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Friday, May 17, 2019
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This is how an Iranian network created a “disinformation supply chain” to spread fake newsPlus: Whether Americans believe climate change is caused by humans depends on how you ask the question, and WhatsApp clones are getting around some restrictions designed to limit the spread of fake news. By Laura Hazard Owen. |
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Newsonomics: Gannett turns back Alden, but it’s just a hiccup before the big rollup in the skyThis hostile takeover didn’t work out. But the thinking of industry executives remains dominated by the inevitable merging of America’s big newspaper chains. By Ken Doctor. |
What We’re Reading
Current / Dru Sefton
Smaller public media stations are still trailing in revenue →
“‘We've been knee-deep in this situation for what feels like forever,’ said CPB System Development SVP Ted Krichels, referring to data showing that small TV and radio stations continue to struggle while fundraising grows among larger stations.”
Twitter
Five years after the release of the Innovation Report, The New York Times touts its success →
“The @nytimes is a thriving business, earning over $1 billion in subscription revenue in 2018 and is on target to meet its goal of doubling digital revenue by 2020.”
The New York Times / Katherine Rosman
Can Paul Huntsman save The Salt Lake Tribune? →
“My father used to say, 'When you are the one responsible for the payroll, it is going to keep you up at night.’ I didn't really appreciate that until I acquired The Salt Lake Tribune.”
WHYY / Laura Benshoff
In Philly suburbs, readers see more “ghost newspapers” as hedge funds cut costs →
“If I'm going to sweat like this, and work like this, I don't want it to be for a piece of crap.”
CNN / Gianluca Mezzofiore
New York Post / Keith Kelly
Salon is being acquired for $5M by two guys who are also involved in that legal battle over Snopes.com →
“We think we can turn a profit in year one.”
The Lenfest Institute for Journalism / Joseph Lichterman
How High Plains Public Radio is building community with a book club →
“HPPR broadcasts 12 Book Byte segments over the course of four weeks. Four of those segments are produced by the Book Leaders and the rest come from other community members. Listeners are invited to record their essays on their phones and submit them via Dropbox, though some people do come into the studio to record their segments.”
Washington Post / Isaac Stanley-Becker
A 17-year-old politics junkie scooped Bill de Blasio on news of his own presidential launch →
“Gabe Fleisher, the 17-year-old whose ‘Wake Up To Politics’ newsletter reaches 50,000 people each weekday, was scrolling through a politics blog after school — ‘I did my homework, too,’ he maintained — when a small item caught his eye. He paused. It was an announcement from a local wing of the Democratic Party in Sioux City, Iowa, inviting members to see de Blasio on Friday at the mayor's ‘first stop on his Presidential announcement tour.'”
Mumbrella / Paul Wallbank
News Corp Australia passes 500,000 paying digital subscribers →
“The milestone comes eight years after News Corp turned on its paywall for The Australian, a move it extended to its tabloid mastheads the following year.”
Vox / Theodore Schleifer
Yes, Quora still exists, and it’s now worth $2 billion →
“The reason why investors are betting on what, at first blush, could appear to be a meaningless pile of content, is that Quora, if successful, is a powerful avenue to reach 300 million information-seeking people a month. It is especially popular in India, where over 20 percent of its visitors come from, according to Alexa data.”