Top News:
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
BBC News deputy political editor John Pienaar is leaving after almost three decades to join News UK's upcoming Times Radio to front its new drivetime program — Longtime BBC presenter to front drivetime show on Radio 4 rival station — Times Radio has hired the BBC's deputy political editor …
Discussion:
Tim Shipman / The Sunday Times: No 10 tells BBC licence fee will be scrapped
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: BBC confirms that John Pienaar (who is currently being shown around the News UK building) will be tane off air with immediate effect after defecting to Times Radio. His 5Live show Pienaar's Politics will continue with different hosts and a... very unclear name? https://twitter.com/...
Sarfraz Manzoor / @sarfrazmanzoor: 'There has been disquiet in the BBC that the station's launch is being coordinated by Abell, who is helping to poach many of the BBC's leading presenters while still regularly presenting Radio 4's flagship arts programme Front Row.' https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
RELATED:
The Guardian:
Source: Boris Johnson is “strident” on reforming the BBC, threatening to replace the license fee with a subscription model and cut most of its radio stations — Source claims Boris Johnson is ‘strident’ about broadcaster's reach being scaled back
Discussion:
Press Gazette, CNN, BBC, @fulljonnynelson, @oneillyatescbc, @matthewdancona, @huwmerriman, @marklittlenews, @mobeen_azhar, @richardberryuk, @jksteinberger, Breitbart, @jayrosen_nyu, @tianran, @nadinebh_, @chrchristensen, @petersketch, @ralphblackburn, @casmudde, @clareprecey, @lawdavf, @gerrymoore101, @chrchristensen, @uk_domain_names, The Independent, Sky News, Telegraph and ITV
Discussion:
PA Mediapoint / Press Gazette: Tory MPs hit back at plans to force BBC to downsize and move to subscription model
Jonny Nelson / @fulljonnynelson: This would be another in a long line of truly horrible, idiotic things this country has done to itself lately https://twitter.com/...
Chris O'Neill-Yates / @oneillyatescbc: The BBC is a the world's news service. A global UK brand. Is it perfect? No. But it's the envy of broadcasters around the world. Detractors should be careful what they wish for. It enhanced my experience of living in the UK immeasurably. #IlovetheBBC https://www.thetimes.co.uk/...
Matthew d'Ancona / @matthewdancona: This is not old-fashioned Tory grumbling about the BBC. This is Trumpian vandalism. And if you think a ‘subscription system’ will deliver anything like the world's greatest public service broadcaster, think again. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/...
Huw Merriman MP / @huwmerriman: I'm not sure this vendetta against the #BBC is going to end well. No mention of it in our manifesto (where we actually promised to work with BBC to build new partnerships across globe) so I won't be supporting it. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/...
Mark Little / @marklittlenews: Destroying the world's leading public service media organisation in the midst of a global information crisis is an act of insanity https://www.thetimes.co.uk/...
Mobeen Azhar / @mobeen_azhar: Public service broadcasting is a crucial part of our democracy. Curtailing it is part of a broader, US style plan for corporate control of all our press. Many of us (rightly) defend the #NHS and we must also actively defend the #bbc #savethebbc https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Richard Berry / @richardberryuk: There's a lot here to challenge. It ignores the value of the BBC culturally or in stimulating production. To suggest slashing all radio but WS smacks of colonialism. Question news, sure, but to bring down the institution is the 1st step of a dictatorship https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@jksteinberger: And so it was predicted, and so it has come to pass. We (= everyone who is not far right) need to fight back on this very, very hard. The BBC is not perfect, but this government wants to destroy public broadcasting, pure & simple. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Jack Montgomery / Breitbart: ‘We Will Whack It’ - Boris Govt Takes On BBC with Plan to Scrap TV Licence
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: It's important to the right wing to destroy public service media. Whether it will succeed in the UK, I do not know. For now let us contemplate why this is such a priority for them globally. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Randeep Ramesh / @tianran: Looks like BBC TV is to be shrunk so that Netflix and Amazon can gain eyeballs. End of British TV culture. Oh and BBC RADIO is to be sold off to Rupert Murdoch by Boris Johnson. End of British Radio culture. Welcome to shock jocks and Fox bloody news https://twitter.com/...
Nadine Batchelor-Hunt / @nadinebh_: A really mixed bag on BBC reform. The one thing I 100% agree with is this sentence: “Johnson's aides also turned their fire on highly-paid BBC stars who made huge sums from outside work, suggesting they should be forced to donate the money to charity.” https://www.itv.com/...
Christian Christensen / @chrchristensen: I spent many years living in both the UK and US. I'll say one thing: US TV/radio news is a democratic and intellectual train-wreck because the US never had a viable, popular non-commercial alternative. Is the BBC perfect? No. But lose it at your peril. The aftermath will be ugly. https://twitter.com/...
