The Media Copilot

Social feeds turned news into a rage machine. Cory Ondrejka says it’s time for a reset! Use AI to cut the noise, respect your time, and deliver journalism that actually matters.For years, the way we consume news has been warped by engagement algorithms that reward outrage and overwhelm. With attention hijacked and trust eroding, millions have simply tuned out. But what if AI could help fix what it broke?On this episode of The Media Copilot, host Pete Pachal talks with Cory Ondrejka, former Facebook and Google exec (and co-creator of Second Life), now at SmartNews, where he leads the development of NewsArc; an AI-powered app that curates the best single article on each major news event. No doomscrolling, no junk summaries, and no ragebait. Just clarity, curation, and a front page you can trust.Why this matters now:News avoidance is at record highs, and trust in media is cratering. NewsArc offers an alternative: a shared, AI-assisted “Daily Dozen” that highlights the most informative reads, respects journalistic integrity, and compensates publishers fairly. With LLMs used for claim-checking, not content theft, the app delivers a smarter, calmer news experience for readers who want to be informed, not inflamed.Key Topics:🔹 Why social feeds broke the news🔹 How NewsArc uses AI to elevate not replace journalism🔹 The problem with summaries and the power of “claim-level” analysis🔹 Why a shared front page matters in a polarized world🔹 How SmartNews compensates publishers in the LLM era🎙 Guest: Cory Ondrejka | EVP, SmartNews / Creator of NewsArc LinkedIn | smartnews.com 📩 Enjoyed this episode?Subscribe to The Media Copilot on Substack, Apple Podcasts, or your favorite app.On YouTube? Tap the Like button and Subscribe to the channel 🔔For more AI tools and resources built for media professionals, visit MediaCopilot.ai.🎧 Produced by Pete Pachal and Executive Producer Michele Musso 🎬 Edited by the Musso Media Team © 2025 Musso Media. All rights reserved.🎵 Music: “Favorite” by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under CC BY 4.0© AnyWho Media 2025

Bill Gross, Founder and CEO of ProRata and creator of Gist AI, discusses the dramatic shift in media economics driven by AI. He highlights how billions in value are being lost to zero-click searches and the exploitation of publishers' content. Gross advocates for a revenue-sharing model that compensates creators when AI utilizes their work. He also explores innovative advertising strategies to enhance user engagement ethically and stresses the need for a 'conversation layer' to foster meaningful connections between publishers and audiences.

If the last decade was about platforms swallowing the press, the next one is about AI mediating everything…how we find news, what we trust, and who gets paid. On this episode of The Media Copilot, host Pete Pachal welcomes Justin Hendrix, CEO and editor of Tech Policy Press, a nonprofit dedicated to provoking debate at the intersection of technology and democracy. Hendrix’s path from The Economist to NYC Media Lab to founding a policy newsroom, shapes a rare perspective; he speaks policy, product, and press. Who sets the rules for AI and media—industry, government, or the public? Justin Hendrix argues the answer starts with competition policy and ends with better equilibria for democracy.Topics we cover🔹 Copyright and AI training: The battle between fair use and “giant theft,” why the U.S. path may be decided in court, and how commercialization complicates the ethics. 🔹 Power concentration: How antitrust and the Digital Markets Act could serve as tectonic levers to rebalance control between platforms and publishers. 🔹 Quality versus “good enough”: AI hallucinations, the shift to AI as the first stop for answers, and what’s at stake when accuracy is the product. 🔹 The “beat China” argument: Why urgency-driven narratives risk steamrolling communities, due process, and environmental review in the name of AI infrastructure. 🔹 Search, remedies, and AI distribution: What Google’s antitrust outcomes could mean for AI-driven search and publisher leverage. 🔹 Where media could go next: Licensing to AI agents, building owned agents, or a future where AI firms hire thousands of journalists themselves. 🔹 Policy capacity and trust: Why the government’s tech knowledge gap matters and how Tech Policy Press is helping close it for lawmakers and regulators. 🔹 Behavior shift: From NPR commutes to chatbot conversations, and the emerging risks of AI companionship and blurred lines between utility and dependency.Guest: Justin Hendrix — CEO/EditorTech Policy Press :https://www.techpolicy.press/ 📩 And if you enjoyed this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app that you want. Also, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, don’t forget to “like” the video and subscribe to the channel 🔔You can also subscribe to The Media Copilot newsletter  and visit mediacopilot.ai for exclusive resources, tools, and AI training courses built specifically for media professionals.This episode of The Media CoPilot was produced by Pete Pachal, Executive Producer Michele Musso, and with video/audio editing by the Musso Media team. Produced by Musso Media. © 2025 Musso Media. All rights reserved.Music: Favorite by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License © AnyWho Media 2025

