Nieman Foundation at Harvard
HOME
          
LATEST STORY
Why “Sorry, I don’t know” is sometimes the best answer: The Washington Post’s technology chief on its first AI chatbot
ABOUT                    SUBSCRIBE

Chill, self-appointed integrity cops

“The hand-wringing about native advertising will give way to hand-clapping at the prospect of someone paying for serious journalism.”

My predictions:

evan-smithAnother big-brand magazine (or three) will reduce its frequency in print.

Another big-brand editor will ditch ink-on-paper for pixels-on-screen.

And another big-brand foundation not named Knight will make a seismic investment in non-profit online news.

Bonus: The hand-wringing about native advertising will give way to hand-clapping at the prospect of someone paying for serious journalism. Yes, disclosure and transparency are the entire ballgame, but haven’t they always been? There should be rules and regs and standards messaged from on high, and bad actors should be publicly stoned. Beyond that, the self-appointed integrity cops — you know who you are — need to take a chill pill.

Evan Smith is CEO and editor-in-chief of The Texas Tribune.

                         
Updating regularly through Friday, December 20