Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest

New research shows how news coverage influences countries’ emergency aid budgets

“The bureaucrats we interviewed said that, in some circumstances, sudden and intense news coverage did increase levels of humanitarian aid — regardless of whether or not the crisis merited it.” By Martin Scott, Kate Wright and Mel Bunce.

Need help navigating change in your newsroom? Khan Academy has some ideas.

A case study of how Khan Academy changed how they worked — and what newsrooms can learn from how they tested new ideas, tackled challenges, and found success. By Eric Athas and Kim Perry.
What We’re Reading
Reuters / Laura Gottesdiener
Two Haitian journalists were killed by a gang outside Port-au-Prince →
“…after suspected gang members opened fire on a group of reporters who had arrived to interview the leader of a rival gang, according to a police official and local media. The two slain journalists were Amady John Wesley, who worked for the Montreal-based radio station Ecoute FM, and local reporter Wilguens Louissaint.”
Twitter / Mark Gurman
Yes, Apple has an AR headset coming out soon, but they think the “metaverse” looks creepy too →
“I’ve been told pretty directly that the idea of a completely virtual world where users can escape to — like they can in Meta Platforms/Facebook’s vision of the future — is off limits from Apple…The augmented-reality headset is Apple’s real priority because it can be worn all day and, naturally, not take anyone out of their real environment.”
The New York Times / Matthew Rosenberg, Jim Rutenberg, and Michael M. Grynbaum
The January 6 attacks’ “big lies” started as soon as the attacks did →
“In a hallmark of the times, what many Americans are willing to believe about Jan. 6 — a day thoroughly documented in real-time by journalists, participants and cable TV, and reconstructed in the hundreds of cases being assembled by federal prosecutors — is determined by their politics, not by the facts.”
GeekWire / Todd Bishop
Audible has killed off its daily audio digests of national newspaper stories →
“Audible’s newspaper audio digests featured human narrators reading a selection of stories from each newspaper. Audible’s New York Times Audio Digest launched in February 1999, almost a year before Amazon made its first strategic investment in Audible…The Times digests ended on Dec. 31, the Journal on Nov. 30, and the Post on Nov. 13.”
Medium / Aron Pilhofer
Is the New York Times/Athletic deal a potential disaster for local news? →
“By purchasing The Athletic, which covers 270-plus sports teams in more than 47 local markets, The Times has placed itself in direct competition with every local news site for the same pool of subscribers. And since the average number of news sites people will pay for is one, that is very bad news indeed for local legacy news organizations.”
Bloomberg / Katie Roof and Crystal Tse
Reddit could go public as early as March →
“Reddit could be valued at as much as $15 billion in an initial public offering, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.”
The Washington Post / Bryan Pietsch
Ruth Shalit Barrett is suing The Atlantic for $1 million over its retraction of her article →
“She alleges that the retraction of the article and a lengthy editor’s note that disavowed her and mentioned incidents of plagiarism in her past ‘destroyed her reputation and career’…’This would be pretty damning for the Atlantic if it were coming from someone without a long history of making s— up,’ the journalist Tom Scocca wrote on Twitter.”
Press Gazette / Bron Maher
ITN’s Deborah Turness is the new head of BBC News →
“She takes over at a turbulent time: [Fran] Unsworth’s period at the helm of BBC News has seen a major restructuring involving the loss of hundreds of jobs and a push to increase the broadcaster’s presence outside London. The corporation also finds itself a battleground in the culture war, with scuffles over the impartiality of its leaders, broadsides from the culture secretary and intense scrutiny of how it covers social issues.”
Committee to Protect Journalists / Nick Lewis/CPJ Central Asia correspondent
As Armenia legislates libel and insult, journalists worry “selective justice” will be used against the press →
“The changes to the civil code come after the July 30 introduction of criminal charges for ‘grave insult,’ in which those found guilty of repeatedly ‘cursing or insulting a person’s dignity in another extremely obscene way’ can face up to three months in prison or fines of up to three million drams (US$6,300). Fines for first offenses against government officials and public figures are higher than fines for first offenses against private individuals.”
The Washington Post / Kim Bellware
Republican leadership bars journalists from Iowa Senate floor, worrying press advocates →
“The new rule denies reporters access to the press benches near senators’ desks, a proximity current and former statehouse reporters told The Washington Post is crucial for the most accurate and nuanced coverage. The position allows reporters to see and hear everything clearly on the Senate floor and to get real-time answers and clarifications during debates.”