Latest news with #Newcomer
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Topeka cemetery holds annual Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony
TOPEKA (KSNT) – On this Memorial Day, we remember those who gave their lives in service to our country. A wreath presentation was held at Memorial Park Cemetery in central Topeka on Monday, May 26. It featured members of the Topeka West Junior ROTC and American Legion Post 421. A cemetery spokesman talked about the importance of the holiday. 'Memorial Day was founded to remember those that gave their lives serving our country,' said Memorial Park Cemetery Founder and Chairman of the board, Ren Newcomer. 'But of course it's expanded to remember all of our loved ones and to bring them back into our lives today and remember what they've done for us individually and our families.' Washburn graduate etches memory of lost fraternity house on campus with new monument Newcomer encourages people to use the day to rest and take a moment to remember the important people in your life. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It seems like most Windows users don't care for Copilot
Copilot, Microsoft's AI assistant, appears to be struggling to match its competition in terms of popularity. The number of people using Copilot has remained around 20 million weekly users for the last year, according to tech newsletter Newcomer, while OpenAI's ChatGPT has hit as high as 400 million weekly users. The data was shared at an annual executive meeting in March by Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood, Newcomer reports, and raise some concerns about the AI future Microsoft is pitching. Microsoft uses OpenAI's models to power Copilot, and the assistant offers similar features to ChatGPT, but they clearly don't draw the same interest from users. The company has also built Copilot into Windows 11, Microsoft 365 and the Edge browser, without apparently reaping the benefit of additional user growth. The need to revamp Copilot, become less dependent on OpenAI and reimagine the company's assistant as a true consumer product were Microsoft's motivations for acqui-hiring Mustafa Suleyman and his team from Inflection AI. Suleyman's work as CEO of Microsoft AI has culminated so far in a redesign of Copilot, and the launch of several new features, including the ability for the AI to take action for you in certain websites. It's maybe the start of a cohesive vision, but not one that's immediately connected with Windows users or anyone else. Microsoft invested billions in OpenAI to aid the company's research and gain privileged access to its models, all in the hopes of competing with Google. Even with that access, ChatGPT arriving first seems to have had the biggest impact on turning people into AI users. ChatGPT was the AI assistant people tried first, and it's not clear what new Copilot feature will pull them away.
Axios
24-04-2025
- Business
- Axios
Independent journalists prioritize community building for growth
Influential journalists who have positioned themselves as subject matter experts and amassed large followings are ditching traditional outlets to venture out on their own. Why it matters: These independent journalists are grappling with the same challenges that many communication and brand teams face. That is, how do they differentiate themselves in the market and establish a strong reputation with the audiences that matter most? State of play: As trust in media declines, independent journalists are pivoting away from writing for passive readerships and toward building a hyper-engaged community — and it's proving to be quite lucrative. The Free Press, founded by former New York Times writer Bari Weiss, boasts more than 155,000 paid subscribers and is estimated to generate at least $10 million annually from subscription revenue, per Axios' Sara Fischer. Former Bloomberg reporter Eric Newcomer announced that his independent media entity, Newcomer, brought in $2 million in revenue in 2024 and he has recently made his first round of hires. Former CNN reporter Oliver Darcy's Status newsletter has accumulated more than 70,000 total subscribers since its launch and is estimated to generate $1 million in annual recurring revenue. The latest big-name journalist to make this pivot is former Forbes editor Alex Konrad, who last month launched Upstarts Media, covering the startup ecosystem. The big picture: The volatility of the news industry, paired with the growth of publishing platforms, has made independent journalism more appealing but has also led to more media fragmentation. The formats and distribution channels are also evolving, with news personalities like Jim Acosta and Chris Matthews hosting daily live shows on these creator-owned platforms like Substack, for example. Between the lines: Independent ventures enable journalists to become hyper-specific on coverage areas and desired audiences — and it allows them to engage with these audiences as they wish. Konrad created a WhatsApp group for the founding subscribers to his Upstarts newsletter, in which he actively hosts conversations. Substack writer Emily Sundberg is known for engaging in real-time through her comments section. Driving the news: Christine Choi, partner at early stage venture capital firm M13, gathered several journalists who ditched traditional newsrooms to build their own media empires — like Newcomer, Konrad, Polina Pompliano and Zack Guzmán — to help make sense of the evolving landscape for a room full of investors, founders and communication professionals. Media entrepreneurs like Business Insider co-founder Henry Blodget, Quartz co-founder and CEO of Charter media Kevin Delaney and Capital Allocators founder Ted Seides were also in the crowd. What they're saying: In-person events are a major component of community building, Konrad told me during our on-stage conversation at the M13 event. "The media landscape and technological trends [are] pushing us towards community, towards a direct relationship with your audience," he said. "The most important thing about events is to have a moment where I can talk to a bunch of people that matter to [the startup] ecosystem and help them meet other people within the ecosystem. "It's not just revenue for me. It's about seeing that close connection with our audiences grow."
