Print circulation numbers may be falling, but increases in print revenue are a reason to be hopeful

You might have heard: ProPublica president Richard Tofel said that print circulation numbers show that “the sky is falling on print newspapers faster than you think” But did you know: Responding to Tofel’s post, Rick Edmonds says while print circulation is falling, it’s not all bad news for print. Because some publishers are charging higher prices, print circulation revenues have risen in the last...

How Fusion produces stories for its Snapchat Discover channel

Fusion’s 12-person “social stories” team includes writers, animators, graphic designers and producers who create content for Fusion’s Snapchat Discover channel, in addition to other channels such as Instagram and Vine. Laura Feinstein, head of the social stories team, says they create a “mini-magazine” each day through collaboration with editorial, but also with the audience development and social...

Trinity Mirror is planning to launch a new national newspaper targeted to female readers

Trinity Mirror’s latest project is a national newspaper targeted to female readers, priced lower than Trinity Mirror’s other titles, The Guardian reports. Trinity Mirror may start testing the new title in the northern parts of England. Mark Sweney writes that the new title may operate similarly to another publication in England: The Independent launched “i” in 2010, and it now sells 268,000 copies...

How Slack is trying to make it easier for organizations to comply with FOIA requests

If you work for a government agency that’s on Slack, your Slack messages are public record, The Atlantic’s Kaveh Waddell writes. But, the government doesn’t have any measures in place to deal with this, a problem that MuckRock (a website that helps users send and monitor FOIA requests) developer Allan Lasser is trying to solve. Earlier this month, Lasser sent a request to the FCC, asking the agency...

Kelly McBride: When it comes to covering Michael Bloomberg’s possible presidential run, Bloomberg News ‘can’t sit this one out’

In the week since speculation started that Michael Bloomberg might run for president, Bloomberg News has been put in a tricky spot, with one of its editors resigning over concerns that the organization couldn’t cover Bloomberg aggressively enough. Poynter’s Kelly McBride says that Bloomberg News “can’t sit this one out,” and Bloomberg News’ leadership needs to take steps to ensure the fairness of...

The Boston Globe isn’t part of Instant Articles, but it’s using Notes to publish directly to Facebook

The Boston Globe may not be part of Instant Articles, but it’s found a way to publish directly to Facebook anyway. The Globe started publishing content directly to Facebook’s Notes feature on Tuesday, starting with content from its newsletter covering the presidential election. Notes do not have a ton of interest from readers yet, but Digiday’s Ricardo Bilton says there’s still reason for publishers...

Need to Know: Jan. 29, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: ProPublica president Richard Tofel said that print circulation numbers show that “the sky is falling on print newspapers faster than you think” But did you know: Print circulation numbers may be falling, but increases in print revenue are a reason to be hopeful (Poynter) Responding...

The Week in Fact-Checking: Please forgive my student loans. They didn’t mean it.

The American Press Institute presents a roundup from the world of fact-checking, debunking and truth-telling — just in case you haven’t been paying as much attention as we do. Quote of the week “You know, honey, truth is a prism that shattered at the top of the world. Nobody ever finds the prism; all...

Hampton University, American Press Institute hold workshop on politics and truth

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The New York Times’ sparse coverage of the Flint water crisis shows that there’s likely many stories in the Midwest going uncovered by national news outlets

You might have heard: Nearly a year after The New York Times published a story on the drinking water in Flint, Mich., a state of emergency was declared in Flint earlier this month, but no substantial articles in the NYT had covered Flint’s water since October (New York Times) But did you know: Asking if NYT should have done more to cover Flint’s water crisis, Margaret Sullivan hears that stories in...

Why it’s time for publishers to embrace personalized push notifications

In a new survey from analytics firm Localytics, more than half of survey respondents said push notifications are an “annoying distraction,” and receiving between 2 and 5 messages per week would cause 45 percent of respondents to disable push notifications. But there’s a better way for publishers to do push notifications, Chialun Huang writes: “Personalization is the way forward if push notifications...

