Mediagazer: Inside Canadian startup OpenFile, which launched in 2010, and ended publication in 2012, and the lessons learned about involving readers in reporting (Ashley Renders/Nieman Lab)

11:20 AM ET, April 8, 2018

Top News:

Palestinian journalist Yaser Murtaja dies after being shot by Israeli forces while wearing a jacket marked “PRESS” — Yaser Murtaja was shot in the stomach during Friday's mass protests, bringing death toll to 31 since March 30. — A Palestinian journalist shot by Israeli forces during …

Discussion: Washington Post, @liam_o_hare, Reuters, Al Jazeera English, Washington Post, @ymedad, Hyung Kyu Nam, The Guardian, NPR, @lovedaym, @leloveluck, @kenroth, The Times of Israel, Slate, ThinkProgress, @faresakram, CNN, The Hill, Haaretz, Associated Press and NPR

The Denver Post Editorial Board / Denver Post:

The Denver Post blasts owner Alden Global Capital for newsroom cuts as Digital First Media papers report solid profits, asks Alden to rethink business strategy — The photo on the left shows 142 members of The Denver Post's newsroom staff in the newspaper's lobby as it existed on May 15, 2013.

Discussion: @paulgoldberger, @jillstewart, Denver Post, @noelle_phillips, @nocerabv, @mffisher, @scmitchp, @bykimberleya, @connieschultz, @ruralj, @mattdpearce, @jowens510, @bruce_arthur, @dangillmor and The Wrap

Sydney Ember / New York Times:

Journalists at The Denver Post publish several online articles, which will also run in its Sunday opinion section, publicly rebuking owner Alden Global Capital — The Denver Post is in open revolt against its owner. — Angry and frustrated journalists at the 125-year-old newspaper took …

Discussion: @joyannreid, @edourdoo, @realworldrj, @rafat, @bgrueskin, @darrendcarroll, @nickriccardi, @amlwhere, @evanchill, @will_bunch, @walldo, @kbui1, @jennfields, Denver Post, Denver Westword, CBS Philly and CBS Denver

Dana Branham / Dallas Morning News:

At Southern Methodist University, independent student media company will dissolve in May due to lack of funds; SMU journalism department will oversee newspaper — Southern Methodist University's independent student media company will dissolve in May, forcing its student newspaper under …

Discussion: @markwnorris, @adamgrosbard, @smervosh and @jessicahuseman

Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed:

Source: YouTube releasing new version of YouTube Kids within coming weeks with option to turn off algorithmic video suggestions and only show curated channels — YouTube is planning to release a new version of its YouTube Kids app that will do away with algorithmically suggested videos …

Discussion: Engadget, Fortune, @bjornjeffery, Gizmodo, Mashable, Android Police, The Verge and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »

Megha Rajagopalan / BuzzFeed:

The Sri Lankan government and civil society groups say that Facebook has failed for years to monitor and remove accounts inciting ethnic violence in Sri Lanka — DIGANA, Sri Lanka — When the Sri Lankan government temporarily blocked access to Facebook last month amid a wave of violence against Muslims …

Discussion: @profgalloway, @buzzfeednews, @rmac18, @gerryshih, @francis_wade, @meghara, @buzzfeedben, @fabiochiusi and @markscott82, more at Techmeme »

NPPA:

Sinclair rescinds promised $25K donation to the NPPA after it issued a critical statement about Sinclair's comments and coordinated messaging about the media — ATHENS, GA - Yesterday, NPPA made a statement regarding recent comments and coordinated messaging about the media made by Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Discussion: Poynter

Jonathan Beaton / HuffPost:
Ex-Sinclair reporter says he quit after being ordered to ask politically biased questions; Sinclair is suing him for $5,700 for leaving before contract expired

Discussion: Orlando Sentinel and @kerima_cevik

David Zurawik / Baltimore Sun:
Anti-Sinclair ad featuring Deadspin video montage scheduled to run 175 times on four Sinclair stations over the next week, beginning Friday

Discussion: The Wrap

Ashley Renders / Nieman Lab:

Inside Canadian startup OpenFile, which launched in 2010, and ended publication in 2012, and the lessons learned about involving readers in reporting — The Canadian startup OpenFile was a bet on collaboration between journalists and their audience: “We learned that we shouldn't dismiss …

Discussion: @niemanlab, @traceylindeman and @niemanlab

Susan Benesch:

Twitter partners with academic researchers to test whether showing users the Twitter rules will improve online behavior and reduce abuse — With multiple methods, online abuse can be greatly diminished—if we also discover which methods actually work in which situations.

Discussion: @karunanundy, @ctcharlton, Fortune, Engadget and TechCrunch

Christina Anderson / New York Times:

Three Nobel Literature Prize judges resign from the Swedish Academy amid sexual assault allegations against a major figure with close ties to the institution — STOCKHOLM — The Swedish Academy, which awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, was hit this past week by one of its worst crises …

Discussion: @nytimesworld and Associated Press

Blake Montgomery / BuzzFeed:

Federal government seizes classified advertising site Backpage.com and related domains, Arizona home of founder Micheal Lacey raided — Backpage.com, the popular classified ads website, went offline Friday after being seized and disabled by the federal government.

Laura Lollman / KASW-TV:
Seven people indicted in Arizona on 93 counts related to Backpage.com; charges include money laundering and running a website to facilitate prostitution

Discussion: Arizona Republic, TechCrunch, thecut, The Wrap, CNET, Columbia Journalism Review, Sedona Red Rock News, KVOA-TV, Engadget, Motherboard, KPTV-TV and New York Post

Elaine Diaz / Global Investigative Journalism Network:

An overview of 14 independent news sites in Cuba covering underreported issues and winning international awards despite lack of legal recognition by the state — Between 2001 and 2017, 14 media organizations were launched in Cuba that are already making an impact on and off the island.

Cary O'Reilly / Bloomberg Law:

Department of Homeland Security to compile database of journalists, bloggers, and influencers in an effort to track 290K global news sources in 100 languages — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security wants to monitor hundreds of thousands of news sources around the world and compile …

Discussion: HuffPost, @katelinthicum, @bfriedmandc, Engadget, Gizmodo, @ddale8, fbo.gov, ThinkProgress, @tedlieu, Boing Boing, RTDNA Recent Articles and Media Law Prof Blog

Valeriya Safronova / New York Times:

How Conde Nast's brands are pivoting to video, experimenting with different formats, moving away from Facebook to YouTube, and creating content for clients — It took three men two hours to shoot a 63-second overhead instructional video of Laura Rege, a recipe developer …