Top News:
James Walker / Press Gazette:
BuzzFeed proposes cutting 17 of BuzzFeed UK's 37 editorial staff, with most losses to the Buzz section covering pop culture — Buzzfeed UK's editorial team will be cut by nearly half, its own media reporter has claimed, down from 37 to 20 journalists based in London.
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BuzzFeed News Staff Council:
In a letter to BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti and others, the BuzzFeed News Staff Council demands that BuzzFeed pay out earned paid time off to laid-off employees — To Jonah Peretti, Lenke Taylor, and Ben Smith: — We are the BuzzFeed News Staff Council, a group of employees appointed to open …
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr, Variety, @jane__bradley, TechCrunch, @peretti, Fast Company, @dylanmatt, @janelytv, @rachelysanders, The Wrap, @meganpaolone, @katienotopoulos, The Daily Caller, @dceiver, @danieldrepper, @cwarzel, @cwarzel, @rossalynwarren, @mat, @mollyhc, @rosadona, @kateaurthur, @charles_kinbote, @annehelen, @netw3rk, @katenocera, @jillfilipovic, @cwarzel, @edzitron, @annehelen, Mediaite, @lindseyadler, @buriedbybooks, @laura_nelson, @hshaban, @kateaurthur, @rachel, @mbvd, @weeddude, @rachelysanders, @nick_parco, @juliareinstein, @ellievhall, @chrisgeidner, @theferocity and @dominicholden
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Even as companies like Digital First Media strip-mine local newspapers for profit, their journalists continue doing important work and deserve support — Jeffrey Miller might be the ideal news consumer: He's well-informed, thoughtful and understands the role good journalism plays in American democracy.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The Rural Blog, @ehernandez, @thomas_peele, @alanmillernlp, @dangillmor, @sulliview and New York Post
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Steve Cavendish / Washington Post:
How Gannett hollowed out newspapers in Tennessee over decades, leaving stories like hospital mergers and local elections now under-covered — Wednesday was a bloodbath for journalists. BuzzFeed said it would lay off 15 percent of its employees, and Verizon Media announced it would cut 7 percent …
Discussion:
@mattdpearce, @jmartnyt, @charlesornstein, @rpetty, @kensands, @carlyewisel, @jrovner, @jayrosen_nyu and @alecmacgillis
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Condé Nast International launches Vogue Business, a twice-weekly newsletter for professionals in the fashion and luxury industries, with 21 staffers — Condé Nast International, home to magazine brands like Vogue, GQ and Wired, is making a more direct play for professionals …
Discussion:
Financial Times, MediaPost, @wblau, @sarahmarshall, @digiday, @hugopw, @wblau, Marketing Week and Media Star
Wall Street Journal:
Bill Simmons says The Ringer, focused on its network of 28 podcasts with ~35M downloads a month is profitable; sources say it made $15M+ on podcasts in 2018 — Four years after his acrimonious split with ESPN, the sports entrepreneur is building a different kind of network
Discussion:
@pkafka, @baseballcrank, Fortune, @mmasnick, @benmullin, @lapresmidi, @dansolomon, @benmullin, @willoremus, @tomgara, @tomgara, @lindaholmes, @jonsteinberg, @awealthofcs, @ourand_sbj, @digitalshields, @benmullin and @mccanner
Joseph Cox / Motherboard:
Internal docs and sources describe how Facebook educates moderators about political issues and potential “PR fires” that are particular to different elections — Internal Facebook documents obtained by Motherboard show specific steps and strategies taken by the company …
Discussion:
Facebook, @tonyajoriley and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Antonia Noori Farzan / Washington Post:
NBC veteran Tom Brokaw apologizes after saying “Hispanics should work harder at assimilation” on Sunday's Meet the Press, evoking further criticism — Tom Brokaw, the veteran NBC newsman, has apologized for saying that Hispanic immigrants need to do a better job of assimilating …
Discussion:
@tombrokaw, Fast Company, New York Times, Politico, NAHJ, @tombrokaw, CNN, Contemptor, Fox News, @neidasandoval, @lesleyhandel, @tombrokaw, USA Today, @walshfreedom, @jayrosen_nyu, @sulliview, @ananavarro, @mariasacchetti and @julito77
Will Oremus / Slate:
An overview of projects like NewsGuard, and how efforts to rank the credibility of news sites can be problematic, despite good intentions — In the era of fake news, a cottage industry of startups is competing to turn media credibility into a booming business. Do we really want that?
Discussion:
@carnage4life, @jeffjohnroberts and @mantzarlis
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Guardian EIC Katharine Viner says the group is on track to break even in April, talks about being Guardian's first female editor, paywalls, sexism, and more — Guardian News and Media editor-in-chief Katharine Viner has said a hard paywall “isn't really a conversation” …
Discussion:
@michellemanafy
Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Despite Facebook spending ~$1B last year on Watch, its would-be YouTube killer is a jumble of ads with no hit shows and a tiny slice of overall video revenue — Three long years ago, when the world knew little about Cambridge Analytica and laughed off the specter of fake news, Mark Zuckerberg had a very different kind of problem.
Discussion:
@shiraovide, @reckless and @simonowens, more at Techmeme »
Trish Bendix / BuzzFeed News:
A deep dive into the state of LGBT media, which is in flux amid mass layoffs across US media and the shuttering of Grindr's LGBT magazine Into — It's a dark time for media — LGBT media, especially. What got us here? And how might we survive? — I was just let go for the second time in three years.
Discussion:
@campbellx and @itsalexberg