Celebrating the life and work of Brent Renaud, the filmmaker and Nieman Fellow killed in Ukraine
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Monday, March 14, 2022
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Celebrating the life and work of Brent Renaud, the filmmaker and Nieman Fellow killed in Ukraine“We're bombarded these days with judgment and analysis of everything. What we're trying to do is give the audience a look into cultures or worlds that they don't have access to, and give some empathy to that story.” By Joshua Benton. |
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More than $4 million has been raised for independent Ukrainian media. Here’s where it’s going.Plus: Blocked by the Kremlin, the largest remaining independent news site in Russia is turning to an international audience for help. By Sarah Scire. |
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Substack’s new platform playThe company has an iOS app and big new ambitions. Should writers be scared? By Casey Newton. |
What We’re Reading
The New York Times / Jeremy W. Peters
First Amendment scholars want to see Fox News and other right-wing outlets lose these court cases →
“If the outlets prevail, these experts say, the results will call into question more than a half-century of precedent that created a clear legal framework for establishing when news organizations can be held liable for publishing something that's not true…’And one of the few legal avenues in which civilized countries have attempted to distinguish between truth and falsity is defamation law’…”
Twitter / NYTimes Communications
The New York Times is putting its Russia/Ukraine news on Telegram for free →
It’s one of the dwindling number of platforms that remain unblocked in Russia. t.me/nytimes has 3,275 followers as of 9 a.m. ET.
The Verge / James Vincent
Russia has banned Instagram as promised, blocking access for 80 million users →
“Russia has been steadily restricting access to online platforms in an effort to control the flow of information about the war and has already banned Facebook and Twitter.”
The New York Times / Cecilia Kang
Working for Russian state television was “actually so normal” →
“A role at RT America was a rare job in an industry where if you had screwed up, were washed up or were completely new to the field, there weren't many other options…Opportunities abounded. Young reporters were promoted to anchors and teleprompter technicians to control room operators within months.”
Arizona Agenda / Rachel Leingang
“We don't have bad news to share about how it's going, but it's not great news either. It's just…news.” →
A Substack-funded local news site in Arizona reports on its progress: “…we've kind of tapped out the easy-to-find readers. Still, despite our lack of paywalled content, our percentage of paid subscribers remains very high by Substack standards. A ‘good’ rate for paid subscriptions is about 5-10%. We're at more than 25%.”
Associated Press
An AP freelancer has been detained without charges for 100 days in Ethiopia →
Amir Aman Kiyaro “was detained Nov. 28 in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, under the country's war-related state of emergency powers…’As we have said, Kiyaro is an independent journalist who has done important work in Ethiopia on all sides of the conflict. It is clear he is being targeted for his journalism,’ [AP executive editor Julie] Pace said.”
Financial Times / Javier Espinoza and Kate Beioley
The E.U. and U.K. have opened an antitrust probe into Google and Facebook over online ads →
“The move follows US antitrust investigators who are also probing an agreement informally known as ‘Jedi Blue.’ The search engine giant and Facebook's parent company have been accused of working together to carve up advertising profits, acting together to buttress their businesses.”
The Washington Post / Paul Farhi
The White House Correspondents’ Association has removed Merriman Smith’s name from one of its top awards →
“After a review of its archives and other research, the organization's board concluded that Smith — who was twice president of the WHCA — upheld restrictions on Black and female journalists, excluding them from membership in the National Press Club, and from attending the correspondents' annual dinner.”
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
U.S. public broadcasting is getting a $50 million raise from Congress, to $525 million →
That’s a 10.5% increase over the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s current annual appropriations. Compare that to the past decade, in which CPB funding increased by less than $21 million — an average annual increase of less than 0.5%, well below inflation.
The Verge / Victoria Song
A top Wikipedia editor has been arrested in Belarus →
“The arrest comes after [Mark] Bernstein's personal information was shared on [a Belarusian state security service’s] public Telegram channel…A video of Bernstein's arrest was also posted alongside his photo and personal details. In the photo itself, Bernstein is accused of ‘distributing fake anti-Russian information.'”
Poynter / Rick Edmonds
How Bloomberg Media beat the pandemic blues with explosive growth →
“My takeaway is that Bloomberg Media, for all its distinctive elements, serves as an example of the benefit of fighting the digital wars on many fronts at once, along with having a sound guiding strategy and patiently sticking to it.”
Mother Jones / David Corn
Kremlin war memos instruct Russian media to feature Tucker Carlson →
“It sums up Carlson's position: ‘Russia is only protecting its interests and security.’ The memo includes a quote from Carlson: ‘And how would the US behave if such a situation developed in neighboring Mexico or Canada?'”
The Hollywood Reporter / J. Clara Chan
The kids’ podcasting business “has absolutely exploded” during the pandemic →
“During the early days of the pandemic, kids' screen time nearly doubled as classes moved to Zoom and parents struggled to manage caretaking duties in addition to their jobs. Many moms and dads turned to children's podcasts as a screen-free form of edutainment to keep kids stimulated, engaged and out of their hair.”
CBC
Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been freed from a Saudi prison after 10 years →
“…10 years after he was jailed for criticizing religious figures and promoting liberal views of Islam…Badawi’s case made international headlines when he was whipped 50 times in public, and the remainder of [1,000] lashings were suspended following international outcry.”
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism / Eduardo Suárez
As Putin cracks down on the free press, independent news site Meduza aims to be Russians’ “window to the world” →
“On Telegram we went from half a million subscribers to a million just in the last few days. It’s crazy…Telegram isn’t blocked in Russia yet. All the state propaganda is also on Telegram now. So they rely on the same infrastructure. They can't block Telegram unless they want to be left alone screaming into the void.”
The Washington Post / Erik Wemple
Why The Atlantic didn’t press MBS harder on the Khashoggi assassination →
“Withholding questions because you think the interviewee won't answer them is not exactly fearless journalism. Sherif Mansour, Middle East and North Africa program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, says there are a few key questions that Mohammed must answer, such as the location of Khashoggi's remains. The Atlantic didn't ask about that, either.”
The New York Times / Neil Vigdor
Prosecutors agree to new DNA testing in murder case at the center of Serial →
Also see this thread from advocate and attorney Rabia Chaudry, who produced the HBO documentary “The Case Against Adnan Syed.”
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