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Monday, May 4, 2020
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Spanish-language media initially required a learning curve for coronavirus coverage“Nothing is going to be the same as before. It’s hard to think about the long term right now, but this has been a starting point to try new things.” By Hanaa' Tameez. |
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Sick of coronavirus news? The Boston Globe is running a serialized novella (with a strong Boston accent)“The Globe's commitment to covering the coronavirus pandemic continues unabated, as today's paper and website make plain, but we thought a bit of a diversion might also be welcome.” By Joshua Benton. |
What We’re Reading
Adweek / Sara Jerde
Bloomberg Media is testing AI story summarization →
“…a new tool called All Caught Up, which uses AI technology to summarize relevant stories at the end of an article page. Readers can flip through the summaries to quickly catch up on the news. It's currently in beta exclusively on Covid-19 coverage.”
Poynter / Kristen Hare
This year’s AP Stylebook updates are here →
“Preheat” is okay, "mistress” isn’t.
The Irish Times / Conor Gallagher
Ireland’s National Union of Journalists seeks to tax tech giants as part of a “rescue plan” for the industry →
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) released a rescue plan for the country’s embattled media industry that includes a 6 percent "windfall tax" on tech giants.
Los Angeles Times / Meg James
The L.A. Times newsroom union has accepted a 20% cut in pay for 12 weeks →
“Journalists will work four days each week instead of the usual five days. The reductions are expected to save more than $2 million. ‘This is the best possible deal we could have made under the circumstances.'”
The Guardian / Amanda Meade
Google has responded to Australia’s efforts to force it to pay publishers for including their news in search →
Google Australia managing director Mel Silva “indicated Google was not prepared to entertain the notion that it should pay for the content displayed by its search engine, and argued that the traffic it sent had ‘substantial value’…the relationship was a ‘substantial two-way value exchange,’ she argued.”
TechCrunch / Manish Singh
Poynter has launched a COVID-19 fact-checking bot on WhatsApp →
“The service is currently available in English, but support for other languages including Hindi, Spanish and Portuguese are in the works, said WhatsApp.”
The New York Times / Ben Smith
How a new wave of unionization is changing American newsrooms →
“The NewsGuild and its rival, the Writers Guild of America, East, have won virtually every organizing battle they've taken on, including some in Southern states with anti-union laws. The two unions together have organized more than 90 newsrooms and more than 5,000 journalists since 2015.” (Related from last August.)
The Guardian / Mark Sweney
U.K. TV and radio news shows interview 2.7 male experts for every female expert →
“The imbalance represents a three-year high, according to data gathered by the Expert Women project (EWP) from City, University of London…’Those men were mostly politicians or advisers put forward by the government. Editors have expressed frustration with this. It probably reflects the fact that the cabinet has a ratio of five men to one woman at the most senior level.'”
The New York Times / David Leonhardt
This is the first edition of The New York Times’ revamped a.m. newsletter, The Morning →
We wrote about it last week. After a brief opening piece (with Axiosesque tags like “The bottom line:”), its sections: The Morning Five (top stories), “Here's what else is happening,” Back Story (Q&A with a reporter), and “Play, Watch, Eat, Celebrate.” (Related.)
Digiday / Tim Peterson
With coronavirus content drawing fewer viewers, publishers shift their video focus back to usual programming topics →
“For Vox Media's explanatory news brand Vox that means a return to its bread-and-butter explainer videos on subjects like playing Monopoly ‘the right way’ and why kids write letters backwards. For Group Nine's news brand NowThis it means videos showing weddings streamed over Zoom and college graduations hosted in Minecraft.”
The Washington Post / Margaret Sullivan
50 years ago, a local newspaper dominated the Kent State tragedy. Could that still happen? →
Featuring former Nieman Foundation curator Bob Giles, author of the new book When Truth Mattered: The Kent State Shootings 50 Years Later.
Poynter / Catherine Sweeney
Journalists know trauma, but COVID-19 might expose them to something new: anticipatory trauma →
“Covering tragedy is in every reporter's job description, starting even on our first days on the job. Tragedy happens, and then journalists cover the fallout. But when covering COVID-19, the traumatic event is not just protracted — it gets worse with time.”
GOV.UK
The U.K. has scrapped the value-added tax on digital publications →
“…potentially slashing the cost of a £12 e-book by £2 and e-newspapers subscriptions by up to £25 a year…’Ending the historic digital VAT penalty now is a benefit to consumers who are looking for trusted news and entertainment and a vital lifeline for publishers.'”
WARC
Advertising in the U.K. is projected to drop by 16.7% this year →
Including drops of 12.7% for online display, 19.8% for TV, 20.5% for national news brands, 21% for radio, 24.1% for regional news brands, and 25.1% for magazines.
WSJ / Benjamin Mullin
TheSkimm is cutting 20% of its staff →
“Employees at theSkimm were informed of the layoffs during a brief Zoom call with Ms. Weisberg and Ms. Zakin Friday morning, the people said, then laid-off employees were told that their jobs were being eliminated individually in follow-up calls.”
The Wall Street Journal / Jeff Horwitz and Suzanne Vranica
Facebook could lose an important seal of approval from advertisers →
“…it could be denied accreditation due to deficiencies in how its reports on the effectiveness of advertising on its products…The letter highlights continued tension between the world's largest social network and advertisers, who are seeking to verify what they are getting in exchange for billions of dollars spent on Facebook's platforms.”