Publishers don’t need bigger walls—they need dials. Here’s how to see, price, and shape LLM and agent activity instead of getting steamrolled by it.If the last two years were about discovering that AI agents are vacuuming up the web, the next two will be about deciding what to do about it. Do you block, meter, license - or build your own agent and make the bots pay?On this episode of The Media Copilot, host Pete Pachal welcomes Aurélie Guerrieri, Chief Growth Officer at DataDome, a Forrester-recognized leader in bot defense. Together, they dive into the new reality of AI-driven traffic: from LLM crawlers and real-time “prompt-time fetching” to the rising tide of agentic activity that acts on users’ behalf. Instead of framing the debate as simply good bots versus bad bots, the conversation explores a more practical lens: identity versus intent, and how publishers can reclaim control, revenue, and visibility in an internet increasingly shaped by AI distribution.🔹Scale & speed broke the old defenses. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs - servers that cache and deliver website content from locations closer to users) and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs - security systems that filter and monitor HTTP traffic between users and web applications) still matter, but they adapt in minutes. Attackers now act in seconds and from distributed IPs that look like everyday users.🔹AI changed the mix of traffic. DataDome sees enormous growth in prompt-time fetching - LLMs hitting your most valuable pages (latest articles, pricing, paywalled previews) 20:1 compared with traditional crawling in some cases.🔹The business model is shifting. “Open web” ≠ “open season.” Publishers need to decide who gets access, for what, and at what price - and they need tooling that can enforce those choices in real time.“AI is part of the problem—and part of the solution. We use AI to fight AI.”    -  Aurélie GuerrieriHow can publishers fight back against AI bots—and turn them into new revenue streams instead of lost traffic?Key topics:🔹Why the future of AI governance is about identity and intent, not just “good vs. bad bots” 🔹How prompt-time fetching targets publishers’ most valuable content in real time 🔹The rise of agentic activity and why it can be both powerful and dangerous 🔹Why static defenses like content delivery networks (CDNs) and web application firewalls (WAFs) are being outpaced 🔹How DataDome uses AI to fight AI, stopping more attacks and restoring visibility 🔹New monetization models: pay-per-fetch, APIs, and even building owned agents 🔹Lessons from Cloudflare vs. Perplexity and what they mean for publisher control 🔹Guerrieri’s advice to media leaders: measure, control, and experimentHer bottom line: the future of publishing isn’t about keeping bots out, but about shaping how they come in—and making them pay for the privilege.🎙 Guest: Aurélie Guerrieri | CGO,  DataDome | LinkedIn 📩 And if you enjoyed this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app that you want. Also, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, don’t forget to “like” the video and subscribe to the channel 🔔You can also subscribe to The Media Copilot newsletter (link in show notes) and visit mediacopilot.ai for exclusive resources, tools, and AI training courses built specifically for media professionals.This episode of The Media CoPilot was produced by Pete Pachal, Executive Producer Michele Musso, and with video/audio editing by the Musso Media team. Produced by Musso Media. © 2025 Musso Media. All rights reserved.Music: Favorite by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License © AnyWho Media 2025

How Dappier helps publishers move beyond bot-blocking to monetize AI and take charge of their own "answer layer."This week on The Media Copilot, host Pete Pachal is joined by Dan Goikhman and Krish Arvapally, co-founders of Dappier, to explore how media companies can turn AI from a threat into an opportunity.As AI agents and bots reshape how audiences find and consume content, Dappier is helping publishers go from defending against scraping to playing offense. From creating branded AI experiences on publisher sites to opening new revenue streams from AI search, Dan and Krish break down how the next wave of AI distribution can be sustainable for media.Together, Pete, Dan, and Krish dive into: 🔹 What it really means to monetize content when it appears in AI search 🔹 How Dappier’s Ask AI 2.0 helps publishers super-serve audiences with ad-supported AI search 🔹 The role of standards, trust, and enforcement in the bot ecosystem after Cloudflare’s big move against stealth crawlers 🔹 Why verticalized AI experiences will define the future and how publishers can claim their “answer layer” 🔹 What early partnerships in local news reveal about AI’s impact on journalism and community trustFrom ad models to agentic search, this episode offers a rare insider’s look at how media can thrive in an AI-first internet. Whether you’re in publishing, tech, or just curious about the future of answers, you’ll leave with a clearer view of where the AI economy for content is headed.🎙 Guests:Dan Goikhman | Co-Founder, Dappier | LinkedInKrish Arvapally | Co-Founder, Dappier | LinkedIn📩 And if you enjoyed this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app that you want. Also, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, don’t forget to “like” the video and subscribe to the channel 🔔You can also subscribe to The Media Copilot newsletter (link in show notes) and visit mediacopilot.ai for exclusive resources, tools, and AI training courses built specifically for media professionals.This episode of The Media CoPilot was produced by Pete Pachal, Executive Producer Michele Musso, and with video/audio editing by the Musso Media team. Produced by Musso Media. © 2025 Musso Media. All rights reserved.Music: Favorite by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License © AnyWho Media 2025

Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic and a veteran of Wired and The New Yorker, shares insights into the publication's AI revolution. He discusses the creation of an AI task force aimed at adapting to declining search traffic and explores bold licensing agreements, including one with OpenAI that stirred editorial concerns. Thompson emphasizes the ethical considerations of AI in journalism and the balance between maintaining subscriber trust and innovative experimentation. Their conversation reveals how personalized AI tools could redefine reader engagement with news.

