Latest news with #SaraFischer
Axios
26-05-2025
- Axios
Social media is the modern-day travel agent
Travelers are using social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram to plan their trips, ditching the traditional travel agent. The big picture: The travel agent industry expects to experience slow demand this year as travelers are booking independently with the help of online platforms, including social media. By the numbers: Hashtags like #TravelTikTok (13.3M posts) and #TikTokTravel (16.9M posts) feature millions of users showing viewers how, when and where to travel. TikTok saw a 410% increase in travel content views from 2021 to 2024, with 32% of users saying they booked stays discovered on the app, according to an Influencer marketing study. 35% of global travelers say they've turned to social media for ideas, with this number jumping to 53% for Gen Z alone, per the study. Between the lines: TikTok is currently expanding its local services business to the U.S., hiring people who will focus on partnering with creators in the lifestyle and travel spaces, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. 💭 My thought bubble: Planning a fall girls' trip to Chicago has never been easier. Treating TikTok, Instagram and Reddit as search engines helped me create an itinerary. Typing "places to go in..." in the search bars of TikTok and Instagram will bring you to thousands of videos with recommendations. On TikTok's mobile app, there are subheadings to click for a more specific search, like "birthday," "family" or "free." The comment sections of TikTok videos and Reddit threads are goldmines for travel hacks. Locals from the cities you want to visit often drop tips and tricks there. Getting insight from travel bloggers on YouTube and Pinterest can also help create a dream itinerary. Yes, but: Ditching a travel agent and creating an itinerary on your own might be more time-consuming.
Axios
02-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Trump signs order to ax federal funding for NPR and PBS
President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that's designed to cut funding to NPR and PBS. Why it matters: The order that calls the two biggest public broadcasters in the U.S. "biased" and directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to "cease direct funding" for them comes amid a broader push to target traditional media companies that the administration sees as biased against Republicans. The situation is already tense with the CPB, which allocates about $535 million in federal funding annually to NPR and PBS. The CPB filed a lawsuit against Trump and several administration officials on Monday for attempting to fire three members of its board. PBS and NPR had for decades enjoyed bipartisan support from lawmakers responsible for approving their government funds, per Axios' Sara Fischer and Natalie Daher. Zoom in: "The CPB Board shall cease direct funding to NPR and PBS, consistent with my Administration's policy to ensure that Federal funding does not support biased and partisan news coverage," states the order. "The CPB Board shall cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding." Zoom out: The two public broadcasters are mostly funded by nongovernment sources, but PBS CEO Paula Kerger said during an an Axios News Shapers event in Washington, D.C., local member stations for PBS and NPR rely heavily on the government funding through the CPB. NPR previously defended its editorial integrity after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called on the CEOs of the two broadcasters to testify at a DOGE subcommittee hearing on what she described as "systemically biased content" from federally funded radio and TV organizations. What they're saying: "For more than 50 years, NPR has collaborated with local nonprofit public media organizations to fill critical needs for news and information in America's communities," a spokesperson for the outlet said in an emailed statement on Friday morning. "NPR's editorial practices and decision-making are independent and free from outside influence, inclusive of any individual or commercial interest or political party," he said. "Eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would have a devastating impact on American communities across the nation that rely on public radio for trusted local and national news, culture, lifesaving emergency alerts, and public safety information. As a system, we serve the public interest," he added. "Public radio serves 99% of the population over the air, counters the growth of local news deserts across the country, and, in some cases, may be a community's only source of daily, local news from journalists who live in and know their communities."
Axios
08-04-2025
- Axios
Teens under 16 will need permission to livestream on Instagram: Meta
Teens under 16 will now be barred from livestreaming on Instagram without parental permission, Meta announced Tuesday. Why it matters: The new safety measure is an expansion of major changes that impacted millions of accounts starting last year as part of the company's push to better protect young users. Those policies, announced in September, meant all teenage users were automatically placed under teen accounts — and those under 16 needed a parent's permission to change their settings. Since making those changes, Meta said in a Tuesday release, 97% of teens aged 13 to 15 have kept the built-in restrictions. Driving the news: On top of the new automatic Instagram Live restrictions, teens under 16 will also have to get permission from a parent to turn off a feature that blurs images with suspected nudity in direct messages. These updates will be available "in the next couple of months," per Meta's announcement. Zoom out: Additionally, Meta announced it will begin introducing teen accounts to Facebook and Messenger beginning Tuesday. Those accounts will offer similar built-in protections against inappropriate content. By the numbers: There are at least 54 million users with teen accounts, Meta said. State of play: Meta's swath of changes announced last September included new verification methods to prevent users from lying about their age to circumvent protections, Axios' Sara Fischer reported. Teen accounts were automatically made private, and stricter message settings were implemented to filter out offensive content and unwanted contact from non-followers. The changes also gave parents more visibility over how their teens were using Instagram, such as through tools to see who their child had been messaging. The big picture: Researchers have identified substantial links between social media use and increased depression among teens.
