29 Mar DONALD TRUMPS THE MEDIA; AN E(GG)XPENSIVE EASTER
DONALD TRUMPS THE MEDIA
While most are aware that former president Donald Trump is on the hook for half a billion dollars after losing a civil suit in February, you may be surprised to learn his net worth jumped a staggering $4.6 billion this week.
Trump Media, which houses the Truth Social platform, debuted on the Nasdaq on Tuesday and was as volatile as Bitcoin – surging by as much as 50 per cent before it closed 16 per cent higher.
The former president owns a 60 per cent stake in the company, which on paper is now more valuable The New York Times Company. This is also despite Trump Media reporting a loss and the Times reporting a net profit.
Amid the continuous war on ‘fake news’, it’s not been a good week for journalism. On the other hand, it’s been a great week for the republican nominee’s war chest ahead of November’s US election.
AN E(GG)XPENSIVE EASTER
Chocolate eggs are nine per cent more expensive this long weekend compared to last year. BUT you might want to stock up! Experts say that prices may be more than double that next year.
RaboBank expects cocoa prices to settle around $US5,000 per tonne over the year, 124 per cent above the average price over the past five years.
This is due to anticipated issues such as adverse weather conditions, diseased crops, and sustainability regulations that have caused a drop in production in the Ivory Coast and Ghana—where 60 per cent of the world’s cocoa beans are grown.
IS AI BECOMING THE NEW COMMUNICATIONS INTERN?
Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT are looking to reinvent speechwriting for corporate executives. What will be its effect be on the communications industry?
In an interview with The Financial Times, executive speechwriter Cheril Clarke said she treats ChatGPT like a junior writing assistant by tasking the bot with research and summaries of long documents.
While acknowledging its speed and processing power, Clarke states that such tools are not equipped with innate human qualities and creativity and that she’ll still be required to create the “passionate, compelling, and original story” herself.
Speechwriter Lech Mintowt-Czyz added he would only use AI as a “semi-intelligent thesaurus”. He believes a human perspective will always prevail. We shall see!
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