Facebook live video is drawing news organizations and other media companies in with big audience numbers, but the opportunities for revenue remain unclear

You might have heard: Facebook launched its live video streaming feature two months ago, with some news organizations finding fast success with the feature because of the built-in audience But did you know: With its new live video feature, Facebook seems to have handed the media industry the answers to the questions of how to get people to watch live videos and how to reach people on mobile, John...

Monetizing chat apps will require less advertising and more marketing

Chat applications are fundamentally different from anything news organizations have tried to monetize before, Jarrod Dicker. In order to successfully monetize these apps, Dicker says news organizations will have to move away from advertising and closer to marketing. Chat apps are more personal and more direct, making people less receptive to unwanted interruptions like ads. Some of Dicker’s ideas...

Mic plans to become a major force in European media by tailoring its brand to its European audience

In the United States, Mic’s brand is the news site for “college-educated millennials.” But as it plans to expand into Europe, founder and CEO Chris Altchek says it will after to alter that vision for its European offshoots. Altchek says that going to college in the U.S. is a big accomplishment but in Europe, it’s “seen as a much snobbier thing to say, so we’re working on a different concept.” Mic...

No changes are coming to Instagram’s feed just yet, but even if they do, there’s no reason to panic

You may have seen people you follow on Instagram asking their followers to sign up for post notifications, but NYT’s Daniel Victor writes that the panic around the possibility of an algorithm-based Instagram feed is likely unwarranted. No changes are coming for all users yet, and even if the feed does change, there probably isn’t a huge reason to worry: Instagram will most likely show users the posts...

In a given week, Trump’s name appeared in homepage headlines 1,341 times, while Clinton appeared 361 times

Does the media bear some responsibility for Donald Trump’s rise? USC Annenberg’s Ev Boyle says based on the sheer amount of coverage the media has given Trump, it does. A team at USC Annenberg spent a week tracking mentions of the presidential candidates on 14 news websites and found that Trump received significantly more homepage coverage than all other candidates combined: Trump was mentioned in...

Without ‘Black Twitter,’ there would be less coverage of stories important to African Americans

“Black Twitter,” an unofficial group of African American Twitter users, has emerged as an important force in news media, Katie Ferguson writes, pushing news organizations to cover stories important to the community. Former manager of news and journalism at Twitter Mark Luckie says: “If Black Twitter didn’t continue to exist in the way it does now, you’d actually see a decline of the black press because...

Need to Know: Mar. 31, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Facebook launched its live video streaming feature two months ago, with some news organizations finding fast success with the feature because of the built-in audience But did you know: Facebook live video is drawing news organizations and other media companies in with big audience...

70 daily newspapers were sold in 2015 for a total of $827 million

You might have heard: 2015 saw Tribune Publishing’s acquisition of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Gannett’s purchase of Journal Media Group and its 15 newspapers, and some predicted that ownership changes would continue into 2016 But did you know: The latest strategy to stay alive in the newspaper business is newspapers eating other newspapers, Gerry Smith writes. In 2015, the industry saw the most...

A new tool called FOIA Mapper will help you figure out the best way to request the documents you need

Filing a Freedom of Information Act request can be complicated, but a new Knight Foundation-backed tool called FOIA Mapper is trying to make it easier. Created by data journalist Max Galka, FOIA Mapper tries to help users figure out the best way to request the document they need. The tool includes a centralized, searchable database of government data including logs of FOIA requests other people have...

The Times of London is moving away from covering breaking news to focus on more in-depth analysis

With a hard paywall that’s been up since 2010, the Times of London has established itself as a destination for in-depth analysis, opinion and commentary for its subscribers. Despite that specialty, it has still covered breaking news. But now, the Times of London will move away from covering breaking news as it happens in favor of making sense of it through in-depth stories, head of digital Alan Hunter...

Snapchat’s latest update includes a redesign of its chat function, making it easier to understand

In an update released Tuesday, Snapchat made its chat function easier for users to navigate, but also made it look more similar to its competitors, Mike Murphy writes. Users now have more options in the chat area, including videos, stickers and voice calls. While some of those features are new, many existed in the previous version. The update provides more signposting for users, which Murphy writes...

