YULI AHMADA: September 2016

Jumat, 30 September 2016

The Times of London is shuttering its international paid weekly app: The latest from Nieman Lab

Thursday, September 29, 2016

The Times of London is shuttering its international paid weekly app

The $4-a-month app, which launched in January, was an attempt to reach readers outside the U.K. and find a new revenue stream outside The Times’ usual strict paywall. By Joseph Lichterman.

Survey of large publishers: 30 percent of our website visits come from Facebook

What We’re Reading

Pew Research Center / Joel Ericsen and Jeffrey Gottfried

Conservatives see news media as biased; liberals say they choose the wrong stories to cover →

“About two-in-ten Americans (22%) say the most negative thing the media do is report biased news, while 18% point to a failure to make good choices in what or how to report the news, such as too narrow a scope or reporting on things that aren't newsworthy. An additional 16% think the worst thing they do is lie, mislead or sensationalize, and 14% highlight too many reports on negative stories, such as guns and crime.”

The New York Times / Sydney Ember

For some newspapers, endorsing Clinton means losing subscibers →

“[Phil] Boas of The Arizona Republic said he expected "a lot of cancellations," pointing to cancellations at The Cincinnati Enquirer, which like The Republic, is owned by Gannett.”

5280 / Robert Sanchez

How massive cuts have remade The Denver Post →

“Journalists at the state's largest newspaper once wondered how much more they'd have to endure. Now they're finding out.”

Wall Street Journal / Shalini Ramachandran

Cord-cutting could cost pay TV industry $1 billion in a year →

“Pay-TV providers could lose nearly $1 billion in revenue as 800,000 customers cut the cord during the next 12 months, according to a new study from the firm cg42.”

YouTube

Nick Denton and Felix Salmon talk about power in the media →

This is a YouTube video of a conversation Denton and Salmon had on stage at the Transition Conference.

Ad Age / Jeremy Barr

Publishers tweak their approach to Facebook Live →

Facebook Live broadcasts for the top 500 media companies by audience seemed to peak in June at 5,385 broadcasts, then decline in July with 3,986 and August with 3,926, according to research conducted for Ad Age by the social media analytics company Socialbakers.

The Guardian / Mark Sweney

Daily Mail owner to cut more than 400 jobs as it battles a ‘challenging market’ →

Daily Mail & General Trust employs about 10,000 staff globally. It will take a £50m charge this year relating to the reorganization of the business, more than triple the £15m it said it expected in May.

Fast Company / Elizabeth Segran

Behind the millennial women-oriented site Bustle’s website redesign →

With innovations such as: more color, related stories hand-picked by editors, modular design.

The Media Briefing / Esther Kezia Harding

Are the benefits of digital video really all they're cracked up to be? →

Ad fraud, adblocking, and completion are just some of the problems which are contributing to a drop in digital ad spend for pre-roll ads, according one source.

Kamis, 29 September 2016

Collaborate or die: A new initiative wants to make it easier for national and local outlets to work together: The latest from Nieman Lab

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Collaborate or die: A new initiative wants to make it easier for national and local outlets to work together

“Where you find resistance to collaboration is where you're finding news enterprises hastening their own demise.” By Ricardo Bilton.

ProPublica’s new Chrome extension wants to decipher what Facebook thinks it knows about its users

What We’re Reading

Poynter / Benjamin Mullin

Why did BuzzFeed redesign its homepage? →

It seems at odds with BuzzFeed’s distribution strategy that the company spent the last six months overhauling its homepage, which relaunched today. The new homepage will also be pulling double duty as an entry point for BuzzFeed’s two now separated divisions, BuzzFeed News and BuzzFeed Entertainment Group.

Broadcasting & Cable / Jon Lafayette

YouTube had nearly 2 million concurrent Clinton-Trump debate viewers →

“YouTube says this breaks all political programming records for live streaming and is one of the biggest livestreams of all time. Compared to four year ago, this debate had 14 times more live viewers, five times more watch time and 4 times more peak concurrent viewers.”

