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The Weekly Wrap: October 18, 2024
From the week
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A year in, The Guardian’s European edition contributes 15% of the publisher’s pageviewsAfter the launch of Guardian Europe, one-time donations from European readers increased by 45%. By Hanaa' Tameez. |
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Press Forward awards $20 million to 205 small local newsroomsIn response to the volume and quality of applications, Press Forward doubled the funding and number of grantees for this open call. By Sophie Culpepper. |
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Midwestern news nonprofit The Beacon shuts down its Wichita newsroom“We’ve realized that we can’t do it all, and have made the decision to no longer have a staffed newsroom in Wichita.” By Sophie Culpepper. |
Highlights from elsewhere
The Information / Sahil Patel
LinkedIn will start highlighting developing news stories in its app →
Also, the “Microsoft-owned professional social media platform has begun expanding a new advertising program to let news publishers sell ads before videos they place on the site, splitting the ad revenue with LinkedIn.”
Semafor / Ben Smith and Justin Smith
After two years, Semafor has 750,000 newsletter subscriptions →
The news startup celebrated its second birthday. “As we look ahead, the US election will be a key test of what we’ve built. The political landscape is more divided than ever, but our mission stays the same: to provide clear, fair, fact-based coverage that our audience can trust.”
Second Rough Draft / Richard J. Tofel
What’s the matter with the Knight Foundation? →
“There are, as I see it, three issues here: 1) the decision to so heavily front-load grants without warning the field that it was doing so; 2) the administrative shortcomings Knight now acknowledges; and 3) the decision to now launch a strategic review of journalism grant-making attendant with a partial pause, without any general announcement of that fact.”
Press Gazette / Bron Maher
Free subs for students are part of The Economist’s “future-proofing” of its business →
“Over the course of that three or four years of study, we’ve given those students a taster of what Economist journalism is and what quality journalism is. And then at that point, they either move on to Espresso or, fingers crossed, they go for a core Economist subscription.”
Adweek / Mark Stenberg
Eater, finally, launches an app →
“Launching an app has been the number one request we get from our readers,” [Eater editor in chief Stephanie Wu] said. “People understand the utility of Eater Maps, and now they have an easier way to access them.”
The New York Times / Benjamin Mullin
Washington Post CEO looks to grow business through acquisitions →
“This is about us getting our house in order. It’s about fixing the foundations in order for us to be able to grow regardless of the news cycle.” (Also: The Post told employees it is growing for the first time since 2021, adding more than 4,000 subscribers so far this year.)
Semafor / Max Tani
Inside Condé Nast’s Gaza war →
“Condé Nast’s high-profile head of diversity quietly stepped down in June amid bitter internal tensions over alleged antisemitism and divisive arguments about the war in Gaza … In September 2020, Condé Nast hired its first head of diversity, equity and inclusion. It was a point of pride for the magazine publisher: Yashica Olden, a veteran DEI officer, became the highest-ranking nonwhite employee at a company that had been roiled by a year of internal frustrations around race.”
