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Monday, July 17, 2017
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Newsonomics: For the newspaper industry’s next feat, can it get Donald Trump to give it antitrust protection?Consider this a roadside guide to accidents of history as evidenced by the collisions between newspapers and Google and Facebook. By Ken Doctor. |
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With a network of sites across the U.S., this company is trying to redefine local fitness contentFounded in Pittsburgh, Fitt now has 16 sites across the country and has plans to grow. By Joseph Lichterman. |
What We’re Reading
Digiday / Sahil Patel
Look out, YouTube and Facebook: Amazon’s coming for video publishers →
“One publisher in the Amazon Video Direct program said it earned mid-five figures on Amazon during its first month on the program last year — nearly four times the amount it made from YouTube ad sales during the same month.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
Digital Content Next is urging the FCC to reconsider its proposal to roll back Obama-era net neutrality rules →
“In comments to the FCC, Digital Content Next CEO Jason Kint argues on behalf of nearly 80 online publishers that the rule prohibiting internet service providers like AT&T, Verizon, or Comcast from blocking a consumer’s ability to access lawful content should remain clearly intact.”
The New York Times / Kevin Roose
Behind the velvet ropes of Facebook’s private groups →
“As I joined groups, I noticed that my Facebook feed showed more updates from those groups, and fewer posts from my friends and the news pages I follow, a hint that Facebook may be privileging group-based content in the newsfeed algorithm that determines what users see. That's fine, if the goal of Facebook is to build strong micro-communities. It's not so great if the goal is to expose users to a wide range of views and experiences outside their core interests. (It's also worrisome if you're a digital publisher who depends on Facebook's algorithm for traffic, but that's a different column.)”
TVNewser / A.J. Katz
ABC News launches a White House press briefing digital after-show →
The Briefing Room will be streamed live on ABCNews.com/Live, the ABC News apps and the ABC News YouTube and Politics Facebook pages.
Wall Street Journal / Jack Marshall
Online publishers Dotdash and LittleThings try reducing ads to boost revenue →
“In early 2016, for example, female-focused publisher LittleThings set a challenge for itself: to remove at least one form of advertising from its site every quarter, but without sacrificing revenue. The result: There are now fewer ads on each page, and the website generates less revenue from each individual page that users view. But overall ad revenue has increased.”
Washington Post / Michelle Ye Hee Lee
A dispatch on the growing global fact-checking movement →
There are many interesting and unique fact-checking initiatives using new and traditional formats of storytelling and news delivery. The Colombian news site La Silla Vacía is using WhatsApp to disseminate fact-checks and spot misinformation being spread among WhatsApp users. In France, Julien Pain of France Info uses Facebook Live to talk to pedestrians to correct their misconceptions.
Recode / Peter Kafka
Why ‘Game of Thrones’ is bigger than the Oscars and the Super Bowl (for the media business) →
“But for media outlets that aren't HBO, ‘Game of Thrones’ is the peakest Peak TV. The millions who do watch the show are ravenous to unpack its dense plotting and sprawling cast of characters. And they are eager to hear competing theories about what's coming next. They also delight in watching themselves watch ‘Games of Thrones.'”
Politico / Laurens Cerulus
A look at Facebook’s anti–fake news initiative in Germany →
“Berlin is going further than others in pressuring tech companies to better police their networks.”
Digiday / Max Willens
Politico now has 20,000 paid subscribers that account for half of its revenue →
“Just 20,000 of Politico's 30 million monthly unique visitors read Pro content…Yet those readers are incredibly valuable. A five-person subscription to Pro costs $8,000.”