We keep an eye out for the most interesting stories about Labby subjects: digital media, startups, the web, journalism, strategy, and more. Here’s some of what we’ve seen lately.
March 27, 2024
“The names most likely to be mentioned were Anglo, Eastern European, Indian, and Middle Eastern, according to the paper, published this month in Quantitative Science Studies.” —
Science / Katie Langin
/ Mar 27“Dormant since 2019…the revival of Splinter reflects a larger trend in the media industry, which has seen editorial titles with strong brand equity find second, third, and even fourth acts under new owners.” —
Adweek / Mark Stenberg
/ Mar 27“Dating back to 2000, more than half (16 of 31) of White House press secretaries and communications directors have gone on to become paid contributors, commentators or hosts on news programs, according to an Axios analysis.”
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Axios / Sara Fischer and Zachary Basu
/ Mar 27“I think there’s a bit too much of a public narrative that frustration with [New York Times columnist] Kevin Roose’ tweets is why Meta turned their back on CrowdTangle. I think the truth is that Facebook is moving out of news entirely.” —SS
WIRED / Vittoria Elliott
/ Mar 27“Following Artifact’s announcement of its impending closure, interest in using AI to summarize the news has heated up.” —
TechCrunch / Sarah Perez
/ Mar 27“Out of concerns that Politico is losing its edge, the untested leadership team is pushing staffers harder. Some journalists see it as the sharpening and discipline Politico has been lacking; others, as micromanagement bogging down a newsroom built on speed” … “‘You can’t “win the day,”‘ one staffer says, referring to the philosophy that governed Politico’s early years, ‘if you haven’t won the newsroom.'” —SS
Vanity Fair / Charlotte Klein
/ Mar 27March 26, 2024
“The A.V. Club was scooped up by Paste Magazine, which recently bought shuttered Jezebel, and The Takeout has been bought by Static Media, [Jim Spanfeller, G/O Media’s CEO] said.” —
New York Post / Alexandra Steigrad
/ Mar 26“If you land a profile in a magazine or newspaper that follows the norms of journalism, you’re subject to the reporter’s scrutiny, and possibly to a story that might include faculty members’ criticisms, or unflattering anecdotes. Why bother when you can pay for something that looks like an independent profile, and promote it afterward as if it is?” —
The Chronicle of Higher Education / Francie Diep
/ Mar 26“The buyout plan comes weeks after Low told donors that the station had seen ‘a dramatic loss of sponsorship support’ and that the station wouldn’t rule out a hiring freeze or layoffs to help cut costs. Low previously said in an interview with the Globe that on-air sponsorship revenue had fallen 40 percent over the past five years.” —
The Boston Globe / Aidan Ryan
/ Mar 26“Social media firms including TikTok, X, Facebook and Instagram will be required to put an army of fact-checkers and moderators in place with a collective knowledge of 24 EU languages amid fears that the European parliamentary elections will be a prime target for disinformation campaigns run by Russia and others including the far right.” —
The Guardian / Lisa O'Carroll
/ Mar 26