Why The Economist is publishing on a messaging app called Line

The Economist has added another social channel to its distribution strategy, Lucinda Southern writes. The Economist is now publishing to Japanese messaging app Line, where it will “prioritize more visually compelling and evergreen content” than it does on Facebook or Twitter. Line has 212 million monthly users who are mostly located in Asia, and publishers including the BBC and Wall Street Journal...

Facebook says its users watch 100 million hours of video per day

In its quarterly earnings report, Facebook put a number on how big video on the social network really is. Facebook says that 500 million people watch more than 100 million hours of video on Facebook each day. While Facebook’s focus on video isn’t new, that time spent metric is a new one: Facebook previously reported “total video views.” + More from Facebook’s quarterly earnings report: Facebook made...

To determine if it’s worth it to try to save DC bureaus, we need to assess the impact of the reporting done by these bureaus

In response to a Pew report that found 21 states do not have a local news reporter dedicated to covering Congress, George Washington University’s Nikki Usher writes: “Most observers of journalism — and journalists too — would like to think that the work they do in Washington is making a difference. But there is little actual data that quantifies their impact. Not only do we need to know more about...

One year into Snapchat Discover, some publishers are building new mobile audiences and finding new revenue sources

On the anniversary of Snapchat Discover’s launch, Kerry Flynn writes that many of Snapchat’s media partners are cheering on the feature. Flynn says those partners see Discover as one of the best ways to reach a Millennial audience, and their Snapchat strategies are moving from experimental to a core offering. National Geographic’s VP of social media Rajiv Mody says: “We started talking with Snapchat...

Need to Know: Jan. 28, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Nearly a year after The New York Times published a story on the drinking water in Flint, Mich., a state of emergency was declared in Flint earlier this month, but no substantial articles in the NYT had covered Flint’s water since October (New York Times) But did you know: The...

Microsoft launched an iOS app called News Pro, which personalizes news for its users

You might have heard: Apple’s new app News brings content from publishers together in one pre-installed app, and Apple’s Eddy Cue says more than 40 million people have used the app But did you know: Microsoft’s newest iOS app looks a lot like Apple’s own News app, Sarah Perez writes. Called “News Pro,” Microsoft’s new app offers users a customized news experience by showing them articles they may...

How to decide when to lower a paywall for big news

During this weekend’s snowstorm on the East Coast, The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun lowered their paywalls. That decision opened up important information to as many readers as possible, Baltimore Sun’s director of audience engagement and development Matt Bracken says. The storm also prevented many subscribers from receiving their print newspapers, which Bracken says added another upside...

While The Guardian is taking steps to break even, why The Times of London is already doing so

The Guardian is cutting its budget by 20 percent and expanding its membership program in an effort to break even within three years, but The Times of London is already breaking even, Dominic Ponsford says. The Times added a paywall in June 2010, and nearly six years later, the paper is turning a profit. While Ponsford acknowledges that the paywall is likely not the only reason for the Times’ financial...

Following a mass exodus of executives, Twitter names Leslie Berland as CMO

After four VPs announced their departures earlier this week, Twitter has now found its new chief marketing officer, Leslie Berland. Berland was most recently VP of global advertising, marketing and digital partnerships at American Express. As Berland is tasked with building Twitter’s brand, some challenges she will face include its struggle to attract new users and convincing users who have abandoned...

Guardian changes how it labels native ads, now referring to them as ‘paid content’

The Guardian announced this week that it’s making changes to how it labels native ads, and will now label content that’s supported by sponsors with “paid content” or “paid for by.” The Guardian previously labeled native ads with “brought to you by.” The company told Digiday the changes are “a part of our ongoing commitment to transparency and clarity for our readers and commercial partners.” + The...

Measuring audience across different platforms is proving to be difficult for publishers

As many publishers are jumping into distributed strategies, they’re finding that measuring their audiences across different platforms isn’t simple, Lucia Moses writes. CNN’s Meredith Artley says they are somewhat at the mercy of the platform, which may choose to provide data once a day or even once a week: “All these platforms are a little bit different because all these audiences are a little bit...

