The Daily Digest: April 01, 2025
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| “In a bizarre way, the government propaganda also helped create some buzz around the film.” By Sarah Scire. |
In 2011, NPR executives “drafted a secret plan for the worst” What we’re reading
American Journalism ProjectJohn Thornton, venture capitalist and Texas Tribune founder, dies at 59 →“John was the godfather of nonprofit local journalism. He had the radical clarity and moral urgency to see that saving local news wasn’t just necessary — it was possible.”
The Fix / Romain ChauvetHow European publishers are approaching Trump 2.0 coverage →“We will not write anything just to show what character he might have. Purely national decisions that don’t alter the ways of the rest of the world are usually not covered by us on a daily basis.”
Axios / Sara Fischer and Felix SalmonNewsmax valuation soars in MAGA media boom →“It’s unusual for a standalone cable news network to go public, especially in this environment, as advertising sales for traditional networks face pressure from streaming. But Newsmax has seen its ratings climb in the wake of President Trump’s election.”
The New Yorker / Joshua RothmanAre we taking AI seriously enough? →“The message, for those of us who aren’t computer scientists, is that there’s no need for us to weigh in. Either AI fails, or it reinvents the world. As a result, although AI is upon us, its implications are mostly being imagined by technical people. Artificial intelligence will affect us all, but a politics of AI has yet to materialize. Understandably, civil society is utterly absorbed in the political and social crises centered on Donald Trump; it seems to have little time for the technological transformation that’s about to engulf us. But if we don’t attend to it, the people creating the technology will be single-handedly in charge of how it changes our lives.”
The Guardian / Michael Savage“I can’t cope with it any more”: newsrooms scramble to retain audiences amid the big switch-off →“After discovering that a third of those ditching their subscriptions complained of news fatigue, executives at Spain’s eldiario.es started looking at a new product that concentrated on the best news of the month, or stories with a constructive angle. Dagens Nyheter in Sweden is another outlet consciously including more positive pieces even on difficult topics.”
New York Times / Benjamin MullinWhat happens if Republicans cut off funding for NPR and PBS? →“In February 2011, NPR assembled a 36-page document that detailed exactly what would happen if the Treasury stopped cutting checks to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the government-backed company that supports NPR and PBS. The document, which has not previously been reported, is bleak. It describes a precarious radio system that will bear the blow poorly, with consequences for listeners across the nation….NPR can weather the funding cut, its document predicts, thanks in part to aggrieved listeners: Executives predict a sudden boom in donations if Congress defunds it, as listeners rush to defend their favorite programs. But they will likely give more in big-city markets.”
Press Gazette / Charlotte TobittVox sees a boom in paying readers for explainer journalism in Trump’s second term →“[Editor-in-chief and publisher Swati Sharma] said the ‘biggest difference’ from Trump’s first term was ‘the types of stories people are hungry for’: last time, the dominant narrative was the ‘palace intrigue’ inside the White House…[in] this administration, almost for everyone, there is more of a desire of explanatory journalism and understanding the context.”
The Guardian / Oliver Milman“Chaos”: Trump cuts to Noaa disrupt staffing and weather forecasts →“Noaa’s data collection activity is still being affected, though, with the agency
reducing the number of weather balloons it releases in six locations across the US. The balloons, fitted with weather instruments, are crucial in providing the information for weather forecasts.”
Boston Globe / Aidan RyanTrump’s tariff war with Canada could deal a major blow to New England’s print newspapers →“Newsprint is still typically the second-highest expense behind payroll for newspaper companies …. ‘I’m left with very few levers to control costs,’ said Todd Smith, the fourth generation owner of the Caledonian-Record. ‘We’re as lean as we can be.'”
New York Times / Jessica TestaWhy TV news anchors like Joy Reid and Don Lemon are moving to Substack →“In January, the startup best known for email newsletters
gave all users the ability to publish live video. Now it is home to a handful of cable stars marooned from their mainstream media jobs amid reshuffled lineups, salary cuts and other controversies. On Substack, where politics is the
most popular and lucrative category, anti-Trump publishers have been performing particularly well.”
Puck / Dylan ByersMedia PR people keep leaving →“If good reporters are hard to come by, good comms people are perhaps even harder to find.”
Press Gazette / Charlotte TobittBBC to “open up conversation” with AI providers and invest further in TikTok →The BBC also “said it will expand BBC Verify, which launched in 2023 with a team of more than 60 journalists and the aim of building audience trust by showing how its journalists know what they are reporting is true.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Sewell ChanThe Center for Public Integrity is shutting down →“Wesley Lowery resigned as board chair. The nonprofit newsroom, founded in 1987, is in talks to turn over its archives to a watchdog group.”
New York Times / Nicole SperlingAmazon plans to release at least 14 movies a year in theaters →“For years, the company has released five to eight films theatrically, but it was never clear how long they would stay in theaters before going to Prime Video…now with 14 movies a year, Amazon’s lineup will rival those from the big studios in both size and scope, and most will spend 45 days in theaters before hitting pay-per-view and then Prime.”
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