Monday, April 1, 2024 |
| Ten years ago today, a new app arrived to strip the “media” out of social media, reducing messaging to two little letters. It burned bright, but not for long. By Joshua Benton. |
What We’re ReadingThe Verge / Elizabeth Lopatto
How Vice’s executives burned down its newsroom →“Vice employed a lot of talented people at its lower levels. But any attempt to look at the company’s finances suggests a long history of issues at the very top…According to sources, while Vice execs were spending opulently in some areas, the newsroom struggled to pay its bills. A person familiar with the company’s finances claimed that Vice delayed paying vendors until services would be shut off, at which point the company would realize they were necessary and try to figure out how to pay the bills.”Reuters / Dan Williams
Netanyahu pledges “immediate action” to shut down Al Jazeera TV is Israel →“…the Knesset approved the bill allowing the temporary closure in Israel of foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat to national security. The law approved on Monday would allow Netanyahu and the security cabinet to shut the station for a period of 45 days, which would be renewable, and would stay in force until the end of July or until the end of major military operations in Gaza.”Semafor / Max Tani
Apple muscles in on subscription podcasts →“Podcasting, unlike virtually every other online media industry, has resisted being dominated by powerful digital platforms. Most podcasts are distributed across a number of platforms…Many podcasters sell their own ads and maintain a direct relationship with their audiences. But to the extent that podcasting has a homepage, it’s the top of Apple Podcasts.”The Washington Post / Taylor Lorenz
The MrBeast style of editing YouTube videos may be going out of style →“He said that in the past year, he has slowed his videos, focused more on storytelling, ‘let scenes breathe, yelled less’ and focused on longer videos, all of which has resulted in even more views. Other creators, such as YouTuber Sam Sulek, have begun to gain millions of subscribers by posting videos with little to no editing, perhaps a sign that users are fatigued by the current dominant style.”Associated Press / David Bauder
Are partisan on-air contributors worth the trouble for cable news networks? →“‘The reputation of a news organization will never rise on the hiring of a non-journalistic contributor,’ said Mark Whitaker, a former NBC News senior vice president and Washington bureau chief. ‘But it can fall.'”Press Gazette / Clara Aberneithie
The Guardian names five new reporters to cover underreported areas, including in the Caribbean, South America, and Africa →“The new roles are part of Guardian owner Scott Trust’s programme of restorative justice addressing the newspaper’s historical connections with transatlantic slavery, first revealed in July.”The Guardian / Ava Sasani
Missouri’s AG joins Texas in suing critics of Elon Musk →“‘These state attorney generals, first Paxton and now Bailey, are directly responding to Musk’s pleas. They are helping him punish critics,’ said Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters…’Newsrooms are next. There’s no reason to think that state AGs would stop at Media Matters.'”The Wall Street Journal / Christopher Mims
The AI industry is steaming toward a legal iceberg →“If your company uses AI to produce content, make decisions, or influence the lives of others, it’s likely you will be liable for whatever it does…The implications of this are momentous. Every company that uses generative AI could be responsible under laws that govern liability for harmful speech, and laws governing liability for defective products — since today’s AIs are both creators of speech and products.”The New York Times / Michael M. Grynbaum and John Koblin
Corporate polish meets partisan reality for NBC’s news chief →“Cesar Conde is not the typical leader of a major news institution…Now he is trying to navigate the biggest crisis of his tenure: a journalistic firestorm that prompted an open revolt among his stars and has fueled internal questions about just how neatly Mr. Conde’s corporate experience and ambitions gel with the unique challenges of the news business.”The Baffler / Edward Ongweso Jr.
