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.
RELATED:
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
BuzzFeed laid off its Director of Quizzes because lots of people are willing to make quizzes for free — “This post has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone create a post. Learn more or post your buzz!”
Discussion:
Fluxblog, @johnastoehr and @kateotherkate
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, @ehernandez, @alanmillernlp, @dangillmor, @thomas_peele, @sulliview and The Rural Blog
RELATED:
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:
@jmartnyt, @rpetty, @kensands, @carlyewisel, @jrovner, @alecmacgillis, @mattdpearce, @ralstonreports, @jayrosen_nyu and @charlesornstein
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
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, The Hill, @tonyajoriley and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook shares draft proposal describing how its new content review board could work, suggesting it have 40 diverse members, none of whom are Facebook staff — In November, Facebook announced a new plan that would revamp how the company makes content policy decisions on its social network …
ProPublica:
Changes to Facebook's site break plugins created by ProPublica and others to track and report on exactly how Facebook users are being targeted by advertisers — Our tool had let the public see exactly how users were being targeted by advertisers. The social media giant urged us to shut it down last year.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Recode, The Verge, TechCrunch, Fast Company, The Daily Caller and Engadget, more at Techmeme »
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:
@wblau, Financial Times, Folio, @sarahmarshall, @digiday, @hugopw, @wblau, MediaPost, Marketing Week and Media Star
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, Politico, Mediaite, New York Post, @tombrokaw, NAHJ, Fox News, @tombrokaw, CNN, @neidasandoval, The Week, @ananavarro, @mariasacchetti, @julito77, @walshfreedom, @jayrosen_nyu, @lesleyhandel, @rebel19, USA Today and @sulliview
Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:
As “deepfake” videos become more common and convincing, the tech will give cover to those dismissing real events as fake; DARPA researches ways to detect fakes — Inside the Pentagon's race against deepfake videos Advances in artificial intelligence could soon …
Discussion:
@donie, @ecmclaughlin, @chodger, @johnpaczkowski, @publichands, @donie and @blackamazon, more at Techmeme »
Bernat Ivancsics / Columbia Journalism Review:
Tow Center report examines blockchain's journalistic applications, focusing on solutions for storing metadata and business models driven by cryptocurrencies — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY — Blockchain, like the internet, or democracy, or money, is many overlapping things.
Discussion:
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