CEO Daily: Opportunities in the media maelstrom

From: Alan Murray - Monday Jan 29,2024 11:30 am

Presented by Deloitte

January 29, 2024

Good morning.

I’m thrilled to be joining Fortune today as executive director of Fortune Live Media and editorial director of the Fortune CEO Initiative. I’ve long admired Fortune as a daunting competitor when interviewing CEOs and covering the global business landscape for other media outlets. I’m also coming into this role during a difficult time in the media industry. Many of my former colleagues at Forbes are on strike today as media and tech companies lay off more staff.

We all know that there’s a fundamental shift taking place in the media industry. Mere months after the launch of ChatGPT, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner warned employees of the German media group that AI could lead to significant job cuts. AI has also made it easier to generate hallucinations (a.k.a. dumb mistakes) and deepfakes that challenge media consumers to distinguish fact from fiction—from false audio of President Joe Biden urging people not to vote in New Hampshire to fake nudes of Taylor Swift and AI-powered social media ads in which Bill Ackman hawks seminars on how to get rich. (While Ackman posted a note on X last month to say he’d taken down 200+ deepfakes so far, I got another offer from his fake doppelganger yesterday.)

And yet the forces that have made people lose faith in the media also create an opportunity for brands like Fortune to become more valuable than ever. I’m especially excited by the opportunity to unleash the power of live media to create connections, community, context, and trusted content.

Let me add one more ‘C’ to that list: curiosity. I created a newspaper column at 15 to meet people doing interesting things in my hometown of Burlington, Ontario. My first interview was with Rob Preuss of The Spoons, who’s now a musician in New York, and I’ve been asking questions ever since. What a gift to have a chance to keep learning and connecting the dots on what’s next. I look forward to getting your feedback and bringing you insights from leaders around the world.

More news below.

Diane Brady
@dianebrady
diane.brady@fortune.com

TOP NEWS

Evergrande’s end

A Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of China Evergrande Group, just over two years after the developer’s default on offshore debt helped trigger China’s real estate crisis. Evergrande has over $300 billion in liabilities. The liquidation process will be complicated: Whichever liquidator is appointed must take control of projects and subsidiaries in mainland China. Fortune

The great lab monkey shortage

A U.S. government operation to crack down on monkey smuggling from Asia now threatens the supply chain of animal testing subjects for drug discovery companies. Imports of long-tailed macaques from Cambodia have plummeted since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched “Operation Longtail Liberation.” The National Association of Biomedical Research now warns that the import freeze puts the development of new drugs “at significant risk.” Fortune

A ‘Game of Thrones’ battle for EV supremacy

China’s stumbling economy is pushing its EV manufacturers to look overseas for new sources of growth. The flood of new Chinese-made electric cars comes as Western automakers, including Tesla, are scaling back their manufacturing plans. Yet companies like BYD may struggle in foreign markets like Europe, which feature higher labor costs and stronger loyalty to Western brands. Fortune

CONTENT FROM DELOITTE

EV Momentum Slows Down

According to Deloitte’s 2024 Global Automotive Consumer Study, intent to purchase an internal combustion engine (ICE) in the U.S. is up by 9% while EV intent has fallen by 1%. What impact will this have on electrification amid evolving customer expectations and economic headwinds? Read more.

AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

X partners with MGM’s sports betting division to integrate sports betting statistics into the platform by Kylie Robison

Chime was once valued at $25 billion. The CEO says the fintech darling is ‘IPO ready,’ but investors want to know: What is it worth now? by Luisa Beltran

Apple’s EU app store changes are truly epic—but they may not be enough by David Meyer

Silver lining: The U.S. workforce has more employees over 65 than ever before and it could mean great things for the bottom line by Alexa Mikhail

Gen Z are over having their work ethic questioned: ‘Most boomers don’t know what it’s like to work 40+ hours a week and still not be able to afford a house’ by Orianna Rosa Royle

India’s population speaks over 100 languages. Microsoft thinks AI can bridge its linguistic gaps by Nicholas Gordon

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.

The New Race for AI

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