How can you judge the quality of a news outlet? Look at how politically diverse its audience is
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Monday, February 7, 2022
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How can you judge the quality of a news outlet? Look at how politically diverse its audience isA news site read only read by those on the left or the right isn’t likely to have high journalistic standards, a new study finds — so an algorithm that recommends sites with more politically diverse audiences can improve users’ information diets. By Joshua Benton. |
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Researchers looked at nearly 3,000 native ads across five years. Here’s what they found“We counted all the native advertisements between 2014 and 2019 we could find from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.” By Michelle A. Amazeen. |
What We’re Reading
Digiday / Sara Guaglione
Why The Washington Post folded The Lily into its gender and identity coverage →
“The Lily found ways to think about stories through a millennial lens in particular and it will continue to do that, and find holes and angles in the news coverage that is different and distinct — while also being part of a broader conversation and contributing to coverage there…That was difficult to do in a more siloed space.”
Freedom of the Press / Parker Higgins
Crackdown in the statehouse: Lawmakers are edging out press access →
“Following the script, Utah officials cite logistical challenges, but their explanations for restricting access hardly hold water. If there are practical concerns to allowing the journalists to effectively conduct their work on the floor of the state legislature, lawmakers should address those concerns. Hiding behind excuses like a shortage of chairs or undersized committee rooms is a bad look for the lawmakers claiming them.”
The Atlantic / Ian Bogost
The internet is just investment banking now →
“NFTs represent a first step in the securitization of digital assets. They turn digital data into speculative financial instruments…First the internet made it easy for people to conduct their lives online. Then it made it possible to monetize the attention generated by that online life. Now the digital exhaust of all that life online is poised to become an asset class for speculative investment, like stocks and commodities and mortgages.”
The Hollywood Reporter / J. Clara Chan
Spotify’s CEO is sticking by Joe Rogan, n-word or no n-word →
“‘I want to make one point very clear — I do not believe that silencing Joe is the answer,’ [Daniel] Ek wrote. ‘We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope.'”
The Guardian / John Naughton
For the first time in its history, Facebook is in decline. Has the tech giant begun to crumble? →
“Given that Facebook has hitherto been a licence to print money, so much so that at one stage (in 2019), when it was fined $5bn by the Federal Trade Commission, its shares actually went up as Wall Street registered that the ostensibly massive fine was actually the equivalent of a fleabite on an elephant.”
Rest of World / Peter Guest
Exposed documents reveal how the powerful clean up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm →
“Eliminalia specializes in removing information from the internet; its tagline is ‘We Erase Your Past, We Help You Build Your Future’ and it promises ‘100% confidentiality’…documents viewed by Rest of World shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Eliminalia and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking.”
Press Gazette / Rob McGibbon
Take this blue check and shove it / I ain’t applying here no more →
“About six years ago, my faltering ego took me in search of a Blue Tick. I was miffed that certain staff journalists, ones who delivered a fraction of my output for far less high-profile publications, had a hallowed Tick of acceptability. How so? I want one.”
The Washington Post / Sarah Ellison
New York Times writer grilled for hours on second day of Palin libel trial →
“Williamson's testimony amounted to a detailed retelling of an error in the making. She explained how the piece in question was conceptualized, researched, written, edited and in the end corrected — twice. But her testimony and the trial's evidence made clear that responsibility for some of the most problematic parts of the editorial fell to the Times's editorial page editor at the time, James Bennet, who is expected to testify next week.”
Press Gazette / William Turvill and Bron Maher
American publishers are fighting for Australia-style legislation to force Google and Facebook to pay for news →
“With Canada and the UK edging towards similar legislation of their own, one publishing boss warned that the US will ‘fall behind many other democracies around the world’ if it does not pass the [Journalism Competition and Preservation Act].”
The Daily Beast / Kate Briquelet
Miami Herald journalist Julie Brown sued by Epstein victims →
“In a stunning lawsuit, Wild and Robson say Brown published ‘false and defamatory statements’ in her 2021 book ‘Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story,’ despite allegedly knowing the information wasn't correct, and therefore ‘re-victimized’ them.”
The Wall Street Journal / Meghan Bobrowsky
Snap posts first profit as it adjusts to Apple privacy push →
“Shares in Snap rallied after the earnings release, advancing more than 50% in after-hours trading. That followed a 24% drop on Thursday, as technology stocks sold off broadly on some disappointing earnings.”
The New York Times / Ben Sisario
Joe Rogan apologizes for “shameful” past use of racial slur →
“In an Instagram video, Rogan — whose talk show, The Joe Rogan Experience, is Spotify's most popular podcast, and has been available there exclusively for more than a year — addressed what he called ‘the most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly.'”
Press Gazette / Bron Maher
Why The New York Times isn’t the only publisher betting on puzzles and games →
“The Wordle purchase came shortly after The Telegraph added more puzzles to its weekend papers, while other publishers have been experimenting with brainteasers as a way to lock in paying readers or generate extra revenue. In the magazine sector there were 22 puzzle title launches last year, according to John Simmonds, publisher of Bauer Media UK's puzzles portfolio.”
South China Morning Post / Josh Ye
China’s Tencent has decided the end of “Fight Club” wasn’t about the need to respect authority after all →
“Last month, Tencent Video started streaming David Fincher's cult-classic 1999 film…What viewers did not expect, however, was a cut to black in the final scene with text appearing on screen to explain that the police had arrived in time to arrest the protagonist, thwarting his plan to level skyscrapers containing credit card records with bombs placed around the city. The original ending shows the bombs going off and buildings crumbling to the ground.”
Press Gazette / Aisha Majid
“Cribs” for CMSes: The most popular content management systems for publishers revealed →
“When it comes to content management, WordPress was the most widely used technology on our list. More than four in ten (44%) of sites were built — at least in part — on the open-source content management system…Drupal, a highly customisable open-source solution, although far less popular these days, was behind a further 5% of sites, including The Economist.”
New York Post / Theo Wayt
Bloomberg accidentally reports that Russia invaded Ukraine →
“We prepare headlines for many scenarios and one of those headlines was inadvertently published at around 4 PM ET today on our website.”
Freedom of the Press / Trevor Timm
Biden’s Justice Dept. promised to support a strong journalist shield law. So why hasn’t it? →
“The DOJ could easily lend its support to Sen. Ron Wyden's PRESS Act, which Freedom of the Press Foundation endorsed last year. Sen. Wyden's bill…closely hews to the language the DOJ now supposedly abides by, and it provides law enforcement narrow but legitimate exceptions in cases of emergency. But according to Sen. Wyden himself, the DOJ has not responded to half a dozen official inquiries from his office for comment on his PRESS Act.”
The New York Times / Mike Isaac
6 reasons the company formerly known as Facebook is in trouble →
“User growth has hit a ceiling…Apple's changes are limiting Meta…Google is stealing online advertising share…TikTok and Reels present a conundrum…Spending on the metaverse is bonkers…The specter of antitrust looms.”
The New York Times / Katie Robertson
News Corp says its journalists’ emails were hacked in an attack linked to China →
“Even though the vast majority of our people's emails and documents were not the target of this attack activity, we take seriously any attack on our organization and our employees, including our journalists.”
Military Reporters & Editors Assoc.
The association of journalists who cover the U.S. military is calling for the resumption of embeds →
“It has been several years since Americans have had such an opportunity to see and hear directly from troops in the field.”
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