star Katy Perry supposedly posing on the Met Gala red carpet in metallic and floral dresses fooled people into believing that the singer attended the annual event, when in fact she did not. The image was so realistic that Perry's own mother believed it to be authentic.

"Didn't know you went to the Met," Perry's mom texted the singer, according to a screen shot posted by Perry. 

"lol, mom the AI got you too, BEWARE!" Perry replied.

While the viral image didn't cause serious harm, it's not difficult to imagine a scenario — particularly ahead of a major election — in which a fake photograph could mislead voters and stir confusion, perhaps tipping the scale in favor of one candidate or another. 

But, despite the repeated and alarming warnings from industry experts and figures, the federal government has, thus far, failed to take any action to establish safeguards around the industry. And so, Big Tech has been left to its own devices to rein in the technology before bad actors can exploit it for their own benefit. (What could possibly go wrong?)

Whether the industry-led efforts can successfully curb the spread of damaging deepfakes remains to be seen. Social media giants have reams of rules prohibiting certain content on their platforms, but history has repeatedly shown that they have often failed to adequately enforce them and allowed malicious content to spread to the masses before taking action.

That poor record doesn't inspire much confidence as A.I.-created images increasingly bombard the information environment — particularly as the U.S. hurtles toward an unprecedented election with democracy itself at stake.

CNN Photo Illustration/The Wall Street Journal

Zucker's Zeal: Redbird IMI boss Jeff Zucker on Thursday spoke with Jessica Toonkel at The WSJ's CEO Council for a wide-ranging interview on the state of media. Striking an upbeat tone, Zucker said he is excited to be investing in media companies, though he said he'd keep the door open to one day returning to running a large organization. Some highlights:

► On his Redbird IMI strategy: Zucker said the investment firm has built "a very nice portfolio on the entertainment content side" and that he wants to expand in the "digital news and information space." Zucker cited Front Office Sports as a good example of such an investment, adding, "We’d like to add to that, and we'll continue to look for those opportunities around the globe."

► On the failed Telegraph/Spectator deal: Zucker candidly said "there's a couple things" he would have "done differently" to get the deal across the finish line. He said they should have "closed on the Spectator right away" and, with the Telegraph, "structured the deal differently and change the percentage of ownership of each of the entities that was within Redbird IMI." But he said, "That's all looking back in hindsight and, obviously, we didn't — we didn't fully appreciate the need to do either of those moves at that time. So we'll just move forward." Zucker added that the process of offloading the options on the assets has started and "the interest has been actually pretty robust."

► On running a large media company again: Zucker would not "rule out" such an option, saying, "If the opportunity were right, I wouldn't rule that out, and if that came along, obviously, we will take a look at that." Asked about a role if the Redbird-backed Skydance strikes a deal with Paramount Global, Zucker responded, "I think that that is a that is so premature, that it's not even something that I'm thinking about at this point."

► On whether he'd be interested in buying CNN: "I know that for a lot of people, this is how the movie ends: I should come back in and buy CNN," Zucker said. "It’s not something that we’ve contemplated at this point. It’s not something that we’ve ever looked at, in any formal way, in any manner." Zucker said that, to his knowledge, CNN is "not for sale." But, he added, "Like anything else in the news and information space, if it became available, if it were [for] sale, of course we would look at it." 

► On newsroom leadership: "I do think that leadership matters," Zucker said. "And I think we've seen what happens when newsrooms and news organizations don't have good leadership. Leadership matters. And you especially see it when you don't have it."

CNN Photo Illustration/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

WBD Inches Up: Shares in Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday closed up 3% ($8.04 a share), despite the media conglomerate missing on revenue as it reported earnings before the bell. The David Zaslav-led company, CNN's parent, continued to see evidence that the linear television business, which it is highly dependent on, is deteriorating, with revenue in the division down 8% year-over-year. That said, WBD did show some strength in its streaming division, adding 2 million subscribers, bringing its global total to 99.6 million. And the direct-to-consumer division saw advertising revenue increase 70% year-over-year to $175 million, which it attributed to higher engagement on Max and subscriber growth in its ad-supported tier. WBD reported free cash flow of $390 million. Variety's Jennifer Maas has more.

► 🏀 On the NBA rights fight, Zaslav said he's "hopeful to reach an agreement that makes sense for both sides." The WSJ's Joe Flint has more.

CNN Photo Illustration/WarRoom

Silence of the Reporters: They're saying it aloud! Steve Bannon is reiterating threats to weaponize the U.S. justice system against perceived MAGA enemies if Donald Trump is re-elected. "The criminals and traitors around Biden, you should be very worried," Bannon said Thursday on his "War Room" podcast, explicitly naming Hillary Clinton and Christopher Wray. "You're a target, you are corrupt, you are a traitor to this country, the people around you, the Clinton Foundation, the crimes you had, the sexual predator husband of yours," Bannon ranted at one point. And yet, Bannon's disturbing tirade has, thus far, elicited almost no coverage from the press. Which left me wondering: How would newsrooms react if Biden's top allies were making such overt threats to jail political opponents? It's hard to imagine the response would be so muted.

► Related: "As a veteran reporter, I've always valued neutrality," John Harwood writes. "But Trump's threat to democracy should be the biggest political story of 2024."

CNN Photo Illustration/Apple

iSorry! Apple Apologizes to Artists: What a miss! Apple on Thursday, facing mounting criticism, issued a rare apology for a controversial iPad Pro advertisement and said that it will not run on television as previously planned. The 60-second spot showed a number of creative instruments, such as a guitar and piano, being crushed and flattened into the thin new iPad announced this week. Critics had skewered the Tim Cook-led company for the advertisement, blasting it as dystopian and contending it pitted the tech company against creatives. "TECH CRUSHING HUMAN CREATIVITY?" questioned a banner headline on the Drudge Report. "Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world," Tor Myhren, the company’s vice president of marketing communications, said in a statement. "Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry." AdAge's Tim Nudd has the story here.

CNN Photo Illustration/New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock

Return of the King: Yesssss, Precious! Warner Bros. Discovery on Thursday announced that two new "Lord of the Rings" films are in the works. The first film, titled "The Hunt for Gollum," will be produced by Peter Jackson. It will be directed and star Andy Serkis. WBD boss David Zaslav said the film, due out in 2026, will "explore storylines yet to be told." WBD previously announced last year that it would release "multiple" new films from the renowned franchise in the years ahead, taking advantage of the company's IP rights. Variety's Jennifer Maas has all the details.