Top News:
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
The LAT's disappointing digital subscriber numbers attest to the importance of subscriber retention, which the paper should invest in like the NYT has — When Patrick Soon-Shiong bought the Los Angeles Times out of its tronckian purgatory last year, it was an occasion to consider where it sat …
Matthew Kassel / Columbia Journalism Review:
Seventeen journalists discuss “aha” moments that changed the way they thought about their work — Between 2013 and 2016, I worked as a reporter for The New York Observer. It was my first full-time job in journalism, there was little oversight, and I had no assigned beat.
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
CNN's first debate, featuring divisive questions, frustratingly short response times, and outsize attention to fringe candidates, was a lost opportunity — About 40 minutes after the start of Tuesday night's Democratic debate, I got an email from a Washington Post reader with this subject line: “I don't care for this.”
Discussion:
@realdonaldtrump, Poynter, @jcstearns, @jayrosen_nyu, The Wrap, Columbia Journalism Review, Slate, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Bloomberg, Mediaite, @lawrence, @rmc031, @jamesfallows, @lpolgreen, @deanluk, @cjr, @slate, @nymag, @fenitn, @mattgertz, @gadyepstein, @jon_allsop, @jayrosen_nyu, New York Times, Washington Post, Fortune, The Week, Axios, NBC News, Media Matters for America, HuffPost, The Cut and Hollywood Reporter
Keith J. Kelly / New York Post:
Nylon EIC Gabrielle Korn is stepping down following the title's acquisition by Bustle; Bustle Digital EIC Emma Rosenblum will be interim editor — There's even more churn at Bryan Goldberg's Bustle as Nylon Editor-in-Chief Gabrielle Korn is exiting after five years, Media Ink has learned.
Denise-Marie Ordway / Journalist's Resource:
Journalist's Resource 2019 survey: 53% of respondents not sure they can spot flawed research, 64% say they use academic research in reporting at least monthly — Each year, we survey journalists, journalism faculty and others in our audience for feedback on how they use our free materials …
Discussion:
@crampell, @janebsinger, @tamarhaspel and @journoresource
Julia Alexander / Medium:
Given the sea of Netflix content, show cancellations due to low ratings may reflect a failure of the algorithm to surface shows, rather than a lack of interest — [A quick note!! Hi! I used to write a newsletter, but I stopped because life got busy. Lately, I haven't been able to sleep very much.
Reuters:
Thomson Reuters Q2: $1.42B in revenue, up 9% YoY; it and Blackstone-affiliated funds have sold Bloomberg rival Refinitiv to the London Stock Exchange for ~$27B — Thomson Reuters Corp on Thursday reported a 9% rise in quarterly sales compared to the same period a year ago, while also raising its forecasts for the next two years.
Discussion:
CNN and The Guardian
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Study: news organizations in wealthy countries cover climate change very differently from those in poorer countries, framing it as a domestic political issue — News organizations in wealthy countries cover climate change very differently from news organizations in poorer countries …
Discussion:
@niemanlab, ScienceDirect.com and Editor & Publisher
Javier C. Hernández / New York Times:
Profile of Hu Xijin, the influential and hawkish EIC of China's Global Times, a Fox News-like tabloid, with 2M print readers and 30M monthly online visitors — BEIJING — Inside a bustling, 700-person newsroom in downtown Beijing, Hu Xijin leads a 24-hour propaganda machine that some media scholars call China's Fox News.
Discussion:
@niubi
Kaitlyn Tiffany / Vox:
A look at FairTube, an 18,000-strong union-like organization by YouTube creators seeking greater transparency and a bigger voice in the platform's policies — Yes, and no. They at least have the support of a really big one. — YouTubers are unionizing — kind of.
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:
Profile of Warner Bros.' incoming CEO Ann Sarnoff, the first woman to lead the studio, who brings diverse experience from Viacom, WNBA, Dow Jones, and the BBC — Ann Sarnoff has yet to begin her new job as chairman-CEO of Warner Bros., but she already has deep family ties to the entertainment company.
Discussion:
@dancampos, @variety, @batmancanseeyou and @womensforumny
University of Birmingham:
Researchers find WhatsApp was used both to spread fake news and to strengthen accountability and promote inclusion around Nigeria's 2019 elections — At the Shehu Musa Yar'Adua Centre in Abuja, Nigeria, on Monday 29 July, researchers from the Centre for Democracy and Development (Nigeria) …
Discussion:
CDD