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Wednesday, May 22, 2019
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Why local foundations are putting their money behind a rural journalism collaborative$660,000 to support a 50-member network will go to Solutions Journalism Network and Report for America for one year from a trio of place-based foundations. By Christine Schmidt. |
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Another milestone passed for newspapers: The Boston Globe is the first local newspaper to have more digital subscribers than printAnother point of crossover that hints at a possible future. By Joshua Benton. |
What We’re Reading
International News Media Association
Dean Baquet on covering Trump tweets and the decline of local news →
“The greatest crisis in American journalism is the death of local news. … I don't know what the answer is. Their economic model is gone. I think most local newspapers in America are going to die in the next five years, except for the ones that have been bought by a local billionaire.”
Digiday / Max Willens
How The Guardian is looking to boost reader donations in the U.S. →
“While The Guardian U.S. accounts for 30% of the publisher's worldwide audience, those readers have made more than 50% of the individual donations The Guardian has received in the past year, said Evelyn Webster, Guardian U.S. CEO.”
Folio / Beth Braverman
Life after print: How 3 magazines are navigating their new business models →
“The shift to digital has allowed WWD to better serve the global fashion industry, leading to significant subscription growth. Paid subscriptions to its daily newsletter and website are up 30 percent since the brand began moving away from print in 2015, with more than half of that increase coming from overseas.”
Vox / Kaitlyn Tiffany
Online ads can be targeted based on your emotions →
The New York Times, USA Today, and Daily Beast are all doing it.
Poynter / Kristen Hare
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s audience team stopped putting all their time into Twitter (and referral traffic stayed the same) →
“The Philadelphia Inquirer's audience team used to spend 80% of its time on Twitter for a 2-3% return in referral traffic…Now, the Inquirer's Twitter flagship accounts are automated, and the Inquirer gets…about a 2-3% return in referral traffic.”
The Guardian / Vivian Ho
Google changes policy to block misleading ads for anti-abortion groups →
“Google announced this week that starting in June, advertisers running ads ‘using keywords related to getting an abortion’ will first have to distinguish themselves as an organization that ‘either provides abortions or does not provide abortions,’ according to the new policy update.”
The Mercury News / Thomas Peele
Police return San Francisco journalist’s equipment but say he’s under criminal investigation →
“After Carmody refused requests to divulge his source for the police report, officers obtained a no-knock warrant and went to the reporter's home with guns drawn, using a sledge hammer and pry bar to try and break down a security gate he eventually opened for them. They handcuffed him while they searched.”
The Verge / Julia Alexander
YouTube is changing how subscriber counts are displayed, possibly shifting its culture →
“The decision to hide subscriber counts comes at a time when the entire world is paying attention to creators' follower counts. James Charles and Tati Westbrook's feud, which led to worldwide coverage, focused primarily on how many subscribers the former lost and the latter gained.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
Al Jazeera is launching a business site →
“AJ Impact, which will focus on topics like personal finance, economic inequality, and impact investing, represents a significant departure from its traditional areas of focus.”
Cheddar / Alex Heath
Medium CEO Ev Williams says he’s open to acquiring other media companies →
“A person familiar with the matter told Cheddar that the number [of paying subscribers] is between 200,000 and 400,000. Williams said last year that he was planning to raise more venture capital money beyond the $132 million that Medium has already raised, but on Tuesday he told Cheddar that he didn't currently need to raise more money.”
Variety / Todd Spangler
Cory Haik, Mic’s former publisher, joins Vice as chief digital officer →
“In its digital business unit, Vice this month relaunched vice.com, which merges all of its content under one umbrella and eliminates the separate web "channels" for topic verticals like Vice News, Noisey and Munchies — a move the company believes will boost its overall audience engagement.”