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Wednesday, September 18, 2019
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The New York Times shutters NYT en Español after three years: “It did not prove financially successful”NYT en Español’s founding editorial director called the decision “extremely short-sighted,” and many others who’d worked on the product or read and followed it expressed their disappointment. By Laura Hazard Owen. |
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Nonprofit news outlets aren’t relying as heavily on foundations — but journalism philanthropy continues to grow“Nonprofit news organizations have much in common even if their scope or mission differs. Their journalistic missions are shaped largely by the gaps they are trying to fill — investigative at the state, national and global level; more general news at the local level.” By Christine Schmidt. |
What We’re Reading
Financial Times / Camilla Hodgson
Inside the 100-person, $18 million-per-year Internet Archive →
“The archive itself, this partial copy of the internet, is stored in six 6ft-high servers that sit upstairs in what used to be the nave of the church. There is a full back-up copy elsewhere in California, and partial copies in Canada, the Netherlands and Alexandria, Egypt. This is precautionary, said Mr Kahle: remember the burning of the great Library of Alexandria.”
Wall Street Journal / Lukas Alpert
Google and Facebook cozy up to publishers — as regulators circle →
“Top state law-enforcement officials from across the country last week launched antitrust investigations into Facebook and Google, further pressuring tech giants already under federal scrutiny over whether their online dominance stifles competition…. Google executives said the prospect of regulation didn't influence their effort to better promote original news, adding that technological advances had finally allowed the company to address a longstanding concern among publishers.”
The Verge / Makena Kelly
Here’re more details on Facebook’s content oversight board, with a goal of 40 members by the end of the year →
“The board's decision will be binding, even if I or anyone at Facebook disagrees with it,” Mark Zuckerberg said in a blog post Tuesday.
The Information / Alex Heath and Jessica Toonkel
News Tab fever spreads to Snap →
“By creating a tab for breaking news in its app, Snap would further distance participating publishers from the main Discover feed, which has been criticized for showcasing salacious, low-brow content alongside stories from publishers like The New York Times and The Washington Post. Earlier this year, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told investors on an earnings call that the company was focused on improving the layout of Discover, which he compared to ‘almost like walking into a supermarket without the aisles labeled.'”
Axios / Sara Fischer
BuzzFeed says it’s diversified from advertising so much that it will be profitable for the second half of 2019 and “the entirety of 2020” →
The company is hiring for a new president after former president/recent senior advisor Greg Coleman departed to join Spotify as global head of advertising.
Houston Chronicle / Emily Foxhall
She flew in to an unfamiliar city to report on a mass shooting. Was she helping or hurting? →
“Outside the home of a 17-month-old injured in her face, a note hung on the red door: ‘At this time, we ask that everyone respect our privacy.’ I fretted. I worried my editor would think I failed.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
The Washington Post launches an ad network that lets companies buy ads in real time →
“The product will allow publishers to open their ad space to marketers directly through a real-time buying tool, similar to what Google and Facebook offer, across the network of publishers’ websites and apps.”
Monday Note / Frederic Filloux
The cutthroat battle for controlling Le Monde →
“What's going on at Le Monde? Is its independence in peril? Probably not. But the current confrontation might radically change the ownership structure of France's flagship paper.”
CNN / Brian Stelter
Why you’re seeing so much news coverage of the climate crisis this month →
“More than 250 news outlets around the world have committed to Covering Climate Now. What is it? An initiative to provide focused coverage of the climate crisis in print, on air and online.”
The New York Times Company
The Daily has officially hit one billion (yes, with a B) downloads →
“Since its creation in February of 2017, ‘The Daily’ has featured 224 of our Times colleagues in at least 30 countries across 691 episodes.”