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Monday, May 1, 2017
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Here’s how this Norwegian publisher built a successful digital subscription model for local news“When we started out, I'm sure a lot of people were worried about cannibalization, and people moving from print to digital, but that hasn't really happened at all.” By Joseph Lichterman. |
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Amid the wreckage of fallen startups, Longreads is increasing the original reporting it fundsA lot of startups have wanted to be “a great place for writers.” Longreads appears to actually be succeeding at this. By Laura Hazard Owen. |
What We’re Reading
Recode / Peter Kafka
After laying off reporters last week, ESPN is reportedly hiring Yahoo’s star basketball reporter Adrian Wojnarowski →
“Sources familiar with ESPN's plan say Wojnarowski will begin working for ESPN in time to cover the June 22 NBA draft. I'm told the network also intends to bring aboard some of the staff of The Vertical, the NBA site Wojnarowski launched for Yahoo 2016.”
The New York Times / Marc Tracy
Claims of liberal bias in media now include sportscasters, too →
“An unusual strain of partisanship — at least in the sports corner of the media — emerged last week after ESPN announced it was laying off dozens of employees. The public reaction included jeers at the network for what some viewers perceived as a leftward slant in ESPN's coverage, a reflection of how the country's raw political nerves and cultural divisions have spilled over into a world that many value as a pristine redoubt from worldly concerns: sports.”
Washington Post / Michael Cavna
Bob Mankoff named humor editor for Esquire one day after exiting the New Yorker →
“Esquire has a rich history of publishing cartoons, but that dedication began to wane a half-century ago. Mankoff plans to curate humor at Esquire much the same way he did for two decades at the New Yorker.”
Democracy Fund / Angelica Das
A useful report on community engagement practices in different newsrooms →
The Democracy Fund report is full of community engagement ideas in practice. Check out also a related report on understanding “communities of practice,” and how newsrooms can reframe their thinking around ideas of shared identities.
YouTube
Here are videos of NYC Media Lab’s Machines + Media conference →
The event focused on how “data is changing the way media is produced, distributed and consumed.” It featured speakers from The New York Times, Bloomberg, Quartz, BuzzFeed, and more.
Poynter / Kristen Hare
How a Wisconsin couple grew an idea from a basement office into an investigative institution →
“Since launching in 2009, WCIJ has produced 300 major projects, which have been published, broadcast or cited by more than 500 news organizations, including state radio, print and TV outlets and The New York Times.”
SB Nation / Elena Bergeron
Vox Media’s SB Nation just launched a redesigned site →
“What you're seeing on SB Nation is pretty. There's brains behind that beauty. Everything from the revamped logo to the layout to the color palette was chosen to reflect the heart of SB Nation, the content we do everyday and the democracy of voices we want to invite to do sports with us.”
Associated Press / Jonathan Lemire and Maureen Linke
AP and MIT analysis shows declining engagement with Trump’s tweets →
“Men are more likely than women to retweet Trump. Left-leaning users are more likely than right-leaning ones to reply — often with commentary. Even with the recent tapering off, bursts with exclamation points or capital letters get more favorites and retweets. Tweets mentioning ‘Russia’ or ‘fake news’ spark far more interaction than those that don’t.”
Politico / Joe Pompeo
Univision’s Fusion.net is getting a new name and URL →
“Employees were informed of the change on Friday, and now they're brainstorming ideas about what the publication should be called. Now, the Miami-based Fusion TV gets a digital property to call its own where it can highlight its broadcast programming, and the New York-centric publication known as Fusion gets a fresh start.”
Poynter / Alexios Mantzarlis
How has political fact-checking changed after Trump’s first 100 days? Not much. →
“Even some of the claims he’s making are the same he was making in the campaign.” (Interest in fact-checking appears to have remained high: PolitiFact’s newly launched membership program has collected almost $200,000, including recurring pledges.)
The New York Times / Mark Scott
In Europe’s election season, tech vies to fight fake news →
“European countries have different languages, and their media markets are smaller than those in the United States. That means groups that set up fake news sites in the United States, seeking to profit from online advertising when false claims were shared on social media, are less prevalent in Europe. But with fake news already swirling around Europe's forthcoming elections, analysts also worry that technology on its own may not be enough to combat the threat.”
Ad Age / Garett Sloane
Facebook’s connected TV ambition meets a reluctant industry →
“Facebook has come in to give the ad tech pitch, but at the end of the day they want us to dump our ad tech and back-end system for theirs,” said one top media executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
CNN / Brian Stelter
Time Inc. backs away from plans to sell itself →
“Morale at the company is likely to take a hit as well. Staffers at Time’s magazines are bracing for further cuts to the company’s portfolio — and its workforce. Time Inc. CEO Rich Battista and chief operating officer Jen Wong declined to comment on the prospect of layoffs, but Wong said ‘we believe there’s a path’ to sustained profitability ‘even as print declines.'”
The Financial Times / Matthew Garrahan
Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is in talks with Blackstone to launch a joint bid for Tribune Media →
Sinclair is also eyeing Tribune (not to be confused with the now separate Tribune Publishing aka Tronc), which owns a portfolio of U.S. TV stations. Fox and private equity firm Blackstone are hoping to trump Sinclair’s offer, according to sources.
Digiday / Sahil Patel
NewFronts publishers see an opening with recent YouTube, Facebook ad crises →
“Whether it's overt or not, the message will be consistent: There's no risk to your brand when working directly with a publisher.”
NOLA.com
The New York Times and The Times-Picayune form a coastal reporting partnership →
“Stories will appear jointly in both companies’ newspapers and on their digital platforms, NOLA.com and nytimes.com, this year. In addition, the partnership plans to produce a documentary film and host a conference that brings international thought leaders in climate change and coastal erosion to New Orleans during its tricentennial year of 2018.”