Peter Sketch / @petersketch: A lot of the Culture War stuff that the Johnson gang talk up is only talk, intended to rile up their voters and never acted on. Let's hope this is one of those. If the BBC goes, we'll miss it. https://twitter.com/...
Ralph Blackburn / @ralphblackburn: Number 10 attacks BBC presenters from earning money from second jobs, while Boris Johnson has spent most of his Parliamentary career being paid £250K-a-year for a newspaper column and accepting free £15K holidays in the Caribbean. Hypocritical much. https://twitter.com/...
@casmudde: Scrapping “BBC License Fee” will do same to British public radio and tv as “right to work” laws have done to US trade unions. And as British public media goes down, Murdoch's media will become even more dominant. Fun fact: Boris Johnson used to work for Murdoch-owned The Times. https://twitter.com/...
Clare Precey / @clareprecey: Will be interesting to see if Johnson's backbenchers will support selling off BBC local radio stations, one of the key ways they communicate with their electorate. #bbc https://twitter.com/...
Lawrence Freedman / @lawdavf: @FADCLDN @BurlM11 I have learned to treat Sunday Times scoops with pinches of salt. I doubt license fee can survive. But I don't think attacks on the BBC are popular and the current arrangement lasts until 2027. Lets see how many fights Johnson wants to take on.
Gerry Moore / @gerrymoore101: Johnson not only after the Judges he is aiming to deliver the BBC to his friends like Murdoch According to @thesundaytimes there are plans to bring in subscriptions scrap licence fee and sell off radio stations https://twitter.com/...
Christian Christensen / @chrchristensen: To all the people who said: “Yes, Trump & Johnson are awful, but it will re-boot the political system” please remember that the lifetime judges that Trump is appointing won't drop dead the minute he leaves, and the BBC can't be rescued once it's ripped apart and killed.
Edwin Hayward / @uk_domain_names: “No 10 could scrap BBC licence fee in favour of a subscription model Source claims Boris Johnson is ‘strident’ about broadcaster's reach being scaled back” The BBC have lost their aura, but they're still a critical bulwark against government overreach... https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Peter Stubley / The Independent: Downing Street ‘vows to abolish BBC licence fee’
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Sources: News UK's upcoming Times Radio is making lucrative offers to leading BBC presenters like Nick Robinson, promising higher salaries and editorial freedom
Discussion:
Press Gazette, @jimwaterson, @johnmfitzp, @jimwaterson, @jimwaterson, @leavehq, @toryscott, @markdistef, @peterkgeoghegan and @tamsin_smith
Discussion:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette: BBC deputy political editor John Pienaar leaves to join Times Radio launch
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: It's happening! Chris Mason also confirmed he's been made an offer to move to Times Radio. https://www.theguardian.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
John Fitzpatrick / @johnmfitzp: So the Sunday Times carries a story about the break up the BBC - from an anonymous government source - The said paper owned by Murdoch is setting up a new radio station tries to hire top BBC news talent...All seems quite orchestrated https://twitter.com/...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: Times Radio - doing to the BBC newsroom what The Athletic did to sports desks last summer. More names here: https://www.theguardian.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: BBC news presenters being offered big money to jump ship and front The Times' new radio station, trying to hire the likes of Nick Robinson and Chris Mason. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@leavehq: Don't understand this. Why would you pay big money to improve the output of your main competitor at the expense of your own? https://twitter.com/...
Victoria Scott / @toryscott: Anyone notice the startling absence of, oh, I don't know, the opposite sex in these apparent ‘poachings’? Are female presenters not worth the cash, @thetimes? https://twitter.com/...
Mark Di Stefano / @markdistef: Transfer talk is that Jon Pienaar on his way to Murdoch's new Radio 4 outfit. https://twitter.com/...
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
As US newspapers fade, it's time for policymakers, funders, and local communities to seriously consider direct and indirect public funding for local journalism — It's been a particularly rough couple of months for those who care about local journalism — which should be every American citizen.
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, @sulliview, @jimiovino, @thischrishorne, @brianstelter, @lainey_seyler, @rispolimike, @porter_anderson, @zachdespart, @ht_inschool, @johnkingsfchron, @jeremylittau, @anikaanand00, @scmitchp, @wbuechner, @jmadelman, @jmadelman, @philmeyer, @jmadelman, @rachbarnhart, @jmadelman, @downtownpress, @_toddstone, @texasvc, @texasvc, @texasvc, @texasvc, @texasvc, @riegerreport, @darrendcarroll, @gregorykorte, @nandoodles, @vwpickard, @cbrentcolburn, @dada_drummer, @moorehn and @jmadelman
Discussion:
Jon Allsop / Columbia Journalism Review: McClatchy, Tribune, Buffett, and the need to think outside the box
Margaret Sullivan / @sulliview: The future of local newspapers just got bleaker. Here's why we can't let them die.... my column, which includes some notable @DukeU research https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Jim Iovino / @jimiovino: This is a thread worth reading if you're into local news. Newspapers lost their way because they often don't provide the information people want and need these days, especially in the formats they want them in. This problem can be solved. Chris has some ideas: https://twitter.com/...