AdWeek

“Millennial News Publisher Circa Plans to Create Weekly Ad-Supported VR Spots” →

2016 in a headline.

Medium / Save the Chicago Reader

“Help us win the fight for the [Chicago] Reader” →

“In 2012, each issue of the Reader ran from 72 to 80 pages. Now, it's generally 44 to 48 pages.”

VentureBeat / Jordan Novet

Twitter now lets any user create and curate Moments →

“Until now Moments have been editorially curated, presumably by Twitter staffers, and being included in a Moment was considered an achievement. It won't have that effect anymore because it's been democratized.”

Wesa / Christopher Ayers

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review will publish its last print edition on Nov. 30 →

“With the print edition’s departure, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will become the only widely circulated daily newspaper left in the market. Pittsburgh has been home to at least two printed daily newspapers dating back to the mid-1800s.”

Mashable / Stan Schroeder

BlackBerry gives up on building phones →

“The company plans to end all internal hardware development and will outsource that function to partners.”

Chalkbeat / Ryan Sholin

Chalkbeat opensources MORI, its impact-measurement-for-journalism tool →

“MORI grew out of one of our key beliefs: Journalists can make a difference, but the ability to measure the difference we make can multiply our impact over time. If we can document how, why, when, and where we made a difference, we are more likely to repeat our success.”

Columbia Journalism Review / Shelley Hepworth, CJR

‘There’s gotta be a better way’: Ethical dilemmas surround eyewitness video →

“As news sharing on social platforms gathers steam, breaking news videos shot by eyewitnesses are going viral every other week. The phenomenon raises a host of questions for publishers, platforms, and eyewitnesses themselves”

Ad Age / Jeremy Barr

Why don’t more women run media companies? →

“The relative lack of female CEOs today stands out all the more because it wasn’t so long ago that historical norms seemed to have been broken: Time Inc., The New York Times Co., former Financial Times parent Pearson, NPR, the Fairchild Publications division of Condé Nast and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia all had female CEOs in the first decade of the 2000s, and Hearst Magazines was run by Cathie Black as president from 1995 through 2010.”

The Guardian / Chris Wilk

The Guardian now has its own skills for Alexa, Amazon’s voice service →

With the new skills, Amazon Echo users can ask Alexa to play Guardian news, reviews, and even podcasts. (Only in the UK for now, though.)

Columbia Journalism Review / Emily Bell

Facebook is being taken somewhere it never wanted to go →

“Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has hit a rough patch in his quest to prove to the world that his company is a technology platform rather than an editorially driven, sentient publisher of the world's self-expression, which carries a social responsibility beyond its next earnings call.”

Digiday / Jemma Brackebush

What the Associated Press has learned from a year of VR →

One of AP’s big early realizations: sometimes VR is’t the best way to tell a story.

Recode / Kurt Wagner

Facebook is about to take the training wheels off Facebook at Work →

“This product has been a long time coming. Facebook has been using a version of Facebook at Work internally for years, and reports first surfaced that it was building an office tool for other companies almost 15 months ago. When, exactly, Facebook will launch the product is still unclear. So, too, is whether or not it will be able to convince customers to forgo their existing office products, in some cases with years of archived messaging and documents stored on them.”

Columbia Journalism Review / Alex T. Williams

Employment picture darkens for journalists at digital outlets →

“According to OES data, the number of journalists in the newspaper industry declined sharply in the past decade. Consider that in 2005, there were 66,490 newspaper reporters or editors. In 2015, there were 41,400, a decline of 25,090 journalists, or 38 percent. During the same time period, the number of journalists at digital-only publishers more than tripled, growing from 3,410 to 10,580.”

Rabu, 28 September 2016

How NPR factchecked the first presidential debate in realtime, on top of a live transcript: The latest from Nieman Lab

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

How NPR factchecked the first presidential debate in realtime, on top of a live transcript

More than 6 million users checked out the factcheck, sending record traffic (especially on mobile) to the site. By Shan Wang.

