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Thursday, July 11, 2019
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Governments making “fake news” a crime risk stifling real journalism — accidentally or intentionallyLumping together disinformation campaigns with news the government says isn’t in the “public interest” is a recipe for abuse. By Alana Schetzer. |
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Here’s how some for-profit local news outlets are building subscriptionsSixteen percent of Americans pay for news, a report earlier this year found. It’s not exactly trickling down to local outlets. By Christine Schmidt. |
What We’re Reading
MacRumors / Joe Rossignol
This is a report of a report of a report that Apple has “terminated” its AR glasses →
So many grains of salt to be taken here — but if true, the best hope for large-scale consumer adoption of AR anytime soon is dead too.
Twitter / William Vambenepe
Google’s news search results are getting a visual refresh →
Woe betide fans of information density — see here for an example — but the functionality hasn’t notably changed.
OPB / Meerah Powell
The only daily newspaper in central Oregon must fire all its employees as part of a sale →
“‘Effective as of the end of business on the day immediately prior to the Closing Date, Seller shall terminate all Business Employees,’ the filing states. The [buyer, Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers,] could re-hire any employees at its discretion.”
Engadget / Kris Holt
Twitter is testing letting you pin your favorite lists in its app →
Twitter lists: the journalist’s friend.
Digiday / Lucinda Southern
Stitcher and Wondery launch a joint podcast platform together to enter the UK market →
“The U.K.'s podcasting ad landscape is small but growing. In lieu of official ad spend numbers, industry sources estimate it's in the region of £10 million ($12.5 million), a drop in the ocean compared to the£383 million ($479 million) that U.S. marketers spend, according to figures from the U.S. IAB and PricewaterhouseCoopers.”
Engaged Journalism Accelerator
A Belgian media co-op promoted local investigative windows using posters in bookshop windows →
“In 2018, Tiffany Lasserre, Médor communications lead, came up with the idea to use the bookshops that sell the quarterly magazine to help drive footfall and sales (the bookshops get 30% of each print magazine sold, so it's in their interest to sell more copies).”
Deadline / Dade Hayes
The FCC voted to ease rules governing children’s programming broadcasts, the first change to the rules in 30 years →
“The new rules will allow broadcasters to air less than one hour of regularly scheduled children's programming per month on their most widely viewed primary stream.”
Digiday / Max Willens
Streaming video wars are giving publishers an affiliate fee bump →
“Streaming services, from Vudu to Fubo TV to Shudder to ESPN+, are all scrambling to sign up customers, providing an opening for publishers to take a cut. Affiliate commissions typically cost of a single month of access to a service, from $10-$12 at the low end and up to $50-$60 per signup at the high end, according to multiple sources.”
Air Mail
Graydon Carter's new weekly email newsletter Air Mail will cost $50 a year →
"Every Saturday at 6:00 A.M. E.S.T., a new issue will arrive in your in-box. We like to think of it as the digital weekend edition of a nonexistent international daily newspaper. Environmentally friendly. Free home delivery. And no blow-in cards!" (Hyphenation of "in-box" most definitely theirs.)