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Tuesday, February 26, 2019
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Is the podcast hosting business ready for a shakeup? (You can credit/blame data-hungry advertisers)Plus: In the Dark wins a Polk Award, Criminal is heading to TV, and a podcast that’s just walking sounds and host-read ads. By Nicholas Quah. |
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Want to build trust with readers? Try adding a box that explains the story process“Small steps by news organizations can have an influence on building trust with their audiences.” By Laura Hazard Owen. |
What We’re Reading
The Open Notebook / Julissa Treviño
Here are some tips on applying science to the beauty and wellness beat →
“Wischhover says she even asks her outside sources to support their comments. ‘I have asked [dermatologists] and cosmetic chemists to send me studies too, to back up things they tell me.'”
Music Business Worldwide / Tim Ingham
Spotify is getting into sports podcasts →
“The firm is hiring for a Sports Lead, Spotify Studios role, based in either New York or Los Angeles, with the successful candidate expected to help establish ‘Spotify's presence and voice in the [sports] category’…The successful applicant will ‘shape Spotify's exclusive content strategy for the sports vertical with a specific focus on podcasts.'”
The Washington Post / Dana Priest
“If Facebook had taken action in 2016, I wouldn't be in this position” →
“The United Nations special rapporteur for human rights said last week that Facebook bears some responsibility [for the arrest of Philippine journalist Maria Ressa], because it failed to follow its policies and remove false and violence-inciting accounts in a timely manner.”
Society for News Design
These are the 10 best-designed newspapers in the world →
Argentina’s La Nacíon, Germany’ Die Zeit, Italy’s La Repubblica, Peru’s El Comercio, The Guardian, The Sunday Times of London, The New York Times, Politico’s European edition, the Memphis Business Journal, and The Villages Daily Sun.
CNN / Donie O'Sullivan
Facebook restores Russia-linked pages, but is still figuring out what to do about state-backed media →
“Facebook does not have a formal policy in place requiring state-backed outlets to disclose their funding, and its handling of the Maffick pages appears to be an ad-hoc approach that only came about after CNN asked about the pages.”
Washington Post / Lindsey Bever
A pediatrician exposes suicide tips for children hidden in videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids →
“One on YouTube shows a man pop into the frame. ‘Remember, kids,’ he begins, holding what appears to be an imaginary blade to the inside of his arm. ‘Sideways for attention. Longways for results.'”
The Guardian / Alex Hern
UK far-right figure Tommy Robinson banned from Facebook and Instagram for repeatedly breaking hate-speech rules →
“Robinson is already banned from Twitter and the decision to cut him off from Instagram and Facebook will leave him reliant on YouTube as the only major online platform to provide him with a presence.”
Journalism.co.uk / Jacob Granger
Tortoise listens to its audience to shape slow news agenda →
“Tortoise membership includes access to the [Think-In editorial discussion] sessions, but non-members can buy tickets for £25, which also includes two-weeks access to the daily digital edition.”
Recode / Rani Molla
Chart: How the definition of “journalist” is changing →
“New data from LinkedIn shows that the plight of journalists may not be that bad — if you're willing to consider a broader definition of what constitutes ‘journalism’ and its para-industries.”
The Seattle Times / Paul Roberts
Seattle Weekly stops the presses, ending four decades of print and joining the web-only ranks →
“O'Connor insisted that the Weekly ‘will move forward as a digital-only product’ with a mix of content from freelancers, the Weekly's archive, and from Sound Publishing's large network of regional publications.”
Bloomberg / Joshua Brustein
Facebook is grappling with employee anger over moderator conditions →
“The company sees hiring all content reviewers directly as a bad use of resources, said two people familiar with Facebook’s strategy who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. They added that using staffing firms allowed the company to avoid layoffs in the future.”
Digiday / Sahil Patel
Facebook won’t renew two-thirds of existing Facebook Watch news shows →
“In recent months, Facebook has been telling news publishers that it will only renew about a third of the existing news shows that it has funded for Facebook Watch, according to publishing sources that have met with Facebook.”
American Journalism Project
American Journalism Project officially launches with $42M for local news →
AJP is “the first venture philanthropy organization dedicated to strengthening an ecosystem of civic news organizations that believe local journalism a public good.” It’s founded by Chalkbeat’s Elizabeth Green and Texas Tribune’s John Thornton, and we wrote about it here. AJP recently received a $20 million commitment from Knight and announced an additional $22 million raised from other funders at launch.