How big a threat is The Athletic to local newspapers under The New York Times?
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Tuesday, January 11, 2022
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How big a threat is The Athletic to local newspapers under The New York Times?Should the combination keep local publishers up at night? Or are they different markets altogether? By Joshua Benton. |
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The New York Times debuts a fellowship for crossword constructorsNYT Games editorial director Everdeen Mason on building a more diverse set of puzzle constructors and an “ecosystem” for solvers. “I don't want people to just come in and play a game and leave.” By Sarah Scire. |
What We’re Reading
The Guardian / Lorenzo Tondo
Fanpage: the Italian website that went from gossip to award-winning scoops →
“Over the last four years dozens of people involved in illicit activities have been arrested after Fanpage investigations and numerous politicians have resigned. The site continues to turn a profit and has opened newsrooms in Rome and Milan.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Jon Allsop
Ten days of turnover →
“The first few months of 2021 had been particularly busy for high-profile media moves. The same has been true of the first few days of 2022.”
The Texas Tribune / Erin Douglas
The Texas GOP’s voting meme shows how Trump-style messaging wins internet’s attention →
"The goal is to further divide people, but divide them by making them feel they're part of a group," said Sam Woolley, an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin who also serves as the project director for propaganda research at the Center for Media Engagement.
Off The Record / Andrew Fedorov
How underground nightlife reporters shine a light on places where people don't always want to be seen →
“‘Underground content thrives in the underground media, and underground media is strengthened by staying a little bit secretive from prying eyes that might assume bad faith, or even be law enforcement,’ said Michelle Lhooq, previously an editor at Vice's defunct electronic music site Thump, who started her largely paywalled counterculture newsletter Rave New World at the beginning of the pandemic.”
The Wall Street Journal / Joseph Pisani
Wordle has turned fans of word games (and Media Twitter) into argumentative strategy nerds →
“Players paste the Wordle game on social media, which has filled Facebook and Twitter timelines with a sea of green and yellow squares. In the game, when a guess is made, the color of tiles change to show you how close you are to the secret word. If you guess ‘weary,’ as the instructions say, and the ‘W’ turns green, the secret word starts with a W. If the E turns yellow, the letter is in the word, but is in the wrong spot. Letters that turn gray aren't in the word.”
Vice / Carter Sherman
Some Washington Post editors maybe should stop tweeting about sexual assault →
“In its own statement to members, sent Monday night, the Washington Post Guild condemned Montgomery's tweet as ‘unacceptable, irresponsible, and harmful.’"
The New York Times
A NYT freelance reporter is put on trial in Zimbabwe →
“The reporter, Jeffrey Moyo, has been accused of helping two Times journalists enter Zimbabwe from South Africa using bogus credentials, a charge that even the government admits is on 'shaky ground.'”
The Verge/Hot Pod / Ashley Carman
Spotify shuts down its namesake podcast studio →
“Spotify declined to comment. In a note to Spotify staff obtained by The Verge, however, Julie McNamara, head of US studios and video, acknowledged the layoffs and said shutting the studio down would enable the company to ‘move faster and make more significant progress and facilitate more effective collaboration across our organization.’"
Associated Press
Associated Press is launching an NFT marketplace for its photographs →
“The initial collection will be released over a period of weeks beginning Jan. 31. NFTs will range from space, climate, war and other images to spotlights on the work of specific AP photographers.”
The Wrap / Antoinette Siu
NABJ Calls for “immediate” culture change at Black News Channel after gender discrimination lawsuit →
“Thirteen women have sued the Florida-based network for gender discrimination, accusing the company of unequal pay for female employees and a workplace culture that forced them ‘to conform to sexist or misogynistic stereotypes about how women are supposed to behave.’"
Medill Local News Initiative / Mark Jacob
“More exciting than it’s ever been”: The rebirth of local news in Chicago →
“While the city's media have seen brutal job cuts in recent years, including a dramatic downsizing at the Chicago Tribune, a sense of rebirth and optimism prevails.”
Columbia Journalism Review / Caleb Pershan
Project Veritas battles for journalism, and against it →
“Trying to say, 'Hey, we're going to get the protection of the media here, and how dare you raid our newsroom? But we're going to go and try to get a prior restraint against the media?' It just doesn't seem to me to be very principled.”
The New York Times / Michael M. Grynbaum
Jesse Watters now has his own evening slot on Fox News →
“…Starting Jan. 24, he will have his own 7 p.m. program, ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,’ which will serve as the lead-in to Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, the highest-rated evening block on cable news.”
Wired / Condé Nast
Wired is the latest publication to update its “on background” policy →
“Anyone talking to WIRED reporters in any official capacity does so on the record by default. This means that what you say or write can be quoted and attributed to you by name, not just as "a company spokesperson." We typically allow anonymity only to sources who could face retaliation or be endangered by the information they provide, and when we do so we explain our reasons to readers. As Julia Angwin, editor in chief of the Markup, has noted, ‘Corporate spokespeople who are paid to provide information simply don't meet the criteria for being granted anonymity.’"
Bloomberg / Lucas Shaw
There hasn’t been a new hit podcast in years. Why? →
None of the 10 most popular podcasts in the U.S. last year debuted in the last couple years. They are an average of more than 7 years old, and three of the top five are more than a decade old. (Think: "The Joe Rogan Experience," "This American Life" and "Stuff You Should Know.")
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