Jeff Jarvis: Publishers need to stop being jealous of platforms and start working with the platforms to solve problems

When publishers think about how to deal with platforms such as Facebook, it’s not the platforms itself they’re dealing with, Jeff Jarvis says. Instead, it’s the people on the platforms, because publishers need to go to where the readers are. Though publishers and platforms will disagree, Jarvis says publishers should look past these differences and push for solutions: “We have different missions but...

For women’s history month, The Washington Post is combing its archives for interesting profiles of women written by women

“Think about it like a Bechdel test, almost. But for journalism,” The Washington Post’s Julia Carpenter says. To celebrate the end of women’s history month, The Washington Post is highlighting profiles of women written by women from its archives. The profiles include Marjorie Williams’ profile of Sandra Day O’Connor and Lynn Darling’s of Maya Angelou. Carpenter also encourages people to share their...

Need to Know: Mar. 30, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: 2015 saw Tribune Publishing’s acquisition of the San Diego Union-Tribune and Gannett’s purchase of Journal Media Group and its 15 newspapers, and some predicted that ownership changes would continue into 2016 But did you know: 70 daily newspapers were sold in 2015 for a total...

The danger of Facebook/publisher partnerships focused heavily on data is that they can create a feedback loop that doesn’t allow for new perspectives

You might have heard: Facebook and Glamour magazine will host a series of town halls on women’s issues in the 2016 presidential election (Politico Media) But did you know: In its partnership with Glamour magazine, Facebook will use its audience data to inform the issues that the town halls will cover. Partnerships like this have their problems, Li Zhou writes, because the use of audience data in this...

How Gannett newspapers across Wisconsin teamed up to cover youth suicide

With newspapers scattered across the country, Gannett newspapers are increasingly teaming up to cover big stories. In Wisconsin, 10 newspapers throughout the state worked together to cover the state’s youth suicide problem. About 25 reporters were working on the story, and the newspapers also held 10 town hall meetings to discuss the problem with their communities. The 10 newspapers all published...

Martin Belam: Terrorist attacks outside of Western Europe aren’t covered as thoroughly because it’s harder to get people to care about those stories

You’ll often see people complain that terrorist attacks outside of Western Europe aren’t covered well enough, but Martin Belam writes there’s a reason for that: Data shows that it’s hard to get people to read those stories. It’s also easier and less expensive for reporters based in Western Europe to get to cities such as Brussels or Paris than Lahore. Belam writes: “It’s harder to get mainstream reader...

Bloggers are starting to worry about how an algorithm-based Instagram feed will affect their engagement

In the wake of the news that Instagram may soon move to an algorithm-based feed, bloggers are starting to get worried about how those changes would affect them. Fashion bloggers in particular began asking their followers on Instagram Monday to turn on post notifications for their Instagrams, so their posts will still be seen even if an algorithm pushes them down. While the feed changes couldaffect...

Three alternatives to ‘clickbait’: A paid-for model, nonprofit journalism, and separating ‘clickbait’ from the rest of the newsroom

Publishers’ obsession with “clickbait” and getting as many pageviews as possible is devouring journalism, Frédéric Filloux writes. Filloux says publishers have at least three viable alternatives to get out of the “clickbait” business: A paid model (such as a paywall or membership), nonprofit, philanthropy-supported journalism (such as ProPublica or the Center for Public Integrity), and separating...

Don’t expect the Oculus Rift to have a huge impact on journalism just yet

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset began shipping pre-ordered headsets yesterday, but Joseph Lichterman writes that we shouldn’t expect the Oculus Rift to have a big impact on journalism just yet. While the Oculus Rift is “a solid first step into mainstream VR,” the price point and computing power needed will limit its adoption: The headset sells for $599, and a special high-powered PC is needed...

Need to Know: Mar. 29, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Facebook and Glamour magazine will host a series of town halls on women’s issues in the 2016 presidential election (Politico Media) But did you know: The danger of Facebook/publisher partnerships focused heavily on data is that they can create a feedback loop that doesn’t allow...

