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You might have heard: Comcast’s NBCUniversal was scouting out several new media companies as it tries to reach younger audiences who watch less traditional television (Wall Street Journal)
But did you know: NBCUniversal is expected to make big investments in BuzzFeed and Vox Media (Re/code)
NBCUniversal is close to a deal to invest $250 million in BuzzFeed. It’s also expected to invest in Vox Media in a deal that could value Vox at $850 million. The investments in BuzzFeed and Vox Media are part of an effort by NBCU CEO Steve Burke to invest in digital outlets that reach Millennial audiences that aren’t paying attention to NBCU’s TV networks. Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka write: “The idea is that NBCU can get a crash course on digital content and distribution from its new investments — and that those companies may want to distribute some of NBCU’s content as well.”
+ Noted: Gannett’s new CEO says it’s “aggressively pursuing” large-market acquisitions, as well as smaller markets of at least 500,000 people if part of a purchase of a larger media group (Wall Street Journal); Shorenstein Center report says conservative media pushes the Republican Party further to the right (Shorenstein Center); NowThis’s new app Tap for News eliminates the need to decide what news to read by showing users a red button that they can tap to watch “a collection of very lightly curated 15- to 30-second videos on topics ranging from breaking news to science to entertainment” (Nieman Lab)
API UPDATE
The week in fact-checking
As part of our fact-checking journalism project, Jane Elizabeth highlights stories worth noting related to truth in politics and on the Internet. This week’s round-up includes how a newspaper learned to appreciate its eagle-eyed fact-checking reader, creative ways that fact-checking organizations are bringing in money, and a Twitter fact-checker who corrects bad information when he has some free time.
How news organizations integrate Slack into their workflow (Nieman Lab)
Work chatroom software Slack is breaking down walls in newsrooms between editorial and product teams, Laura Hazard Owen writes. Vox Media product director Lauren Rabaino says that using Slack keeps everyone’s workflows and projects transparent, but it also fosters a sense of camaraderie across teams. Fusion editor-in-chief Alexis Madrigal says: “You can get immediate feedback on something, but if someone comes into the room later, they might be able to add something, whereas if you didn’t go to a [physical] meeting, you’re not going to be able to contribute later.”
Trinity Mirror tests an ad format that asks users to interact with an ad halfway through an article (The Drum)
Trinity Mirror is experimenting with “FreeWall,” an ad format that asks users to interact with an ad halfway through an article before they can read further. Users on both desktop and mobile will be asked to interact with the FreeWall ads, and they can continue reading free of charge afterward. FreeWall ads will be shown to users once a month in exchange for free access to content for the next month. Trinity Mirror’s strategy director Piers North says one of the goals of FreeWall is to monetize its mobile audience better.
Why Vine became part of the entertainment industry rather than ‘Instagram for video’ (Fast Company)
When Vine launched two years ago, it was expected to be the “Instagram for video,” but it’s ended up more as part of the entertainment industry as it attracts content creators who are looking to entertain rather than share parts of their life. With that shift, Vine has changed its focus to support those creators as well as users who are interacting with Vines rather than posting their own. Among the changes Vine has released that focus on viewers’ experience is a feature called “favorites” that sends users push notifications when accounts they follow publish new Vines and optimizing the app for high-quality video despite the upload times.
+ Earlier: How newsrooms used Vine in its first year
Why NPR is having an internal debate over cursing on-air (Washington Post)
While many news organizations wrestle with how to deal with coarse language, NPR is in the midst of an internal debate on how to handle vulgar or profane language. Its use of profane language could not only upset listeners but get it into trouble with the FCC, Paul Farhi writes. NPR’s basic rules say to avoid using obscene language on-air or in podcasts except when it’s conveying something newsworthy and only then when it’s fully bleeped out, but some at NPR have objected to the policy. Nina Totenberg says in a memo to NPR staff: “In life and death battles, it really would distract and sound stupid to bleep out such language. We expect it in such situations.”
How mobile ad blocking in iOS 9 may force a shift by web advertisers and publishers (The Overspill)
When print advertising began to change, print newspapers were forced to evolve, Charles Arthur writes, and web publishers may be forced to do the same once mobile ad blocking is available in Apple’s iOS 9. Arthur says the future of digital advertising may be in the form of sponsored content: “If the site generates the ad, it’s suddenly a lot harder to block.”
FOR THE WEEKEND
+ “Death of a young black journalist”: Charnice Milton was a 27-year-old local journalist in D.C. who was killed on her way home from an assignment by a bullet aimed at someone else, remembered as a shy but intrepid journalist committed to covering her native southeast D.C. community (New Yorker)
+ Why science can’t trust journalism: Felix Salmon writes that the science world is extremely open about how they come to their conclusions and collect their data to allow replication, but no one in journalism is transparent about how their articles are created and no one tries to replicate anything (Fusion)
+ “The illusion of audience ownership is becoming harder to sustain”: John Herrman says as a single Facebook video can get more traffic than a week’s worth of a news site’s content, it’s becoming clear who audiences really belong to (The Awl)
+ A laid-off journalist started a Facebook group to help other journalists in similar situations figure out their “Plan B,” and it now has more than 2,600 members who share job openings, news of coming layoffs, and stories of how they’ve moved on from journalism (Poynter)
The post Need to Know: July 31, 2015 appeared first on American Press Institute.
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