Medium’s new CEO on the company’s journalism mistakes, bundle economics, and life after Ev Williams
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Wednesday, August 31, 2022
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Medium’s new CEO on the company’s journalism mistakes, bundle economics, and life after Ev Williams“For me, fundamentally, the mistake was thinking that journalism was where Medium was going to shine.” By Casey Newton. |
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Most local election offices still aren’t on social media, new research finds“Our analysis finds that the vast majority of local election officials don't even have social media accounts beyond Facebook. And, when they do, it is likely that they are not effectively reaching their audience.” By Thessalia Merivaki Mara Suttmann-Lea. |
What We’re Reading
AP NEWS / David Bauder
Survey finds young people are following the news — but aren't too happy with what they're seeing →
79% of young Americans — which the survey defined as people between the ages of 16 and 40 — say they get news daily.
Axios / Kerry Flynn
BuzzFeed launches branded airport stores →
“Inside these stores are common traveling necessities or luxuries like beverages, snacks, magazines and souvenirs.”
ProPublica / Craig Silverman and Bianca Fortis
Inside a million-dollar Instagram verification scheme →
“Since at least 2021, at least hundreds of people — including jewelers, crypto entrepreneurs, OnlyFans models and reality show TV stars — were clients of a scheme to get improperly verified as musicians on Instagram.”
Digiday / Sara Guaglione
NPR plans to launch a podcast bundle membership program in November →
NPR plans to offer additional features and bonus content, including an "audio reader mail bag" where a host answers subscriber questions, extended interviews, early access to live events, and discounts at the NPR shop. The NPR podcast subscriptions for "Planet Money" and "The Limits with Jay Williams" are serving as a pilot program.
Twitter
After news broke that The Washington Post considered buying The Guardian, a Guardian spokesperson replied “🤣” →
According to The New York Times, The Washington Post has held talks internally about acquiring The Guardian, The Economist, and The Associated Press.
Reuters
Sudanese journalists have formed the country’s first independent professional union in decades →
The journalists who campaigned for its creation said the organization was an important step towards re-establishing freedoms after a military coup.
The Christian Science Monitor / Grant Stringer
Where should reporters draw the line in covering wildfires? →
“Investigators began searching properties for human remains. But, in an unusual turn of events, they had help. An ABC news crew had transported local resident Sherri Marchetti-Perrault to the wreckage and rolled the cameras as she searched for her missing uncle.”
The Verge / Alex Heath
Snapchat is canceling some original shows and laying off 20% of employees →
Since at least 2017, Snap has invested in original, vertically shot shows for its Discover section but new shows are now being scrapped. A spokesperson clarified on Twitter that the platform’s flagship political show “Good Luck America” and originals produced in partnership with NBC, ESPN, and others would continue.
Substack / Substack Community
Substack adds paid subscriber trends, audio previews, and group subscriptions →
The Group Subscriptions feature lets organizations buy multiple subscriptions to a Substack. The preview feature lets podcasters send a short audio preview to free subscribers, while keeping the full episode for paying subscribers.
Nikkei Asia / Pak Yiu and Thompson Chau
Apple Daily, the news outlet founded by detained Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, will close on Aug. 31 →
“Local media had reported that Singaporean entrepreneur Joseph Phua was in talks to buy Apple Daily Taiwan, but Phua held a press conference on Tuesday announcing instead the launch of Next Apple News on Sept. 1. The new website will hire 96% of the more than 200 staff laid off from Apple Daily Taiwan.”
the Guardian / Jim Waterson
U.K. journalists take part in the largest strike to hit the country’s newspaper industry in decades →
“Having spent recent months reporting on how the cost of living crisis is affecting their readers, many journalists at the media company Reach say they are struggling to meet their own bills – and management is refusing to listen … ‘Love and passion can’t help you live.'”
New York Times / Alan Yuhas
A TV anchor is ousted, and viewers ask: was sexism to blame? →
In its initial statement about ending the contract of Lisa LaFlamme, Bell Media said its decision had been driven by "changing viewer habits," without offering further details.
Press Gazette / Bron Maher
Just 18 months after launch, The National Wales will close due to a fall in subscriptions →
“The National Wales launched as a website on 1 March 2021 shortly after rival Herald News UK launched its own Wales-wide effort, herald.wales. Newsquest's venture intended to cover Welsh national news from a Welsh perspective and so offer an alternative to coverage by England-based publications.”
the Guardian / Julian Borger
The U.S. National Security Agency asked its British counterpart to stop The Guardian from publishing Snowden’s spying revelations, a new book says →
“[The head of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)] was aware of the importance of the particularly special relationship between the US and UK intelligence agencies but thought ‘the proposition of urging a newspaper to spike the article for the sake of the NSA seemed a step too far.'”
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