From The Bunker…

What’s Up RAJ?

This is the 5th email newsletter sent out from the FTVLive Bunker.

This week I am sitting down to work on my taxes and it always stresses me out. I always wonder if I have set aside enough money to pay Uncle Sam?

Along with my taxes, you can feel a change in the air here in Florida. Temps have been in the 90’s the past few weeks and it is just going to get hotter.

While people that live up north can’t wait for Summer to arrive, those of us in Florida head inside to the AC and can’t wait for Fall.

It is nice when the snowbirds start heading back north and the traffic here gets just a bit better.

Let’s get to the newsletter, so I can get back to doing my taxes. I hate this week.

P.S. Please consider becoming a Patron of FTVLive. You get EXCLUSIVE content and it helps support the site. Details here.

Scott Jones, FTVLive.com

Bits From the Bunker

April 5

Why is There an * at the End of Some of FTVLive’s Headlines

Several people have asked me why there is sometimes an * at the end of the headlines on stories on FTVLive.com (example above)?

The asterisk has been at the end of some headlines on FTVLive since the beginning of the year.

The * means that I didn’t write the story, nor did anyone else.

The story was written by artificial intelligence. I have been using AI since last year, and seeing how far it has come in the past few months is impressive.

AI is an awesome tool, and I have been encouraging all of you to start dipping your toes in the AI pool if it improves and helps your productivity.

I know that companies like Nexstar are banning the use of AI in their newsrooms, but I can assure you that that will change over time.

Artificial intelligence is an awesome tool, yet it can also be scary as it gets better.

Like many of you, I saw the picture of the Pope wearing a white puffer jacket.

I didn’t really think much about it at the time, other than the fact that I thought it was an odd wardrobe choice for the Pope.

A few days later, I learned that the photo was not real and it was created by AI.

Artificial intelligence continues to get better, and that will lead to more fakes. I heard a song the other day that sounded exactly like Jay Z singing. Come to find out, it was an AI-generated voice.

As AI continues its advances, Journalists will really need to be careful not to be fooled. But, does that mean you should not use AI? Not at all, like I said, this is an amazing tool and the more you use it, the more you understand it.

Do I think that a day will come when AI will replace a News Anchor on the local news here in the United States?

I would not rule it out.

Look at a bottom-line company like Sinclair. Do you think if Sinclair could replace Anchors with AI and the viewers wouldn’t be able to tell, they would do it?

Of course, because you don’t have to pay AI, and AI never calls in sick or takes vacations.

By the way, I asked Bing’s AI to make a picture of an artificial intelligence news anchor on an anchor desk. This is what the AI came up with. None of these people pictured are real.

You might like I’m crazy, and this is all far-fetched science fiction.

But, just remember, many of you have been reading some AI stories on FTVLive for months and you didn’t even know it.

Something to think about.

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The Home Office

We have been showcasing some of your homes here on the newsletter and we wanted to show you another one.

Deb is a Producer at a midwest station and shared a couple of pics of the home office that she and her husband use. Deb does not want us to share which station she works at because her “News Director reads FTVLive all the time and I don’t want him to think I know anything about your website.”

The couple’s home office is actually a shed they built in the backyard. “It’s nice because you can leave the house to go work, but you only walk a few steps to get to the office.”

They said that the office has been great and it frees up a spare bedroom in the house that they were using as their office before building the backyard shed.

I like how clean the office is and it looks like a great place to work. Great job guys!

If you want to share some pictures of something cool at your home. Send them to FTVLive at Gmail dot com.

How Would You Like That Job?

There is a possibility that US Secret Service Agents could go to jail, even though they have broken no laws.

As the media is once again locked into a Donald Trump obsession, the story has a fascinating twist.

According to a retired US judge, Joseph Cosgrove, Trump would not lose his Secret Service agents even if he ended up behind bars. Cosgrove, who served on the Court of Common Pleas of the 11th Judicial District in Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, told Sky News on Tuesday that the agents would follow him to jail for his protection.

“No matter where he goes, he will have secret service protection, which creates just this bizarre image,” Cosgrove said.

“Let’s assume the worst for Trump: if he were sentenced to some sort of confinement, he would be confined with his secret service agents,” he added.

Cosgrove explained that Trump’s agents are legally bound to “protect him at all cost,” as former presidents are entitled to Secret Service protection for life under federal law. But navigating how a former president gets protected in jail would be a first in US history.

A grand jury in Manhattan indicted Trump last Thursday after an investigation into a $130,000 hush-money payment to Daniels, who claims she had an affair with him in 2006. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Former Secret Service officials say that if Trump went to prison for any reason, Secret Service agents would very likely follow him there.

“They would have no choice,” said Tim Franklin, a former Secret Service agent who is now a criminology and criminal justice professor at Arizona State University.

However, experts say that a jail term for Trump is unlikely, as he could face fines or probation instead.

While the media Trump obsession shifts back into overdrive, I don’t feel the need to follow every little tidbit with the case. It’s stories like this one that are much more interesting to me.

That will wrap up this week’s “Live From the Bunker.” Feel free to share your thoughts with the link down below.

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