Digital news is making the industry more concentrated in a few geographic areas, rather than making it more geographically diverse

You might have heard: Jobs in the journalism industry are clustering around a few major cities: In 2014, 1 out of every 5 reporting jobs was in Washington, D.C., New York City or Los Angeles; in 2004, that number was 1 out of every 8 But did you know: The promise of digital news was that it would make the news industry more geographically diverse, allowing people to work from anywhere, Joshua...

Why The New York Times has a team dedicated to working with its apps and how local news organizations can adopt this strategy

New York Times’ Beta team is dedicated to working with NYT’s various apps, many of which aren’t necessarily hard or breaking news related. With apps such as Cooking or its real estate app, the Beta team is trying to build a deeper connection with readers and helping readers access some of the content they’re most interested in: Before the launch of Cooking, recipes were one of the most searched topics...

Al-Jazeera will cut as many as 500 jobs, and many of those will come from its Qatar headquarters

Just two months after it announced it would close its United States offshoot, Al-Jazeera says it will cut about 500 jobs, with many of those coming from Qatar. Al-Jazeera currently employs about 4,500 people, making the cuts about 11 percent of its workforce. The Associated Press reports that the economy in Qatar is currently struggling to deal with dropping oil prices and that several big Qatari...

To compete with platforms that don’t always play fair, focus on what you’re offering to your audience that the platforms cannot

Both inside and outside of journalism, legacy organizations are increasingly having to compete with platforms that don’t always play fair. But rather than trying to call out the platforms or bring them down, Benjamin Edelman and Damien Geradin say that legacy organizations should be focusing on what they can offer to their audiences that the platforms cannot. For example, if a hotel is trying to compete...

How did the media get it wrong on Trump? It may be that news organizations need to focus more on the voters, instead of the politicians

On Sunday’s edition of CNN’s Reliable Sources, Brian Stelter tried to answer the question of how exactly the media got Donald Trump wrong. Stelter included guests from print media, cable news and online media, talking to them about how they covered Trump and whether unfavorable coverage of Trump constitutes “snobbery” on the part of the press. The Atlantic’s Molly Ball suggests that one problem with...

The New York Times is running a banner ad for the magazine’s cover story, raising ethical questions about the unusual ad

A banner ad on The New York Times’ website is directing readers to New York Times Magazine’s cover story on the revival of “Shuffle Along.” The ad directs users not only to the 10,000 word story, but to buy tickets for the show itself. Poynter’s Kelly McBride says the ad raises ethical questions about whether NYT confirmed the story was on the cover or if it sold the ad first, then updated after the...

Need to Know: Mar. 28, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Jobs in the journalism industry are clustering around a few major cities: In 2014, 1 out of every 5 reporting jobs was in Washington, D.C., New York City or Los Angeles; in 2004, that number was 1 out of every 8 But did you know: Digital news is making the industry more concentrated...

Facebook is adding new daily video metrics for publishers, including a metric that shows how many people watched a video for 10 seconds or longer

You might have heard: Video on Facebook is booming, and Facebook says its users watch 100 million hours of video each day But did you know: Facebook announced Thursday that it’s adding new video metrics for publishers. Previously, publishers could only see metrics such as the number of views and number of unique visitors. The new metrics provide more in-depth data, including how many minutes the video...

How different news organizations are deciding which platforms are a priority

News organizations are going where the readers are. But most news organizations can’t succeed on all platforms, meaning they have to decide which platforms are the most important for them. Because its Snapchat Discover editions have a 76 percent completion rate, Cosmopolitan is prioritizing Snapchat. The Guardian isn’t focusing on Instant Articles because it hasn’t seen a significant effect on traffic...

The British journalism industry is 94 percent white, a new survey finds

According to a new survey from City University London, the British journalism industry is 94 percent white and 55 percent male. The survey also found that 65 percent of journalists who have joined the field within the past three years are female, but women in the industry are under-promoted. Most ethnic groups and religions are unrepresented as well: The survey found 0.4 percent of British journalists...

