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Monday, August 5, 2019
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Why The New York Times is covering newspaper closures as a national story (and how local outlets can collaborate)“What are the big significant things occurring in the U.S. right now? This is way, way up there. We'd be derelict if we weren't covering it.” By Christine Schmidt. |
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Newsonomics: The GateHouse/Gannett newspaper megamerger could be announced as soon as Monday morningThe merger of the United States’ No. 1 and No. 2 newspaper chains will likely spark a new wave of consolidation among its smaller competitors. But will the potential cost savings be eaten up by debt payments to financiers? By Ken Doctor. |
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Maybe facts don’t care about your feelings — but political polarization is about feelings, not factsDiversifying your media diet might help prevent political polarization — but it may not reverse the polarization once it’s taken effect. By Robert B. Talisse. |
What We’re Reading
Recode / Shirin Ghaffary, Rani Molla, and Emily Stewart
Here’s how Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and 8chan handle white supremacist content →
“Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube have been slow to take action against white supremacist users and posts on their platforms, but over the past year, they finally began taking a series of actions and implementing some policy changes that target this kind of content. It doesn't seem to be working yet.”
Knight Foundation / LaSharah Bunting
“Newsroom diversity efforts have failed”: Knight is investing $1.2M in a new program at the Maynard Institute →
“Maynard will use the new funding to launch its Equity and Inclusion Transformation Program, embedding specialists in newsrooms to help them better inform underserved communities and establish more equitable and inclusive workplaces.”
Los Angeles Times / Jeff Bercovici
Too many manifestos: Cloudfare is booting 8chan off its services →
“Unfortunately the action we take today won't fix hate online. It will almost certainly not even remove 8chan from the Internet. But it is the right thing to do.”
The Guardian / David Agren
Mexican media calls for more protection after three journalists’ killings in a week →
“The president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, promised to calm the county and stop the killings of journalists but his relationship with the media has turned testy since he took office.”
Washington Post / Margaret Sullivan
Can the news media manage to become part of the solution to the mind-numbing curse of mass shootings? →
“Just as there was in the 1950s and 1960s while covering civil rights, or today in covering the climate crisis, there actually is a right or wrong side on the matter of controlling rampant gun violence. Journalists need to be on the right side of that, and not afraid to own it.”
Poynter / Daniela Flamini
In 2018, governments shut down the internet 196 times — almost twice the amount in 2017 →
“‘Shutdowns are being normalized, as if they're expected to happen,’ Taye told the IFCN. ‘(There's the sense) amongst journalists, activists and others that shutdowns during 2020 elections are going to happen, so we need to prepare.’ Africa and Asia are the two continents most affected by internet shutdowns, and India is by far the greatest perpetrator: 67% of #KeepItOn's documented shutdowns in 2018 have taken place in India, with 134 incidents.”
AAJA Voices / Farnoush Amiri, Michael Lee, Shafaq Patel, and Amanda Zhou
Two thirds of interns in top newsrooms this summer came from the most selective colleges in the U.S. →
“About 75% of The New York Times' 32 interns in summer 2018 came from intensively selective universities. About one in five came from ‘Ivy Plus’ schools.”
Press Gazette / Freddy Mayhew
The Athletic has officially launched in the U.K. after spending big on soccer writers →
“The Athletic's aggressive hiring spree has vacated some of the top jobs in football journalism across the national and regional press – covering the beautiful game is its singular aim for the moment…All staff are offered equity in the San Francisco-based company, which launched in 2016 and now has some 450 full-time writers and editors.”
GEN / Trevor Timm
The Trump administration is coming after encrypted chat apps →
“To any lawmaker who is advocating for a ban on strong encryption, simply ask them: Do you, your staff, or your campaign use Signal or another encrypted messaging app to protect your communications? The answer will most likely be yes.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
SmartNews raises money at a $1 billion valuation →
It has 20 million users in the U.S. “To date, the company has raised $116 million and brings in revenue of “nine figures” annually…While the company does hire editors to ensure quality control on the platform, most of the money raised will be going towards technology development.”