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Tuesday, August 27, 2019
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Podcasters now have three plots of land to prospect for gold, where they used to have just onePlus: Some borderline bad behavior by podcasters, and New York Public Radio gets a new CEO. By Nicholas Quah. |
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How writing off the working class has hurt the mainstream media“Today there are just six full-time labor reporters in the top 25 newspapers across the U.S., none in network or cable news, none at NPR or PBS, and just a few at digital news organizations and magazines on the left. What happened?” By Christopher R. Martin. |
What We’re Reading
PolitiFact / Daniel Funke
In the weeks after El Paso and Dayton, mass shooting rumors spread on Snapchat and iMessage →
“Unlike a lot of hoaxes about mass shootings, which gain steam through shares on Facebook and Twitter, rumors about additional shootings have spread on private messaging apps like Apple iMessage and Snapchat over the past few weeks. Many of those hoaxes were screenshotted and posted to more public social media platforms, where they got more attention.”
Washington Post / Scott Nover
How reporters for niche publications conquered Capitol Hill →
“Trade publications, which cater specifically to business people or government officials, are often more financially viable these days than writing for a general audience — because unlike average readers, those who want trade news are willing to pay for it. Sometimes, this can lead trade reporters in laughably specific directions: Michael Doyle, now a reporter for an online energy and environment news publication called E&E News, told me he once wrote a few pieces for Onion World, a magazine covering the onion industry (not a global edition of the satirical newspaper the Onion).”
Columbia Journalism Review / Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders’ proposed policy for rebuilding journalism →
“When we have had real journalism, we have seen crimes like Watergate exposed and confronted, leading to anti-corruption reforms. When we have lacked real journalism, we have seen crimes like mortgage fraud go unnoticed and unpunished, leading to a devastating financial crisis that destroyed millions of Americans' lives.” Andrew Yang also has a plan for journalism.
The Guardian / Jim Waterson
BBC to launch Alexa rival that will grasp regional accents →
“While some US-developed products have struggled to understand strong regional accents, the BBC will this week ask staff in offices around the UK to record their voices and make sure the software understands them.”
Self / Casey Gueren
Stock photos for vaccines are notoriously bad, so Self created its own (and they’re free to use) →
“The stock photography commonly used in stories about vaccines are often medically inaccurate in a range of ways, from showing the wrong syringes to showing shots being administered incorrectly. In addition to that, you typically see a lot of crying babies, anxious-looking patients, and close-up shots of oversized needles.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Stefania D'Ignoti
In Sicily, a summer camp for anti-mafia journalism →
“For two weeks, 11 aspiring journalists hailing from various EU countries gathered in Catania, at the former residence of a Mob boss, to learn the basics of field reporting on corruption and crime.”
Slate / Dahlia Lithwick
“Investigative reporting started #MeToo. We're now asking it to do too much.” →
“Even as we compulsively participate in endless debate enabled by our lizard brains and also Twitter, we should pause to recognize that our current reliance on journalism as a stand-in for due process has ended up meaning that accused men — who might have been subject to real rules of evidence, and procedure, and credible testimony — are being punished according to their own thresholds for shame and their best guesses about what behaviors the public will tolerate and for how long. This helps nobody: It does not serve the accused, and it does not serve the victims well, either.”
Facebook
Facebook is expanding local alerts to more local governments and first responders in the U.S. →
“If you manage a Facebook Page associated with a city or county government, local emergency management or fire department, or local law enforcement in the US and you'd like access to local alerts, please fill out this form.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
The Athletic is launching 40 new podcasts; one episode a week will be free →
This brings The Athletic to a total of 80 podcasts, with plans to reach 120.