Can a national nonprofit news “utility” — funded by taxing Big Tech — help save local news?
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Monday, July 18, 2022
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Can a national nonprofit news “utility” — funded by taxing Big Tech — help save local news?“Just as gas taxes go toward road maintenance, ad taxes should go toward journalism.” By Julia Angwin, The Markup. |
What We’re Reading
TechCrunch / Zack Whittaker
Runa Sandvik’s new startup Granitt secures at-risk people from hackers and nation states →
“If you're The New York Times, you'll have the resources. But if you're a smaller newsroom, you can still have a working group of dedicated reporters who can figure out how we can best support our staff with online threats and harassment, or what to do if someone gets phished. If you're a smaller newsroom, there's still a lot you can do, and something is better than nothing.”
Press Gazette / Andrew Kersley
How Vox became maybe the most successful news outlet on YouTube →
“Vox's average views per YouTube video figure sits at well over two million — for context, the next closest publisher, The Economist, averages just over 500,000 views per video…’We’re not trying to rush information out the door, but we’re always very prepared to be the best place for explanations that include a lot of clarity and context for people.'”
Better News / Kamaria Roberts
How Nuestro Estado built a Spanish-speaking audience in South Carolina →
“Here's an idea to steal and adapt: Attract and serve a Spanish-speaking audience not through AI translation, but through showing respect — building capacity and being careful to ensure the information you publish is accurate, timely, and culturally competent.”
The Guardian / Chris McGreal
Broken and distrusting: Why Americans are pulling away from the daily news →
“In the United States, those who self-identify on the right are far more likely to avoid news because they think it is untrustworthy or biased, but those on the left are more likely to feel overwhelmed, carry feelings of powerlessness, or worry that the news might create arguments.”
The Washington Post / Tyler Pager and Cleve R. Wootson, Jr.
Saudi officials initially blocked two Washington Post reporters from a media briefing →
“Pressed on why The Post was the only major U.S. news outlet not invited to the session, Nicolla Hewitt, a media consultant for the Saudi government, said, ‘I can't engage with The Post on that," adding, "Don't kill me, I'm just the messenger.'” (Related.)
The New York Times / Katie Robertson
Nikole Hannah-Jones and the University of North Carolina have settled their hiring dispute →
“‘The steps taken to resolve the lingering potential legal action posed by Ms. Hannah-Jones will hopefully help to close this chapter and give the university the space to focus on moving forward,’ David Boliek, chair of the university's board of trustees, said in a statement. The settlement was for less than $75,000, Mr. Boliek told The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C.”
The Guardian / Jim Waterson
The BBC should be funded via a local tax, not a TV license fee, a House of Lords committee says →
“Under the proposal, all households would pay for the BBC through their local authority bill, with low-earning families paying less for the broadcaster's services. This would end the traditional link to owning a television set and ensure that people who only use the BBC's online or radio services also have to pay to use them.”
Los Angeles Times / Maria L. La Ganga
A new book alleges bad behavior — by a medical school dean, USC, and the Los Angeles Times →
“‘The largest, most important media company west of the Potomac and one of Los Angeles' oldest institutions had an opportunity to do the right thing and lost its way,’ Pringle said in an interview. ‘As cynical as I've been for a long time, it stunned me. I just couldn't believe what I was going through every day.'”
The Verge / Monica Chin
Tech journalism’s accessibility problem →
“Over 25 percent of U.S. adults have a disability, but rigorous and centralized accessibility information is still hard to find for even the biggest tech releases…accessibility stories are overwhelmingly assigned to freelancers, or to staff writers whose primary beat is something else.”
Press Gazette / Andrew Kersley
Why The Guardian shared its Uber Files investigation with rivals →
“It was obvious that this is a leak of data that could have repercussions all around the world. And, and that it would be helpful to have experts from all around the world…The chances of a U.K. reporter understanding a reference to Estonia in 124,000 records is tiny. The chance of an Estonian reporter getting that reference is high.”
The Washington Post / Erik Wemple
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial shame →
“The editorial said one thing; the editor's note said something quite different. They were doing hand-to-hand combat.”
Poynter / Seth Smalley
Is the future of fact-checking automated? →
“Anyone who is involved in fact-checking knows that a fact check can take 15 minutes or it could take two weeks depending on how easy it is to find the data that you need. But once all of that effort and work has been invested, the outcome is one fact check. And unfortunately, just publishing one fact check seldom ever kills a false statement.”
The Guardian / Amanda Meade
Australia’s press watchdog wades once again into tabloids’ unfair reporting of trans issues →
“Since 2019 there have been 12 adjudications about trans issues at various Australian publications, all but one of which were found to be either inaccurate, offensive and harmful or both.”
National Post / Tyler Dawson
Canada’s biggest publishers are all taking Google’s money now →
“Postmedia, which publishes the National Post as well as daily and weekly newspapers and news sites around Canada, joins the ranks of other publishers that have signed deals with Google News Showcase…Among them are Torstar, the company that publishes the Toronto Star, and the Globe and Mail, plus numerous smaller publishers around the country.”
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