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Monday, December 9, 2024
 | Lessons learned in The Building of Lost Causes“The skills we developed while facing down the fossil fuel industry — persistence through trolling campaigns, converting readers one by one, turning an upstart publication into essential reading — these aren’t just about journalism. They’re about how to keep building when everything around you feels like it’s crumbling.” By Linda Solomon Wood. |
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Blocking out the audience’s siren song“But most governance — even extreme governance — is banal. If Project 2025 is anything to go by, journalists need to focus more on the boring minutiae of policymaking and not on the sensationalism of politics.” By Jonas Kaiser. |
 | Journalism education leads the change we seek“Training the next generation of journalists means preparing them to be global citizens.” By Mira Lowe. |
 | Newsrooms break new ground in AI“Our industry has an unfortunate history of having disruptive emerging technologies inflicted upon it, putting us on the defensive and forcing us to begrudgingly adapt. But this time around, it feels like we’re taking some welcome initiative.” By Chase Davis. |
 | Podcasting becomes the primary strategy, not an afterthought“At a time where traditional media trust continues to hit historic lows, podcasts can help long-standing organizations establish stronger relationships with audiences and, in the process, drive real change in how people think and engage with the news.” By Joni Deutsch. |
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Get ready for the AI-driven world of news“We’re largely in the much more mundane business of informing readers about that day’s events. And that’s the work that AI systems will disrupt first.” By Gina Chua. |
 | Antitrust and AI news converge and get local“While compensation deals between AI companies and news publishers may sound good, who gives what and under what conditions depends on bargaining power.” By Karina Montoya. |
 | Progressive media at a crossroads“This coming year will see major growth in online progressive media. What’s harder to predict is which communities will see themselves represented in this media. Which communities will hear this media speaking to their experiences and frustrations?” By Anthony Nadler. |
 | Public media reconciles its past with the present“Preserving public broadcasting in its current form is not an option. So let’s hold hands together and leap.” By Kristen Muller. |
 | Conflict of interest norms will shift“Journalists are already content creators and even ‘influencers.’ They’re simply asking to get paid for it.” By Kaitlin C. Miller. |
 | The moral injury epidemic“For many organizations, what I’m describing requires culture change. The ‘good’ news is that things are now desperate enough for most that change is the only choice.” By Andrew Losowsky. |
 | Adaptive partnerships in the AI data marketplace“With so many competing startups vying to serve this emerging market, there will be lots of opportunities for publishers — and in some cases journalists who have their own newsletters or websites — to experiment.” By Courtney Radsch. |
 | Outlets pivot to promoting action, not just news“Journalism at its core should be information that’s useful or user-friendly, that helps people navigate their lives on a daily basis, that helps them make decisions impacting their future, that helps them take action.” By Anita Li. |
 | AI adoption matures in small and local newsrooms“Why is formalizing AI adoption necessary? Experimentation, while valuable, has its limits.” By Ernest Kung. |
 | Local media gets its swagger back“Consumers will continue to rely on local reporters that live and work in their community to validate information.” By Fran Wills. |
 | Focus on the people who elect populists“It’s time to admit that we are not fulfilling our core duty and move beyond our comfortable position of self-proclaimed superiority.” By Francesco Zaffarano. |
What We’re Reading
OPB / Ryan Haas
AI slop is invading Oregon’s local journalism →
“The Daily Tidings appears to be the first time an Oregon news outlet has stolen the identities of real journalists to trick local readers with AI-generated content. The goal is apparently to deceive Oregonians into giving clicks — and the resulting ad revenue — to whoever is behind the website.”
Boston Globe / Lina Chawaf
I fled Assad’s brutal regime in Syria. Will his replacement be any better? →
“I learned that as independent media, you will never satisfy any armed group or political party. But that’s as it should be: We’re not there for them. We are there for the people of Syria.” Chawaf is Nieman Foundation fellow.
American Crisis / Margaret Sullivan
The trouble with billionaires, especially media owners →
“One important way for media owners to deal with conflicts of interest is to remove themselves from editorial decisions and to be clear with readers about that. That’s the opposite of what Bezos did with the Harris editorial.”
404 Media / Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, and Joseph Cox
404 Media objects to Texas attorney general Ken Paxton’s subpoena to access our reporting →
“In October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed 404 Media, demanding that we hand over confidential information about our reporting and an anonymous source to help the state of Texas in a wholly unrelated case it is pursuing against Google.”
Semafor / Max Tani
Weakened U.S. public broadcasters will fight for their lives in 2025 →
“The challenge is: If NPR was going to put out podcasts, that would be bypassing the stations, right? So this is probably, in my view, the single biggest source of slowness to be able to really launch meaningful podcasts, because you cannot bypass the stations. It’s a challenge, and it has really impeded innovation.”
Semafor / Max Tani
Taylor Lorenz and Vox are parting ways →
“Vox’s decision not to renew the show was made before Lorenz’s comments this week, in which she appeared to justify the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO as an expression of public discontent … In a post on X earlier this month, Lorez said she was revamping Power User, moving it away from an interview show, and was looking for a co-host.”
Embedded / Kate Lindsay
The woman behind the top Google search result for (seemingly) every baking question →
Sally McKenney of Sally’s Baking Addiction on why cooking sites have all that text before the recipe, SEO, and more. “I’m thinking about what people would want to know about a chocolate chip cookie recipe. How do you store them? Do I need a mixer? And answering those questions in the text. Google wants to see that.”
