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Monday, July 18, 2016
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Morgan DeBaun on the growth of Blavity, covering #BlackLivesMatter, and the state of black-owned media“It’s really about combining technology with culture and content and entertainment to create something special that hasn’t been done before.” By Taylyn Washington-Harmon. |
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The Daily Line used reader input to develop its niche subscription business covering Chicago politics“In the news business there’s often this idea that you have to go out and affect tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands or more people with your publication. That’s not our mission.” By Ricardo Bilton. |
What We’re Reading
Journalism.co.uk / Caroline Scott
A vertical video from BBC Media Action takes over your phone’s screen to show the struggle of refugees →
BBC Media Action interviewed 79 refugees and 45 humanitarian workers in order to accurately portray the experiences of refugees for viewers.
Poynter / Benjamin Mullin
A breaking news podcast? “Marketplace” hopes to capture convention drama as it happens →
“The podcast puts a novel spin on the medium: It’s a limited-run, “pop-up” show that will be posted online by the morning after every day of both convention. The idea, [Marketplace Washington bureau chief Andrea] Seabrook says, is to make a show that’s more timely than the current titans of the podcasting world, ornate productions like ‘Invisibilia’ or ‘Serial.'”
Periscope / The Washington Post
The Washington Post is using a robot to Periscope from the GOP convention →
You can follow it around the convention hall.
Ad Age / Jeremy Barr
Following mass layoffs, IBT Media announces a new leadership structure →
As part of the editorial restructuring, IBT Media announced that Newsweek “will split off into a separate operational entity,” which formalized an already-existing division between the newsmagazine and IBT Media’s other editorial brands.
Digiday / Sahil Patel
NBC is using BuzzFeed for its Olympics Snapchat →
“Announced in April, NBC will launch a pop-up Snapchat Discover channel during the Olympics. Instead of handling content for the channel itself, NBC has recruited a team of 12 producers from BuzzFeed's video unit to create as much as 20 pieces of content per day for the channel.”
The Sacramento Bee / Jim Miller
After 25 years of taxation, California newspapers on verge of tax break →
“The overhaul means that at least 53 percent of the subscription price for print-digital subscriptions will be assumed to reflect digital content, and thus nontaxable. The revised rule follows months of negotiations between the state Board of Equalization and newspaper publishers.”
The Media Briefing / Chris Sutcliffe
No, publishers can’t learn anything from Pokémon Go →
“An augmented reality game based on a decades-old video game franchise, propelled to ridiculous early success on a wave of ’90s nostalgia by people of my own age who grew up with Pokémon and now have the disposable income to buy smartphones? Good luck replicating that situation, publishers.”
Digiday / Lucia Moses
How The Atlantic, Slate and others obsess about user experience →
“It's politically correct to say everyone should care about user experience; the reality doesn't work that way.”
Poynter / Benjamin Mullin
The Boston Globe sells its headquarters →
“The buyer and the purchase price were not disclosed.”
Politico / Ken Doctor
Is Michael Ferro ready to sell Tronc? →
“Combine the three pressure points — lawsuit, Gannett's ambition and Tronc's business challenge — and you'd think that the man who troncked Tribune might be re-considering his options.”
The New York Times / Jim Rutenberg
The Republican convention will push the limits of Trump and the news media →
“It could be one of those events that we look back on as a defining moment in American media, especially for the television networks: Did they once again this year hand themselves over to a Trumpian infomercial — the ultimate Trump infomercial — and bask in the ratings?”
Recode / Kurt Wagner
Elisabeth Murdoch’s media company just launched a men’s lifestyle brand on Snapchat →
“Brother” is a Snapchat Discover channel aimed at millennial men. What makes this channel different from Discover's existing lineup of publishers, though, is that it's a Snapchat-only media brand.
Shorenstein Center
These are the Shorenstein Center fellows for fall 2016 →
Including The Boston Globe’s Derrick Z. Jackson and foreign correspondent Yeganeh Rezaian.
Poynter / Benjamin Mullin
BuzzFeed’s newest political reporter is a bot →
Unlike most other chatbots, BuzzFeed’s Facebook Messenger BuzzBot, developed by its Open Lab in San Francisco, will be used primarily for gathering news rather than promoting it.
Washingtonian / Luke Mullins
The inside story of the Politico breakup →
Late last summer, CEO Jim VandeHei began pushing Politico owner Robert Allbritton to consider selling a chunk of the company. If VandeHei's vision had been realized, Politico would have joined forces with a European media giant. Albritton refused to pursue it.
Variety / Todd Spangler
ABC News teams up with Facebook for 24-hour live coverage of the conventions →
Under the companies' deal, Facebook will provide ABC News with exclusive, real-time data during major speeches that it will use across TV and digital platforms. ABC News hosts and correspondents also will incorporate viewer comments, questions and discussions in its Facebook Live coverage.
Poynter / Benjamin Mullin
What’s next for Time Inc? Shared beats, more digital verticals, and some paid content →
Fortune, for example, will soon begin putting its long-form content behind a paywall, and Cooking Light has a subscriber-focused dieting offering.