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Friday, December 14, 2018
 | Just showing our work isn’t enough“There's very little current demand for the majority of reproducible code from newsroom leadership or the general audience.” By Soo Oh. |
 | Let’s talk about power (yours)“If we don't use it in ways that give people quality news, useful information and power, people will find a way around us.” By Darryl Holliday. |
 | Newsrooms take the comments sections back from platforms“Local news organizations should become a driving force for better online public discourse, because Facebook and Twitter aren't cutting it.” By Marie Shanahan. |
 | The year you actually start to like your CMS“If we do it right, users benefit from a feedback loop that helps make our work more valuable and relevant to them. And no journalist ever again has to wear their clunky CMS as a badge of honor.” By Eric Ulken. |
 | Fatigued news consumers will pay more for less news“That will make journalists as important as ever, though it may not mean there are as many journalism jobs to go around.” By Carl Bialik. |
 | Local news isn’t where you thought it was“Local news is fluid and not fixed.” By Amy Schmitz Weiss. |
 | Government funds local news — and that’s a good thing“And when we start treating people not as consumers but as constituents, we'll find new ideas, new allies and new resources to reverse the downward spiral in local journalism and restore the public's trust in the news.” By Mike Rispoli and Craig Aaron. |
 | We expand what (and how and who) we serve“Next year will bring more problems, and with those problems a desire by news consumers for more solutions.” By Alyssa Zeisler. |
 | From silos to Swiss Army knife teams“We will stop asking ourselves, ‘Are we a media company or a tech company?’ and find that the distinction is arbitrary. A truly collaborative company will be a new species altogether.” By Rebecca Searles. |
 | Venture capital runs out of patience“Revenue flows almost solely to the platforms and ‘time-honored’ media brands.” By Peter Bale. |
 | Podcasts keep getting better“It turns out that people — well, lots of people, anyway — are hungry for substance. Our attention spans are quite intact, ready, and willing.” By John Biewen. |
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Newsonomics: McClatchy’s bid has been rejected. So what’s next for Tribune?Tribune Publishing wants to sell at a higher price, but it will likely have trouble finding someone willing to pay it. By Ken Doctor. |
What We’re Reading
CNN Business / Oliver Darcy
The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine critical of Trump, is closing after 23 years →
“For months, The Weekly Standard’s leadership had butted heads with MediaDC, and the two parties had previously agreed to allow [editor-in-chief Stephen] Hayes to search for a new owner, people familiar with the matter told CNN earlier this month. Hayes conducted a search, according to those people, but MediaDC recently informed The Weekly Standard that it was no longer interested in selling.”
Bloomberg / Emily Chang, Gerry Smith and Felix Gillette
Medium's Ev Williams discussed buying New York Magazine, though talks are “unlikely to progress” →
“He's now on a hunt for material to serve Medium's paying subscribers. ‘We are going to significantly increase our investment in original editorial in the next year,’ Williams, said in a statement.”
Medium / Ernst Pfauth
With 34 hours to go, The Correspondent hit its crowdfunding goal of $2.5 million →
42,780 people chipped in a median donation of $30, setting a new world record for the number of backers in a journalism crowdfunding campaign. (Appearances on The Daily Show and CNN might’ve helped.) They plan to start publishing in mid-2019.
The Information / Jessica Toonkel, Tom Dotan, and Beejoli Shah
Facebook is cutting funding for some news shows on Watch and advising some to go shorter →
“While they're happy with the audiences their shows have drawn, the news executives complain that the ad revenue has been underwhelming…. Facebook is paying media firms anywhere from $2 million for 12 months of programming to more than $10 million, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Recode / Peter Kafka
Facebook wants you to buy HBO on Facebook and watch HBO on Facebook →
“It's a model the TV guys are familiar with: Amazon has been doing something similar for a few years, and Apple is looking to do the same thing next year.”
Variety / Ted Johnson
The FCC will review a ban on mergers among the four major broadcast networks →
“The review, mandated by Congress every four years, includes no specific policy proposals, but will take public comment on whether changes are warranted. The FCC will also review rules that restrict the number of radio and TV stations an entity can own in a single market, and other provisions to promote diversity in ownership.”
The Hill / Emily Birnbaum
YouTube removed 58 million videos between July and September →
“The online video platform said 72 percent of the videos removed for violating guidelines in the latest quarter were ‘spam or misleading,’ 10.2 percent were removed out of concern for ‘child safety’ and 9.9 percent were removed for including ‘nudity or sexual content,’ according to its latest report.”
Washington Post
Arc Publishing signs Raycom Media as its first broadcast client →
“Raycom Media has relaunched 42 of the company's television and radio stations on the Arc platform. Raycom Media is one of the largest media companies in the U.S. with stations in 44 markets and 20 states.”
Variety / Janko Roettgers
Imax shuts down its VR business →
“With the launch of the IMAX VR centre pilot program our intention was to test a variety of different concepts and locations to determine which approaches work well. After a trial period with VR centres in multiplexes, we have decided to conclude the IMAX VR centre pilot program and close the remaining three locations in Q1 2019.”