Ken Doctor: 18 months after launching a local news company (in an Alden market), here’s what I’ve learned
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Thursday, April 14, 2022
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Ken Doctor: 18 months after launching a local news company (in an Alden market), here's what I've learned“The term ‘news desert’ has been a shorthand, but the real problem here and elsewhere is that this region lacked the number of journalists it needed to thoroughly inform the public.” By Ken Doctor. |
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Quartz is dropping its paywall (but hopes its 25,000 paying members will stick around for the newsletters)With the short-lived metered paywall down, the vast majority of Quartz’s journalism will now be free for all. By Sarah Scire. |
What We’re Reading
The New York Times Company
The New York Times’ Spanish-language newsletter El Times has introduced a Sunday edition →
“Newsletter subscribers receive a Tuesday and Friday edition, with the new Sunday edition set to shine a light on inspirational and entertaining reads, health and lifestyle features from Well, and highlights from The New York Times readers' favorite Modern Love column.”
Digiday / Sara Guaglione
How media companies are handling the return to office post mergers →
“Employees at companies that have merged, been acquired or acquired another company during the pandemic are not only needing to adjust to office life after two years of working remotely, but they also must acclimate to changes associated with the integration of two companies, such as differences in corporate cultures and policies.”
The Verge / Alex Heath
WhatsApp adds a Communities feature for connecting multiple group chats →
“Now, a new tab, first rolling out to a small, select number of groups, will let thousands participate in a Community that hosts multiple sub-group chats. The idea is that various organizations, from a school to a business whose employees communicate on WhatsApp, can more easily organize discussions and have their admins message everyone across different groups.”
Simon Owens's Media Newsletter / Simon Owens
The biggest mistakes paid newsletters make →
“You should experiment with different conversion strategies. One week, expose your readers to an excerpt of your paid content. The next week, try to guilt them by talking about the importance of supporting your journalism. The following week, offer a steeper-than-usual annual discount and stress that it's available for only a limited time. It often requires exposure to several different messages before a subscriber finally converts.”
Poynter / Bill McCarthy
How misinformers manufacture and embellish embarrassing presidential moments →
“The trend capitalizes on a history of comedic and embarrassing presidential moments that garnered public attention — and on the public's struggles to differentiate between footage of something that really happened and videos that are designed to create a particular impression.”
Gawker / Rachel Connolly
The “Pity Me!” personal essay →
“This is why I find so much of recent personal writing tiresome: It's too often defined by melodrama, humorlessness, and excessive self-pity…The kind of pieces where the writer seems to have given up on the idea of writing something someone else might truly relate to and instead settled for the essay equivalent of standing in the street shouting ‘Pity me! Pity me!’ at passing strangers. Rather than laughing or gasping or nodding while reading you mainly find yourself thinking: My god, will you get a grip.“
Bloomberg / Bobby Ghosh
Afghan-Australian entrepreneur Saad Mohseni on why keeping the country's first independent broadcaster in business is more vital than ever →
“Now there is no safety net. There's no one to call. We experienced that a few weeks ago, when our people were arrested. What we do is a high wire act. With no safety net, it's stressful for us and scary for the people on the ground.”
Vice World News / Rimal Farrukh
Behind the hashtag that inspired mass protests after Pakistan’s prime minister was removed from office →
“The hashtag in Urdu contains multiple underscores and 22 characters that together translate to "an imported government is unacceptable." Despite being tricky and typo-prone, the hashtag has surpassed 3.5 million tweets, even though there are only 3.4 million Twitter users in Pakistan, as key cabinet members pushed it on the platform. It was a hallmark move by Khan's party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), largely credited with increasing access to political conversations through its online presence and campaigns.”
Coda Story / Natalia Antelava
How Silicon Valley is helping Putin and other tyrants win the information war →
“‘The power that Facebook has is scary. The way it is using it is even scarier.’"
Bitch Media / Jenna Wortham
Three news leaders of color dissect the diversity and inclusion issues within the journalism industry →
“What keeps me here is the fear of what would happen if we all left.”
Axios / Dan Primack and Sara Fischer
Fox News says it didn’t authorize a Truth Social account →
“Just days after a verified account for Fox News appeared on former President Trump’s social media app, Truth Social, a Fox News spokesperson says the network has nothing to do with the account.”
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