Top News:
Maxwell Strachan / HuffPost:
Lessons from the fall of Mic, the millennial-focused, Facebook-dependent site which left staffers exhausted, distrustful of leadership, and financially insecure — “I don't need a pair of Nikes. I need a 401(k)" — and other lessons from the death of a venture-backed, Facebook-dependent, millennial-focused news site.
Discussion:
@perlberg, @scottbix, @jamilahking, @danielmarans, @adamserwer, @hlmacmillen, @rubinafillion, @lauren_kelley, @sophiekleeman, @itstheannmarie, @reckless, @andreagonram, @nicktheandersen, @mitrakalita, @mattgertz, @nataliesurely, @rmc031, @seanblanda, @kciesemier, @lainnafader, @timherrera, @mcastimovies, @pkafka and @lkherman
Max Willens / Digiday:
Bustle Digital Group acquires Inverse, a science- and geek culture-focused site, which was founded by Bleacher Report cofounder Dave Nemetz and had raised $6M — Bustle Digital Group has made another acquisition in an attempt to grow beyond its female-focused audience.
Discussion:
@davenemetz, @timmulk and @joshuatopolsky, Thanks:@kerrymflynn
Christine Schmidt / Nieman Lab:
Pew survey of 10,618 Americans from last fall: 61% say the news media intentionally ignores important stories, 19% say media is biased or focused on opinions — It's not just the media institutions — Americans' trust in the federal government, and each other, is dropping.
Discussion:
@lrainie, @pewresearch, Pew Research Center, @baekdal, @marklittlenews, @pewresearch, @pewresearch and New York Times
Brian Stelter / CNN:
A look at the work of Puerto Rican news nonprofit CPI, whose publication of texts sent by the governor has partly sparked protests demanding his resignation — New York (CNN Business)Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism has broken many, many stories in the past eleven years.
Discussion:
@brianstelter, @frances_sola, @brianstelter and @julito77
Ruth Graham / Slate:
Air Mail, Graydon Carter's new weekly email newsletter that costs $50 annually, is a big glossy magazine stuffed awkwardly into your inbox — Carter's old-school editorial mode might not be in tune with the medium he now occupies. — The Author of a Wildly Popular Manifesto on Abstinence …
Discussion:
@arifleischer, @publicroad, @slate and bookforum.com
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Zenith: online advertising forecast to grow by 10% globally next year, the lowest level since 2001, as big brands seek risk-free placement in traditional media — Sector to be outpaced next year by cinema ads as big companies raise fears over digital scandals
Discussion:
@guykawasaki and AdExchanger
James Walker / Press Gazette:
EU allots €1.5M to responding to press freedom violations, like providing “tangible protection for journalists,” as part of €4.2M in funding for media projects — The European Union has opened up €4.2m (£3.8m) in funding for projects supporting media freedom …
Hannah Ellis-Petersen / The Guardian:
Libel trial opens against Maria Ressa, the editor of Philippine news site Rappler and critic of President Rodrigo Duterte — Maria Ressa faces prison term if convicted under criminal cyberlibel law — A libel trial against the editor of Rappler, a Philippine news site critical of the regime …
Discussion:
@ericwishart, Asian Correspondent, The Straits Times, RAPPLER and @jostevenslabour
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
The CBS blackout is the 213th one in 2019 while only eight blackouts occurred in 2010 as reliance on retransmission fees makes negotiations more strained — Among media companies, “going dark” was once a matter of last resort. Now it's an option that is seeing more light.
Discussion:
The Streamable and @davezatz
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
News UK halved the number of podcasts it produces to 22 last year and saw double the downloads and triple the ad revenue — In an effort to focus its resources with fewer, more specific shows, News UK cut the number of podcasts it produces in half, to 22 last year.
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Newly profitable, Axel Springer and Samsung's news aggregator app Upday plans to launch on other platforms and introduce a podcast aggregator this year — Axel Springer's line of defense against the duopoly, news aggregator app Upday, is now profitable and gearing up to scale further and drive more revenue.
Discussion:
@upday_press
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Study of 4M+ tweets during 2017 elections: the ratio of links to professional news sources vs. “junk news” was 7:1 in France, 5:1 in UK, and 4:1 in Germany — In the EU, junk is replacing news from the government, not news from the mainstream media.