Monday, November 8, 2021 |
| Vox’s mission, as Sharma and her team redefined it, is to still explain the news, but in a way that empowers people with the information and insight they need to understand the world around them. By Hanaa' Tameez. |
|
| Google “streamlined” its audio news offerings by ending its algorithm-customized briefing. Who’ll figure out the best way for listeners to discover short audio news? By Joshua Benton. |
Wirecutter’s union threatens to walk out over Black Friday — and urges readers to boycott the site then — if a deal with The New York Times isn’t reached What We’re ReadingVice / Tim Marchman
In yet another column, the Times’ Ben Smith writes about NewsGuild without mentioning he worked against it →“In [his latest column], he doesn’t disclose that he worked against BuzzFeed staffers organizing with NewsGuild when he was in charge of the site’s news side, or that he has a financial interest in BuzzFeed, with which the union is currently negotiating.”The Washington Post / Elahe Izadi
The Chattanooga Times Free Press is cutting back on print and training readers to use iPads instead. Will it work? →The Chattanooga Times Free Press is owned by Walter Hussman, who piloted the straetgy at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “The Chattanooga Times Free Press began distributing iPads to subscribers in September and offering in-personal tutorials in community rec centers, hotel conference rooms and the newsroom — in anticipation of the end of the daily print edition next year … Every print subscriber will get to keep their iPad so long as they keep paying their $34-a-month subscription rate.”Columbia Journalism Review / Feven Merid
McClatchy is pulling out of Report for America after RFA’s president criticized hedge-fund ownership →“In an email to CJR, [McClatchy’s senior vice president for news Kristin] Roberts wrote, ‘Part of the rationale behind our partnership with RFA was extending coverage. We have shown that we can and should and these beats are now shifting into the core.’” Off The Record / Andrew Fedorov
Hearst will no longer ask writers to pay a fee for the privilege of prompt payments →“Improved working conditions are rarely achieved by way of a tweet, but following an uproar around a post on October 26 by Roxane Gay, author of the best seller Bad Feminist, Hearst adjusted its freelancer payment policy to universal net zero payouts, financial nomenclature meaning they will now pay immediately when billed rather than waiting 30 days or more.”The Guardian / Tory Shepherd
News Corp Australia posted a nearly $61 million loss as the pandemic continues to take a toll on media companies →“The company blamed a $167m hit to advertising revenues on regional and community closures or digital transitions.” The Associated Press / Edith M. Lederer
UN draft condemns attacks on journalists, urges punishment →“A proposed U.N. resolution would ‘unequivocally’ condemn all attacks, reprisals and violence against journalists and media workers and urge governments to take action to end the prevailing impunity and punish these crimes.”Popular Information / Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, and Rebecca Crosby
Right-wing operatives deploy massive network of fake local news sites to weaponize CRT →“Nationwide, tens of thousands of articles about Critical Race Theory have been published across the Metric Media network. That number is growing every day. The network is positioned to be a powerful tool in injecting Critical Race Theory into the 2022 campaign under the guise of ‘local news.'”The New York Times / Ben Smith
Why labor has become a hot news beat →“The new brand of labor journalism runs the gamut from conventional newspaper reporting to outright advocacy, and the most ambitious new entrant on the scene hails unapologetically from the Bernie Sanders stream of class-based American politics: More Perfect Union, a nonprofit news outlet that quietly started in February. It is led, in part, by Faiz Shakir, the former manager of Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, and Nico Pitney, a former top editor at The Huffington Post and NowThisNews.”The Guardian / Leyland Cecco
A rogue butt-dial is tearing one of Canada’s biggest media companies apart →“Kicked off by an accidental pocket dial that revealed an executive-level coup attempt, the battle has pitted mother against son, ensnared Toronto’s mayor and drawn comparisons to the HBO show Succession…While Rogers is publicly traded, it has a dual share structure, with voting control still held by the family.”The Hollywood Reporter / Eriq Gardner
The news company getting sued the most for defamation is…Netflix? →“…a review of court records shows the streamer is facing more active libel suits than any big news organization. Think it’s CNN, The New York Times, Fox News or some other media outlet that has the most to lose from changing defamation standards in favor of plaintiffs? Well, perhaps, but don’t discount how libel jurisprudence might factor in the future of entertainment.”Poynter / Barbara Allen
University of Georgia students saved a 148-year-old weekly newspaper — by taking it over →“The family donated the paper to The Oglethorpe Echo Legacy Inc., a nonprofit established as part of the arrangement…UGA journalism students will provide content under the direction of Grady faculty. The first edition of the reimagined paper, staffed by paid UGA interns until a capstone class takes over in January, came out on Thursday.”The Sample / Jacob O'Bryant
How The Sample drives thousands of newsletter subscriptions →“It’s a newsletter discovery service. After you sign up, we pick a different newsletter to forward you each day. If you like it, you can hit ‘subscribe in 1 click’ and you’ll get added to their list.”Vice / Emilie Friedlander
Mirror thinks the future of media involves a crypto-based popularity contest →“Unless you’re a crypto fanatic, it’s easy to see Mirror as a kind of niche, crypto-driven amalgam of platforms like Substack and Patreon and Kickstarter—with more steps.” But some writers are making real money on it. One raised the equivalent of $27,000 (now more than $46,000) to expand a Twitter thread on a Billie Eilish documentary into a longform essay.
Nieman Lab / Fuego / Encyclo
Twitter / Facebook
View email in browser
Unsubscribe
You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org.
Nieman Journalism LabHarvard University1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138
Add us to your address book
