Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest

Can U.S. journalism truly serve global audiences? Not if it treats them like an afterthought

What would a truly global media company look like? By Anita Zielina.

“The idea and techniques of investigative reporting can be done by anyone anywhere”: How Francisco Vara-Orta wants to change IRE’s mission

“We all grew up with All the President’s Men. You don’t want to take away from the power of that moment and the press holding the administration accountable. But we have to think, why was there not a Black person or a woman on that team?” By Janelle Salanga.
35 journalists and activists in El Salvador were spied on — possibly by their own government
What We’re Reading
The New York Times / Maggie Haberman
RNC signals a pullout from presidential debates →
“If the RNC moves forward with it, it is unclear what that would mean for future debates. But it would change the approach to be similar to what happened before the commission existed, when the two parties or campaigns had to negotiate directly and agree on terms, or no debates would take place.”
PressGazette / William Turvill
One million digital-only subscribers by year end and a family legacy: LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong on his ambitious plans →
“Look, I think if we can grow to a million in the next year, and then double that every year, that will make us very sustainable until we get to 4-5m. The New York Times has done it.”
Washington Post / Cristiano Lima
No one reads the terms of service. Lawmakers want to fix that with a new “TLDR” bill. →
“Users should not have to comb through pages of legal jargon in a website’s terms of services to know how their data will be used. Requiring companies to provide an easy-to-understand summary of their terms should be mandatory and is long overdue.”
CNN / Nimi Princewill and Stephanie Busari
Nigeria to lift Twitter ban after six-month suspension →
“The decision was made after Twitter agreed to meet all conditions set by the Nigerian government, according to a government statement. Those conditions include “managing prohibited publication in line with Nigerian law” and addressing issues of operations and tax.”
HuffPost / Brandon Soderberg and Andy Friedman
Major media outlets can’t stop describing police violence as “officer-involved” incidents →
“Following the murder of George Floyd, The Associated Press issued guidance that reporters should not describe instances where police shot someone with neutral language. It didn’t work.”
E&E News / Thomas Frank
Inside The New York Times’ crossword correction on coal →
“On Jan. 3, Times editors replied and said Lempel had raised “a thoughtful point about clean coal” but that Will Shortz ‘still finds the clue better as it is without any hedging.’”
The Washington Post / Paul Farhi
A Rochelle Walensky interview sparked outrage. But the CDC says ABC omitted crucial context. →
“After CDC officials obtained a full version of the interview and complained to ABC this week, the network took down the misleading clips and post the fuller version with a note: ‘This video clip has been updated to include an extended version. … A shorter version edited for time was broadcast on Friday, January 7.’”
Current / jesikah maria ross and Olivia Henry
How CapRadio connected with rural audiences during the pandemic →
“Our planning group told us how important it was for stories to appear where Plumas and Sierra residents would organically find them, and for the most part that was not CapRadio.”
Substack / Parker Molloy
The tighter a video is clipped, the less inclined you should be to share it →
“Out-of-context videos: we’ve all seen them, most of us have fallen for them, and many of us have (wittingly or not) shared them. They’re not new, but they do seem to have become a bit more prevalent in the age of social media. Even worse: the way these clips target our emotional responses our biases make them even more likely to spread.
Tech Policy Press / Justin Hendrix
More than 260 scientists and doctors call on Spotify to implement misinformation policy over false claims on Joe Rogan Show →
“The December episode attracted attention in part because Dr. Malone falsely claimed millions of people were ‘hypnotized’ to believe certain facts about Covid-19, and that people standing in line to get tested as the omicron variant has driven record new cases of the virus was an example of ‘mass formation psychosis,’ a phenomenon that does not exist.”
Boston Business Journal / Don Seiffert
Gannett to stop Saturday print editions at 136 newspapers nationwide →
“Sources told the Business Journal that while the chain’s two largest dailies, The Providence Journal and the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, will not be affected, most others will, including the Cape Cod Times, the Fall River Herald News and the New Bedford Standard Times. Some of Gannett’s dailies, such as the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, have already discontinued Saturday print editions.”
FiveThirtyEight / Maggie Koerth
“Back alley” advice is making the pandemic worse →
“Two years into the pandemic, it’s infuriating that so many basic facts we need for everyday risk reduction still come from a combination of well-written news stories you just have to hope you can find, Twitter threads of questionable provenance, and something you heard from your friend’s cousin’s doctor.”