Monday, December 4, 2023 |
| “While you’re less at the whim of the algorithm, it’s still social media.” By Hanaa' Tameez. |
What We’re ReadingNPR / Ayesha Rascoe
Remembering pioneering public radio journalist Maria Martin, founder of “Latino USA” →“Martin began working in journalism in the 1970s. In the early 1990s, when she was an editor at NPR, Austin member station KUT approached her with an idea – to create a weekly audio journal of news and culture of interest to Latinos. That became ‘Latino USA.'”Reuters / Inti Landauro
Spanish news companies are suing Meta for $600 million →“The newspapers argue that Meta’s ‘massive’ and ‘systematic’ use of personal data of its Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp platform users gives it an unfair advantage of designing and offering personalised ads, which they say constitutes unfair competition.”The Washington Post / Joseph Menn
Ousted propaganda scholar Joan Donovan accuses Harvard of bowing to Meta →“Joan Donovan claimed in a filing with the Education Department and the Massachusetts attorney general that her superiors soured on her as Harvard was getting a record $500 million pledge from Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s charitable arm…[her] surprise dismissal [from the Harvard Kennedy School] alarmed fellow researchers elsewhere, who saw Donovan as a pioneer in an increasingly critical area of great sensitivity to the powerful and well-connected tech giants.”MuckRock / Michael Morisy
New open-source reporting tool provides free, simple alerts when a webpage updates →“Want to know when your favorite government agency posts new information? Wondering if a corporate press release might see some post-publication revisions? [MuckRock] has brought the power of The Marshall Project’s Klaxon site monitoring tool into DocumentCloud, and it’s now easier than ever to track changes and get alerts from websites you care about.”WSJ / Anne Steele
Spotify will lay off 17% of staff, about 1,500 employees, in third round of cuts this year →“Spotify, like other technology companies, grew in size and scope during the pandemic, with its head count nearly doubling over the past three years to more than 8,000 workers, as a result of hiring and acquisitions. As investors have become more focused on profitability than growth, many streaming-focused companies have aggressively cut costs. At Spotify that meant scaling back a $1 billion bet on podcasting, including through layoffs earlier this year.”The New York Times / Michael M. Grynbaum
The U.K. has opened an inquiry into Jeff Zucker’s UAE-backed bid for The Telegraph and The Spectator →“The announcement capped a week of growing outcry in Westminster over Mr. Zucker’s use of roughly $1 billion in Emirati money to acquire the news organizations, which are hugely influential in British conservative politics. Tories lined up to denounce the proposed deal, warning that the Emiratis’ involvement could lead to undue foreign influence over The Telegraph’s coverage.”Nieman Reports / Celeste Katz Marston
“We go where we think we can have the most impact”: 5 lessons from successful local news startups →“‘If you only have two people, it shouldn’t be an editor and a reporter. It should be an editor and a business person,’ says Steven Waldman, founder and president of Rebuild Local News. ‘If you get some grants, view it as a temporary bridge and use it to build out a more enduring small-donation or other kind of revenue strategy.'”The Washington Post / Jeremy Barr
MSNBC draws backlash for canceling Mehdi Hasan show →“The network said the changes, which include a new weekend panel show, were made with 2024 election coverage in mind. But fans and prominent liberals questioned whether Hasan, one of the few Muslim hosts in cable news, was being penalized for his criticism of the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and strong support for the Palestinian people.”The New York Times / Katie Robertson
Bloomberg Businessweek is becoming a monthly magazine →“The magazine will be redesigned with ‘heavier paper stock for a more high-end look and feel’ and relaunched as a monthly print publication ‘later in 2024,’ according to a memo from David Merritt and Katie Boyce, two leaders of Bloomberg’s media division, that was viewed by The New York Times.”Twitter / Ben Mullin
The Washington Post’s newsroom union is planning a 24-hour on Thursday →“…complete with a picket line outside the office. Guild announced the walkout internally after securing 700 commitments.” Engadget / Anthony Ha
Inside the arms race between YouTube and ad blockers →“YouTube rolls out new ways to serve ads to viewers with ad blockers, then ad blockers develop new strategies to circumvent those ad-serving measures.”the Guardian / Aletha Adu
Rishi Sunak says £500m in BBC cuts are “welcome” →“Cuts to the BBC’s flagship evening news programme Newsnight have been described as ‘a bad decision’ that reveals a ‘loss of confidence’ at the corporation.”Editor & Publisher
Aron Pilhofer named Minneapolis Star Tribune chief product officer →Most recently, Pilhofer was the James B. Steele Chair in Journalism Innovation at Temple University. He previously worked at The Guardian and The New York Times. The Minnesota native has co-founded three news-related startups: DocumentCloud.org, Hacks & Hackers and The Tiny News Collective. Adweek / Mark Stenberg
BuzzFeed given 180 days to get its stock price over $1 →“Companies have to meet a number of criteria in order to trade on the Nasdaq, one of which is that their bid price must be above a $1 minimum. BuzzFeed Inc. stock is currently trading at 30 cents.”Vice / Janus Rose
Wikipedia editor who first noted Henry Kissinger’s death has become an “instant legend” →“‘I’m now forever the girl who changed ‘is’ to ‘was’ on Henry Kissinger’s Wikipedia article,’ reads the bio of the Wikipedia user Asticky, who updated her bio after editing Kissinger’s page on 8:46 PM EST on Wednesday.”The Washington Post / Taylor Lorenz
News outlets turn to Reddit as Musk’s X descends into chaos →Business Insider promoted a story about a female founder in a well-known influencer “snark” subreddit this week. (Reports Lorenz: “Most subreddits are harmless, but snark communities have been tied to stalking, doxing, and mob behavior.”)
Nieman Lab / Fuego
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