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.
November 29, 2023
“As part of the deal, Paste also bought Splinter, the political news website that G/O Media shut down in 2019. [Paste’s Josh]Jackson declined to comment on how much his company had paid for the two sites, though he said it was an all-cash deal.” —
New York Times / Katie Robertson
/ Nov 29November 28, 2023
“Some Substack newsletters by Nazis and white nationalists have thousands or tens of thousands of subscribers, making the platform a new and valuable tool for creating mailing lists for the far right. And many accept paid subscriptions through Substack, seemingly flouting terms of service that ban attempts to ‘publish content or fund initiatives that incite violence based on protected classes.'” —
The Atlantic / Jonathan M. Katz
/ Nov 28“It is the third time Gershkovich’s detention has been extended since Federal Security Service agents seized him from a restaurant in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals where he was on a reporting trip. Gershkovich then was flown to Moscow and has been in Lefortovo high security prison since.” —
Washington Post / Robyn Dixon
/ Nov 28“These layoffs would offer significantly less generous benefits than the voluntary package and will be consistent with prior layoff packages at The Post,” interim CEO Patty Stonesifer told employees on Tuesday in an ominous memo. —
The Daily Beast / Corbin Bolies
/ Nov 28“Facebook first introduced subscriptions, formerly known as fan subscriptions, in 2018. But they have never taken off among news publishers and may now represent an opportunity to claw something back from the platform.
To be eligible, a Facebook page must meet certain criteria including having either 10,000 followers or at least 250 return views. It must also have reached either 50,000 post engagements or 180,000 watch minutes in the previous 60 days, and be in compliance with Facebook’s monetisation policies.
—Press Gazette / Charlotte Tobitt
/ Nov 28“More brands will go downmarket. There’s more money to be made there. Black Friday has been a reminder that for all the talk of premium, most are like Gap: the 50% off sale is around the corner.” —
The Rebooting / Brian Morrissey
/ Nov 28“Hobson believes it is the only national public radio program in the U.S. that takes live calls.” —
The Daily Beast / Corbin Bolies
/ Nov 28“1. Crime Junkie
2. The Daily
3. Dateline NBC
4. SmartLess
5. This American Life” —
“Murdoch is not a named defendant in the case. But by establishing that he was involved in making decisions about Fox’s coverage, Smartmatic would have a better chance of proving that Fox Corp is liable.” —
Reuters / Helen Coster
/ Nov 28“In a post on LinkedIn, former PopSci editor Purbita Saha commented on the magazine’s discontinuation, stating she’s ‘frustrated, incensed, and appalled that the owners shut down a pioneering publication that’s adapted to 151 years worth of changes in the space of a five-minute Zoom call.'” —
The Verge / Emma Roth
/ Nov 28
