Top News:
Austin Murphy / The Atlantic:
Austin Murphy, a former senior writer at Sports Illustrated, on switching from a career in journalism to working for Amazon delivering packages — There's a certain novelty, after decades at a legacy media company, in playing for the team that's winning big.
Discussion:
@mickfoley76, @davidwohl, @grantwahl, @sternbergh, @johnsharkman, @kurtschlichter, @jposnanski, @adamduerson, @bwilliamsonnfl and @davidfolkenflik
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
A look at journalism in 2018, from the revival of the LA Times to the horrific murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi — In 2018, those who follow the fortunes of journalism in America probably heard a name — and, separately, a terrible nickname — for the first time.
Discussion:
@dabeard, @sewellchan, @lfung, @alanmillernlp, @knightfdn, @deborahblum, @noelle_phillips, @cmonstah, @danielledknight, @ibarguen, @lenfestinst and @sulliview
Wall Street Journal:
While Western companies publicly condemned Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi killing, many have retained their relationships with the Kingdom, including Bloomberg — Many businesses have linked their future to Saudi money and the kingdom's sweeping economic overhauls
New York Times:
Cheryl Strayed and Steve Almond, writers behind the “Dear Sugar” advice column which began in The Rumpus, discuss its history in their last piece — In their final column, the Dear Sugars offer insight and advice on ... giving it. — Cheryl Strayed: Dear readers, we have news: This will be the final Sweet Spot column.
Craig Mod / Wired:
Although the functionality of digital books has largely remained the same for 10 years, technology has improved everything that goes into publishing a book — THE FUTURE BOOK was meant to be interactive, moving, alive. Its pages were supposed to be lush with whirling doodads, responsive, hands-on.
Discussion:
@craigmod, @jeremycaplan, @janchip, @stoweboyd, @nxthompson, @aweissman, @hamishmckenzie, @craigmod, @kevin2kelly, @khoi, @doctor_v and @trengriffin
Daniel Frankel / Multichannel News:
Google says Android TV has now been deployed by 100+ pay TV operators worldwide and is used by “tens of millions” of customers, mostly in Europe and Asia — Google's open video operating system proliferates as AT&T readies deployment of set-top powered by platform in the U.S.
Discussion:
Engadget
Jean Marbella / Baltimore Sun:
Six months later, the Capital Gazette mass shooting still resonates, among family, the Annapolis community, and the news industry — Capital Gazette editor Rick Hutzell talks about his staff honor of being recognized by Time magazine as Person of the Year. (Kevin Richardson / Baltimore Sun video)
Bryan Curtis / The Ringer:
After John Skipper, the creativity he promoted as head of ESPN has been supplanted by a return to sports news and dedication to data to guide content decisions — Something feels familiar—and safer—about the Worldwide Leader in Sports. It isn't an accident.
Agence France-Press:
Der Spiegel to file criminal complaint against Claas Relotius after it emerged the reporter may have embezzled donations for subjects of one of his articles — BERLIN: Influential German news weekly Der Spiegel said Sunday (Dec 23) it would file a criminal complaint against a disgraced reporter …
Pete Brown / Columbia Journalism Review:
A content analysis of mobile news alerts in 2018 shows their number and length rose since 2017; companion case study confirms shift from just breaking news — In 2017, we did a deep dive into mobile push alerts, publishing a report in collaboration with the Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab …
Discussion:
@cjr, more at Techmeme », Thanks:@steverubel
Deepa Seetharaman / Wall Street Journal:
A look at Joel Kaplan's growing sway at Facebook as he pushed against News Feed changes designed to reduce polarization, promoted The Daily Caller partnership — Joel Kaplan, a former White House aide to a Republican president, has emerged as Facebook's protector against allegations of political bias …
Discussion:
@zeynep, @davmicrot, @juddlegum, @hshaban, @lauferlaw, @juddlegum, @katestarbird, @seldo, @pt, @benfranklin2018, @yjtorbati, @flyosity, @dseetharaman, @thewaywithanoa, @drgitlin, @kimmasters, @digiphile, @raju, @jimpethokoukis, @mattocko, @anildash, @cwarzel, @mattgertz, @carnage4life, @ldrogen, @jason_kint, @lizthegrey, @profcarroll, @hshaban, @dseetharaman, Engadget, Gizmodo, The Verge and Business Insider, more at Techmeme »
Max Willens / Digiday:
Salon is testing alternative revenue models, from an ad-free subscription to a partial paywall coming in 2019, as traffic falls 78% over last two years — More than a decade ago, Salon bet that readers would be willing to pay for an ad-free, subscription version of its site.
Discussion:
@noahpinion