@thischrishorne: When corporate demanded newsroom cuts, we panicked to save “hard news” which makes sense, but it only highlighted local problems, often without solutions. Missing arts, culture and community, the civic narrative becomes “What a terrible place.” Why should anyone support that? https://twitter.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Miami Herald's @jkbjournalist: “With these smaller newspapers drying up across the country, it is creating a collapse of local newspapers and local news and the kind of information (they provide) around the country.” https://www.cnn.com/...
Lainey Seyler / @lainey_seyler: Been a rough couple months for local news indeed, but “When you're looking for actual, original local reporting that fills a critical information need, it's still newspapers that are, by far, the primary source,” the Duke public-policy professor said. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Mike Rispoli / @rispolimike: I really feel for the journalists who have lost or fear of losing their jobs. I was one. But the cries of “Subscribe to your local paper” ignores that the local news crisis is a structural problem. It implies communties not paying is the root of the problem, not corporate greed.
Porter Anderson / @porter_anderson: Media: @Sulliview: “It's no exaggeration to say that much of the American newspaper industry is in a death spiral. One in five newspapers has shuttered since 2004; newspaper employment is down by nearly half ... There's no time to waste.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... @washingtonpost https://twitter.com/...
@zachdespart: Local newspapers — from small town weeklies to major metros — may not survive this decade. They also produce critical work and are the most trusted news sources in their communities. We must save them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
@ht_inschool: The HT provides the most education coverage in Monroe County. Almost always, it provides the only coverage of local schools and board meetings. To those that subscribe, thank you https://twitter.com/...
John King / @johnkingsfchron: “'It's an unpopular idea but what if propping up the legacy outfits is the most effective thing you can do to preserve local news?' Napoli said.” https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy Littau / @jeremylittau: This is a thread worth reading. I met Chris at a gathering in November and am so impressed with how he approaches fixing what ails local news. Check out what he's doing at @akrondevilstrip ... it's one of those local news experiments that give me hope for the future. https://twitter.com/...
Anika Anand / @anikaanand00: Disappointed to see supporting digital-only and legacy framed as an either/or. When will we *finally* all agree it's not that simple. https://twitter.com/...
Mitch Pugh / @scmitchp: Everything about this column is true in most places in the U.S. But we are blessed here in Charleston to have local owners who have invested wisely and support quality, local journalism. The future of @postandcourier is only getting brighter and brighter. https://twitter.com/...
Wolfgang Buechner / @wbuechner: Interesting column by @sulliview - agree: local news outlets (not necessarily papers) are essential to democracy. But public funding won't save them. Excellency, innovation, transparency and interaction with readers will. https://twitter.com/...
Joseph M. Adelman / @jmadelman: For models of how to do that sort of journalism in today's America, I think of examples like @Poynter and the @tampabaytimes or @lenfestinst's management of @PhillyInquirer. /end
Joseph M. Adelman / @jmadelman: It is, yes, one of the points I make in #RevNetworks. During the Revolution, no one thought about newspapers as profitable, but everyone from their printers/editors to local elites viewed them as vital public forums, a town square in printed form. /5
Phil Meyer / @philmeyer: Digital-only news organizations in 2016 were providing only 10 percent of the original local reporting in the study's 100 communities. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Joseph M. Adelman / @jmadelman: 2nd point is one that Sullivan is astute about, but lots of news media figures still lag on: for much of the history of American journalism, newspapers were supported by their communities in ways analogous to what the Duke researchers in her piece describe. /4
Rachel Barnhart / @rachbarnhart: “It's an unpopular idea but what if propping up the legacy outfits is the most effective thing you can do to preserve local news?” Propping up @Gannett would be unpopular. Why would philanthropists line pockets of greedy executives? Go nonprofit. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Joseph M. Adelman / @jmadelman: That had political ramifications: John Hancock helped fund a fledgling Patriot newspaper published by a young radical named Isaiah Thomas. He didn't support Boston's Loyalist papers. And it shaped how printers responded to political/commercial pressures (it's in the book!). /6
Susan Carter Morgan / @downtownpress: “Local newspapers are suffering but they're still (by far) the most significant journalism producers in their communities,” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Todd Stone / @_toddstone: “When you're looking for actual, original local reporting that fills a critical information need, it's still newspapers that are, by far, the primary source.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Another interesting take on media by @Sulliview
Texas VC / @texasvc: @theinformation @PitchBook @CutForTime I subscribe to my local paper because I think they do good work, but they make their content painful to consume with a proprietary cms that breaks on mobile, aliased domains, and an odd obsession with optimizing graphics for print. The consumer experience is painful for me. 4/
Texas VC / @texasvc: Watching newspapers struggle to evolve is painful to watch. Reporters do important work! This thread highlights great work! I have some modest thoughts as a ‘4 figure a month’ content consumer 1/ https://twitter.com/...
