Wednesday, March 3, 2021 |
| The new race and identity newsletter will land in inboxes on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. By Sarah Scire. |
|
| “It is unbelievably complicated to find out what happens in these meetings, even though all the information is online.” By Hanaa' Tameez. |
What We’re ReadingScientific American / Rachel Nuwer
People literally don’t know when to shut up or keep talking, science confirms →“That people fail so completely in judging when a conversation partner wishes to wrap things up ‘is an astounding and important finding,’ says Thalia Wheatley, a social psychologist at Dartmouth College, who was not involved in the research. Conversations are otherwise “such an elegant expression of mutual coordination,” she says. ‘And yet it all falls apart at the end because we just can’t figure out when to stop.’ This puzzle is probably one reason why people like to have talks over coffee, drinks or a meal, Wheatley adds, because ‘the empty cup or check gives us an out—a critical conversation-ending crutch.'”Axios / Sara Fischer
Facebook to lift political ad ban imposed after November election →“Some candidates and campaign officials expressed frustration with the ad bans, arguing that the bans limit transparency of digital political advertising broadly. Ad buyers expressed initial frustration with the lack of clarity around how ad bans would be implemented and when they would expire.”RTDNA / Natalie Van Hoozer
KUNR’s virtual events in Spanish connect the Northern Nevada community to pandemic resources →“Through my bilingual reporting for KUNR at the start of the pandemic, it became clear that the COVID-19 crisis made these disparities in Spanish-language news and public health information greater. Latinos in Northern Nevada and nationwide are also disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. In Washoe County, where Reno is located, Latinos make up approximately 36 percent of COVID cases while only comprising about 29 percent of the state population.”Nieman Reports / Chelsea Cirruzzo
One year into the pandemic, how are health reporters doing? →“With a long road of recovery ahead, health reporters say news outlets must continue to utilize them, invest in them, and integrate them across the newsroom. Helmuth, who became editor in chief of Scientific American in April 2020, says that includes helping health reporters develop specific skill sets, sending them to workshops, and allowing them to build their networks. For example, the
Association of Health Care Journalists offers grant opportunities for reporting projects as well as workshops that have lately centered on helping reporters gather better data on the pandemic or write about the science behind the coronavirus.”Salon / Dan Froomkin
How the Washington Post’s departing editor blew it on newsroom diversity and why he’s not alone →“Baron’s comments acutely exemplify how newsroom leaders’ moves to diversify their staffs not only have been insufficient, but have been totally undercut by their refusal to listen to the people they’ve hired. They refuse to seriously reassess their above-the-fray, both-sides approach to covering urgent national issues, even when the people they hire point out that some of those issues are matters of life and death. They refuse to consider that the vaunted notions of
objectivity they defend so fiercely are actually, in practice, the views of
a white guy who doesn’t even exist.”The Financial Times / Alex Barker, Anna Nicolaou, James Fontanella-Khan
Rupert Murdoch at 90: Fox, succession and ‘one more big play’ →“Yet in his twilight years, the question of what happens to the Murdoch media dynasty still seems vexed as ever — a ceaseless family struggle. His children are at odds, not least over Fox News. Lachlan Murdoch, his elder son, is heir apparent. But the succession question somehow still remains open. A battle over the family trust, which holds the shares in News Corp and Fox, looms once Rupert Murdoch relinquishes his grip. None of the children have the votes to exert control alone.” Wired / Gilad Edelman
Fake news gets more engagement on Facebook, but only if it’s right-wing →“According to researchers at the Cybersecurity for Democracy project at New York University, far-right purveyors of misinformation have by far the highest levels of engagement per follower compared to any other category of news source. Indeed, the researchers found that while left-leaning and centrist publications get much less engagement if they publish misinformation, the relationship is reversed on the far right, where news organizations that regularly publish false material get up to 65 percent more engagement than ones that don’t. The study provides perhaps the most substantial evidence yet about what types of news—and fake news—perform best according to this metric on Facebook.”The New York Times / Kevin Draper and Talya Minsberg
Female athletes are undercovered. These Olympians want to change that. →“TOGETHXR is backed financially with a ‘mid-seven figure investment’ by Magnet Companies, a private equity holding company founded by media veterans. Robertson said the company expects to create original content for and strike partnerships with social media platforms, form licensing deals and sell merchandise. The core audience is girls and young women who are interested in sports, as well as topics like activism, culture, wellness and beauty.”Solutions Journalism Network
The new Solutions Journalism Educator Academy is looking for university professors at Hispanic serving institutions →“Edie Rubinowitz, associate professor of journalism at Northeastern Illinois University, an HSI, said solutions journalism appeals to her students because it enables them to both combat negative stereotypes of their neighborhoods that they see in the media and to examine what is being done in their communities to address the problems that do exist.”Washington Post / Fred Ryan
The Washington Post’s publisher calls for the Biden administration to hold Saudi Arabia responsible for the murder of Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi →“It appears as though under the Biden administration, despots who offer momentarily strategic value to the United States might be given a ‘one free murder’ pass.”Tampa Bay Times / Claire McNeill
Meet some of the longtime staffers who printed the Tampa Bay Times →“This work was physical, and unfolded at night, after David White, 51, put in a day of teaching at Bayside High School. He and co-workers stacked 20-pound bundles on pallets, sometimes for four or five hours straight if the presses ran smoothly. He knows why local news matters: He still has scrapbooks of his basketball years at Boca Ciega High School, where he was a McDonald’s All-American and jokes that his position was ‘Give me the ball and get out of the way.'”The Star / Jacob Lorinc
Torstar, owner of The Toronto Star, plans to launch an online casino to fund its journalism →The online gaming site for sports betting and casino games will launch in 2021 (pending approval from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario). The Daily Beast / Sophia June
These alt-weeklies faced “total annihilation.” Here’s how they survived. →“Others found new ways to survive. Boston Dig stopped publishing in March 2020, but started up again in June. The Chicago Reader is in the process of becoming a nonprofit, but survived 2020 by moving to biweekly printing and ramping up merchandising projects. They created a coloring book, made one of their covers into a puzzle, started a book club, and compiled a cookbook with recipes from Chicago chefs and bartenders.”The Atlantic / Jemele Hill
Sports viewership took a major nosedive in 2020, despite the fact that more people than usual were stuck at home →“Ratings were down 51 percent for the NBA Finals, 61 percent for the NHL finals, and 45 percent for tennis’s U.S. Open. Not even the Kentucky Derby was safe: Ratings dropped 49 percent from the previous year … Plenty of evidence suggests that sports broadcasts aren’t resonating as well with Generation Z—Americans born after 1996—as they did with previous generations. According to a recent poll, only 53 percent of Gen Zers identify as sports fans.”
Nieman Lab / Fuego / Encyclo
Twitter / Facebook
View email in browser
Unsubscribe
You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org.
Nieman Journalism LabHarvard University1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138
Add us to your address book
