Author: Insights

Big Photo: Getty Images and Shutterstock merge in $3.7B deal to form a new visual content powerhouse

EDITOR’S NOTE: While the Milwaukee Independent has earned a respected reputation for its award-winning photojournalism over the past decade, practical necessities have still required the use of stock photography. As a disclosure, Milwaukee Independent is a subscriber to Shutterstock’s photo content and has licensed individual pictures from Getty Images over the years for event-specific editorial needs. Additionally, access to the photo library of the Associated Press is included as a member news service. In a merger expected to reshape the stock photography and visual content market, Getty Images is joining with Shutterstock to create a $3.7 billion powerhouse, combining...

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Day-One Pardons: Trump vows to free convicted January 6 rioters immediately after his Inauguration

President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to issue mass pardons for supporters convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying he intended to act on his first day back in the White House. Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with moderator Kristen Welker, Trump pledged to bring what he called “legal relief” to hundreds of incarcerated individuals whom he characterized as unfairly punished victims of a broken criminal justice system. “I’m going to be acting very quickly. First day,” Trump said, describing the prison conditions faced by many January 6...

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Algorithms over art: How Spotify revolutionized music while exploiting artists and listeners for profit

In the gilded era of music streaming, millions of tracks are available at our fingertips. A few clicks, and the world of sound becomes accessible, boundless, and instant. Yet beneath the shimmering surface lies a system that many argue is fundamentally broken. It is a business model that disproportionately benefits corporations while exploiting the very artists who make it possible. This is not merely a technological evolution, it has been an industry-altering revolution. And like most revolutions, it is riddled with winners and losers. The problem? The losers are often the creators, the people who pour their lives into...

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Ukrainian tactics to cripple Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have historical parallels to the Russo-Japanese War

In a series of relentless and innovative strikes, Ukraine has continued to weaken Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, echoing a historic naval conflict over a century ago. Ukraine’s effective use of naval drone technology and modern warfare tactics against a superior maritime power draws striking parallels to how Japan crushed the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russo-Japanese War. The comparison offers valuable insights into modern naval strategy and the evolving nature of conflicts at sea. In March, naval drones from Ukraine attacked the Sergei Kotov patrol ship near the Kerch Strait, killing seven Russian crew members and injuring six others....

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