Hot Pod: Will the next wave of audio advertising make podcasts sound like (yuck) commercial radio?

Plus: Panoply expands to London, Midroll makes a bigger bet on live events, and Bloomberg finds audio success. By Nicholas Quah.

The Guardian’s Mobile Innovation Lab tested live commentary on the presidential debate, in push alerts

What We’re Reading

BuzzFeed / Alex Kantrowitz

Facebook says suspension of libertarian groups was an “error” →

“Facebook now boasts 1.7 billion monthly active users. It's a massive network that for many is the extent of the internet itself. When political speech is removed from the platform, even temporarily, it's a big deal. And Facebook is giving no indication that it's ready to address these removals in more depth.”

The New York Times / Abe Streep

What’s ‘A Prairie Home Companion’ without Garrison Keillor? →

A New York Times Magazine profile of Chris Thile, the 35-year-old mandolin player who is the new host of the public radio show: “Music will take the lead; guest comics like John Hodgman will provide side banter; and in place of the Lake Wobegon monologue, Thile will write a topical song each week.”

Axel Springer chief Mathias Döpfner says Google and Facebook must change their attitude for publishers to survive →

"If there is not a real, sufficient and big business model on the search-driven side … and there is no business model at all on the social [media] side, the number of content producers will deteriorate fast," he says. "You will have a monopoly of content distribution that will be mainly driven by user-generated content, and by professional content by commercially interested players. You will have a total mix-up of rumours and facts — a pretty traumatic scenario of information or propaganda. It will be very painful for democracies."

Politico / Hadas Gold and Alex Weprin

Cable news’ election-year haul could reach $2.5 billion →

“According to data from media and communications data firm SNL Kagan, a division of SMP Global Market Intelligence, the three major cable news networks are set to make nearly $2 billion in ad revenues, and the three main business networks are set to add another $458 million in ad revenue from just the 2016 calendar year.”

CNBC / Antonio José Vielma

A Twitter sale could potentially happen within the next 30 to 45 days, according to CNBC sources →

Microsoft, Salesforce, and Disney have all been suggested as interested buyers.

Digiday / Jessica Davies

The New York Times’ global ambitions face tough challenges →

“The 150-year-old brand's global reputation in Europe is excellent. But like any news business expanding internationally, it's typically limited to expats or professionals for whom a U.S. angle is relevant — a challenge it will need to overcome to grow, according to Douglas McCabe, CEO of Enders Analysis.”

The Wall Street Journal / Mike Shields

Tech and science startup Inverse raises $6 million →

“Dave Nemetz, who co-founded Bleacher Report in 2005, has raised $6 million in series A funding for Inverse, a science and technology content site aimed at millennial men that launched last year.”

The Guardian / Samuel Gibbs

Germany orders Facebook to stop collecting WhatsApp user data →

“Hamburg's Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Johannes Caspar ruled on Tuesday that Facebook ‘neither has obtained an effective approval from the WhatsApp users, nor does a legal basis for the data reception exist'”

The Australian / Peter Mitchell

News Corp CEO: Print advertising market is “very volatile” →

“There is no doubt our print mastheads are in transition, but they are still very powerful platforms,” Robert Thomson said at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York. “Ultimately advertisers are looking for affinity, quality and measurability.”

Selasa, 27 September 2016

Jeff Israely: Five years in, our news startup is seeing the pace of change slow: The latest from Nieman Lab

Monday, September 26, 2016

Jeff Israely: Five years in, our news startup is seeing the pace of change slow

“The future is already here, and we have to hustle every day to survive. And succeed.” By Jeff Israely.

This: Vox.com hires Andrew Golis as its first general manager

“He is going to be tasked with thinking about what are the big swings that we want to take in the next few years.” By Joseph Lichterman.

