How can journalism get better at covering climate change? Being a bummer might help
 |
Monday, March 21, 2022
 |
How can journalism get better at covering climate change? Being a bummer might helpA new study of social media about a climate change conference found journalists’ negative tweets gained far more traction with users than positive ones. That’s one of the findings in this new collection of research into climate journalism. By Joshua Benton. |
 |
The Equal Info Text Line is bridging information gaps in Philadelphia through action items via SMS“We’re not putting you through an automated service. You’re actually interacting with Lily and Gabriela.” By Hanaa' Tameez. |
What We’re Reading
Politico / Max Tani
Reuters staff raise alarms over partnership with Russian-owned wire service →
“Reuters staff have specifically expressed concern about Tass' uncritical reporting of information from the Russian government, which critics and media experts say is propaganda.”
Associated Press / Philipp Reissfelder
A German broadcaster is launching a 10-minute Ukrainian-language news show for refugees there →
Anchor Karolina “Ashion only made it to Germany about a week ago herself, following an arduous journey from Kyiv via Moldova and Romania…'My life has changed completely,’ Ashion said. ‘But I'm Ukrainian, and I want to be like a voice of freedom for people. For all the people suffering from this (war).'”
Digiday / Sara Guaglione
How publishers are working to make their Russia-Ukraine coverage available to readers in those countries →
“Although similar to how many publishers chose to lift their paywalls to provide coverage of the pandemic for free, the handling of their Russia-Ukraine reporting marks a different strategy, where publishers — including Dow Jones, Financial Times, The Economist and The Washington Post — are giving free access to specific countries..it's an example of news organizations recognizing their mission as a public service in times of crisis.”
Deadline / Ted Johnson
A judge tossed out Project Veritas’ defamation lawsuit against CNN →
“…concluding that an on-air statement made about the conservative group did not rise to the level of an actionable claim.”
Second Rough Draft / Richard J. Tofel
It’s important not to look away from the news deserts problem →
“We need to be honest in acknowledging that, even as nonprofit initiatives are expanding at an accelerating pace, a great deal more liquidity will be required before the tide rises high enough everywhere. So there is a scenario — in the medium term perhaps a likelihood — that many of the poorer, more sparsely populated parts of our country face an especially bleak news picture. For them, advertising won't be enough, readers and local donors lack resources, and help from the national philanthropic cavalry may not arrive, at least yet.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer / Will Bunch
America has a New York Times-doesn’t-get-the-First Amendment problem →
“The First Amendment's rightly revered protections of free speech and a free press only hold that the government can't silence your rights to speak freely. When someone in the wider public conversation puts forth an opinion that's controversial or even highly unpopular, America's free speech protections say the answer is not censorship but criticism — which in its not-prettier forms can comprise getting ‘shamed or shunned.’ The nation's leading journalistic outlet has the First Amendment bass-ackwards.”
CNN
“Media criticism can improve media diets” →
“Brian Stelter marks the 30th anniversary of ‘Reliable Sources’ by looking back at the very first episode.”
BBC News / Paul Kirby
Russia’s state TV has been hit by a stream of resignations →
“Channel One colleague Zhanna Agalakova quit her job as Europe correspondent while two journalists have left rival NTV. Lilia Gildeyeva had worked for the channel as a presenter since 2006 and Vadim Glusker had been at NTV for almost 30 years.”
The Washington Post / Missy Ryan, Ellen Nakashima, Michael Birnbaum, and David L. Stern
Outmatched in military might, Ukraine has excelled in the information war →
“The Ukrainian leader's plea to Congress — in which he appeared unshaven and grave-faced, in his trademark military tee — is the latest example of how the one-time TV star has overseen an extraordinarily effective communications campaign that has proven crucial in marshaling global support for Ukraine's fight against Russia.”
Press Gazette / Andrew Kersley
The Times of London gained 1,000 digital subs a day in the first two weeks of the war in Ukraine →
“The trend that we're seeing is that in moments of crisis, whether it's the onset of coronavirus or Brexit, you see this shift towards trusted brands…The previous times when we've had that type of rate have been more connected with things like flash sales.”
Politico / Max Tani
Reuters staffers are raising alarms over a partnership with Kremlin-owned Tass →
“The relationship dates back to 2020, when the news wire first announced a partnership to distribute content from the state-owned news organization. That move raised some eyebrows among staff at Reuters at the time. But it passed largely unnoticed by people outside the company. In the wake of the Ukraine invasion, more scrutiny is being placed on the arrangement, including from Reuters' employees.”
Divinations / Nathan Baschez
Substack’s ideology is “to change the systems that human attention flows through” →
“The thing I didn't understand going into it was that Substack wasn't just about an economic trend of power flowing to individual writers thanks to the leverage technology gives them — it was about creating a morally superior playing field that could help heal our minds from the damage done by social networks. The Substack model wasn't just a business strategy, it was a political philosophy, and I loved it.”
Press Gazette / Bron Maher
Two of the U.K.’s biggest local newspaper chains, Newsquest and Archant, are merging →
Specifically, it’s No. 2 Newsquest (owned by Gannett) buying No. 4 Archant.
Politico / Josh Gerstein
The Washington Post is using an anti-SLAPP law to try to throw out a lawsuit by one of its own reporters →
“A District of Columbia Superior Court judge conducted hourlong arguments Friday on the Post's unusual bid to use a district statute known as the anti-SLAPP [strategic lawsuits against public participation] law to dismiss the case filed last July by writer Felicia Sonmez over the newspaper's decision to block her from covering sexual-assault-related stories.”
Star Tribune / Stephen Montemayor
The city of Minneapolis is serving subpoenas on journalists over a lawsuit over police actions →
“The subpoenas are part of an ongoing federal civil lawsuit filed by a photojournalist blinded in one eye after being shot with a foam bullet by a police officer during the turmoil. Reporters from the Star Tribune, Minnesota Reformer and Fox 9 were among those who have been served, according to accounts on social media.”
The Washington Post / Margaret Sullivan
What you can do to help save Ukraine from a looming news apocalypse →
“‘If you stand back, this has the potential to be the biggest press-freedom crisis of CPJ's 40-year history,’ says Robert Mahoney, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists…'We're going to have waves of journalists needing to leave Ukraine as it becomes untenable to stay.'”
The New York Times / Penelope Green
R.I.P. Annie Flanders, founder of Details magazine →
“In the post-disco era of the early 1980s, a combustible mix of art, music and fashion erupted out of the nightclubs, boutiques and art galleries found mostly below 14th Street…though that world was tiny, its cultural impact — the artwork of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, the fashion designs of Isabel Toledo, Betsey Johnson and Stephen Sprouse, and even the shenanigans of a sassy club kid named Madonna — loomed large, and lingered.”
The Guardian / Agence France-Presse
Marina Ovsyannikova, the Russian journalist who staged an anti-war protest on state TV, has rejected an offer of asylum from France →
“Ovsyannikova, who has two young children, said she had ‘broken the life of our family with this gesture’…'But we need to put an end to this fratricidal war so this madness does not turn into nuclear war’…'We don't want to leave in any way, we don't want to go anywhere.'”
The Guardian / Ayesha Jehangir
The media spotlight on Afghanistan is fading fast, but the agony of its people is far from over →
“It took the international community two long decades of sacrifices with blood and fortune to establish some sort of representative governance in Afghanistan, which the Taliban overthrew in days, and the media threw the entire story off its radar in weeks.”
MIDiA Research / Hanna Kahlert
No comments