Texas VC / @texasvc: @theinformation @PitchBook @CutForTime And don't get me started on the mind-numbing decision of local papers to partner with fake-news distributors like @taboola and @ZergNetOfficial. I shouldn't have to look at the fine-print to determine if my news site is feeding me a story or sponsored hokum. 5/
Texas VC / @texasvc: I'm not sure exactly what the next step looks like. I'd bet on vertically focused subscription models with a focus on mobile distro. But I'm loathe to support government subsidies to the dieing print dinosaurs: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... 7/
Texas VC / @texasvc: But I'll end with this. When I was a kid I couldn't find any Star Trek news, and now I've got 5 regular sources. My industry has dozens of news sites covering my peers. Journalism is all around me, but just in different ways. 8/8
JM Rieger / @riegerreport: “Twenty percent of all U.S. newspapers have closed since 2004, according to a recent report from PEN America, and the sector has shed 47 percent of its jobs.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Darren Carroll / @darrendcarroll: Organized journalists across the US are fighting to save their newspapers. @DukeU could help that fight by returning donations from alum Heath Freeman, the Alden Global Capital exec who's earning double-digit profits from the destruction of local news. #SaveLocalNews @NewsGuild https://twitter.com/...
Gregory Korte / @gregorykorte: “Local newspapers produced more of the local reporting in the communities we studied than television, radio, and online-only outlets combined.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Nandini Jammi / @nandoodles: Yes, definitely. I still have faith in ad revenues though. People would revolt if they knew how adtech siphons away $$ from local news and towards disinformation. https://twitter.com/...
Victor Pickard / @vwpickard: .@Sulliview's great piece points to an analysis that's central to my book: there's no commercial option for local journalism. If we want it - and democracy - to survive, we must intervene via public policy and subsidy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Brent Colburn / @cbrentcolburn: The death of local journalism is as big a threat to our democracy as outside foreign influence—and we have to start thinking in new ways if we want to stop the bleeding. Thanks @Sulliview for the thoughtful take on this enourmous challenge. https://twitter.com/...
Damon K / @dada_drummer: So grim. My own two cents, a la Spotify income for a musician: arts coverage isn't extra, I think it kept local papers young and engaged w/the community. In Boston, once arts coverage disappeared it wasn't long before I stopped hearing anyone under a certain age mention the paper https://twitter.com/...
McKinsey Insights & Publications:
Research: women made up 49% of the media and entertainment workforce in 2019, but accounted for 27% of its C-suite positions; news media had similar patterns — There are many reasons to care about gender issues in the media and entertainment industry—not the least of which is the importance …
Discussion:
Lisa Tozzi / @lisatozzi: It would be cool if they stopped advising media companies to lay people off though... https://www.mckinsey.com/...
@timesupnow: New from @ThePressForward and @McKinsey: Women are well-represented early in the career pipeline in media & entertainment, but they're a minority at top levels, making up only 22% of C-suite positions. Women of color hold only 4% of C-suite positions. https://www.mckinsey.com/...
P. Kim Bui / @kimbui: A very true and disturbing graphic of women in media. Via this report (more from it in a minute): https://www.mckinsey.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Kim Bode / @kim_bode: Not utterly surprising but still important findings on why (and how much) the media industry is lacking women's representation in senior positions. It's 2020, folks! We don't need McKinsey to fix this but we do need to do it. https://www.mckinsey.com/...
John R Stanton / @dcbigjohn: This is a very interesting, and dense (in a good way!) look at gender inequality in media and entertainment industries, including journalism https://www.mckinsey.com/...
Tina Tchen / @tinatchen: Workplace culture & representation won't change itself. This @ThePressForward @McKinsey study shows that media & entertainment companies must take concrete steps to combat gender bias & expand pathways to the top for women - especially women of color. https://www.mckinsey.com/...
Freddy Mayhew / Press Gazette:
As Caroline Flack's death sparked anger at tabloid coverage, UK's Reach offered help to targeted staff and to remove links to their Twitter accounts in bylines — The death by suicide of TV presenter Caroline Flack has seen renewed anger towards tabloid newspapers over recent coverage of the Love Island host.
