 |
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
 |
The Christian Science Monitor is betting big on constructive, non-depressing (but paid-for) newsThe 109-year-old publication’s digital future will be based around a voice that is “calm and fact-based and fundamentally constructive, and assumes that our readers are looking to have a fundamentally constructive approach to the news.” By Laura Hazard Owen. |
 |
Axios goes live, with a Trump interview (in 19 bullet points and a bunch of little posts)Who needs a ton of words? By Laura Hazard Owen. |
What We’re Reading
Stratechery by Ben Thompson / Ben Thompson
More thoughts from Ben Thompson on the unbundling of different types of media →
“I'm starting to agree that the end is nearer than many think.”
The New York Times / Scott Shane
The creation of a fake-news masterpiece →
“The ballot box story, promoted by a half-dozen Facebook pages Mr. Harris had created for the purpose, flew around the web, fueled by indignant comments from people who were certain that Mrs. Clinton was going to cheat Mr. Trump of victory and who welcomed the proof. It was eventually shared with six million people.”
Washington Post
The Washington Post announces The Lily, an “experimental” brand for millennial women →
“The Lily will appear on Medium, Facebook and Instagram to start.”
Twitter / ringer
The Ringer, The Awl, and Medium’s other publisher sites are down →
There was an outage Wednesday. Medium.com stayed up.
New York Times Company
The New York Times names David Perpich president and GM of The Wirecutter →
Perpich was the Times’ SVP of product.
BBC Academy / Trushar Barot
Get ready for APIs from news providers →
“Now, more than ever, media companies will need to have access to developers who can focus on experimenting with APIs and develop uses that will work regardless of the size of your company, reaching the audiences you want on the platforms they're already on. If you don't have developers already embedded in your newsroom, make sure you at least have processes to enable your editorial teams to work closely with them.”
Washingtonian / Andrew Beaujon
The Washington Post will have a beat on the urban-rural divide →
“The Post's announcement says [Jose DelReal will] be looking at the ‘remarkable reversal of fortune’ in which ‘the nation's largest cities have become magnets for money, innovation and young professionals, while its small towns and farms have become poorer, older, sicker and more resentful of urban elites.'”
Medium / 60dB
60dB is now accessible as an Alexa skill on your Amazon Echo →
Getting into the home-based audio platform would seem critical for the personalized short-form audio startup.
Bloomberg / Sarah Frier
Meet the team behind Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook page →
“Typically, a handful of Facebook employees manage communications just for him, helping write his posts and speeches, while an additional dozen or so delete harassing comments and spam on his page, say two people familiar with the matter. Facebook also has professional photographers snap Zuckerberg, say, taking a run in Beijing or reading to his daughter.”
Knight Foundation / Eytan Oren
Chat the Vote: How Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, and other chat apps reimagined civic engagement in the 2016 elections →
“The 2016 campaign marked the first U.S. election cycle where chat platforms collectively attempted to register voters and spark political conversation. Much of the activity on Facebook Messenger, Kik, LINE, Viber and other apps was small scale and experimental, making use of nascent chatbot technology that wasn't widely available on most platforms until mid-2016.”
Recode / Peter Kafka
Quartz is getting ready to launch a paid research business →
“Quartz has given a hint by announcing the purchase of Intelligentsia.ai, a small research firm that specialized in artificial intelligence. Quartz says founders Dave and Helen Edwards will write for the site for now, but will eventually be part of a ‘new specialized product aimed at providing global business professionals with valuable insights into how AI affects their organizations.'”
Politico / Ken Doctor
An Outbrain for newspapers: Headlines Network launches →
“Nine major newspaper publishers — McClatchy, Hearst, Gatehouse, Morris, Belo, Swift, BH Media Group, Lee and the Chicago Sun-Times — have bought into Chicago-based content aggregator Aggrego. Under Aggrego, they have formed Headlines Network, this new widget-based content network.”