Lessons on how to use audience data better, from outside the journalism industry

Nearly every industry is learning how to make better use of data, Yuyu Chen writes. Executives from General Mills, Tinder and Bain & Company shared their thinking around data at the Economist’s Marketing Unbound conference this week. Some ideas from the conference: Big data can inform ideas but it cannot create ideas, marketing should still center around the consumer rather than the data, and...

Should journalists use images of tragedies from Facebook and Twitter?

Immediately after the Brussels attacks earlier this week, journalists were being criticized for asking people on social media if they could use their photos and videos of the attack. Martin Belam writes that the attacks this week highlight an ethical dilemma for journalists: While there’s a public interest in using those images, should journalists contact people near an attack on social media to ask...

The expansion of Apple Pay could help news organizations get more readers to pay for news

Apple Pay will be expanded to websites soon, Re/code reports. That could help news organizations get more readers to pay for news, Joshua Benton writes. More people are on mobile devices, and the process of paying for something with a credit card on a mobile website isn’t easy. But Apple Pay will make that easier for people with iOS devices: “If Apple Pay for websites does really let iPhone users...

Need to Know: Mar. 25, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Video on Facebook is booming, and Facebook says its users watch 100 million hours of video each day But did you know: Facebook is adding new daily video metrics for publishers, including a metric that shows how many people watched a video for 10 seconds or longer (VentureBeat) Facebook...

The Week in Fact-Checking: Are Twitter ‘facts’ making us dumb?

The popular Twitter accounts @UberFacts and @OMGFacts show 13.3 million and nearly 7 million followers, respectively. Yet by encouraging a vision of “facts” as trivial soundbites and not a part of a richer context, these accounts dumb down our understanding of reality. Read the full article...

Pay-per-article platform Blendle has launched in the US, with partners including NYT and WSJ

You might have heard: A Dutch startup called Blendle is trying to get readers to pay by the article, with investors including The New York Times Co. and Axel Springer But did you know: Dutch startup Blendle has officially launched in the United States with its “iTunes for news” model. The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and more than a dozen other publishers have all made their...

How to decide what tools are the right tools to use in your newsroom

There’s tons of tools available to newsrooms, NPR’s Brian Boyer writes. “Every tool forces you down a path,” Boyer writes, making it important to determine what tools are the right tools for your newsroom. Boyer’s advice for picking the right tools: “Before you select a tool, you must first intimately understand the problem you’re trying to solve. And the best way to do that, IMHO, is to do it by...

Johnston Press will sell, close or drastically cut costs at 59 local newspapers

Johnston Press announced this week that it will sell, close or cut costs at 59 of its local newspapers. The company said in a statement that it had “identified a number of newsbrands that are now considered non-core and such will be either divested or run with less costs.” In 2015, Johnston Press closed a total of 18 of its newspapers, including 11 free weeklies. The Drum reports that the newspapers...

To compete with Periscope, Google may be building a live streaming app for YouTube

Google may be building a live streaming app called YouTube Connect, VentureBeat’s Ken Yeung reports. Expected to be available for both iOS and Android, YouTube Connect would be a direct competitor to Periscope and Facebook Live. YouTube Connect is expected to connect with a user’s existing Google and YouTube accounts, and include chat, tagging and a news feed of clips from friends or people users...

News organizations should be building the products that today’s young adults will be interested in 20 years from now

In all the discussion of the best ways to reach young adults, former Time magazine foreign correspondent and co-founder of news startup Worldcrunch Jeff Israely says that we often forget that these young adults will inevitably grow older. Instead of just asking what those readers are looking for now, Israely suggests that we should also think about what those readers will be like and will want from...

The Washington Post created a tool to measure the speed of its breaking news email alerts

A new tool developed by The Washington Post called BreakFast is helping the Post measure the speed of its breaking news email alerts against other news organizations. BreakFast monitors alerts from the Post and nine other news organizations and parses the alerts to determine if the topic is the same as previous alerts. BreakFast then tracks how quickly the alert is sent, whether the alert is something...

Need to Know: Mar. 24, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: A Dutch startup called Blendle is trying to get readers to pay by the article, with investors including The New York Times Co. and Axel Springer But did you know: Pay-per-article platform Blendle has launched in the US, with partners including NYT and WSJ (Politico Media) Dutch...