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Wednesday, August 21, 2019
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How trans journalists are challenging — and changing — journalism“As we become more visible, trans journalists are asking journalism leaders to confront the structural barriers that make it hard for trans people to enter and remain in the industry.” By Lewis Raven Wallace. |
What We’re Reading
TechCrunch / Anthony Ha
BuzzFeed built a tool that recommends content based on how you’re feeling →
First result for “Stressed”: “28 Useful Products For Anyone Who Gets Stressed Out Super Easily”
ProPublica / Lena V. Groeger
Here’s how ProPublica’s diversity programs are working →
“Nearly 100 journalists and journalism students have gone through these programs. Recently, we sent around a questionnaire to see where the Data Institute alumni and scholarship recipients are now. Many pointed to their experience with ProPublica as a turning point in their lives and careers.”
The Fresno Bee / Kate Irby
Rep. Devin Nunes finally served McClatchy with that “defamation” lawsuit he threatened months ago →
He filed it in…Virginia, where McClatchy publishes no newspapers and a 39-hour, 2,684-mile drive from his district offices in California’s San Joaquin Valley. He’s also suing Twitter, a Republican political strategist, and two anonymous Twitter users.
The Boston Globe / Deirdre Fernandes
Ethan Zuckerman and Nate Matias are severing ties with the MIT Media Lab over its Jeffrey Epstein connections →
Ethan: “My logic was simple: the work my group does focuses on social justice and on the inclusion of marginalized individuals and points of view. It's hard to do that work with a straight face in a place that violated its own values so clearly in working with Epstein and in disguising that relationship.” Nate: “As part of our work, CivilServant does research on protecting women and other vulnerable people online from abuse and harassment. I cannot with integrity do that from a place with the kind of relationship that the Media Lab has had with Epstein. It's that simple.”
Kotaku / Jason Schreier
Game Informer, one of America’s largest-circulation magazines, just laid off almost half its editorial staff →
“The layoffs blindsided staff at Game Informer today. Seven of the popular magazine's editors announced on Twitter this afternoon that they had been laid off, including one who said he was on vacation. (Per Game Informer's masthead, the magazine has 19 full-time editorial staff.)”
The Membership Puzzle Project / Phillip Smith
How to spend money to make money (a.k.a. how to use paid acquisition to grow your membership) →
“It is clear that the tactics of paid lead acquisition do translate to the world of journalism —people do respond positively to the advertising campaigns, subscribe from social platforms, and stay engaged. And these strategies can be useful even if you have a paywall or patronage model.”
Bloomberg / Ira Boudway
The Athletic now has more than a half-million readers, but can it turn a profit? →
“Nearly 1,800 people have signed up for subscriptions to read Jenks's story, making it one of the top 10 in the site's history. ‘He wrote the defining piece of the NBA playoffs from Seattle,’ says Hansmann. ‘And Seattle doesn't even have an NBA team.'”
WIRED / Arielle Pardes
Brace for impact: Reddit now lets you livestream, too →
“The network will be tightly curated, with no more than 100 concurrent streams that run for no longer than 30 minutes each…. The weeklong experiment will be entirely moderated by Reddit employees, giving Reddit’s mass of volunteer moderators a break from watching the streams.”
Times Insider / Lovia Gyarkye
How The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project came together →
“The project also includes a multipart audio series with The Daily featuring Ms. Hannah-Jones, a page dedicated to understanding the significance of 1619 in the upcoming issue of The New York Times for Kids, and a partnership with the Pulitzer Center to create a curriculum that will be distributed in schools across the country. The Times has also printed hundreds of thousands of extra copies of the magazine and special section to be distributed for free at libraries, museums and schools.”
Digiday / Lucinda Southern
Apple flexes a strong anti-tracking stance →
“Apple intends to treat ad tech vendors, as well as tech giants such as Facebook and Google, like malware if they continue to use cookies for cross-site targeting purposes. It stands to reason those hardest hit will be third-party data providers, DSPs, and in the long term Facebook and Google, which won't be able to retarget on Apple devices, leading to large holes in their ad businesses, said Root.”
correctiv.org / Marta Orosz
“Do you know how to get rich with VAT fraud?” Correctiv built a game to help readers follow the money →
“With the Grand Theft Europe project, investigative reporters from 30 European countries revealed how the biggest ongoing tax fraud in the EU works. CORRECTIV, who led the investigation, have teamed up with NewsGamer to offer you a glimpse of just how easy it is for anyone to steal hundreds of millions from EU states.”
The Wall Street Journal / Jeff Horwitz
Facebook to let users control (some of) their data from other companies →
“People will be able to use the tool to prevent that data from being associated with their Facebook accounts — blocking it, for example, from serving ads in Facebook for a product they shopped for elsewhere. The new tool has limits. Users can't delete the outside data that apps and websites send Facebook…And it won't give users the ability to limit or even see the full list of data that Facebook gathers from their direct interaction with the company's products.”