Mediagazer: After appealing for paid subscriptions via a printed letter and social media, Arkansas Life magazine survives by gaining 1K subscribers, reducing print issues (Laura Hazard Owen/Nieman Lab)

Top News:

As some criticize horse-race political coverage, a look back at The Charlotte Observer's election work using a citizens agenda, from a reporter who was there — In 1992, the Charlotte Observer pioneered “public journalism” in its election coverage. Is that what voters need in 2020? — ARTICLE BY

Discussion: Vanity Fair, @lauraelizdavis, @underoak, @niemanfdn, @jayrosen_nyu, @niemanlab, @jonfavs and @niemanreports

Scott Shane / New York Times:

Distributed Denial of Secrets, a WikiLeaks-like online repository launched last month by transparency advocates, publishes 175 GB of leaked Russian documents — A group of transparency advocates on Friday posted a mammoth collection of hacked and leaked documents from inside Russia …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, @drdenagrayson, @kpoulsen, @malwarejake, @nytimes, @justinhendrix and @ridt, more at Techmeme »

Lizzy Raben / The Idea:

Q&A with Sam Felix, Director of Audience + Platforms at NYT, about her role at the paper, how NYT uses different platforms to promote its content, and more — This week, The Idea caught up with Sam Felix to discuss how The Times thinks about reaching new audiences …

Discussion: @adriana_lacy and @ideanewsletter, Thanks:@steverubel

Ben Thompson / Stratechery:

How the success of Netflix's Bird Box film, which was watched by 58% of its user base in its first month, drives Netflix's virtuous cycle as an aggregator — Bird Box, the Netflix original film, started streaming on December 21 while I was on vacation.1 That perhaps explains why the majority …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times

Kate Bennett / CNN:

The Telegraph apologizes to Melania Trump for false statements in “The Mystery of Melania”, an article published last week, agrees to pay “substantial damages” — (CNN)A British magazine has issued an apology to first lady Melania Trump for an article it published …

Discussion: Telegraph, Slate, Mediaite, The Daily Beast, The Daily Caller, The Wrap and The Gateway Pundit

Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:

Research at the University of Texas finds that when more than 75% of comments on news sites are uncivil, it negatively affects readers' perceptions of the site — You never get a second chance to make a first impression. — Grandma adage aside, the comments matter, folks.

Discussion: @niemanreports

Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:

After appealing for paid subscriptions via a printed letter and social media, Arkansas Life magazine survives by gaining 1K subscribers, reducing print issues — How many fans does it take to keep a regional print magazine afloat? — In December, subscribers to Arkansas Life received a printed letter along with their January issue.

Jill Abramson / New York Magazine:

An excerpt from Jill Abramson's book “Merchants of Truth” on her time as the New York Times' executive editor as digital disruption took off — Adapted from the forthcoming book Merchants of Truth, by Jill Abramson. Copyright © 2019 by Jill Abramson. Reprinted by permission of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, @newrepublic, @lauraelizdavis, @sesmith, @kpfinnerty and @jbenton

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Edelman: number of people who read traditional news weekly rises 14% YoY to 40% as number of people who read traditional news less often drops 20% YoY to 28% — An urgent desire for societal change and a chaotic media environment is driving a renewed interest in fact-finding, according to Edelman's 2019 Trust Barometer.

JSource:

Canadian Journalism Innovators, a journalist-led collaboration of nine media outlets including The Discourse, launches to support innovation in Canadian media — In the wake of massive journalism layoffs, a new journalist-led initiative aims to accelerate what is succeeding in Canadian media.

Discussion: @thediscourse, @nordicfreelance and @sprawlcalgary

Kali Hays / WWD:

Interview with Kate Lewis, the Chief Content Officer of Hearst Magazines, about the future of print, what advertisers really want, and more — The new chief content officer of Hearst Magazines on what people read “secretly,” whether magazines will last another 20 years and much more.

Jim Milliot / Publishers Weekly:

Wattpad, the online reading and writing community, is launching its own publishing division, Wattpad Books, this fall with six YA titles — Wattpad, the Toronto-based online reading and writing community that says it has received 565 million story uploads since its launch, is starting its own publishing division, Wattpad Books.