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Thursday, July 2, 2020
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Why do people share misinformation about Covid-19? Partly because they’re distractedPlus: Misinformation around Black Lives Matter protests and an analysis of the most-shared COVID-19 misinformation in Europe. By Laura Hazard Owen. |
What We’re Reading
Chicago Tribune / Robert Channick
Tribune’s deal with Alden caps the hedge fund’s stake at 33% until next year →
“Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, Tribune Publishing's second-largest shareholder with a 24% stake of the company, also was bound by a standstill agreement through June 30. Soon-Shiong did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.”
The Guardian / Jon Henley
France gives tax credits to news subscribers in effort to rescue sector →
“Deputies voted to allow a one-off deduction of up to €50 (£45) to households subscribing for the first time, and for at least 12 months, to a newspaper, magazine or online news service ‘providing news of a general or political character.'”
Digiday / Brian Morrissey
Why advertiser “revolts” never sway Facebook →
“Over the years, crises pop up, burn hot and then disappear. As Facebook has grown, particularly with the addition of Instagram, so too has its unusual leverage over advertisers. Usually media companies live in fear of their advertisers…But Facebook, like Google, is not a normal publisher.”
El País
El País launches its Mexico edition →
The Spanish daily announced on Wednesday its second attempt at a digital Mexico edition. This time, it will be run by its 30 journalists in the Mexico City office, its largest bureau outside of Spain.
CNBC / Brian Schwartz
A bipartisan group of senators have “serious questions” about the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s future under its new Trumpist leader →
“‘Given the bipartisan and bicameral concern with recent events, we intend to do a thorough review of USAGM's funding,’ the letter explained. This is the first sign of Democrats and Republicans coming together to potentially reign in [Michael] Pack's methods of running USAGM.”
Slate Magazine / Josh Levin
Slow Burn’s fourth season is all about David Duke. Here’s why the host won’t be interviewing him for the podcast. →
“[Duke’s] goal in interviews isn't to explain himself. It's to manipulate the record … His core beliefs that black people are inferior to whites, that the Holocaust never happened don't deserve to be debated. And so on this podcast, we're not going to hand him the microphone.”
New York Post / Keith J. Kelly
The New York Times’ metro section mysteriously disappeared →
“The paper's March 23 edition ran a ‘Note to Our Readers,’ in which it said the New York section would not be appearing that day. It hasn't returned since…Publisher A.G. Sulzberger is said to be no fan of Metro or New York as a separate section, since local stories tend to pull less traffic on the Web.”
CNN / Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy
Fox News fires one of its top news anchors, Ed Henry, after a sexual misconduct investigation →
Rotating anchors will fill in for Henry, who served as co-anchor of the channel’s morning show “America’s Newsroom,” until a permanent replacement is named. Former CEO Roger Ailes and anchor Bill O’Reilly were forced out after facing similar allegations in the past.
New York Times / Deb Perelman
In the Covid-19 economy, you can have a kid or a job. You can’t have both. →
Many schools are closed or planning to reopen on irregular schedules. “At the same time, many adults — at least the lucky ones that have held onto their jobs — are supposed to be back at work as the economy reopens. What is confusing to me is that these two plans are moving forward apace without any consideration of the working parents who will be ground up in the gears when they collide.”
The Guardian / Jim Waterson
BBC will cut 450 jobs — one sixth of its staff in England — from local programs →
“The announcement comes despite the BBC repeatedly emphasising its desire to move more jobs outside London and promote its ability to provide regional news in areas abandoned by commercial broadcasters.”
The Guardian / Jon Henley
France will give a tax credit to anyone taking out a new news subscription →
“Deputies voted to allow a one-off deduction of up to €50 to households subscribing for the first time, and for at least 12 months, to a newspaper, magazine or online news service ‘providing news of a general or political character.'”