“Impossible to approach the reporting the way I normally would”: How Rachel Aviv wrote that New Yorker story on Lucy Letby

Thursday, May 16, 2024

“Impossible to approach the reporting the way I normally would”: How Rachel Aviv wrote that New Yorker story on Lucy Letby “So much of the media coverage — and the trial itself — started at the point at which we’ve determined that [Lucy] Letby is an evil murderer; all her texts, notes, and movements are then viewed through that lens.” By Sarah Scire.

Increasingly stress-inducing subject lines helped The Intercept surpass its fundraising goal “We feel like we really owe it to our readers to be honest about the stakes and to let them know that we truly cannot do this work without them.” By Hanaa' Tameez.

What We’re ReadingLatin American Journalism Review / Felippe AníbalUnderwater, Correio do Povo covers the human tragedy of the floods in southern Brazil →“You have to worry about your work, about your mission to inform. But we can’t produce more victims. We can’t put people at risk. Life is more important than anything right now,” editor-in-chief Telmo Flor said. “It’s not just news. Things are also happening to us. I have three teams that went to cover the countryside and they’re stranded, unable to get home.”Digiday / Kayleigh BarberPublishers’ Q1 earnings show promise, but also room for improvement →“For nearly all of the five public publishers included in this report, digital advertising grew in the first quarter of 2024, with the exception of BuzzFeed. Digital subscriptions revenue also fared well in the first three months of the year for the three publishers that report that revenue line: Gannett, Dow Jones and The New York Times. Meanwhile, licensing and commerce revenue were two boons for Dotdash Meredith in the quarter as well. “The Verge / Alex HeathGoogle and OpenAI are racing to rewire the internet →“Google and OpenAI are working toward the same goal here: collapsing the traditional notion of a search engine into a conversational AI interface. If this is successfully achieved, both believe it can be the interface that fully absorbs how people navigate the internet. In essence, it’s a race to see if Google Search becomes more like ChatGPT before ChatGPT can become more like Google Search.”Fast Company / Steven MelendezEx-Markup CEO Nabiha Syed wants to bring joy and creativity back to the internet in her new role as Mozilla’s executive director →“Mozilla is one of those brands that I think I knew about it from my early internet consciousness,” Syed says. “And it is one of those brands that has this history of putting people before profit and creativity before control.”Latin American Journalism Review / César López LinaresCentral American editors discuss strategies for preserving wellbeing and safety of newsrooms in hostile environments →“Nothing works if there is no trust between editors and reporters. If you’re a reporter and don’t trust your editor, don’t go to any risky place. And if you’re an editor and you don’t trust your reporter, or you don’t know how to assess his own security, don’t let him go.”International News Media Association / Paula FelpsWith major elections ahead, what should news media companies do about paywalls? →“When important news breaks, audiences turn to trusted news brands to get the facts. In the past, this has translated into subscription revenue, and many companies may be looking forward to the crucial role of the elections in boosting subscriptions.”The New York Times / Jim Rutenberg and Michael M. GrynbaumHow MSNBC’s leftward tilt delivers ratings, and complications for local NBC stations →“NBC’s traditional political journalists have cycled between rancor and resignation that the cable network’s partisanship — a regular target of Mr. Trump — will color perceptions of their straight news reporting. Local NBC stations between the coasts have demanded, again and again, that executives in New York do more to preserve NBC’s nonpartisan brand, lest MSNBC’s blue-state bent alienate their red-state viewers.”Drilled / Molly TaftHow oil companies manipulate journalists →“These documents also reveal what coverage these fossil-fuel companies are pleased to receive, the kinds of reporters they try to curry favor with, and the ways they try to manipulate journalists. They also show how Big Oil could actually get the more pliant media it so desperately wants.”Gothamist / Jon CampbellNew York’s $90M tax break for local news outlets leaves out TV and nonprofits →“the state’s economic development agency will be tasked with writing regulations for the new program, which will determine, among other things, whether for-profit, digital-only outlets will be included. Meanwhile, those who pushed for the tax credit are still trying to figure out whether changes can or should be made to make the law apply to a broader array of media outlets that people rely on for local news.”Latin American Journalism Review / Katherine PennacchioA Guatemalan court has granted house arrest to journalist José Rubén Zamora, yet he remains in prison →“The decision comes after Zamora, founder of elPeriódico, has spent 655 days in pre-trial detention despite having a conviction for money laundering overturned by a Guatemalan appeals chamber in October 2023. A retrial was ordered in that case.”Teen Vogue / Samaa KhullarUnderpaid and undervalued: What it’s like to be a Palestinian student journalist right now →“Palestinian student journalists have to be perfect, because if we’re not, it feels like our career will be over before it starts. Making our reporting as bulletproof as possible is something we are all taught as journalists, but it’s also something that is drilled into our heads as Palestinians. We worry about being accused of having an agenda.”

Nieman Lab / Fuego

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