OFF THE TOP
You might have heard: Young union activists are changing newsrooms (New York Times)
But did you know: Ireland’s journalism union is seeking a windfall tax on tech giants to help fund journalism (Irish Times)
The National Union of Journalism, which covers the U.K. and Ireland, is seeking a 6% tax in Ireland on search engines and social media companies to fund a “News Recovery Plan.” In a plan released in honor of World Press Freedom Day, the union argued for free vouchers for news subscriptions for teens and those over 70, as well as tax credits for those with news subscriptions. It also called for a government-funded journalism foundation, the option for news outlets to apply for charitable status and more operating rules for media companies.
+ Noted: Here are the winners of the 2020 Pulitzer Prizes (Pulitzer); Telemundo head Cesar Conde will take over NBCUniversal News Group, which includes NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, as Andy Lack departs (Hollywood Reporter); The Poynter Institute launched a fact-checking WhatsApp chatbot to debunk 4,000 coronavirus hoaxes using data from more than 100 organizations (TechCrunch)
API RESOURCES
Covering the campaign during coronavirus: What journalists need to know
Virtual campaigns leave more room for misinformation to spread, particularly misinformation that centers on coronavirus and elections. API’s director of accountability journalism Susan Benkelman advises journalists to be on the lookout for manipulated video, beware of politicians employing outrage as a way to get attention, and to “Get local elections officials on speed dial as soon as possible.” With so much uncertainty and confusion surrounding the elections process, Benkelman writes, the situation is “ripe for mis- and disinformation, as well as hoaxes.”
TRY THIS AT HOME
The Boston Globe is reviving serialized fiction as coronavirus counterprogramming (Nieman Lab)
With almost all of the news focusing on the various health, political and economic ramifications of COVID-19, The Boston Globe has started offering something different on its front page. Starting on Monday, the paper began publishing a 22-chapter novella called “The Mechanic” from author Ben Mezrich, a mystery thriller set in Boston’s universities, art museums and casinos. Every day for the next two weeks, the installations will be prominently featured on A1 and on the Globe’s website. In a preamble, the Globe said that, while the paper is committed to rigorous coverage of the pandemic, it felt that “a diversion might also be welcome.”
OFFSHORE
More readers, fewer ads: Britain’s local newspapers are struggling (New York Times)
Across the U.K., more than 50 local and regional publications have suspended producing their print or online products as they attempt to wait out the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Newspapers in Britain are typically more dependent on street sales than home delivery, leaving them more susceptible to lockdown policies that have emptied out streets, trains and buses across the country. And while traffic to online news sites is still on the upswing, many local publishers don’t have paywalls and their advertising revenue has dwindled to near zero. The crisis is accelerating trends that have challenged their business models for decades, and publishers still aren’t ready to meet them, say experts. “These are all things that would be happening over the long term at some point,” said one media analyst. Managing such a structural change in such a short amount of time, he said, “is impossible.”
OFFBEAT
Australian judge rules that Google is a publisher, must pay damages for defamation (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
A lawyer in Melbourne has successfully argued that Google search results that pointed to murder conspiracy charges against him constitute defamation. George Defteros had represented several gang members and was charged with conspiracy in a murder, but the charges were later dropped. The charges were written about by The Age in 2004, but the publisher removed the articles in 2016. Defteros argued that, when articles and images including these charges appeared, he was being defamed by the search engine operator. Google argued that it is not a publisher, merely a platform, but the judge rejected that argument. Google was ordered to pay $40,000 AUD ($25,700 USD) in damages.
+ Related: Google Australia argues publishers benefit by getting billions of visitors to their websites free of charge (The Guardian)
UP FOR DEBATE
Covering science at dangerous speeds (Columbia Journalism Review)
The normally rigorous peer review process for scientific research has been sped up dramatically during the coronavirus crisis. But that could mean that reporters — especially those new to the healthcare beat — are more likely to seize on what sound like important and impressive findings that are likely to soon be meaningless, writes Ivan Oransky. There are things reporters can do to guard against amplifying research findings that have been rushed prematurely into research journals: Be sure to read the whole study, not just the abstract or the press release; examine the study’s limitations (which every good journal will publish); and read the disclosures at the end of the papers. If you can, talk to an outside expert with no ties to the research.
SHAREABLE
Seattle Times is launching a Save the Free Press Initiative (Seattle Times)
In an op-ed, Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen announced the paper’s new Save the Free Press Initiative, a national plan to help protect journalism jobs and local coverage. The three main objectives are stopping layoffs, initially through federal stimulus funds; creating a trust funding by taxes on ad revenue of major platforms like Facebook and Google; and advocating for federal laws that encourage local newspaper ownership.
The post Need to Know: May 5, 2020 appeared first on American Press Institute.
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