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You might have heard: Apple’s News app was highly anticipated by publishers, but some publishers are underwhelmed with the app and Apple is adding new features designed to help publishers, such as a curated list of “top stories” and comScore integration
But did you know: Apple News will soon have native ads that appear alongside articles in users’ feeds (Business Insider)
Apple is introducing a new ad format for News: Native ads that look like articles will be displayed alongside articles from publishers in users’ news feeds on News. The ads will look the same as other articles, except for a “sponsored” tag. Apple says in its developer-specification document that the ads are “intended to blend in with their surroundings.” Publishers can currently upload sponsored content to News, but the stories must be flagged as sponsored content in the metadata.
+ Noted: News video startup NowThis will be the next publisher to join Snapchat Discover (Re/code); The Atlantic editor James Bennet will join The New York Times as editorial page director (New York Times); A study from the University of Iowa found that while news organizations embrace technological innovation, they’re not as quick to embrace cultural innovation (MediaShift); Bill Simmons’ newsletter The Ringer launched on Monday, and a full website will follow later this year (The Ringer)
API UPDATE
Job openings at API
We’re hiring for several roles, including a newsroom learning program manager and a program associate. The newsroom learning program manager will lead an innovative new approach to helping journalists and news organizations develop better skills and practices, while the program associate will assist with many of API’s efforts and suited for people in the early stages of their careers. We also have freelance and consulting opportunities available in areas such as graphic design, media relations and research.
New research from the Engaging News Project asks who’s commenting on news stories and why do they do it? (Engaging News Project)
Comment sections are an area of debate within journalism with some organizations opting to end comments, but not much is understood about who exactly is posting comments, who’s reading them and why. New research from the Engaging News Project set out to answer these questions, finding that 55 percent of Americans have posted an online comment and 78 percent have read comments at some point. As for who’s posting comments, compared to people who just read comments, news commenters tend to be more male, have lower levels of education and have lower levels of income.
Publishers in Sweden are planning to collectively block users with ad blockers enabled (Digiday)
Many publishers are unsure of how to handle ad blockers, but publishers in Sweden are joining forces against ad blocking. Led by IAB Sweden, 90 percent of Sweden’s publishers will collectively block users with ad blockers enabled during August. After the test run is completed, IAB Sweden will share its results for other countries to learn from. But this model may not be easily replicated elsewhere, Lucinda Southern writes, because the Swedish market is small and the publishers all know each other, which makes it easier for them to organize.
How to structure your organization to better manage freelancers (Harvard Business Review)
Businesses are increasingly dependent on freelancers, but most businesses aren’t organized to manage freelancers well, Jon Younger and Rishon Blumberg write. Younger and Blumberg recommend creating the role of “external project manager,” or someone whose job it is to develop a strong network of freelance talent, helping those freelancers be productive and building the business’ brand as a good environment for freelancers. If your organization can’t add a new role, Younger and Blumberg says some of these ideas could be assigned to an existing role, such as a CFO or project manager.
After Cokie Roberts publishes an anti-Trump column, NPR clarifies her role as a commentator (NPR)
Longtime NPR analyst and commentator Cokie Roberts co-wrote a syndicated newspaper column that called for “the rational wing” of the Republican Party to stop Donald Trump’s presidential nomination, leading NPR to clarify what Roberts’ role is as a commentator. While NPR forbids its journalists from taking a stance on public affairs, Roberts is not a full-time employee and was officially named a commentator several years ago, which NPR says gives her more room to state political opinions. NPR’s senior vice president for news and editorial director Michael Oreskes also said that the context around this case is unique, because the news industry as a whole is struggling with how to cover Trump.
+ Glenn Greenwald on the problem with neutrality in journalism: “This framework [of objectivity] neutered journalism and drained it of all its vitality and passion, reducing journalists to stenography drones permitted to do little more than summarize what each equally valid side asserts. Worse, it ensures that people who wield great influence and power — such as Donald Trump — can engage in all sorts of toxic, dishonest, and destructive behavior without having to worry about any check from journalists, who are literally barred by their employers from speaking out.” (The Intercept)
Nearly a year into Instant Articles, the good and the bad of the format: They’re shared more often and can increase traffic back to publishers’ sites, but monetization remains a challenge (Business Insider)
Almost a year since Instant Articles was announced, Business Insider talked to some publishers that are publishing on Facebook about what’s working and what’s not with the article format. Both Vox and BuzzFeed noted that they’ve seen that Instant Articles are shared more often than a normal article on Facebook, while Gawker says it saw an increase in unique visitors to its website after it started publishing on Instant Articles. However not all publishers are seeing an increase in reach, and monetization is still a challenge as Facebook continues to tweak its rules for selling ads in Instant Articles.
The post Need to Know: Mar. 15, 2016 appeared first on American Press Institute.
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