Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest

How Seen’s mobile journalism reaches 7 million people across platforms

“Three years ago, I would have said that every platform is super different from the others. Now they’ve all become quite similar.” By Francesco Zaffarano.
There are more nonprofit digital newsrooms, but the pace of growth has slowed
What We’re Reading
Slate Magazine / Jay Willis
How the legal press corps could cover the Supreme Court’s busy season better →
“The sheer volume of decisions and the breakneck pace at which they’re released has created a pretty predictable mode for news coverage.”
Los Angeles Times / Kent Nishimura
A Los Angeles Times staff photographer on covering Sen. Dianne Feinstein →
“In committee meetings, her public remarks have been limited and she is always surrounded by staff. They often form a human barrier between her and the press corps, with one staffer pushing her wheelchair while others shout at photographers to move out of the way.”
Washington Post
The Washington Post announces new teams to “harness the power of generative AI” →
“The AI Hub will spearhead The Post’s experimentation, collaboration, and proof-of-concept AI initiatives company-wide. It is also accountable for coordinating efforts and ensuring alignment of our AI projects with the strategies, guardrails, and priorities established by the AI Taskforce, while also focusing on future innovation.”
New York Times / Benjamin Mullin
Semafor has raised $19 million, replacing money from Sam Bankman-Fried →
The money from disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Bankman-Fried, roughly $10 million, will be placed returned to his creditors at the direction of the authorities, the news outlet said. New investors in Semafor include the Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, owner of the Middle East news website Al-Monitor Jorge Paulo Lemann, private equity giant Jamal Daniel, and a network of business leaders founded by Charles Koch.
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Laura Oliver
How news site Daraj reports on women’s rights and corruption across the Middle East →
Founded in 2017, the Lebanon-based news site publishes up to eight articles, videos, and social media-first stories a day with a core team of 20.
The Daily Beast / Corbin Bolies
“That’s not journalism”: A news editor quit The Messenger days before launch →
“What was presented to me as the job and what the job was was two entirely different things. I was told that this was going to be long-form journalism and all it was was aggregated content and clickbait, and to me, that’s not journalism.” (We wrote about their launch last week.)
Media Development Foundation
Report: Local news outlets in Ukraine dealing with “war-related fatigue” and global interest →
“English-language content output is increasing, while Russian-language output declines. This heightened global interest presents a window of opportunity for local media.”
WSJ / Alexandra Bruell
The New York Times and its newsroom union agree on a contract after a two-year fight →
“The tentative agreement, which would be effective until March 2026, includes a salary floor of $65,000 and raises of at least 10.6% for all staff. It also includes a hybrid-work guarantee allowing most members to work remotely at least two days a week until September 2024 and at least one day a week until the end of the contract.”