Need to Know: May 31, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Data from NewsWhip shows that the top publishers are seeing lower engagement on Facebook: Between July 2015 and April 2016, Facebook likes for web content declined 55 percent, shares declined 57 percent, comments declined 63 percent (NewsWhip) But did you know: Facebook’s focus...

Need to Know: May 27, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Billionaire Peter Thiel spent about $10 million to fund Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, setting a dangerous precedent that could be emulated by others But did you know: In an open letter, Nick Denton questions the ultimate intent of Peter Thiel’s decade-long campaign against...

Felix Salmon: By funding Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker, Peter Thiel set a dangerous precedent that could be emulated by other billionaires

Peter Thiel acknowledged Wednesday that he funded Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker Media, spending about $10 million to help “victims” of Gawker in an act of “deterrence.” That sets a dangerous precedent, Felix Salmon writes: “If Thiel’s strategy works against Gawker, it could be used by any billionaire against any media organization. Sheldon Adelson, Donald Trump, the list goes on and on. Up until...

The Week in Fact-Checking: Offbeat

  Quote of the week “If you already believe that immigrants are stealing your jobs and your money, you are more likely to nod when Donald Trump says the same thing, even if his face is obscured by the cloud of smoke coming from his flaming pants.” — Elizabeth Renzetti of the Globe and Mail, explaining...

Need to Know: May 26, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: As it reshapes its newsroom, The New York Times is offering voluntary buyouts to newsroom employees (New York Times) But did you know: The video, graphics and digital design departments are not eligible for buyouts, showing NYT’s commitment to making its newsroom less print-centric...

The business value of BuzzFeed’s journalism is coming into question, and some say BuzzFeed could curtail news to focus on video and entertainment

You might have heard: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti says BuzzFeed is in the business of news because “it’s good for the world, it’s good for business, and it’s good for our company culture” But did you know: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti wrote an essay last summer about why BuzzFeed does news, but some are questioning the business value of BuzzFeed’s news operations now. BuzzFeed announced this week...

How to get your audience talking to you on social media: Use visuals and respond to your readers

Social media platforms are a natural place for publishers to interact with their readers, but it can be challenging to get those readers to start talking in a meaningful way. Poynter’s Vicki Krueger outlines tips for motivating readers to start sharing with you on social media, including: Use a visual in your post, ask a question, and respond to your audience’s comments. + Earlier: Our Strategy Studies...

The Washington Post will expand into Europe through its Opinions section

Led by Anne Applebaum, The Washington Post is planning an expansion into Europe with a new Global Opinions section. Editorial page editor Fred Hiatt says the objective of Global Opinions is to “tap into the debates and discussions happening in countries around the world and offer a variety of perspectives that explore how the international community views U.S. policy and how U.S. policymakers view...

For those getting started on Snapchat, two tools can help you find more interesting users to follow

There’s no good way within the Snapchat app to discover new accounts to follow, which can be a challenge for publishers trying to get started on Snapchat and build an audience there. But two new tools are trying to fix that problem. GhostCodes and Peek help Snapchat users find interesting users to follow, and help other users discover their own profile in turn. Fast Company’s Ryan Holmes describes...

The media industry needs to focus on relevance and value, rather than the volume of work produced

“We still treat the public we serve as a mass, all the same, delivering a one-way, one-size-fits-all product that we fill with a commodity we call content,” Jeff Jarvis writes. “Rather than continuing to try to maintain our content factory, whose real business is selling eyeballs by the ton, imagine instead if news were a service whose aim is to help people improve their lives and communities by connecting...

A roadmap for reinventing legacy news organizations is starting to emerge, with a focus on not being everything to everyone

Taking a look at newsroom re-organizations around the country at legacy news organizations such as The Dallas Morning News and The New York Times, we can start to see a roadmap for reinventing legacy organizations start to emerge, Poynter’s Kristen Hare writes. In terms of coverage, these news organizations are not trying to be everything to everyone, and focusing on the areas they can and should...

