Media’s money problem
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Monday, February 13, 2023
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Media’s money problemTransparency is a tricky thing in an industry that runs on a scarcity mindset. By Lyz Lenz. |
What We’re Reading
WSJ / Paul Vieira
On TikTok, even Canadians don’t want to be labeled Canadian →
Canada is days away from passing a law to force digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to showcase more Canadian content. But not everyone wants the “CanCon” label.
NPR / David Folkenflik
A reporter’s dismissal exposes the political influence exerted on West Virginia Public Broadcasting →
“‘We all knew that our jobs could go at any moment if politicians fought that hard enough,’ says former West Virginia Public Broadcasting reporter and producer Roxy Todd. ‘Gov. Justice’s presence was always looming over us.’ Since 2017, politicians have sought to eliminate state funding. The governor appointed partisans hostile to public broadcasting to key oversight positions. And the station’s chief executive has intervened repeatedly in journalistic decisions.”
Semafor / Max
How Spotify’s podcast bet went wrong →
“Spotify was a one-company podcast bubble. Its drastic cuts have triggered a podcast winter, as the small studios it helped support consolidate and lavish narrative productions wane. But rivals from tech giants Amazon and Apple to the radio company iHeart have found better returns on more cautious bets. Spotify's pivot has more in common with the recent cuts to Hollywood's spending on streaming television.”
The New York Times / Seth Mydans
Cambodia’s leader shuts one of its last independent news outlets ahead of an election →
“Mr. Hun Sen said he was angry at a reference to his son and presumed heir, Lt. Gen. Hun Manet, by the outlet, and was not satisfied with the apology he received.”
The New Yorker / Ted Chiang
ChatGPT is a blurry JPEG of the web →
“OpenAI's chatbot offers paraphrases, whereas Google offers quotes. Which do we prefer?”
New York / John Herrman
Rumble is the only success story in right-wing social media →
“Who needs Truth Social when Twitter's owner is tweeting, ‘My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci’?”
New Statesman / Harry Lambert
What does Evgeny Lebedev want? →
“Buying British newspapers gave the Lebedevs clout in Tory high politics. Over a decade on, it remains unclear what they hope to achieve.”
The New York Times / Ken Bensinger
Ron DeSantis, aiming at a favorite foil, wants to roll back press freedom →
“Mr. DeSantis is the latest figure, and among the most influential, to join a growing list of Republicans calling on the court to revisit the 1964 ruling, known as The New York Times Company v. Sullivan.”
Wired / Paul Ford
God did the world a favor by destroying Twitter →
“Twitter's troubles are due not just to [Elon] Musk, who appears to be both shooting himself in the foot and cauterizing the wound with his own brand of flamethrower. No, Musk is merely the vehicle. The real reason Twitter lies in ruins is because it was an abomination before God. It was a Tower of Babel.”
CNN / Clare Duffy
More than half of Twitter’s top 1,000 advertisers have stopped spending on the platform →
“Some 625 of the top 1,000 Twitter advertisers, including major brands such as Coca-Cola, Unilever, Jeep, Wells Fargo and Merck, had pulled their ad dollars as of January, according to estimates from Pathmatics, based on data running through January 25.”
CNBC / Jonathan Vanian
A lot of Facebook’s declining ad business seems to be moving to Amazon →
“Amazon's ad business, which has catapulted to third among digital ad companies, grew 19% in the fourth quarter, while Facebook parent Meta reported its third straight drop in revenue.”
What's New in Publishing / Faisal Kalim
“Evidence of growth everywhere”: Publishers of all sizes, from global to local, continue adding new digital subscribers →
“Penetration of potential subscribers is still very low and there's a lot of headroom for growth.”
The Washington Post / Taylor Lorenz
Extremist influencers are generating millions for Twitter, report says →
“Elon Musk's restoration of 10 Twitter accounts that were banned under the platform's previous management has generated enough engagement since they returned to the platform to likely generate $19 million in advertising revenue annually, a nonprofit dedicated to countering hate speech online has concluded.”
Poynter / Jenna Burrell
It’s time to challenge the narrative about ChatGPT and the future of journalism →
“When you think of ChatGPT, don't think of Shakespeare, think of autocomplete. Viewed in this light, ChatGPT doesn't know anything at all.”
Financial Times / Hannah Murphy and Cristina Criddle
Mark Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” isn’t going so well →
“Projects and decisions that usually take days to sign off are now taking about a month in some cases, even in priority areas including the metaverse and advertising…’Honestly, it's still a mess,’ said one employee. ‘The year of efficiency is kicking off with a bunch of people getting paid to do nothing.'”
The Guardian / Bob Ward
Is inoculation the way to battle fake news? →
“You are probably thinking that, as the reader of a serious national newspaper, you would not be fooled so easily, but [Sander] Van der Linden explains clearly why we are all vulnerable. We all have a tendency to accept information that is consistent with our prior beliefs, and reject that which is not, resulting in confirmation bias.”
CNN / Oliver Darcy and Betsy Klein
Joe Biden declined the traditional pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox →
“For weeks, Fox News had been seeking an interview with Biden. But the White House never committed to one with the right-wing channel, with which the White House has a contentious relationship.”
The Guardian / Kiran Stacey
Richard Sharp’s position as BBC chair is “increasingly untenable,” says Labour →
“… after a committee of MPs found he made significant errors of judgment in failing to disclose his role in organising an £800,000 loan facility for Boris Johnson.”
The New York Times / Tiffany Hsu
Why are you seeing so many bad digital ads now? →
“There were ads for T-shirts printed with a horse's head superimposed on a heartbeat line, served to someone who does not ride horses nor particularly like them. Also: fraudulent ads for discount drones, spots hawking crude gaming apps and promoted posts from people ranting about ‘puppet masters’ and ‘the slave mind.'”
The Verge / Emma Roth
Some Googlers reportedly aren’t happy about Bard’s “rushed” AI announcement →
“Other Googlers reportedly posted memes comparing the past year at Google to a dumpster fire, while another employee said ‘pushing Bard to market in a panic validated the market's fear about us.’ Google's stock took a pretty big blow after news about Bard's error started going around, losing nearly $100 billion of its market value in just one day.”
The Guardian / Mark Sweney
News Corp cuts are driven by Rupert Murdoch’s mission to prop up news assets →
“The shrinking of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation by 1,250 roles after a plunge in profits of almost a third serves as a stark reminder that the billionaire mogul's abortive attempt to reunite his media empire was built on a mission to protect his weakest publishing assets.”
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