Discussion:
Rob Picheta / CNN: Caroline Flack, ‘Love Island,’ and the industry of outrage surrounding the star's death
Jess Brammar / @jessbrammar: There are complexities around this terrible story, and nuance is too often lacking in debate around the tabloid press, but even as a seasoned hack my visceral reaction to that is revulsion. What goes on in an editorial commissioning process that results in a piece like that?
Jess Brammar / @jessbrammar: This afternoon Mail online published a piece with the opening line: “This is the interior of Love Island presenter Caroline Flack's £3,000-a-month apartment where she killed herself.”
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Reverberations from the death of Caroline Flack, a “staple of Britain's raucous tabloid press, are being widely felt — with fundamental questions raised about the symbiotic relationship between the media and today's TV personalities,” @robpicheta writes http://www.cnn.com/...
RELATED:
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
Death of ex-Love Island presenter Caroline Flack re-focuses attention on British tabloids, amid calls for a “Caroline's law” against excessive media intrusion
Discussion:
Niomi Harris / Daily Mail: Laura Whitmore breaks down in tears as she pays tribute to her ‘vivacious and loving’ …
Alex Marshall / New York Times: A TV Star's Suicide Prompts a Blame Game in Britain
Rose Stokes / @rosestokes: Supply and demand — if you want them to go away, stop giving them your custom. The harder and sadder thing to realise is that if the tabloids in this country are sick it's a reflection on our society. There are some very difficult questions we need to ask ourselves first of all. https://twitter.com/...
Hacked Off / @hackinginquiry: Which is exactly why newspapers and news sites have a responsibility to report accurately, ethically and sensitively on issues of public interest. We want genuine regulation and accountability. The current system is completely broken. Enough is enough. https://twitter.com/...
Dr Pat Riart Esq / @drriart: The only way to kill off evil rags like .@TheSun & .@DailyMailUK is to stop buying them and stop logging onto their internet sites They're not the press - they're toxic waste & they're killing the country https://twitter.com/...
Charles Spencer / @cspencer1508: 'We've had enough': Caroline Flack's death turns spotlight on tabloids once again | Privacy & the media | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Claudia / @wayaheaduk: This. The consumer creates the demand. Every choice you make as a consumer is like a vote, it tells a company, “yes I want more of this.” https://twitter.com/...
Tim Walker / @thattimwalker: Cashing in even on death: ‘By Sunday morning, MailOnline featured more than 20 separate stories about Caroline Flack.’ https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Jim Waterson / @jimwaterson: There's a massive public backlash against tabloids over their coverage of Caroline Flack. There's also a massive surge in traffic from the public to the same tabloid sites from people wanting to read about Caroline Flack's death. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Andrew Stronach / @aistronach: We can blame the media. Some elements of the media shoulder some of the blame. But buying the product, the clicks, the eyeballs. That's all on us. The public who consume that media. Often voraciously. https://twitter.com/...
Jane Martinson / @janemartinson: .@jimwaterson hits the nail on the head but there are guidelines about mental health, harassment and particularly suicide that the press should, but don't always, take seriously https://twitter.com/...
@gertsroyals: Princess Diana's brother tweets about the tragic suicide of Caroline Flack, and the behaviour of the British tabloids. https://twitter.com/...
Alt-Rupert / @themurdochtimes: Tabloid media owners and editors know their targeting, stalking and harassment of people contributes significantly to depression, self-harm, drug abuse and suicide. Rupert Murdoch's media pushed a 14 year boy to suicide in Australia, in early 1960s. They know. They all know. https://twitter.com/...
Financial Times:
After meeting Zuckerberg on Facebook's proposal for harmful content regulation, commissioner overseeing EU data strategy calls it “not enough” and “too slow” — Social media company warned that it will have to accept more responsibility for illegal content
Discussion:
VICE, The Hill, @mattgarrahan, @peterzeihan, @markdistef, @cnbcjou, @malcolmmoore, @sarahfrier and VentureBeat, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
David Gilbert / VICE: Mark Zuckerberg Is Literally Begging Europe to Regulate Facebook: ‘It Will Be Better for Everyone’
Zack Budryk / The Hill: Facebook white paper calls for ‘new type of regulator’ for the good of its business
Matthew Garrahan / @mattgarrahan: EU to Facebook: no thanks https://www.ft.com/...
Peter Zeihan / @peterzeihan: And sometimes the EU is dead-on correct. https://giftarticle.ft.com/...
Mark Di Stefano / @markdistef: �� Mark Zuckerberg went to Brussels to present his grand vision of regulating Facebook and the EU immediately rejected it: “It's too low, it's too slow” https://giftarticle.ft.com/...
Joumanna Bercetche / @cnbcjou: *immediately rejects $FB https://twitter.com/...
