The Washington Post / Ben Strauss
Sports Illustrated’s union has filed a labor grievance over mass layoffs →“According to the complaint, the NewsGuild alleges Arena fired employees because of their “support of the Union engagement in Union activities and/or engagement in other protected activities.” In a statement, the guild said managers and supervisors who are not eligible for the guild were not targeted by the layoffs.”
Talking Biz News / Chris Roush
The Washington Post / Timothy Bella
How NBC’s Dateline took back its true-crime throne via podcasts →“With more than 1.3 billion downloads since 2019, Dateline continually ranks near the top of the major podcast charts. Apple ranked it as the No. 3 podcast across all genres for the second straight year — mentioned in the same breath as powerhouses like This American Life and Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take. It was Podtrac’s No. 1 true-crime podcast of 2023, when the Alex Murdaugh trial in South Carolina whetted a public appetite for crime-scene reconstructions and courtroom drama.”
The Intercept / Daniel Boguslaw and Ryan Grim
Reuters / Kirsti Knolle and Sarah Marsh
The New York Times / Cecilia Kang
A key player in the future of generative AI? The sleepy U.S. Copyright Office →“The attention stems from a first-of-its-kind review of copyright law that the Copyright Office is conducting in the age of artificial intelligence. The technology — which feeds off creative content — has upended traditional norms around copyright, which gives owners of books, movies, and music the exclusive ability to distribute and copy their works.”
Global Investigative Journalism Network / Laura Dixon
Press Gazette / Charlotte Tobitt
The Guardian / Mark Sweney
A new investigation is pushing back The Telegraph’s sale to UAE money →“The new investigation will cover the same ground, with Ofcom tasked at looking into the implications of the deal on the need for accurate presentation of news, free expression of opinion, and a sufficient plurality of views and control of ownership. The CMA will look at any potential competition concerns.”
The New York Times / Ryan Mac, Benjamin Mullin, and Katie Robertson
Press Gazette / Bron Maher
The New York Times / Rory Smith
When soccer’s content mine loses sight of reality →“What unites all of the documentaries that have followed in its wake is how little they actually reveal of the reality of soccer. There are, of course, noteworthy moments…But mostly, they are so tightly controlled, so carefully edited, so highly polished and skilfully produced that any hope of insight is lost in the gleam. They are documentaries cast through the most flattering Instagram filter. They capture the story that the club or the individual concerned wishes to be told.”
The New York Times / Sam Roberts
R.I.P. Jon Franklin, pioneering apostle of literary journalism →“An author, teacher, reporter, and editor, Mr. Franklin championed the nonfiction style that was celebrated as New Journalism but that was actually vintage narrative storytelling — an approach that he insisted still adhere to the old-journalism standards of accuracy and objectivity.”
Press Gazette / James Rosewell
Why news publishers should fight to stop rollout of Google Privacy Sandbox →“Whether you measure it by advertising revenue share, browser usage or any other factor Google is a monopolist. Google doesn’t deny this. Privacy Sandbox further entrenches this monopolist status by inserting their business into every advertising interaction on Chrome. This is not good for competition on any level.”
The Guardian / Kate Connolly
Germany unearths a pro-Russia disinformation campaign on Twitter →“Using specialized monitoring software, the experts uncovered a huge trail of posts over a one-month period from 10 December, which amounted to a sophisticated and concerted onslaught on Berlin’s support for Ukraine. More than 1m German-language posts were sent from an estimated 50,000 fake accounts, amounting to a rate of two every second.”
New York / Shawn McCreesh
Condé Nast and other publishers stare into the abyss →“Increasingly, journalists have moved on from ascribing blame for the collapse of the news business to ‘the internet’ and vast technological forces beyond their control. They’re blaming corporate executives who seem unable to come up with plans that cobble together revenues from subscriptions, dwindling advertising money, e-commerce sales, and events — which is what successful executives have accomplished at the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. It’s not a business model that’s glamorous or sexy; it’s a slog, scraping together pennies, a reality that no amount of union activity is going to avoid.”