Cloudflare’s move to block AI bots by default could reshape how content is protected online—raising new questions about copyright, scraping, and the future of AI training data.This week on The Media Copilot, host Pete Pachal welcomes Stephanie Cohen, Chief Strategy Officer of Cloudflare, for a conversation that couldn’t be more timely.On July 1st, Cloudflare announced a game-changing move: any new domain hosted on its massive network will automatically block AI bots from scraping content. That’s a major escalation in the growing fight over who gets to access and use data on the internet—and how.Cloudflare is far from a minor player. It routes 20% of global internet traffic, and its decision to restrict bot access by default could redraw the boundaries of the AI economy. As generative AI companies train their models on vast amounts of publicly available content—often without consent—this kind of infrastructural pushback may mark a turning point.Pete and Stephanie dive deep into: 🔹 How Cloudflare identifies and blocks AI bots in real time 🔹 Why this decision matters more than individual publishers adding "robots.txt" 🔹 What enforcement looks like when AI companies try to sneak around restrictions 🔹 The potential ripple effect across the rest of the internet 🔹 Whether we’re heading toward an AI content economy—and what that might look likeIt’s a conversation that raises urgent questions about digital rights, platform responsibility, and the blurry future of content in the AI era.Whether you're a journalist, technologist, or just someone who cares about the future of the web, this episode is essential listening.🎙 Guest: Stephanie Cohen | https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanieecohen Chief Strategy Officer, Cloudflare | https://www.cloudflare.com/ 📩 And if you enjoyed this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app that you want. Also, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, don’t forget to “like” the video and subscribe to the channel 🔔You can also subscribe to The Media Copilot newsletter (link in show notes) and visit mediacopilot.ai for exclusive resources, tools, and AI training courses built specifically for media professionals.This episode of The Media CoPilot was produced by Pete Pachal, Executive Producer Michele Musso, and with video/audio editing by the Musso Media team. Produced by Musso Media. © 2025 Musso Media. All rights reserved.Music: Favorite by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License © AnyWho Media 2025

From “news wholesaler” to AI innovator—how the Associated Press is adapting to new audience habits, synthetic content, and search-native journalism.This week on The Media Copilot podcast, host Pete Pachal sits down with Troy Thibodeaux, Director of AI Products and Services at The Associated Press. A pioneer in AI-powered journalism, Troy has been ahead of the curve—long before ChatGPT made AI a household name.With AI search platforms like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google’s AI Overviews reshaping how people access news, media companies are being forced to rethink their entire approach. But the AP occupies a unique space in the ecosystem: it’s a news wholesaler, serving thousands of outlets rather than individual readers. So when audiences demand instant summaries, auto-generated podcasts, and AI-written rundowns, the AP’s biggest challenge isn’t competition—it’s maintaining editorial integrity across every remix.Pete and Troy unpack: 🔹 How the AP defines “liquid content” and where AI fits in 🔹 The ethical boundaries and red lines around synthetic news 🔹 Why adapting to AI isn’t just a tech problem—it’s a newsroom culture shift 🔹 How the AP’s structure gives it an edge in the AI news arms raceIf you care about the future of journalism and how legacy institutions are rewriting their rulebooks for an AI-powered era, this episode is essential listening.🎙 Guest: Troy Thibodeaux Director of AI Products & Services, The Associated Press  |https://www.linkedin.com/in/troy-thibodeaux/ And if you enjoyed this conversation, I’d encourage you to follow the show on Substack, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast app that you want. Also, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a rating or review — it really does help the show. And if you’re on YouTube, don’t forget to “like” the video and subscribe to the channel 🔔You can also subscribe to The Media Copilot newsletter (link in show notes) and visit mediacopilot.ai for exclusive resources, tools, and AI training courses built specifically for media professionals.This episode of The Media CoPilot was produced by Pete Pachal, Executive Producer Michele Musso, and with video/audio editing by the Musso Media team. Produced by Musso Media. © 2025 Musso Media. All rights reserved.Music: Favorite by Alexander Nakarada, licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 License © AnyWho Media 2025

Sara Beykpour, CEO of Particle and former Twitter executive, discusses revolutionizing news consumption through AI. She shares how Particle goes beyond traditional aggregators by creating comprehensive summaries that highlight key facts and source transparency. The concept of 'liquid content' is examined, transforming lengthy articles into concise formats. Beykpour also explains the importance of personalized news agents powered by AI, empowering users with more control over their media consumption while battling misinformation and bias.

Florent Daudens, Press Lead at Hugging Face and former CBC journalist, dives into the fascinating interplay of AI and journalism. He discusses overcoming skepticism about AI in newsrooms and the blurring lines between editorial and product teams. Learn how the rise of 'product-minded reporters' is changing the landscape. Florent also explores the future of AI discovery and the concept of the 'Internet of Agents,' while introducing AIEO, the next evolution of SEO tailored for AI-driven media. A must-listen for anyone curious about the future of journalism!