@malcolmmoore: Facebook: We think regulation should basically reflect the status quo. EU: Ummm. https://www.ft.com/...
Sarah Frier / @sarahfrier: If you want to know how Facebook thinks Facebook should be regulated on content, it's here: https://about.fb.com/... Many of their ideas for laws that will hold them accountable are based on things they're already doing.
Chris O'Brien / VentureBeat: EU's new AI rules will focus on ethics and transparency
Hunter Walk:
Tech leaders should stop glib comments on media and acting like underdogs, and tech media should stop “Red Teaming” tech, overusing anonymity, and passing blame — Lots of mutual bad faith. Reporters I respect indulging themselves in screenshotting and quote dunking tech folks, performative for their tribe.
Discussion:
@balajis, @tayhatmaker, @doveywan, @hunterwalk, @alex, @hatr, @kieransnyder, Alex's Personal Blog, @subhankar94, @karaswisher, MediaSquared, @mathewi, @jarroddicker, @anildash, @jason_kint, @sfiegerman, @hunterwalk, @stevesi, @yoda, @yoda, @alex, @eliotwb, @alex, @clairlemon, @triketora, @jason, @zebulgar, @martinsfp, @ktmboyle, @sarah_cone, @chr1sa, @chr1sa, @hunterwalk, @nick_farina, @kvox, @mgmckendrick, @hunterwalk, @mgmckendrick, @jason_kint, @davidu, @justglew, @yaserbi, @cernovich, @rpetty, @antoniogm, @ricmac, @karaswisher, @felixsalmon, @mdudas, @rmac18, @sarthakgh, @moorehn, @hunterwalk, @kevinroose, @chr1sa, @glennf, @isosteph, @glennf, @can, @fredbenenson, @ericnewcomer, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @cwarzel and Alex's Personal Blog
Discussion:
Balaji S. Srinivasan / @balajis: Incredible. Last week I called out a journalist who I thought was writing a piece that would be a disservice to public health. Unfortunately, my concerns proved well-founded. Recode's virus piece ignores WHO & CDC, gets the science wrong...and focuses on handshakes! Thread: 🧵 https://twitter.com/...
Taylor Hatmaker / @tayhatmaker: thoughtful post on trumpian language seeping into silicon valley + how tech types are convinced they're the underdog when they're really the incumbent https://twitter.com/...
@doveywan: Western outlet has the luxury to speak freely and write in-depth investigative piece of #COVID19 but sadly I rarely see many doing (Iike digging first hand info from Wuhan medical staff and patients on Chinese forums) Hope there can be less hysteria, less clickbait, less NIMBY https://twitter.com/...
@hunterwalk: Two new longform riffs on media/tech 1. @TechCrunch's @alex Tech, media, and what journalism is for (https://alexwrites.substack.com/ ...) 2. @chr1sa The problem with the tech media is not that they don't understand tech. It's that they don't understand *business* (https://www.linkedin.com/...) https://twitter.com/...
@alex: tiny notes on this as the debate continues https://alexwrites.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@hatr: This is a good blog. Most of it applies to cybersecurity reporting, too (h/t @gregotto) https://hunterwalk.com/...
Kieran Snyder / @kieransnyder: Good read. Also made me wonder how this piece might be different if a journalist had written it instead. https://twitter.com/...
Subhankar / @subhankar94: *SJP voice* As I sat on the C train reading tweets from the Thought Leaders of Silicon Valley, I wondered if they were angry at each other, or just angry at themselves? Did Kara really want to shake Balaji's hand? And after everything, would she “shake” the image B had painted? https://twitter.com/...
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: Ok @balajis, as my attempt to do an interview with @jack on twitter went, the ability to intelligently take on a complex subject with the respect it deserves is hard (though not impossible) here. Better offer: Come on Recode Decode podcast for an hour panel on coronavirus and SV https://twitter.com/...
Bryant Jefferson / MediaSquared: Mom, Tech and Media Are Fighting Again!
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: Good piece from Hunter. I don't want to pick a winner, I just want both teams to have a good time 😂 https://twitter.com/...
@jarroddicker: 2 industries in serious transition. Important to remain objective (which @hunterwalk does well here) when it comes to labeling journalism. Many are saying “premium” journalism is on the decline. That's inaccurate & generalizes ALL journalism as the same. Which it's not. /1 https://twitter.com/...
Anil Dash / @anildash: Very good analysis by Hunter of the totally broken interaction between tech & media. I'm probably one of the few who's helped start multiple companies & written for major media, and the intellectual dishonesty of some major tech execs + VCs is the most toxic part of the dynamic. https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: Rather than find myself ranting in the @balajis hack attempt to reinterpret and criticize tech coverage he and those close to AH didn't like, I'm just reupping this - which was good. https://twitter.com/...
