CalMatters

You’ve heard of generative AI disrupting movies, music, books, and journalism, but it’s also set to impact another creative industry: Dance. Tests of text-to-video models by my colleague Mohamed Al Elew found that across a range of popular dance styles, generative AI has improved in its ability to make photorealistic depictions of people dancing in the past year or so. But dancers told us that it still has a ways to go. While AI may one day get good enough to generate dance that we can't discern from a human, the act of dancing is so much more than unique human movement. Thank you to the ballet, folklorico and modern dancers who showed me that dance is rooted in culture, community, and for some, spirituality. And thank you to my co-author and dance mom Levi Sumagaysay and my former editor and dancer Ramlah Frediani for planting the seeds that brought this story to life. Check out our examples and let us know what you think! https://lnkd.in/gTzSy5iP 📸 screenshots of videos generated by Veo3 and Kling 

CalMatters investigative reporter Anat Rubin has won the Sidney Award from the Sidney Hillman Foundation for her story, “The WalMart of public defense: How justice gets sold to the lowest bidder in rural California.” Every month, the Sidney Award honors outstanding investigative journalism that exposes social and economic injustices. bit.ly/4aUd3y9

CalMatters is proud to be in a coalition to expand local journalism in Los Angeles, and we’re excited to share that one of our partners, The LA Local, a new LA-based news publication, has officially launched its daily news site this week! Check them out: thelalocal.org. With 20+ journalists on the team, collaborating with 24 media and university partners (including CalMatters), they are helping connect Angelenos with each other and learn about stories impacting their daily lives across neighborhoods.

CalMatters is launching a free tool that helps Californians follow, engage and hold their Sacramento lawmakers accountable in a powerful new way. We track everything lawmakers say, vote on, and introduce, and more, so that Californians can keep up with their elected leaders, and so elected leaders are accountable to their voters. bit.ly/4jz6Tpg

A coalition of lawmakers is planning a series of bills this Legislative session to fundamentally revamp how California handles dangerous drivers, Assemblymember Nick Schultz of Burbank said this week. He said the bill is intended to be the “tip of the spear” in a larger movement to address issues exposed by CalMatters’ License to Kill series. The investigation showed how, as roadway deaths spike, the state of California has routinely allowed dangerous drivers with horrifying histories to continue to operate on our roads. bit.ly/4qHphi2 📸 Fred Greaves

CalMatters is launching a free tool that helps Californians follow, engage and hold their Sacramento lawmakers accountable in a powerful new way. Our new tool is a personalized, weekly newsletter called My Legislator, which delivers key updates about your California state assemblymember and senator straight to your email inbox. bit.ly/4pt3h9K

Don’t miss your chance to now have 4x the impact in CalMatters Year-End Drive. The deadline is midnight Dec. 31st to have extra impact, thanks to now three matching funds. Back independent journalism for all Californians. Please give today. bit.ly/3Yap4rD

Inside the newsroom: CalMatters was honored with the Stewart B. McKinney Award by the National Homelessness Law Center in November. The awards honor “leaders who raise awareness about and advance solutions to homelessness and poverty.” bit.ly/4rKLoFR

Back independent journalism for all Californians. Have triple the impact when you give in support of CalMatters’ Year-End Drive, thanks to two matching funds. Keep independent, trustworthy information in every Californian's hands, and hold people in power accountable for what they do — and what they don’t do. Please give today. https://cal.news/3LZfEwk