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Tuesday, March 20, 2018
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Google announces a $300M ‘Google News Initiative’ (though this isn’t about giving out grants directly to newsrooms, like it does in Europe)Also: an easier subscription flow, $10 million for media literacy in U.S. high schools, fact-checking efforts in search around health issues, and more. By Shan Wang. |
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The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica fallout continues. Data breach? No. Pretty bad? YesHidden cameras. Leadership disagreements. And, oh yeah, misinformation is still a problem. By Christine Schmidt. |
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This Indian startup wants to free — and find stories in — public data that’s messy and inaccessibleWhat is the state of philanthropy in India? Why are girls dropping out from certain schools at higher rates? How India Lives looks for the answers to these types of questions other organizations have, in publicly available data. By Gangadhar Patil. |
What We’re Reading
Poynter / Daniel Funke
Snopes has its site back. But the legal battle over its ownership will drag on for months →
Now, Snopes is asking its readers to contribute $2 million to stay afloat.
The Atlantic / Robinson Meyer
YouTube decided an exclusive news video by The Atlantic was “borderline” hate speech and removed it from YouTube search results →
"It is up to YouTube to hire people who can tell the difference between videos made by Nazis and videos about Nazis," said Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic.
Axios / Erica Pandey
With iHeart Media and Cumulus Media preparing for bankruptcy — but 93 percent of adults tuning in each week — what’s next for terrestrial radio? →
“The future of terrestrial radio is grim because it has failed to engage the newest generation of consumers, Miller says. Even the older, more engaged consumers of radio could slip away as automobile dashboards add options for on-demand, voice-activated content in addition to linear AM/FM radio.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Andrea Wenzel and Sam Ford
Why the Ohio County Monitor is breaking bread at “liars tables” →
"They have an opportunity there to build a site that people frequent for more than just what's going on in the community from a news standpoint, but also what's going on from a social standpoint or what's going on and how people can get involved a little bit more on some of the more current events—how that actually relates to people throughout the community."
Digiday / Lucia Moses
Facebook-Cambridge Analytica revelations cast a shadow on online ad practices →
“I do not think the world is going to end, but I do think the industry will have to button up a bit."
The Wall Street Journal / Benjamin Mullin
Cheddar raises $22 million for international expansion →
“Some of the money from the raise will go toward building a second news network, called Cheddar Big News. The streaming network will focus on general-interest happenings in the mode of local TV news. The network, which will cost between $1 and $1.5 million to launch, is scheduled to debut in April, Mr. Steinberg said. The company is also planning to launch a channel on Snapchat Discover in April focused on business and tech news.”
Fortune / Kristen Bellstrom and Beth Kowitt
Women accuse Tronc’s retiring chairman of inappropriate advances →
“Allegations of questionable behavior by Ferro come as little surprise to some who previously worked with him in his media ventures. Fortune spoke with nine former staffers at the magazines Splash and Grid, who were employed by the Sun-Times publications during Ferro's ownership of the paper (Ferro ceded control of the Sun-Times in 2016). These former employees say Ferro was heavily involved with both magazines and the encounters they describe with him suggest an uncomfortable workplace for women.”
STAT News / Helen Branswell
When towns lose their newspapers, disease detectives are left flying blind →
"We rely very heavily on local news. And I think what this will probably mean is that there are going to be pockets of the U.S. where we're just not going to have a particularly good signal anymore," said Maia Majumder, a Ph.D. candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.