Seth Fiegerman / @sfiegerman: This critique is very reasonable on both sides. I would only push back on the point about tech press leaning heavily on anonymous quotes. Could we limit it? Sure. And most reporters I know always try for on the record. But NDAs have become the norm in tech https://hunterwalk.com/...
@hunterwalk: @webdevMason I see a bunch of wealthy people I know decry they believe there's a valuable form of journalism not being practiced. My call to action for them was to fund it. The same section says to also pay for today's media, even if they find it imperfect.
Steven Sinofsky / @stevesi: What's Wrong With Tech Folks Who Attack The Tech Media. And What's Wrong With Tech Media Today. @hunterwalk // something that changed for me as I got older is working to differentiate attack, negative, poorly done, an oversight, etc from malicious. https://hunterwalk.com/...
Drew Olanoff / @yoda: @alex VCs and founders tried to treat journalists like friends, buddies and equals thinking it got them favorable coverage. When the coverage wasn't fluffy and tore into their reality distortion fields, the media became the devil.
Drew Olanoff / @yoda: @alex I think the entire problem is people keep calling it tech journalism. Like it's different than other journalism. It's journalism. I'm not sure what their definition of “tech journalism” is but I assume it's cheerleading fluff.
@alex: This is a good pt. Try to get an employee at any tech company on the record and they may get in legal trouble. https://twitter.com/...
Eliot Brown / @eliotwb: @alex Don't forget NDA culture Startups almost universally ask people to sign one Upon visiting their office for lunch
@alex: Pretty good. I'd add that anon quotes are not the reporters fault most of the time; trying to get ppl in tech on the record is super hard. I blame overprotective pr for this. Agreed that reporters should have more headline control.
Claire Lehmann / @clairlemon: Amazing thread from @balajis in which he fact-checks line by line a recent @Recode article designed to embarrass Silicon Valley for being overly cautious about #COVID_19 Take-away: lazy journalism is not just annoying, it's a threat to public health https://twitter.com/...
Tracy Chou / @triketora: these are good points and critiques of both sides of the tech industry vs tech press divide https://hunterwalk.com/... h/t @hunterwalk https://twitter.com/...
@jason: Tech leaders are asking the tech press to take a pause & ask themselves if they could do better covering tech less hysterically & negatively — which is very similar to what the tech press asked tech leaders to do: be better, act more honorably. Both parties can improve. https://twitter.com/...
DELIAN Asparouhov / @zebulgar: My favorite part of all of this is that Balaji has 15x the likes which means he likely has 50x the views A lot harder to be a bully when your usual targets for the last decade have built up bigger distribution than you https://twitter.com/...
Martin Sfp Bryant / @martinsfp: Finally had the time read the thread alongside the article itself, and for all the talk of ‘bad faith’ in the thread, there's a serious dose of bad faith in his interpretation of the article — or maybe poor reading comprehension. https://twitter.com/...
Katherine Boyle / @ktmboyle: Twitter has destroyed institutional media. Status is no longer conferred by where one works. This is not new— this is a 30-year trend, thanks to the Fairness Doctrine. This is the beginning of a new media pattern that is reaching every corridor of business, politics and society. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Cone / @sarah_cone: @chr1sa @hunterwalk I had an early-stage draft deck given to an editor in confidence for feedback ("hey does this work for your profession?") and he leaked it to write a clickbait story causing half the Internet to pile on me. They pick on the weak too; they'll do whatever for clicks.
Chris Anderson / @chr1sa: @hunterwalk “A reporter I know told me that their job is only to Red Team vs tech” Having spent half my career in media, I can confirm that's all too common. Drives me crazy A lot of it is due to Watergate-era “fifth estate” self-importance of press as a necessary counterbalance to power
Chris Anderson / @chr1sa: @hunterwalk The problem with that applied everywhere is that every reporter thinks of themselves as a self-appointed cop, ferreting out malfeasance in the establishment. Focus on negatives and joy in undermining giants. Corrosive
@hunterwalk: @nick_farina @sarah_cone @chr1sa nah, the reporters in my feed are on top of that one ;-)
@nick_farina: @sarah_cone @chr1sa @hunterwalk OK, but what about the other side? It seems like people are picking up on the “flaws with journalism” part of Hunter's piece and skipping over the “flaws with tech attacking the press” part.
Madeleine McKendrick / @mgmckendrick: 1) I love this. It's too tough on anonymity though: “If you can't get people on the record, maybe it's not a story.” Absolutely not. The biggest & most important stories are also the ones that invite massive retaliation & require anonymity. (see: MeToo, Impeachment, etc) https://twitter.com/...
