 |
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
 |
The Economist expands beyond business and finance coverage with its year-old Films divisionWhen it comes to video, The Economist has invested in both long documentaries and short, social-friendly clips. But when it comes to VR, it’s taking its time. By Ricardo Bilton. |
What We’re Reading
TechCrunch / Josh Constine
Facebook will test video downloads for offline viewing →
“Facebook is touting this as a win for video publishers, who might be grumpy about Facebook's recent feed ranking algorithm change that prioritizes friends over pro content creators.”
Charlie Rose
Jay Rosen, Melissa Bell, and John Herrman talk Facebook on Charlie Rose →
“A conversation about how recent Facebook changes will affect the way we find and read news.”
NorthJersey.com / Michael L. Diamond
Gannett is buying New Jersey’s Bergen County Record →
“Gannett Co. Inc. said the merger creates New Jersey's largest media company, with journalists and advertising representatives stretching from Bergen County in the north to Cumberland County in the south.” A lot of newspaper folks will be working for Gannett before its buying spree is over.
The Next Web / Matt Navarra
PostGhost is like Politwoops, but also for non-politicians →
Politwoops famously tracks the deleted tweets of politicians. PostGhost does the same, but also for celebrities and anyone else with a verified Twitter account. Curious how Twitter feels about it.
The Verge / Casey Newton
Snapchat introduces Memories: a searchable, shareable archive of your snaps →
“The introduction of Memories represents a significant shift for the famously ephemeral Snapchat — and reflects the app's growing status as the default camera for millions of users.”
The Verge / Walt Mossberg
Walt Mossberg on the tyranny of notifications and messaging apps →
“Maybe these bots and assistants and apps will be a means to controlling and focusing your messaging and communications, but that would be a hard, tricky job. More likely, I fear, they will just spew more messages and notifications they think — wrongly — you care about.”
The Wall Street Journal / Bankruptcy Beat Staff
The Wall Street Journal is shutting down its bankruptcy blog →
The Journal’s bankruptcy coverage will be rolled into WSJ Pro Bankruptcy, a standalone paid product, launching later this month.
Reuters Institute for the study of Journalism
A new Reuters Institute project will look at how Indian newspapers are adapting to the rise of digital media →
The project is done in partnership with India’s Centre for Internet and Society.
Adweek / Chris O'Shea
Women’s Running magazine sets traffic records →
Unique visits to Womensrunning.com have increased by more than 50% and hit the 1 million mark in April.
Digiday / Lucia Moses
Post-mortem: Inside IBT Media’s meltdown →
“I think they had a content farm that they mistook for a trusted news source.”
Digiday / Lucinda Southern
From 360-degree to Snapchat: How Huffington Post UK is using video →
“The publisher has built a seven-person team dedicated to video in six months, and its Facebook videos are averaging 70 million views each month.”
Lexington Herald-Leader / Karla Ward
The Lexington Herald-Leader is moving its printing operations to nearby Louisville and putting its downtown office on the market →
“Because of the move to print the paper in Louisville, 25 full-time and four part-time employees will be laid off.”
Digiday / Jessica Davies
Guardian’s Katherine Viner: “Social media companies have become overwhelmingly powerful” →
"The idea of challenging the wide-open worldwide web has been replaced by platforms and publishers who maximize the amount of time you spend with them and find clever ways to stop you leaving. That may be great news for advertisers and the platforms themselves, but it's a real concern for the news industry.”
Medium / Andrew Golis
This. releases an updated iPhone app →
Users can now read Editors’ Picks in the app and can also receive a push notification when the Editors’ Picks go live each day.
POLITICO / John Bresnahan
Nate Silver is happy to be wrong →
“‘It's a crazy world, and sooner or later a 5 percent likelihood is going to come through,’ said Silver, who is cuddlier and more self-effacing in person than he can be on TV, where he sometimes projects a pitiless, fire-eyed empiricism.”