Need to Know: May 25, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti says BuzzFeed is in the business of news because “it’s good for the world, it’s good for business, and it’s good for our company culture” But did you know: The business value of BuzzFeed’s journalism is coming into question, and some say BuzzFeed could...

Facebook says its investigation found no systematic bias in the trending news section, but it can’t rule out unintentional bias

You might have heard: The US Senate Commerce Committee has launched an inquiry into Facebook’s news curation after former news curators said they regularly suppressed conservative news from the site’s trending news section But did you know: Responding to Sen. John Thune’s letter on its trending news section, Facebook says its own investigation found no systematic bias in the curation of the section....

7 ideas for how publishers can deal with ad blockers

At an event in late April, publishers, platforms and other industry groups gathered at an event in NYC hosted by PageFair and Digital Content Next to talk about ad blocking. The participants, which included ESPN, Google and The Guardian, are now sharing their recommendations for how publishers can better deal with ad blockers. Among their ideas: Users need the ability to reject and complain about...

A Swedish podcasting platform is offering podcasters the option to charge listeners in exchange for no ads

Swedish podcasting platform Acast launched a new product on Monday that offers podcasters a new way to generate revenue. Called Acast+, the platform now offers podcasters the option to sell their product directly to listeners without advertising. Podcasters can set their own price, and revenue is then split with Acast. Listeners will have the option to buy a monthly “show pass,” ranging in price from...

By designing its products to be accessible for those with disabilities, Google’s products become better for all its users

“Accessibility is a basic human right,” says Google’s senior manager of accessibility engineering Eve Andersson. “It benefits everyone.” Though Andersson’s team focuses on how to make Google’s products just as usable for those with disabilities as those without, that focus creates a better product for all users. For example, autocomplete and voice controls are features we all use now, but originally...

The Washington Post’s union says women make on average 86 percent of what men make

After it was asked by members to look into pay disparities at the Washington Post, the Washington-Baltimore News Guild says that women earn on average 86 percent of what men at the Post earn. Broken down by job, male reporters earn $7,000 more, male columnists earn $23,000 more, and male producers earn $4,000 more than their female counterparts. The disparities also go beyond gender, the union says:...

Tribune’s new investor wants to save print with ‘machine vision’ technology

Tribune Publishing’s new second-largest investor Nant Capital has a plan to save print: With “machine vision” technology developed by CEO Patrick Soon-Shiong, he says the experience of reading a print newspaper will be brought to life. For example, if a reader focused their smartphone camera on a picture of Kevin Durant, they could see Durant dunking a basketball; if the reader focused on a picture...

Need to Know: May 24, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: The US Senate Commerce Committee has launched an inquiry into Facebook’s news curation after former news curators said they regularly suppressed conservative news from the site’s trending news section But did you know: Facebook says its investigation found no systematic bias...

Need to Know: May 23, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: The Las Vegas Review-Journal was purchased at the end of 2015 under mysterious circumstances by casino owner Sheldon Adelson, and some staff say that they’ve been told to ease up on the coverage of their new owner But did you know: Sheldon Adelson says he hasn’t interfered with...

Need to Know: May 20, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: Gannett is bidding for Tribune Publishing, and upped its offer earlier this week to $15/share, valuing Tribune at $864 million But did you know: Tribune’s Michael Ferro says he’s working on a bid to take over Gannett (Politico Media) Gannett has bid to take over Tribune Publishing,...

The Week in Fact-Checking: Reach

More than ever, journalists are furiously fact-checking politicians and government officials. So why are some still lying and why do some people still believe the lies? Maybe those fact-checks aren’t reaching the right audiences. We’ve got some thoughts on infiltrating those groups, and we’d...

Need to Know: May 19, 2016

Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism OFF THE TOP You might have heard: After former Facebook news curators say they regularly suppressed conservative news from the site’s trending news section, Mark Zuckerberg planned to meet with a dozen conservative leaders But did you know: After meeting with conservative leaders, Mark Zuckerberg says he wants...