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You might have heard: Gawker Media’s editorial staff was considering unionization, which would make Gawker Media the first major online media company to unionize
But did you know: Gawker Media’s editorial staff votes to unionize, with 75 percent voting yes (Gawker)
Gawker Media editorial employees voted to unionize, with 80 of the 107 voters voting yes. Gawker Media will be represented by the Writers Guild of America, East. Gawker Media is the first digital media company to join the Writers Guild of America. The editorial staff says the next steps are determining what they want to bargain for, forming a bargaining committee and negotiating a contract.
+ Former Gawker editorial director Joel Johnson says the decision to unionize was a good one: “Unionizing was a smart, brave decision, and one that gives you a chance at security in a turbulent environment” (Gawker); Jill Geisler on how Gawker’s company culture could be changed by unionization: “Tension may linger, even though only 25 percent of the vote came in as ‘no.’ Some just don’t like unions, others questioned the organizing process” (Columbia Journalism Review)
+ Noted: Washington Post reporters may soon be able to track their articles’ traffic (Washingtonian); Philadelphia Newspaper Guild members will post to RealPhillyNews.com if a strike happens (Philadelphia Magazine); At major news outlets, male bylines outnumber female bylines with 65 percent of U.S. political stories written by men, according to new report by Women’s Media Center (Women’s Media Center); Fresco News offers to pay readers for photos of news events with its new product, Fresco Dispatch, which will be available to other news organizations (New York Observer)
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 whether it’s really the worst allergy season ever, why you should be wary of “false precision,” and a look at Vince Vaughn’s statements about the benefits of guns in schools.
How to use private Twitter lists to deepen reporting (PBS MediaShift)
When covering Dutch banks, Henk van Ess uncovered a meeting where employees were informed of layoffs using Twitter lists. By monitoring what the bankers were talking about and when, van Ess was able to figure out something was going on from tweets such as, “Sometimes you must leave behind what you love the most.” Using private Twitter lists, van Ess offers tips on how to find the right people to follow and how to use those list to uncover narratives.
+ BuzzFeed News explains what they learned about news apps from prototyping their newsletter: Newsletters help you launch quickly so you can test, learn and adapt lessons elsewhere (BuzzFeed)
UK’s Local World launches web site for quirky local stories (HoldTheFrontPage)
Publishing group Local World is launching Quirker.co.uk, a website that will include “the best of real life eccentric content.” Quirker will take stories from Local World’s titles, drawing from more than 70 sites across the company, and re-edit and publish the stories for a “social audience.” Local World digital content director Steve Anglesey says: “Quirker is a terrific home for the most eccentric, funny, man-bites-dog, weird and real life stories we produce as a group every day. This platform gives us an opportunity to really capitalize on the virality of this content, reworked in style and format for a young, mobile audience.”
How to help your summer interns get the most out of their experience by making them part of the team (Inc.)
As summer interns start to arrive, prepare to get the best work out of them by making them feel welcome and treating them like full-time employees. Challenge your interns with new projects, helping them to learn new skills independently while receiving guidance and training along the way. Check in with your interns regularly and provide feedback as a way to them feel valuable and help motivate them for future projects.
+ Earlier: How to encourage employees find their own solutions to problems
Is the rapid growth of tech journalism sustainable? (TheMediaBriefing)
While there’s always a wealth of news around technology, Chris Sutcliffe asks whether we’ve reached the peak of tech journalism. In an article for Forbes, Miguel Heft points out that the last time a similar “boom” happened in tech journalism was at the peak of the dot-com bubble, which quickly burst. As the U.K.’s Dennis Publishing launches Alphr as a new tech news site, Sutcliffe says it could be a test case for whether the industry is really in a tech journalism bubble.
How Vox Media is using Racked to learn new lessons in social media (Digiday)
While Vox Media is known for its male-centric brands such as SB Nation, the company hopes to use female-focused Racked as a way to learn new social publishing tactics. Racked is more visual than other Vox Media brands, leading the brand to be most active on Instagram and Tumblr. Some of this isn’t to drive traffic. Racked’s editor in chief Leslie Price says: “We’re very interested in growing our off-platform audience. Still, we recognize the power of Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to drive audience back to our site.”
FOR THE WEEKEND
+ Columnist Connie Schultz adapted her column for her Facebook page, building a community based on news and civil discussion in the process: “I don’t want to be a celebrity. I want to be a trusted source” (Columbia Journalism Review)
+ Alabama Media Group’s first artist-in-residence is looking to portray the state’s residents in a new way through a 52-video series: The 52 stanzas of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” will be read out loud, on video, by at least one person (Nieman Lab)
+ A look at The Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery, his growing online following, and why he drives his critics crazy: “I’m never going to be able to exist on any medium and believe that it is going to be unconnected to my role as a reporter” (Washingtonian)
+ Facebook’s video traffic is becoming a huge contender in the fight for digital ad dollars: As Facebook becomes “synonymous with mobile,” Facebook’s VP of global marketing solutions says that the next frontier is mobile video (Fortune)
The post Need to Know: June 5, 2015 appeared first on American Press Institute.
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