New York Post / Alexandra Steigrad
The Chronicle of Higher Education / Francie Diep
The colleges that pay for positive coverage →“If you land a profile in a magazine or newspaper that follows the norms of journalism, you’re subject to the reporter’s scrutiny, and possibly to a story that might include faculty members’ criticisms, or unflattering anecdotes. Why bother when you can pay for something that looks like an independent profile, and promote it afterward as if it is?”
The Boston Globe / Aidan Ryan
WBUR offers employee buyouts to help cut 10 percent of budget →“The buyout plan comes weeks after Low told donors that the station had seen ‘a dramatic loss of sponsorship support’ and that the station wouldn’t rule out a hiring freeze or layoffs to help cut costs. Low previously said in an interview with the Globe that on-air sponsorship revenue had fallen 40 percent over the past five years.”
The Guardian / Lisa O'Carroll
EU tells tech firms to hire fact-checkers ahead of elections this year →“Social media firms including TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram will be required to put an army of fact-checkers and moderators in place with a collective knowledge of 24 EU languages amid fears that the European parliamentary elections will be a prime target for disinformation campaigns run by Russia and others including the far right.”
The Atlantic / Louise Matsakis
The end of foreign-language education →“Learning a different way to speak, read, and write helps people discover new ways to see the world—experts I spoke with likened it to discovering a new way to think. No machine can replace such a profoundly human experience. Yet tech companies are weaving automatic translation into more and more products. As the technology becomes normalized, we may find that we’ve allowed deep human connections to be replaced by communication that’s technically proficient but ultimately hollow.”
Washington Post / David Kenner, Sarah Ellison, and Jonathan O'Connell
Qatari royal invested about $50 million in pro-Trump network Newsmax →“Before and after the investment, senior newsroom leaders urged Newsmax staff to soften coverage of Qatar, current and former employees said. A representative for Newsmax strongly disputed that the network ‘slanted coverage to be favorable to Qatar,’ and that [founder and CEO Christopher] Ruddy had told staff not to criticize the country.”
Reuters / Guy Faulconbridge
Washington Post / Alyssa Fowers, Leslie Shapiro, Cate Brown and Hajar Harb
This American Life / Dana Ballout