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Tuesday, December 6, 2016
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Hot Pod: Macmillan’s new network shows how podcasts can be a logical next step for book publishersPlus: “The number of potential distribution points for on-demand audio is kinda getting out of hand.” By Nicholas Quah. |
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Newsonomics: The New York Times is setting its sights on 10 million digital subscribersThe branded content business, meanwhile, isn’t growing as strongly as projected. By Ken Doctor. |
What We’re Reading
Motherboard / Jason Koebler
Meet the last of the machinists who keep The New York Times running →
“We visited the Times to meet Zerafa, Greaney, and Chris Bedetto, who are part of a team of machinists that keeps the New York Times's eight three-story printing presses humming. On weekdays, the facility prints roughly 300,000 copies nightly; on weekends, it prints around a million.”
The Verge / Kyle Chayka
How Facebook Instant Articles and Google AMP help camouflage fake news →
“The fake news problem we're facing isn't just about articles gaining traffic from Facebook timelines or Google search results. It's also an issue of news literacy — a reader's ability to discern credible news. And it's getting harder to tell on sight alone which sites are trustworthy. On a Facebook timeline or Google search feed, every story comes prepackaged in the same skin, whether it's a months-long investigation from The Washington Post or completely fabricated clickbait.”
Adweek / Richard Horgan
Paste is trying to return to print →
It’s looking to raise $100,000 in an Indiegogo campaign for to launch a quarterly print magazine this spring
The Wall Street Journal / Resty Woro Yuniar and Liza Lin
In Southeast Asia, Facebook and Instagram are where people shop →
“About 30% of online sales in Southeast Asia—a region with 150 million digital consumers—were done through social networks in 2016, estimates consultancy firm Bain & Co. That compares with just 7% of the roughly 287 million internet users that are likely to buy from social networks in the U.S., according to London-based market research firm GlobalWebIndex.”
The Wall Street Journal / Steven Perlberg
Tinder launches a podcast with Gimlet Creative that’s backed by dating data →
“The new show is called "DTR," short for "define the relationship" (the anxiety-inducing conversation where two millennials mutually agree on the degree to which things are casual or serious). The six-part series, hosted by journalist and "This American Life" music supervisor Jane Marie, covers various topics surrounding dating in the digital age, like how to best construct an online profile or the precarious transfer of nude photographs.”
Folio: / Becky Peterson
Bloomberg Pursuits ends print magazine →
“The digital edition will live on, and online content will remain free to all audiences. In addition, the October-launched show "Bloomberg Pursuits" will continue to air on Bloomberg TV, and luxury reports will continue on Bloomberg Radio. No personnel changes are expected at this time.”
Digiday / Lucia Moses
Seeking a competitive edge, publishers rethink integrated print-digital staffs →
“In the early days of the web, print publishers had digital operations that were separate from their print teams, and often considered second-class; understandable, considering most of their money was and is still being made on print. Over time, most newsrooms integrated their print and digital operations. They're not abandoning the mantra of integration; that's a luxury few can afford anyway. But recent moves reflect a growing recognition that each channel has its distinct needs.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Susannah Nesmith
A chain of small newspapers hits on a formula for growth →
“The nonprofit structure of his company, Independent Newsmedia Inc, allows the company to operate 25 newspapers in smaller communities in Florida, Arizona, Delaware, and Maryland, where it focuses on local news, eschews editorials, and doesn't endorse political candidates. The formula is working: INI is aggressively expanding, buying four new papers and starting another new one in the last three years.”
The Tyee
Big idea for Canadian media: Provide incentives for local ownership →
“In Canada, a mindset shift is also needed among both federal regulators and journalism educators. News media should no longer be treated by Ottawa like any other business but instead as a public service of enormous social and political importance.”
Digiday / Jessica Davies
Amazon’s new header-bidding play could speed pages →
“Amazon is reportedly launching a cloud-based header-bidding solution, aimed at competing with Google. Details of the product are sparse, but the theory is that it would be Amazon's first wrapper tag, which can be embedded on publishers pages.”
TechCrunch / Devin Coldewey
Facebook begins asking users to rate articles’ use of ‘misleading language’ →
“A survey asking users about "misleading language" in posts is the latest indication that Facebook is facing up to what many see as its responsibility to get a handle on the fake news situation.”
Digiday / Max Willens
A return to focus: Publishers are going high with subscription prices →
New subscription efforts share “a rejection of the scale publishing model that's premised on amassing giant audience numbers and then making money off ads. That model has proved to be wanting in a time of spiraling prices for standardized ads — and when so many publishers can boast giant audiences.”