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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
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Can Canada build its own independent podcast industry in the True North strong and free?Plus: Everybody’s suddenly making podcasts for kids, a show reveals itself as part-fiction in its grand finale, and mixing podcasts and dating apps. By Nicholas Quah. |
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Here are three tools that help digital journalists save their work in case a site shuts down“So many people who work professionally on the Internet really don’t know, until too late, that their work is this fragile.” By Laura Hazard Owen. |
What We’re Reading
Twitter / Alex Heath
Facebook Watch shows are getting renewed based on the repeat viewers they draw →
“Partners tell me FB is prepared to spend more in the search for a hit show.”
The Financial Times / John Ridding
The Financial Times now has more than 900,000 paying readers →
"It was a company-wide and coordinated push — from our excellent editorial coverage, with a string of strong exclusives and beautifully written features, to smart marketing, customer service and product and tech. It was also the result of many individual efforts, such as sending gift articles to friends and contacts and spreading the message about the FT.” Next step: 1 million.
Digiday / Sahil Patel
Born on Facebook, Al Jazeera’s AJ+ is now warming to YouTube →
"We're doing well on Facebook, but we were also looking at the retention numbers, and those were not as high as we would like them to be, especially on the content that we were putting a real investment into, which is our in-depth and investigative reporting.”
Global Editors Network
Have a climate story you want to tell in 360°? Apply to this accelerator program →
The European Forest Institute and the Global Editors Network are joining forces to launch the pilot project which supports journalists produce 360-degree videos on climate change and people's lives. Lookout360° combines in-field training and a three-month mentorship to support journalists produce immersive stories with a focus on climate change.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
UK’s investigative journalism collective The Bureau Local is hiring a ‘community organizer’ →
"This job represents a fantastic opportunity to empower local journalists to use the huge amounts of data now available, to ensure that people across the UK feel their local services and local representatives are working in their best interests."
Digiday / Lucia Moses
“Jack of all trades, master of none”: Why Mashable flamed out →
“‘It came from Pete on down — ‘What's going to be our version of Ben Smith?'” a former insider said. “‘They got Ben Smith, so we need someone,'” said another, describing the philosophy. “‘They started BuzzFeed Studios; let's start Mashable Studios.’ I'm surprised they didn't call it ‘MashFeed’ at some point.'” But as an ex-editorial staffer said, the pivot to general news made Mashable a ‘jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Everyone was aware BuzzFeed was beating us on stuff, and the tech pubs didn't take us seriously.'”
Washington Post / Brian Fung
What to know about the FCC’s upcoming plan to undo its net neutrality rules →
“With its final meeting of the year less than a month away, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to reveal the latest details of a plan to roll back the government’s net neutrality regulations this week. The result could reshape the entire digital ecosystem by giving Internet providers more control over what their customers can see and access online and how quickly they can do it.”
Slate / Caroline Albanese and David Stern
Slate will launch a redesigned site with a better ad experience in 2018 →
“After we launch the new site in 2018, there will be no more ads along the right-hand side of Slate. (Ads that appear in line with content ensure higher engagement rates.) Ad-insertion logic will be based on word counts, rather than on paragraphs, to ensure that the share of pixels on any given page that is devoted to ads is consistent.”