Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest

Federal aid for local news gets a makeover

The new bill would create advertising tax credits and payroll tax credits for five years. By Sarah Scire.
What We’re Reading
New York Times / Joseph Bernstein
“Why won’t Simon Ateba stop shouting?” →
“For the past year and a half, that cramped, 49-seat theater at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been the main stage for the Simon Ateba show — a protest act that has propelled him, the 43-year-old owner and apparently the sole employee of an obscure news organization, into the national conversation.”
Lenfest Institute for Journalism
The Philadelphia Local News Sustainability Initiative will provide local news orgs $2 million over two years →
The initiative will award up to 16 grants — 8 two-year grants of up to $100,000 and 8 two-year grants of up to $150,000 — to for-profit and nonprofit local news organizations with operating revenue budgets between $500,000 – $5 million.
New York Times / Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris
Booksellers move to the front lines of the fight against books bans in Texas →
“A group of booksellers, publishers and authors filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop a new law in Texas that would require stores to rate books based on sexual content, arguing the measure would violate their First Amendment rights and be all but impossible to implement.”
GitHub
Using FOIA and data to track maternal mortality rates and “near misses” →
“Initially prompted by the release of data from the nonprofit journalism organization MuckRock, reporters at The News & Observer in early March set out to examine why more women in the U.S. and North Carolina are dying of pregnancy-related complications.”
New York Times Co.
The New York Times and PRX will bring The Ezra Klein Show to public radio →
It’ll be available to stations across the United States beginning November 10 as a one-hour weekly program.
Nightingale / Chesca Kirkland
Behind the scenes with Axios’ 20-person data visualization team →
“Most buttered states.” “When is it acceptable to put up a Christmas tree?” “Price of a coney dog at select Detroit restaurants.”
Press Gazette / Dominic Ponsford
Telegraph Media Group nears 1 million subscribers →
“Subscriptions in 2022 were up 2% overall to 734,000 with digital-only subs up 8% to 587,000.”
WSJ / Raffaele Huang
TikTok is launching an e-commerce business in the U.S. →
The video platform will offer made-in-China goods to consumers, stepping up its rivalry with popular shopping platforms Shein and Temu.
CNN / Matias Grez
BBC apologizes for reporter’s “inappropriate” question to Morocco soccer captain →
“Asking a player about her teammates and whether they are gay and how it affects them when you know it is not permissible is bizarre and out of line. The captain cannot out players nor comment on policy [because] it could be dangerous for them, too.”
TechCrunch / Ivan Mehta
Google says 2 billion logged-in users are watching YouTube Shorts every month →
That numbers represents an edge over competitors like TikTok and Instagram Reels.