Thursday, December 5, 2024 | “The newest generation of journalists will not give in to pessimism about whether their profession still matters in an age of cynicism about the press.” By Christoph Mergerson. |
| “If civic-affairs news is the broccoli of American journalism, then coverage of legislative procedure is the unsalted lima bean.” By Nik Usher. |
| “In 2025, unless we come together as a journalism field and course-correct away from information consolidation controlled by the ultra-wealthy, it will get worse.” By Gabe Schneider. |
| “Somewhere in the future, beyond 2025, a flourishing landscape of adequately financed, equitable media enterprises will deliver impactful content, serve diverse communities, and achieve financial independence.” By Adam Thomas. |
| “The theories of AI as a substituting force or complementary force in the labor market provide a way to chart the choices ahead.” By Alfred Hermida. |
| “What if reporting on racist, misogynist, dehumanizing opinions and comments has the opposite effect from what most journalists intend — normalizing propaganda and even making political candidates seem interesting?” By Alexandra Borchardt. |
| “The media and tech industries, frequently to the dismay of both, are deeply and inextricably intertwined.” By Maggie Harrison Dupré. |
| “Many publishers remain anchored to hierarchies born in the print era, with editorial at the center and product and technology bolted on as afterthoughts.” By Nick Petrie. |
| “It will be the educators’ job to direct students in the most effective ways to use AI to extend their capabilities, not replace them.” By Cindy Royal. |
| “Joe Rogan is a symptom of changing media systems, not the root cause.” By Jessica Maddox. |
| “If you’d been elected to some local position in the past year, my call was probably your first time ever dealing with a journalist. That had never been true in my past jobs.” By Sam Mintz. |
| “A ‘finishable’ print product from a trusted source which takes the time to explain and consider news would be right for the growing wave of news avoiders who are overwhelmed by the 24/7 news cycle.” By Esther Kezia Thorpe. |
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| Earlier this year, the WSJ owner sued Perplexity for failing to properly license its content. Now its research tool Factiva has negotiated its own AI licensing deals. By Andrew Deck. |
What We’re ReadingStatus / Oliver Darcy
Patrick Soon-Shiong tightens his grip over the Los Angeles Times →“A new rule was put into place: Prior to publishing opinion stories, the headlines must be emailed over to Soon-Shiong, where he can then choose to weigh in. While it is normal for newspaper owners to influence the opinion wing of a newspaper, it is highly unusual for an owner to have article headlines sent to them ahead of publication for review.”The Verge / Elizabeth Lopatto
Stop using generative AI as a search engine →“For me, using ChatGPT or Google’s AI function creates extra work — I have to go check the answer against a primary source; old Google Search just gave me that source directly. But people who are less cautious and less persnickety than I am, which I suspect is most people, simply stop at the answer and never check to see if it is right.”Medill Local News Initiative / Paul Farhi and John Volk
In news deserts, Trump won in a landslide →“‘The wrong way to interpret this is ‘Oh, the rubes voted for Trump because they’re uninformed,’’ said Waldman, Report for America’s former president. He pointed out that Trump also increased his support in places with relatively robust local news. Instead, Waldman said, the election results show ‘that some of the most common victims of the collapse of local news’ are the same people who support Trump.”TechCrunch / Maxwell Zeff
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is reshaping social media, but advertising isn’t off the table →“I think the ways we would explore advertising, if we did, would be much more user intent-driven,” Bluesky CEO Jay Graber said. “We want to keep our incentives aligned with users and make sure that we’re not turning into a model where the user’s attention is the product.”The Atlantic / Helen Lewis
The “mainstream media” has already lost →“Trump’s showmanship, aggression, and ability to confabulate suit this new environment. His inconsistency is not a problem—these interviews are designed to be entertaining and personal, not to nail down his current position on abortion or interrogate his income-tax policies.”Adweek / Mark Stenberg
Vox Media announces layoffs at Thrillist, PS, and Eater →“As part of the changes, Thrillist will now be operated by Eater, a similar model to the relationship between Eater and the bar and spirits publisher Punch. The two will share leadership and resources.”Intelligencer / Charlotte Klein
Is Politico really that awful of a place to work? →“Eleven high-profile reporters and editors have left the newsroom since March, some apparently chafing at what insiders characterize as a meddlesome or confusing editorial process led by the demanding head of news, Alex Burns.”Columbia Journalism Review / Bill Grueskin
Should a student reporter face prosecution for embedding with protesters? →“Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies broke into the barricaded building a little after 7am and arrested everyone—including [Stanford Daily’s Dilan] Gohill, who says (as do his colleagues and a protester) that he was there to observe and report, not to protest. Gohill then spent more than twelve hours in custody before his mother got him released on $20,000 bail. He faces allegations of burglary, vandalism, and conspiracy—all felonies.”Bloomberg
Bloomberg publishes annual “jealousy list” of most-admired news stories →“In Catholicism, envy is one of the seven deadly sins. In professional journalism, it’s a virtue, albeit too seldomly expressed.”The Wrap / JD Knapp
Los Angeles Times to publish AI-powered “bias meter” on news stories, owner says →“Whether in news or opinion … you have a bias meter,” Patrick Soon-Shiong said on a recent podcast appearance. “So that someone could understand as a reader that the source of the article has some level of bias.” He elaborated, “The reader can press a button and get both sides of that exact same story, based on that story, and then give comments.” Substack / Richard J. Tofel
Thinking about the people formerly known as the press →“The more distant facts are from people’s lives, the easier it is for them to be misinformed. But conversely, when inflation erodes a household’s purchasing power, or when a breadwinner gains or loses a job, or individuals’ taxes rise or fall markedly, or a family member recovers from or succumbs to illness, or children receive or are deprived of educational opportunities, these facts are more stubborn. One thing newsrooms need to get much better at is understanding, and acting on (that is, reporting on), those facts people actually find most salient, rather than the ones we think they should.”
Nieman Lab / Fuego
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