國際傳媒新聞：2018/03/16~2018/03/23
Is this strip-mining or journalism? ‘Sobs, gasps, expletives’ over the latest Denver Post layoffs
“I tried to talk to someone in Alden Global Capital’s New York headquarters on Wednesday to ask about the apparently counterproductive strategy of endless cuts but was told no one was there to speak to the news media. When I asked to be connected to managing director Heath Freeman’s office, the receptionist hung up on me.” —
Washington Post / Margaret Sullivan / Mar 16
Local news is in trouble. Can new publications turn it around?
“A cocktail of damaging circumstances—the decline of digital ad dollars, the increasing market share of Google and Facebook, the albatross of legacy costs associated with print publications, the contest for reader attention in the social media age, and new ownership looking for quick profits over long-term viability—has meant that fewer stories about fewer neighborhoods are being told.” —
Curbed / Patrick Sisson / Mar 16
More layoffs hit the Chicago Tribune newsroom
“Thursday’s layoffs and the uncertainty surrounding them may help fortify an effort to unionize Tribune editorial employees. Last week a group of staffers met with representatives of the Chicago News Guild, longtime bargaining agent for the Sun-Times and numerous suburban papers. It’s the second round of layoffs in five months under publisher and editor-in-chief Bruce Dold.” —
Robert Feder / Mar 16
Twitter is emphasizing the on-demand side of live for new shows ahead of NewFronts
“The company is seeking more live shows with segments that can be cut into clips that can be ad-supported and reach more viewers than the live broadcasts, according to three media executives that are in talks with Twitter about producing live shows: ‘Twitter doesn’t want to abandon live, but it wants to see how it can play with video on demand,’ said one media exec.” —
Digiday / Tim Peterson / Mar 16
Facebook announces plan to combat fake news stories by making them actually happen (The Onion)
“We take this problem very seriously, and I want our users to be confident that the stories they see on Facebook are either true already or will be very soon.” —LO
The Onion / Mar 16
How a freelance investigative journalist embedded herself inside Russia’s “troll factory”
“My friend taught me the ropes. She told me that I had to write posts that were natural — like, for example, ‘I am cooking or I am walking down the street and I had this thought about how bad the [pro-Western] Ukrainian president is.’ ” —
NPR / Jolie Meyers and Monika Evstatieva / Mar 19
First Draft launches a free online course on identifying misinformation
“Our free, one-hour course teaches journalists and the general public how to verify online media, so that they don’t fall for hoaxes, rumors and misinformation.” —
First Draft News / Mar 19
When towns lose their newspapers, disease detectives are left flying blind
“We rely very heavily on local news. And I think what this will probably mean is that there are going to be pockets of the U.S. where we’re just not going to have a particularly good signal anymore,” said Maia Majumder, a Ph.D. candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. —
STAT News / Helen Branswell / Mar 20
How 45 journalists started again, and built a profitable news business from scratch
“Fifty per cent of the company is owned by the reporters, so it’s in their interest as it is their money – they are all shareholders in the paper, and are able decide what they want to write about.” —
Journalism.co.uk / Caroline Scott / Mar 21
Turkey gives its aggressive TV censor control over the web
“The regulation will require online video streaming companies and pay-TV services to apply for a license from the watchdog, known by its Turkish initials RTUK. Courts can block access for Turkish users if the necessary permits aren’t secured. RTUK has become notorious for aggressively handing out penalties or banning broadcasts that it judges to be immoral, inconsistent with Turkish family values, or that stray from the government line on politics.” —
Bloomberg / Firat Kozok / Mar 22
On-air, online, and on demand: The changing face of public radio membership
And see their database of 50 public radio stations’ membership pitches here. —
The Membership Puzzle Project / Anika Gupta / Mar 22
