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Forget the link tax. Focus on one key metric to “save local news”
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Forget the link tax. Focus on one key metric to “save local news”
“You need Google to stay in this. Otherwise, it devastates the entire industry.”
By Ken Doctor
So who are the consistent news avoiders?
“No single variable is more predictive of whether someone consistently avoids news than their level of interest in politics and civic affairs.”
By Benjamin Toff, Ruth Palmer and Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
A picture is worth a thousand words? Meet the nonprofit newsrooms hiring editorial cartoonists
Few newspapers still employ full-time cartoonists. But some digital outlets are turning to the art form.
By Sarah Scire
“African media houses must do more investigative reporting to stay relevant”
Manasseh Azure Awuni, founding editor-in-chief of The Fourth Estate, on the challenges faced by journalists in his native Ghana and beyond.
By Patrick Egwu
The Israeli government has Haaretz newspaper in its sights as it tightens the screws on media freedom
Haaretz, an independent daily newspaper, has been publishing since 1919, and has frequently been the target of right-wing administrations.
By Colleen Murrell
The legal framework for AI is being built in real time, and a ruling in the Sarah Silverman case should give publishers pause
That an AI model was trained on copyrighted material does not make all of the model’s outputs a copyright violation.
By Joshua Benton
I’m a media reporter and a diehard Swiftie. I don’t cover Taylor, but here’s how I wish someone would
She’s a billionaire, transforming the music industry in real time. Few living celebrities have her scale of cultural influence. Shouldn’t someone be, at least, attempting to look without fear or favor to see if she’s keeping her side of the street clean?
By Sophie Culpepper
How the Kennedy assassination helped make network TV news wealthy
Until the early 1960s, TV news was seen as a loss leader.
By Michael J. Socolow
Are public media podcasts facing a “Moneyball” moment?
In an era where the “easy money” is gone, celebrity sluggers are beyond reach, and commercial outfits are pulling back, public radio orgs can win by leaning into data and ideas that helped them create the art form.
By Ben Brock Johnson
How Topo magazine uses comics to tell the news to French teens
“I don’t want to make ‘positive news.’ At the same time, we have a real responsibility toward our young readers to not completely depress them.”
By Priscille Biehlmann
What does OpenAI’s rapid unscheduled disassembly mean for the future of AI?
Swinging from an $80 billion valuation to an existential crisis, in less time than it takes to rewatch five seasons of “The Wire”? That’s Tronc-level management.
By Joshua Benton
“Everybody’s sense of emotion and devastation is heightened”: How Jewish Currents is covering the Israel-Hamas war
“We’re very conscious of trying to hold this large community of people who are really struggling.”
By Hanaa' Tameez
The Washington Post takes the “unusual step” of publishing graphic photos from mass shootings
The Post is not running the photos in print, and executive editor Sally Buzbee said digital format was key to creating a “very careful presentation” that “allows readers to make choices along the way.”
By Sarah Scire
Forget the link tax. Focus on one key metric to “save local news”
“You need Google to stay in this. Otherwise, it devastates the entire industry.”
By Ken Doctor
So who are the consistent news avoiders?
“No single variable is more predictive of whether someone consistently avoids news than their level of interest in politics and civic affairs.”
A picture is worth a thousand words? Meet the nonprofit newsrooms hiring editorial cartoonists
Few newspapers still employ full-time cartoonists. But some digital outlets are turning to the art form.
What We’re Reading
Editor & Publisher
Aron Pilhofer named Minneapolis Star Tribune chief product officer
Most recently, Pilhofer was the James B. Steele Chair in Journalism Innovation at Temple University. He previously worked at The Guardian and The New York Times. The Minnesota native has co-founded three news-related startups: DocumentCloud.org, Hacks & Hackers and The Tiny News Collective.
Adweek / Mark Stenberg
BuzzFeed given 180 days to get its stock price over $1
“Companies have to meet a number of criteria in order to trade on the Nasdaq, one of which is that their bid price must be above a $1 minimum. BuzzFeed Inc. stock is currently trading at 30 cents.”
Vice / Janus Rose
Wikipedia editor who first noted Henry Kissinger’s death has become an “instant legend”
“‘I’m now forever the girl who changed ‘is’ to ‘was’ on Henry Kissinger’s Wikipedia article,’ reads the bio of the Wikipedia user Asticky, who updated her bio after editing Kissinger’s page on 8:46 PM EST on Wednesday.”
Rest of World / Russell Brandom
The war in Gaza is reshaping moderation rules
“In a recent talk with the Atlantic Council, a member of Meta’s independent Oversight Board gave new details about the weeks immediately following the October 7 attacks. As part of its arrangement with Meta, the Board receives appeals from the company or its users when a moderation decision is believed to be false, or simply raises issues the company can’t resolve. But in the three weeks after the attacks, the board received 20 times more appeals than usual, according to board member Julie Owono.”
The Wall Street Journal / Salvador Rodriguez, Sam Schechner, and Meghan Bobrowsky
Threads to launch in Europe in December
“The launch represents Threads’ largest market expansion since its debut in July and signals the social-media company’s commitment to the microblogging service, which rivals that of Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter.”
NPR / David Folkenflik
NPR names new podcast chief as network seeks to regain footing in a crowded field
“People who are looking for news and information on topics are just facing a really confusing mix,” said veteran audio executive Collin Campbell. “You can’t sort between the output of a group of journalists that have the goods and have the boots on the ground, and a bunch of people [simply] talking about it. We have to really look at ways to stand out and show what we do and how we do it.” (See: Are public media podcasts facing a “Moneyball” moment?)
Poynter / Deborah Caldwell
“Local media must reclaim the religion beat”
“Religious folks haven’t gone away. They are still the engines of community awareness, activism and political organization.”
The Washington Post / Taylor Lorenz
Substack is rolling out a suite of new video creation and editing tools
“The focus on video signifies a shift in Substack’s business model — and a sign that the platform may now be forced to compete for talent with video-focused social media behemoths like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. It also puts Substack in direct competition with platforms like Patreon that allow users to charge subscriptions for a wide variety of content formats.”
Semafor / Max Tani
MSNBC cancels Mehdi Hasan’s show
“Hasan will become an on-camera analyst and fill-in host. The network plans to expand host Ayman Mohyeldin’s weekend program to two hours to replace Hasan’s show.”
The Verge / Jacob Kastrenakes and Mila Sato
Elon Musk tells advertisers: “Go fuck yourself”
“I hope they stop. Don’t advertise,” Musk told interviewer Andrew Ross Sorkin. “If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.”
Nieman Lab is a project to try to help figure out where the news is headed in the Internet age. Sign up for The Digest, our daily email with all the freshest future-of-journalism news.