The miseducation of Kara Swisher →“Given how generally rosy her vision of the Valley and its problems has been for years, one would expect a blood sacrifice as proof that her pivot, however slight, in Burn Book is sincere. But despite the book’s juicy title, no such offering is made. Instead, she winds up emphasizing her affinity with the industry at nearly every turn.”Techdirt / Mike Masnick
Why Bluesky remains the most interesting experiment in social media, by far →“…it’s because Bluesky can be seen as something of the antidote to big tech, by enabling the freedom to exit, but without losing the benefits of the service you’re using…Bluesky is basically abstracting out each layer of a social media service and allowing anyone to provide alternatives at each layer.”The Washington Post / Becca Rothfeld
The puzzling is political: Cluing in to the crossword’s feminist origins →The crossword puzzle was “invented by Arthur Wynne in 1913 and quickly denigrated as a frivolously feminine pursuit. The press delighted in framing the crossword craze that erupted in the 1920s as a ‘vice,’ sometimes even an addiction. Columnists and commentators went so far as to worry that the puzzle was a ‘threat to the family unit.'”The New York Times / Katie Robertson
“Every day is hard’: One year since Russia jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich →“Since his arrest, Mr. Gershkovich, 32, has been held in the notorious high-security Lefortovo prison in Moscow, the same facility holding the people accused in the deadly attack at a concert venue in the city this month.”Bloomberg / Ellen Huet
Tech CEOs find friendly podcast hosts to help get out their talking points →“The tech industry has in recent years sought more ways to ‘go direct’ — that is, to get talking points out into the world without having to deal with traditional media, which some view as adversarial and unfairly critical. In that frame of mind, the ideal interlocutor is someone who offers a platform — and maybe even is a tech industry insider — and isn’t a journalist.”Press Gazette / Bron Maher
The Independent will take over BuzzFeed UK and HuffPost UK in a licensing deal →“…the partnership will see the businesses combine their publishing, data and advertising platforms ‘to allow commercial partners to seamlessly buy across their sites.’ As part of the agreement The Independent will take over BuzzFeed’s sub-brands in the UK including food vertical Tasty UK, black British identity brand Seasoned, and HuffPost UK.”CNN / Joshua Berlinger
Iran denies involvement in the stabbing of a prominent exiled Iranian journalist in London →“While Tehran has not been implicated in the attack, the incident has already fueled concerns it could be involved. Iran has designated [Iran International, the U.K.-based TV channel where Pouria Zeraati works] a ‘terrorist entity.’ Iranian state media has repeatedly accused the channel of fomenting unrest.”The Guardian
Russian police have detained the journalist who filmed the last video of Alexei Navalny alive →“[Antonina] Favorskaya covered the trials of Navalny for several years and media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday she was one of six journalists across the country held this month. Russian authorities…accused her of taking part in an ‘extremist organization’ by posting on the social media platforms of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.”The Washington Post / Will Sommer
A conservative book publisher actually had ties to Soros. Litigation ensued. →“All Seasons Press launched in 2021 with a mission: publishing the conservative books that mainstream houses were scared to touch…the company was funded by Scott Bessent, a mega-wealthy investor with a track record of high-profile donations to Republican candidates and sterling conservative credentials — except for the fact that he got his big break in finance as a protégé of billionaire Democratic donor and right-wing boogeyman George Soros.”NPR / John Ruwitch and Michele Kelemen
Radio Free Asia closes its Hong Kong operation over safety concerns for its staff →“Radio Free Asia President Bay Fang said in a statement Friday that the outlet’s programming and content will continue without disruption. But, Fang said, actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a ‘foreign force,’ raise serious questions about its ability to operate in safety following the enactment of [new national security law] Article 23.”BBC / Jamie McIvor
Journalists at Scotland’s STV staged a 24-hour strike over pay →“Our members across Scotland produce the award-winning journalism that is the flagship of the STV brand and are only asking for their pay to keep track with inflation.”The Guardian / Eleni Courea and Jane Croft
Inside the battle for “trophy asset” The Telegraph — and for the soul of Tory Britain →“Founded 168 years ago by the Canadian-born British army officer Arthur B Sleigh, the Telegraph is seen as a mouthpiece of Conservative Britain. When the sale process began in October, the allure of owning that mouthpiece was too much to resist for several media barons. News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch, the Daily Mail group’s Lord Rothermere, the hedge fund manager Sir Paul Marshall, co-owner of GB News, and Axel Springer’s Mattias Döpfner all expressed their interest.”
Nieman Lab / Fuego
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