 |
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
 |
Droidward and Botstein can’t do it all, but AI-enhanced journalism offers a glimpse of the next knowledge economyEstimates say that today’s AI can automate only about 15 percent of a reporter’s job and 9 percent of an editor’s job. But that doesn’t mean AI won’t change a lot of the work that remains. By Nicholas Diakopoulos. |
 |
Even people who like paying for news usually only pay for one subscription“The average (median) number of news subscriptions per person among those that pay is one in almost every country.” By Laura Hazard Owen. |
 |
The scariest chart in Mary Meeker's slide deck for newspapers has gotten even a wee bit scarierComparing 2010 and 2018 side by side makes it clear what a changed media universe we now live in. By Joshua Benton. |
What We’re Reading
Harvard
The Nieman Foundation is hiring a digital and audience engagement editor →
“Working with Nieman colleagues, current fellows, and alumni of the fellowship program, the digital and audience engagement editor leads initiatives to deepen foundation relationships with existing audiences and reach new audiences through a lively, robust presence on social and mobile platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and emerging platforms.”
Reynolds Journalism Institute / Jennifer Nelson
The Houston Chronicle and RJI are partnering to keep data on chemical companies alive →
“After facing an uncertain future after its original owner — the Center for Effective Government — was shut down, the Right to Know Network relaunches today with a more user-friendly, accessible site design.”
The Wall Street Journal / John D. McKinnon, Emily Glazer, Deepa Seetharaman, and Jeff Horwitz
Facebook worries that emails show Zuckerberg knew about questionable privacy practices →
“The potential impact of the internal emails has been a factor in the tech giant's desire to reach a speedy settlement of the investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, one of the people said…Facebook has vigorously opposed any efforts to hold Mr. Zuckerberg personally liable as part of a settlement, according to people familiar with the matter.”
Zora / Elaine Welteroth
The highs and lows of life as a black editor-in-chief →
“They spoke without code switching, centering our voices in a way I had never seen play out in a business setting. These were subtle gestures that redirected the power dynamics in the room.”
OneZero / Erica Buist
The personal newsletter fad needs to end →
“Perhaps we're good on the stuff-to-read front? Is anyone thirsty for reading material these days?”
Poynter / Mark Stencel
There are now 188 fact-checking outlets in more than 60 countries →
“More than a half-dozen of the fact-checkers we've added to the database since the start of 2018 began as election-related partnerships that involved the collaboration of multiple organizations. And some those election partners are discussing ways to continue or reactivate that work— either together or on their own.”
Bloomberg / Stefan Nicola
Axel Springer is leaning on a private equity company to help its digital media powerhouse transformation →
“KKR would be a long-term partner that could help Axel Springer invest in its existing publications and classifieds products and make acquisitions, [CEO Mathias] Doepfner said on a call with journalists, stressing the need to spend even with growth slowing.”
Motherboard / Samantha Cole
This deepfake of Mark Zuckerberg tests Facebook’s fake video policies →
“At the time, Neil Potts, Facebook's director of public policy, said that if someone posted a manipulated video of Zuckerberg like the one of Pelosi, it would stay up. Now that there’s a deepfake of Zuckerberg implying he’s in total control of billions of people’s stolen data and ready to control the future, on Facebook-owned Instagram, that stance will be put to the test.”
Variety / Todd Spangler
Facebook Watch hits 140 million daily users — nearly double in the past six months →
“However, the company isn't releasing overall watch-time figures, and its reported numbers for daily and monthly Facebook Watch users include everyone who watched a minimum of just 60 seconds of video — which makes it difficult to gauge how well it has built a consistent audience. Also keep in mind the stats aren't independently verified.”
BuzzFeed News / Brianna Sacks
Pinterest has banned an influential anti-abortion group for spreading “harmful misinformation” →
“Social media companies have recently been cracking down and purging accounts that spread anti-vax content. However, in its response, Live Action argued that it ‘has been and remains neutral on the issue of vaccines,’ but then listed instances in which the group reported on ‘the controversy surrounding the use of human fetal cell lines used to grow certain vaccines.'”
VICE News / David Uberti
How iconic LGBTQ magazine Out almost died →
“The unanswered question still hovering above it all, several current and former Pride Media employees told VICE News, is why a private equity firm bought queer media outlets with serious cash-flow problems and limited financial upside in the first place.”
The Baffler / Liz Pelly
Selling Spotify as a big mood (data) machine →
“In Spotify's world, listening data has become the oil that fuels a monetizable metrics machine, pumping the numbers that lure advertisers to the platform. In a data-driven listening environment, the commodity is no longer music. The commodity is listening. The commodity is users and their moods.”
International Journalists / SeRGIO SPAGNUOLO
Hey, WhatsApp: Here are specific steps for how to spread news, not misinformation →
“One of the main reasons WhatsApp says it will not implement broadcasting tools is that it wants to prevent users from being bombarded with spam. This is a fair point. However, my study of more than 300 WhatsApp groups, and the exchange of some 200,000 messages during the 2018 Brazilian general election, shows that roughly half of the links shared are spam, anyway.”