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Monday, January 8, 2018
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From microplastics to mega-stories: Journalism nonprofit Orb works the global-local angle“These commons — the air, the water, the soil, our food, our health — these are things we share, and they are deeply linked across countries. We need to start seeing them that way.” By Christine Schmidt. |
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The Offshore Journalism Project would let newsrooms send a “distress signal” when their content is at risk of being lost forever“When digital news outlets disappear, the holes in coverage show, and they can be huge.” By Laura Hazard Owen. |
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Arabic-language narrative podcasts connect with a new generation in a region with a rich oral traditionThe podcast network Sowt, which both produces and curates podcasts for a Middle East audience, avoids "just translating and adapting U.S. products" to create shows for socially conscious young listeners. By Stefania D'Ignoti. |
What We’re Reading
Financial Times / Shannon Bond
Podcasts for children boom, but profits are still in their infancy →
“The question of advertising in children's podcasts remains unsettled — which may have contributed to the slow entry of many companies into the market, given that this is the dominant business model for podcasting.”
Medium / Simon Galperin
How to prepare for the possible removal of publisher posts from Facebook’s news feed →
“Publisher and user content may be split up in different ways than Facebook had originally experimented. The impact may not be as drastic. But you have nothing to lose if you implement these suggestions and so much to gain.”
Poynter
Fact Forward: If you had $50,000, how would you change fact-checking? →
The International Fact Checking Network will award a $50,000 prize to a project that “can represent a paradigmatic innovation for fact-checkers.” Apply by February 5.
Politico / Susan B. Glasser
The weird world of Trump-themed podcasts →
“At the moment, it feels like the only thing these podcasts are doing is bringing us closer to a media environment where everyone who wants one can find their own personalized Trump podcast, massaging their confirmation bias in the most comforting way possible.”
The Ringer / Bryan Curtis
The Kaepernick whisperer →
“Why do the lefty icons of professional sports turn to Dave Zirin when they want to speak out?”
The Guardian / Graham Ruddick and Nicola Slawson
BBC’s China editor resigns in protest over gender pay gap →
“In a significant escalation of the pay row at the BBC, Carrie Gracie said she was resigning from her position as China editor while accusing the corporation of breaking equality laws and saying she did not trust management to deal with the problem.”
Politico / Jason Schwartz
Is Facebook preparing to open up on fake news? →
“The company has invited representatives from the fact-checking groups with whom it has partnered to its Menlo Park, California, headquarters in early February to discuss, in part, what information could finally be shared.”
The New York Times / Kirk Johnson
As low-power local radio rises, tiny voices become a collective shout →
“It's an unprecedented time in our radio history when we have so many stations getting on the air at the same time,” said Jennifer Waits, the social media director at Radio Survivor, a group in San Francisco that tracks and advocates for noncommercial radio.
Digiday / Lucia Moses
One year in, Facebook Journalism Project gets mixed reviews from publishers →
Facebook made improvements to Instant Articles, but “Instant Articles' volume has declined, as Facebook, which is now pinning its future on video, pushes video in the news feed at the expense of text.” A subscription test “required publishers to use Instant Articles, which a lot of big publishers have eschewed, and to set their meter at 10 free articles a month, so there were notable holdouts,” plus it’s “been restricted to Android devices because Apple wouldn't play ball.”