Digital Content Next is launching an automated ad marketplace to try to solve online advertising’s problems

What We’re Reading

Wall Street Journal / Seth Stevenson

Snapchat announces its first hardware product: video-sharing sunglasses →

The $129.99 sunglasses, from the company now rechristened Snap Inc., use a camera with a 115-degree-angle lens — much closer to the eyes' natural field of view. The video it records is also circular, more closer to human vision.

Ad Age / Jeremy Barr

Business Insider is testing a reader paywall →

Business Insider, which was sold last year to European publisher Axel Springer, will charge $1 for the first month of a subscription, and $9.95 for the successive months. A small randomly selected group of readers will be hit with various levels of a metered paywall, starting with 10 free stories each month.

Poynter / Benjamin Mullin

Jose Antonio Vargas is relaunching #EmergingUS on Medium →

“In February 2015, the Los Angeles Times announced a partnership with Vargas to launch his startup from within the newspaper. That deal ultimately fell through after publisher Austin Beutner was ousted from the Los Angeles Times in a shakeup Tronc, then known as Tribune Company. Later, Vargas tried to raise money for the project on the crowdfunding site Beacon, but ultimately fell well short of the $1 million goal”

Digiday / Lucinda Southern

French news publishers believe solidarity is key to staving off adblocking →

“After what publishers believe to be a successful trial of blocking ad-blocking users in March, more news publishers are joining forces against ad blockers and taking a tougher stance in September. Out of France's top 40 publishers, 80 percent of them are part of this operation, more than the number that took part in March, which is again spearheaded by trade body Geste. Publishers include Le Monde, L'Equipe, La Parisien and Le Figaro.”

Bloomberg.com / Yoolim Lee

Jann Wenner to sell 49% of Rolling Stone to Singapore’s BandLab →

“After a five-decade run full of interviews with pop stars and presidents, the founder of Rolling Stone is selling 49 percent of the iconic magazine to an Asian billionaire's son. It's the first time Wenner has admitted an outside investor, a deal that encapsulates the plight of an industry fighting to stay relevant in an online age. Wenner Media LLC also owns Us Weekly and Men's Journal.”

New York Post / Josh Kosman and Keith J. Kelly

Gannett mulls acquiring Dallas Morning News owner A.H. Belo →

“Gannett could afford to buy A.H. Belo, which has a $150 million market cap, and pay roughly $1 billion for Tronc, the former Tribune Publishing, sources said.”

Recode / Peter Kafka

The New York Times is backing TheSkimm, the fast-growing newsletter that wants to be more than a newsletter →

“The Times is part of a group of investors putting a total of $500,000 into the New York-based startup. TheSkimm co-founders Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin say the money is an add-on to an $8 million round, led by 21st Century Fox, that they announced this summer.”

Vocativ

Sportswriters love Marriotts more than you love anything →

“Among the federation of traveling sports writers, many of whom spend as many nights on the road as at home, Marriott points are so embedded in the profession's culture that retired journalist John Henderson wrote a blog, ‘Confessions of a Marriott whore,’ wherein he called the Rewards program ‘as much a part of an American sportswriter's job as a notepad and pen.'”

Sabtu, 24 September 2016

Slate, now 20 years old, reflects on the value of taking the long view and not chasing digital media trends: The latest from Nieman Lab

Friday, September 23, 2016

Slate, now 20 years old, reflects on the value of taking the long view and not chasing digital media trends

“One of the things you’ve seen across the marketplace for the last five years is a lot of companies are chasing the same kind of traffic from the same social distribution mechanisms…It’s not a recipe for producing a distinctive media brand.” By Shan Wang.

With “vimages,” The Economist is using Facebook to make low-budget video versions of its stories

What We’re Reading

The New York Times / Sydney Ember

Jim VandeHei is working with NowThis to produce a Snapchat channel covering the U.S. election →

“The channel is separate from Mr. VandeHei's new media company, as yet unnamed, which has raised $10 million and will cover a wide range of subjects, including technology, business, media and politics. But there is a link between the two: Kenneth Lerer's firm, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, is an investor in both NowThis, whose short videos are all over social platforms including Facebook and Instagram, and Mr. VandeHei's new company.”