Need to Know: Jan. 27, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Apple’s new app News brings content from publishers together in one pre-installed app, and Apple’s Eddy Cue says more than 40 million people have used the app But did you know: Microsoft launched an iOS app called News Pro, which personalizes news for its users (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s...

AOL’s One will provide publishers tools for audience engagement, analytics, content distribution, and revenue management in a single place

You might have heard: AOL is combining all of its publisher products into a single platform called One (Business Insider) But did you know: With the creation of its new platform One, AOL wants to show the publishers in its network that “it has solutions not only for advertisers … but specifically for the publisher community.” One includes seven of AOL’s products, including display ad platform Marketplace,...

4 easy-to-use storytelling tools for new journalists

While there’s a big focus in journalism on new tools for storytelling, Elite Truong writes that some journalism schools have been slow to start teaching students to tell stories in new ways. To that end, Truong offers her favorite, easy-to-use storytelling tools for new journalists. The tools include Storify for breaking news on social, Autotune for data visualizations, Google News Lab to follow and...

While The Guardian cuts costs, it will also expand its membership program

Guardian News & Media plans to cut its costs by 20 percent, with the goal of breaking even within three years, and a key part of that plan is to expand its membership program. The revamped membership program is being called “Project 2021,” and its goal is to “double reader revenues from £30 million to £60 million.” The Guardian’s content has never been behind a paywall, but CEO David Pemsel says...

3 questions for managers to ask themselves to figure out the most effective use of their time

In Poynter’s leadership programs, Butch Ward says he’s seen a troubling trend: Staff says they aren’t getting feedback from the managers, because the managers are too busy. If those managers are too busy to provide feedback, Ward asks, what else are they too busy to do, and what effect does that have on the newsroom’s performance? For managers to figure out the best use of their time, Ward recommends...

IAB chief: AdBlock Plus is an ‘extortion racket’ that is ‘subverting freedom of the press’

At the convention that AdBlock Plus was uninvited from earlier this month, the leader of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Randall Rothenberg, didn’t hesitate to fire back about why the ticket was returned: “They are stealing from publishers, subverting freedom of the press, operating a business model predicated on censorship of content, and ultimately forcing consumers to pay more money for less...

Why the publisher’s homepage is making a comeback

“With the rise of social and search, the publisher homepage was left for dead,” Ricardo Bilton writes, but the homepage is starting to slow return to relevance. More publishers are seeing the homepage as a way to make a statement for their brand, instead of just a “front door” for traffic to articles. Co-founder of design firm Charming Robot Dan Maccarone says the homepage can also be a “playground”...

Need to Know: Jan. 26, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: AOL is combining all of its publisher products into a single platform called One (Business Insider) But did you know: AOL’s One will provide publishers tools for audience engagement, analytics, content distribution, and revenue management in a single place (VentureBeat) With...

The Guardian’s parent company will cut its budget by 20 percent, with the goal of breaking even within 3 years

You might have heard: The Guardian lost £70 million (about $100 million) in 2015, and Financial Times reported that jobs may be cut as a result (Financial Times) But did you know: Guardian News & Media, the publisher of The Guardian, is aiming to break even within three years by reducing its budget by 20 percent, or just over £50 million (about $71 million). The company’s operating costs have...

How Vox creates and distributes content for 6 different social platforms

Vox’s seven-person engagement team leads the creation and distribution of content to the six platforms Vox publishes to, the newest of which being Snapchat Discover. While the engagement team works closely with beat reporters to package stories for social, director of programming Allison Rockey says their main “focus is to know all the social platforms in and out, to really be the ones to foster communities...

When Bild asked users to turn off ad-blockers, the number of people using ad-blockers on desktop declined by two-thirds

Axel Springer’s Bild took a hard approach to ad blocking when it banned all ad blockers from accessing its website, but that approach is proving to be a financial success. In October 2015, 25 percent of its users on desktop were blocking ads. After it starting asking users to turn off their ad blockers, the number of users with an ad blocker enabled on desktop declined by two-thirds to the single...

