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Wednesday, July 24, 2019
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A New York Times blockchain project aims to help convince people that a photo really is (or isn’t!) what it seems to beContent advisory: This story includes the word “blockchain.” By Joshua Benton. |
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So how will the American Journalism Project pick the local news sites it wants to back (with a piece of its $42 million)?“What's happened with a lot of these local [news sites] — and rightfully so — is that they've been really focused on building out editorial functions. But oftentimes, these news organizations aren't started by people that have business or entrepreneurship backgrounds, so that's been lacking in this space.” By Meena Lee. |
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Will enough readers pay for hyperlocal journalism — over text? Cleveland.com and Project Text will find out“Everybody who's tried hyperlocal has done it with traditional stories. This isn’t that. This is a completely different approach to connecting people with the community and engaging with them.” By Christine Schmidt. |
What We’re Reading
Washington Post / Tony Romm
The U.S. is fining Facebook $5 billion for repeated privacy violations and will oversee its business practices →
“As a result, the settlement between the FTC and Facebook includes the largest fine in U.S. history for a privacy violation, and it grants federal regulators unparalleled access to the social-networking giant's business decisions for the next two decades — allowing regulators to scrutinize the actions of Facebook's leaders, including chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, and its efforts to launch new products and services.”
Digiday / Max Willens
Bustle acquires Inverse, a science culture site by a Bleacher Report cofounder (not Bryan Goldberg) →
“Adding Inverse will grow BDG's audience meaningfully. Inverse averaged more than 9 million monthly unique users through the first half of 2019, according to Comscore. Over that same period, Bustle Digital Group averaged 50 million monthly unique users, also per Comscore.”
The Guardian / Mark Sweney
Internet advertising will grow at the slowest rate next year since 2001 →
“Internet advertising is forecast to grow by 10% globally next year, the lowest level since 2001, according to research by the global media agency group Zenith. The shrinking growth rate means that cinema advertising, which is forecast to surge more than 12% next year, will become the fastest-growing ad medium.”
CNN Business / Clare Duffy
Snapchat tops 200 million daily users for the first time →
“The stronger-than-expected user growth, combined with a slowdown in losses during the quarter, helped drive up shares of Snapchat’s parent company, Snap, about 11% in after-hours trading. It’s now just short of its initial public offering price.”
BuzzFeed News / Alex Kantrowitz
The history — and flaws — of the retweet →
“The biggest problem is the quote retweet. Quote retweet allows for the dunk. It's the dunk mechanism.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Chip Scanlan
Human interaction: How Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Helen Ubinas introduces children to journalism →
“She has reminded the newsroom of something that was once too obvious to say — that journalists should go out into the world and talk to real people. Inspired by Ubiñas, The Philadelphia Inquirer's six Lenfest fellows, all recent journalism graduates, began similar conversations at local coffee shops, Escobar says.”
Better News / Stephanie Carson and Angie Newsome
How Carolina Public Press led a statewide collaboration to investigate sexual assault convictions →
“After six months of work, we secured 10 other partners in the collaboration, including outlets in print/digital, TV and radio. Outputs included four days of coordinated publication and broadcasts that included seven text-driven stories, data-rich graphics, photography and video.”
The Guardian / Hannah Ellis-Petersen
Maria Ressa’s libel trial begins: “This case of cyberlibel stretches the rule of law until it breaks” →
“The cyberlibel charge relates to a story published on Rappler's website in May 2012 that alleged ties between a Philippine businessman, Wilfredo D Keng, and a high court judge. However, as Ressa and her legal counsel have pointed out, the controversial cyberlibel law under which she is being prosecuted was enacted four months after the story was written.”
The Hollywood Reporter / Paul Bond
Netflix lost $24 billion in value in 6 days after it said U.S. subs declined in Q2 →
The market really doesn’t like it when a subscription-driven business shows any signs of reversal.
The New York Times / Michael Grynbaum
Jodi Rudoren is leaving The New York Times to lead The Forward →
“‘The Forward needs to…push into more digital distribution and storytelling areas, and redefine itself as the platform for the American Jewish conversation," she said. At The Times, Ms. Rudoren was an author of the so-called 2020 report, a major review of the paper's digital efforts.”