Fast Company / Chris Chafin

This American Fight →

“When This American Life signed a deal with Pandora, it amplified a raucous, behind-the-scenes debate over the future of public radio.”

Quartz / Josh Horwitz

China’s booming virtual reality arcades are bringing the niche technology to the masses →

Most of them charge users a fee to wear a headset and experience VR for a set amount of time, eliminating the need for consumers to shell out hundreds of dollars to buy gear themselves.

CNBC / CNBC.com staff

Twitter is reportedly in talks with bidders like Google and Salesforce for potential sale →

“Twitter’s board of directors is said to be largely desirous of a deal, according to people close to the situation, but no sale is imminent. There’s no assurance a deal will materialize, but one source close to the conversations said that they are picking up momentum and could result in a deal before year-end.”

Disqus / Tony Hue

Disqus is now compatible with Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages project →

You can implement Disqus by using the amp-iframe component in your AMP page template. For complete details of the installation steps, check out the documentation on Github.

PRX / Maggie Taylor

PRX is launching a podcast training project for public media stations, with a $1 million grant from CPB →

Five stations will be selected to participate in a 20-week curriculum to develop new skills. PRX will provide technical training in key areas where broadcast and podcast strategies diverge. At the end of the curriculum, each station, in co-production with PRX, will launch a new podcast.

Ad Week / Chris O'Shea

CNN Digital hires Marcus Mabry as director of its mobile and off-platform team →

Marby is joining CNN from Twitter where he ran the platform’s Moments feature in the United States and Canada. CNN also today announced the hire of former Wall Street Journal editor Christina Cuesta Kline as a senior editor for mobile.

The Financial Times / Hannah Kuchler

Instagram now has 500,000 advertisers on its platform →

It’s been a year since it opened up advertising in more than 200 countries. Instagram also recently launched its own knockoff of Snapchat stories, which brands have experimented with, but that feature is not yet open to paid advertising.

Politico / Kelsey Sutton

USA Today Network launches get-out-the-vote campaign →

“And, of course, the initiative is also an opportunity to introduce participants to the work of USA Today and Gannett's local publications. The hub will pull together political news stories from all of the properties under the USA Today Network umbrella, and participants will get access to USA Today's morning political newsletter, For The Record. Yost says the hope is to attract new readers and subscribers interested in the political coverage from USA Today Networks' titles.”

Digiday / Lucia Moses

News Corp is testing a homegrown content recommendation tool →

“The initiative, called Project Hamilton, collects relevant articles from the publications and runs them at the bottom of individual articles. The story module is running on MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Realtor.com and parts of The Wall Street Journal. It does not include sponsor content.”

National Geographic News

The first issue of National Geographic was published 128 years ago this week →

“Volume One, Number One of National Geographic, printed in New Haven, Connecticut, with a cover price of 50 cents, was a very staid affair. Its chestnut brown paper cover lacked the distinctive yellow border (that wouldn’t appear until 1910), and not a single photograph was included within its 98 pages (that wouldn’t happen until 1905).”

The Information / Tom Dotan

Pressured by Google and Facebook, news sites slim down →

“News sites are working to reduce "ad tags," those pesky bits of code that clog mobile webpages and slow down loading times. The challenge they face is doing so without hurting advertising revenue.”

The Financial Times / Matthew Garrahan

Tabloids need more than Brangelina boosts →

“Over the past decade, print sales have sharply declined, accompanied more recently by shrinking ad sales. It is similarly tough online — even for scoopmeisters like TMZ, which is free to read, like most of its competitors.”

Politico / Peter Sterne

Guardian U.S. lost $15.85 million on revenue of $15.5 million last year →

“Late last year, Guardian U.S. CEO Eamonn Store laid out the company’s revenue projections for the next two years — $32.2 million in fiscal year 2016–17 (i.e. the 12 month period ending April 2017) and $44 million for fiscal year 2017–18. That would allow Guardian U.S. to finally break even by April 2018.”