How more publishers and digital marketers are using guilt trips as a UI feature

You might have noticed a new trend in everything from mailing list opt-outs to publishers’ websites: Choosing not to sign up for Elle’s mailing list comes with a message saying, “No thanks, I’m not interested in protecting my skin,” and when GQ asks you to turn off an ad blocker, it says “Please support GQ’s Award Winning Journalism!” Those guilt trips are becoming a more common user interface design...

‘For fact-checking to be sustainable, fact-checking organizations need to become obsolete’

Fact-checking organizations have a big challenge to overcome: “Convincing people that this information a) is available and b) that it is adequate to be used is hard,” Africa Check’s Nechama Brodie writes. “The mandate of fact-checking operations should never focus exclusively on correcting misleading claims. The ultimate goal should rather be kick-starting their readers’ sceptical reflexes, and enabling...

How data journalism and more long-form stories are a challenge for the PR industry

“It’s no secret that fewer and fewer journalists are being asked to write more and more copy.  Only the most short-sighted PR would say this is a good thing,” PR Week’s Robert Bownes writes. Data journalism leads to more in-depth journalism and more interesting stories, but this is also a challenge for those in the PR industry: “This may mean that more pitches are assessed on content rather than...

Need to Know: Jan. 25, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: The Guardian lost £70 million (about $100 million) in 2015, and Financial Times reported that jobs may be cut as a result (Financial Times) But did you know: The Guardian’s parent company will cut its budget by 20 percent, with the goal of breaking even within 3 years (Guardian) Guardian...

Leon Wieseltier says he won’t be buying The New Republic, but he is starting a new publication with Steve Jobs’ widow

You might have heard: After buying The New Republic in 2012, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has put the magazine back up for sale, saying it needs a new business model But did you know: The New Republic’s longtime literary editor Leon Wieseltier disputed rumors that he’s buying the magazine, but Wieseltier is starting a new publication with Laurene Powell Jobs. The new publication is unnamed right...

How NPR has formalized its strategy for making Snapchat stories

While Snapchat itself has evolved from a communication tool to a storytelling medium to a distribution platform, NPR’s Vesta Partovi writes about how NPR’s Snapchat strategy has evolved. To produce a Snapchat story today, Partovi says NPR’s social media team is using four key concepts: storyboarding, captioning, collaborating, and engaging. A story is pitched to the social team, reporters and producers...

Taking a cue from Twitter, Chinese social network Weibo will expand its character limit from 140 characters to 2,000

Just a few weeks after Twitter’s plans to increase its character limit were reported, Chinese social network Weibo says it will also increase its character limit. Weibo is a microblogging platform similar to Twitter. Weibo will begin testing the increased character limit on Jan. 28. Users will still only see the first 140 characters in their timeline, but will be shown a “read more” option to reveal...

Why some say the culture of collaboration in the workplace has gone too far

“In modern business, collaboration is next to godliness,” but research is starting to show that there’s a downside to open office spaces. University of California, Irvine’s Gloria Mark has found that even short interruptions increase the time needed to complete a task by a significant amount, while other studies have shown that multitasking reduces the overall quality of work. The Economist writes:...

BuzzFeed’s Shani Hilton: Millennials don’t need their own news

Mic CEO Chris Altchek said last week that to get the Millennial generation to care about news, they need a different kind of news than what appeals to older generations. But, BuzzFeed’s executive director of news Shani Hilton explains why Millennials really aren’t that different: “Millennials are interested in the same things that other people are. ‘Tell me something I don’t know. Tell me something...

Because it’s seeing its audience change, Quartz will launch an app in early 2016

When Quartz launched in 2012, it intentionally did not have an app because it created a barrier for readers to discover Quartz, publisher Jay Lauf says. Now, Quartz has plans to launch its first app in the first quarter of 2016. That’s because audiences are changing and the app landscape is changing, Lauf says: “Over the past four years, the places where people spend time reading have changed greatly....

Need to Know: Jan. 22, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: After buying The New Republic in 2012, Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes has put the magazine back up for sale, saying it needs a new business model But did you know: Leon Wieseltier says he won’t be buying The New Republic, but he is starting a new publication with Steve Jobs’...