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Wednesday, April 10, 2019
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The world is on fire, and that makes for good #brand #synergy between a fashion brand and The New York TimesToday, even the newsiest of news organizations are also lifestyle brands. By Joshua Benton. |
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When local newspapers shrink, fewer people bother to run for mayor“In a well-functioning system, citizens need to be actively engaged in their government and aware of decisions made by their elected representatives. Newspapers are a means of citizen engagement, and this study provides evidence of the importance of this link.” By Joshua Benton. |
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Asking Alexa for news no longer has to stop with the latest headlinesNPR and other news organizations will be able to easily turn a short news briefing into an extended — even infinite — listening experience. By Joshua Benton. |
What We’re Reading
9to5Mac / Guilherme Rambo
Podcasts will get their own dedicated app on Macs this summer →
They’ve been awkwardly squeezed into iTunes since 2005.
9to5Mac / Chance Miller
Report: Apple is spending at least $485 million on News+ →
Including an upfront purchase price of $100 million and a guaranteed $385 million in revenue to Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, and Rogers over the next three years. It will take more than 1.3 million paying subscribers just to cover those costs — not counting any of Apple’s internal costs, payouts to other publishers, or profit.
Twitter / Joshua Benton
This is how some of The Wall Street Journal’s heavy commenters responded to the paper’s changing rules →
“This new comment policy is the straw that broke the camel’s back…[the Journal is] a deep state propaganda machine that is controlled by the left. Truly reprehensible behavior. The MSM is antithetical to freedom of speech.”
Reynolds Journalism Institute / Jim Flink
Here are some ways AI is making journalists’ jobs smarter and more efficient →
“AI is not akin to mind-bending judo. It creates room for journalists to reimagine their skillset.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Justin Ray
Wait, Captain America has a “both sides” website? →
It doesn’t look promising: “What we need most in the news media is more deep reporting, more knowledgeable analysis and more thoughtful commentary, not more of the false equivalency that's created so much trouble already.”
CNN / Oliver Darcy
The Fresno Bee calls Devin Nunes’ $150 million lawsuit a “baseless attack on local journalism” →
“Nunes gave the scoop about the suit to Fox News, which led its home page with the story, treating the suit like something really serious. Sean Hannity brought Nunes on and celebrated the suit. You could almost hear Hannity’s viewers at home at home saying, ‘Yeah, sue the fake news!’ The reality is… very different.”
The New Yorker / Michael Luo
The urgent quest for slower, better news →
“How well can news be absorbed by osmosis? Studies have found that people bounce between tasks on their computers at stunning rates; a paper published last year found a median switch time of eleven seconds. Introduce mobile devices into the mix, and the switching is even faster.”
NBC News / Claire Atkinson
Former CBS News correspondent Lara Logan will cover the U.S.-Mexico border for Sinclair’s local TV →
“Logan has emerged in recent months as a vocal critic of the national media over its coverage of the Trump administration, appearing several times on Fox News in the past few weeks to discuss media bias and pointing to a lack of coverage of immigrant detainment under the Obama administration as evidence of a double standard.”
Chicago Sun-Times / Jon Seidel
A bastion of black media, the founder of Ebony and Jet magazines, files for bankruptcy →
“The Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition was filed late Tuesday afternoon by the company once responsible for Ebony and Jet magazines. It sold the magazines in 2016, meaning Tuesday's move does not affect the publications.”
NPR / Ari Shapiro
Lawrence Bartley on creating The Marshall Project’s print magazine to bring “News Inside” prisons →
“So I can’t reach everyone in the country with a letter, but I could reach everyone through News Inside. I can curate a particular set of articles that I believe will speak to all those desires that everyone has and hopefully sate those desires in any way that I can.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Andrew McCormick
Why hyperlocal Bklyner decided to print →
“‘Local news?’ she called. ‘Local paper?’ ‘Hi, would you like some local news?'”
Associated Press
The AP will fact-check video and Spanish-language content on Facebook →
“AP is the first fact-checker in Facebook's program to focus on content consumed by Spanish speakers in the U.S.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
The Athletic’s next arena is in podcasting, debuting over 20 podcasts behind its paywall →
“SB Nation launched 32 NFL team-focused podcasts in November as a part of a bigger local podcasting push. David Locke, a radio host in Utah covering the Jazz, launched the Locked On network in 2016, which publishes hundreds of local sports podcasts weekly.”