Can Mastodon be a reasonable Twitter substitute for journalists?
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Monday, November 21, 2022
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Can Mastodon be a reasonable Twitter substitute for journalists?Adam Davidson: “I think we got lazy as a field, and we let Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and, god help us, Elon Musk and their staff decide all these major journalistic questions.” By Julia Angwin, The Markup. |
What We’re Reading
BuzzFeed News / Katie Notopoulos
I joined Mastodon and all it took was my sanity and self-esteem →
“I'm not the first to notice that Mastodon is sort of a weird sad office birthday party with four people sitting around eating sheet cake with all the lights on compared to Twitter being like Studio 54. I dunno. I did it. I was influenced. I'm tootin'. Do I like it? No.”
Semafor / Max Tani
The New York Times loosened its rules around staffers gambling on sports →
“It was a compromise that came as the Times attempted to rein in sports gambling by staff at the Athletic, which the paper acquired earlier this year, and which until recently allowed its writers to gamble on sports they write about.”
Drezner's World / Daniel W. Drezner
Why do people talk to Isaac Chotiner? →
“So why do it?…superstars evolve to the point when they tune out editors, critics, and rivals as beneath them…Maybe the explanation is simpler: age and intellectual vanity lead many people to do and say dumb things. I wish I had a definitive answer but, in the end, it's hard to have the confidence of a contrarian.”
The New York Times / Yoel Roth
I was the head of trust and safety at Twitter. This is what could become of it. →
“In the longer term, the moderating influences of advertisers, regulators and, most critically of all, app stores may be welcome for those of us hoping to avoid an escalation in the volume of dangerous speech online. Twitter will have to balance its new owner's goals against the practical realities of life on Apple's and Google's internet — no easy task for the employees who have chosen to remain.”
The Washington Post / Ben Strauss
Fox’s World Cup coverage of Qatar has a notable sponsor: Qatar →
“Qatar Airways, the state-owned airline, will serve as a major sponsor of the network's coverage, which means Fox's production in Qatar is essentially being underwritten by the Qatari government…[a barebones coverage] strategy only shifted after the deal with Qatar Airways was finalized; that agreement included comped flights to Qatar…”
Press Gazette / Bron Maher
How global are Semafor’s coverage and audience? →
“In its first four weeks, Semafor’s Flagship newsletter covered 47 countries (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) at least once — just shy of a quarter of the world’s total. The U.S. came out as far and away the most-covered country, racking up 42 stories and accounting for approximately 21% of The World Today’s focus. Next was China, which got 27 stories.”
The New York Times / Emily Steel
Why an aging casino company embraced a “degenerate gambler” and Barstool Sports →
“Years before he became a controversy-courting media icon, gambling promoter, liquor pitchman and pizza reviewer, David S. Portnoy was drowning in debts…In one year alone, he had lost $30,000 gambling, court documents show. In January 2004, the 26-year-old filed for bankruptcy protection.”
Local Media Association
For Native American Heritage Month, four publishers serving Indigenous communities →
“Unfortunately, the media still speaks about Native Americans in the past tense. We are still here.”
CJR / Gabby Miller
What to know about Canada’s Online News Act hearings →
“To ensure publisher equity, the coalition is asking for a universal funding formula that's applied consistently and publicly.”
Semafor / Max Tani
Haikus and Instagram comments: A new vision for Washington Post Opinion raises eyebrows →
David “Shipley beat out columnist Ruth Marcus for the job after the longtime opinion editor, Fred Hiatt, died suddenly in 2021. His mandate, two employees told Semafor, is to blow the place up.”
The Washington Post / Taylor Lorenz
Online mobs are now coming for student journalists →
"I have absolutely no respect for you. I think you're a scumbag, and we'll see what happens next."
The New York Times / James B. Stewart
Was AT&T + Time Warner the worst corporate merger ever? →
“When everyone finished reading, Mr. Stankey asked if he had made himself clear. No one said anything. But afterward, there was a flurry of profanity-laced texts. Less than four years later, all three Warner executives had been replaced. And then Mr. Stankey bailed.”
The Verge / James Vincent
Elon Musk says he’s letting Donald Trump back on Twitter →
“The people have spoken.” (If by “people” you mean “people who follow Elon Musk on Twitter.”)
The New York Times / Robert D. McFadden
R.I.P. George Lois, visionary Esquire art director →
“Mr. Lois was also known for the Esquire covers he designed from 1962 to 1972, acid-rain critiques on society, race, politics and war, many of them wordless. One…placed four Vietnamese children with a gargoyle-grinning William L. Calley Jr., the Army lieutenant who ordered the 1968 My Lai massacre.”
The New York Times / David McCabe and Karen Weise
Can the tech giants get even bigger? Microsoft is trying to convince the world they should →
“Whether Microsoft succeeds in gaining regulatory approval to buy Activision…will send a message about Big Tech's ability to expand in the face of mounting fears that industry giants wield too much power. If Microsoft, whose public affairs operation has spent the past decade building the company's nice-guy reputation, can't get a megadeal through, can anyone?”
Deadline / Dominic Patten and Dade Hayes
A shocker at Disney: Bob Iger is back as CEO, ousting Bob Chapek →
“Having handed over the baton as CEO in February 2020 to Chapek…Iger will be CEO for a second time for the next two years, the company says. His mission will also include identifying a successor, something Iger had difficulty doing while commanding the troops the last time, postponing multiple plans to step down during his 15 years in the top job…”
Reuters / Abigail Summerville
The Simon & Schuster/Penguin Random House merger is dead →
After S&S owner Paramount Global decided not to appeal a federal antitrust ruling, “opening the door for a new suitor to try to clinch a deal.”
Variety / Todd Spangler
Variety / Brian Steinberg
Michael Bass, CNN’s longtime programming chief, is out →
He “played a role in devising the network's more passionate demeanor during the Trump era…[and] has played a significant role in maintaining CNN's news presence during times of momentous stress.”
The Washington Post / Reis Thebault, Brianna Sacks, and Mark Berman
In crises, officials tweet crucial info. What if Twitter dies? →
“‘I've joked that my muscle memory is not going to be, “Drop, cover, hold on,”‘ Hutton said, referring to the earthquake readiness mantra ubiquitous on the West Coast. ‘It's going to be, “Grab phone, tweet.”‘”
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