@hunterwalk: @MGMcKendrick thx. agreed - the focus here was treating anonymity as something scarce, and only to be given in proportion with the value of what's being reported. Feels like now it's become more of a norm, even for stories w very little broad public value. https://twitter.com/...
Madeleine McKendrick / @mgmckendrick: @hunterwalk Understood & agreed. As a leader, it just seemed to go in a direction that might lead others to M*GA-ish claims we see re: anonymous sourcing. Considering circumstances even beyond those mentioned, such as the number of employees constricted by NDAs, it can be more complicated.
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: I cringed at headline of @hunterwalk blog post but having now read carefully, it's entirely fair. Thx for taking it on. Important point: “So just as you think the media is ‘punching down’ when they critique us, they generally see it as ‘punching up’ and hold power accountable.” https://twitter.com/...
@davidu: Must read thread. ���� Far more dangerous then the manufactured story about Oracle / Ellison that also came out today (which was orchestrated by a reporter). There are real journalists doing real journalism, and they need our strongest protection, but this isn't it. https://twitter.com/...
Geoff Lewis / @justglew: Must read thread from @balajis . Simply; we have no choice but to *all* be citizen journalists now. https://twitter.com/...
Yaser Bishr / @yaserbi: I strongly suggest all young journalists to read this thread by @balajis. Fact-checking is not only about facts but it is also about context and intent https://twitter.com/...
Mike Cernovich / @cernovich: Act 1 - Media hits up a tech VC for comment on Coronavirus. Act 2 - Tech VC says, “nah you're just gonna do some clickbait piece.” Act 3 - Very Serious Reporters say, “nuh uh we don't do the clickbait.” Finale: https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Petty / @rpetty: A great example of why journalistic activism is a danger to society. That it was @recode. Anyone surprised? That @karaswisher doubles down. Par for the course. Original thread, h/t: @jonst0kes https://twitter.com/...
Antonio Garca Martnez / @antoniogm: This is going to start happening way more often, where media coverage is publicly refuted brashly and with zero thought to PR niceties (e.g. Fred Smith of FedEx responding to the NYT). https://twitter.com/...
Richard MacManus / @ricmac: Enjoyed this post a lot. The best thing about it? It was written on his blog, on his own domain, and wasn't a Twitter thread or a Medium post. Now that's a trend I'd like “Tech Folks” and “Tech Media” alike to adopt. https://twitter.com/...
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: I will be responding later and in detail to this manipulative effort to cherry-pick and add a convenient series of ... (ellipses) in order to misconstrue parts of the actual article, which you should actually read and is in no way minimizing the threat. https://twitter.com/...
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: Tech Guy: I am deservedly wealthy because when I look at the world I can see things that other lesser mortals cannot discern Also Tech Guy: An honest journalist looking at the world will see exactly what I see and if she doesn't then she's just trolling for clicks
Mike Dudas / @mdudas: “The media's...reading your blog posts, tweets, podcast transcripts. If every individual, VC firm, startup is using these platforms to build their brand and puff their chests out, please spare me the indignation when reporters want to ask you for comment.” https://hunterwalk.com/...
Sar Haribhakti / @sarthakgh: An imp piece by @hunterwalk. A lot of BS on both sides for explaining away their own bad faith behaviors & holding the other side to a higher standard. No industry is too precious to get perpetual immunity to criticism. https://hunterwalk.com/...
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: A good read by @hunterwalk about the knock-down, drag-out fights in Tech Twitter as VCs and others resist making themselves and their businesses accountable: “You are not as much of an underdog as you think you are.” https://hunterwalk.com/...
@hunterwalk: @cwarzel agreed. also, there needs to be *some* aggressiveness to do the real reporting on the worst shit that deserves expose, to be called out. no one wants a press that pull punches when a punch should be thrown (or at least i hope no one wants that...)
Kevin Roose / @kevinroose: @hunterwalk good stuff, esp. the punching up/down confusion bit. i once had an exec at a $500+ billion techco complain to me that the NYT (market cap: slightly less than $500 billion) was punching down by criticizing them.
Chris Anderson / @chr1sa: @GlennF @hunterwalk Agreed, but much of that comes from poor technical literacy by most journalists. You're one of the few who really knows your stuff Interestingly the science press tends to be much better informed, perhaps because science moves slower and publication is so much a part of science
Glenn Fleishman / @glennf: @chr1sa @hunterwalk There's a flip side of all this, too, which is the remarkable lack of critical thinking regarding a lot of tech utopianism. Theranos, for instance, should never have passed a second of scrutiny from a credible press—not a Red Team one, but an informed one.
Stephanie / @isosteph: @hunterwalk i liked this a lot! but re: the anonymity section what are reporters supposed to do about the fact that basically every tech employee is under nda
Glenn Fleishman / @glennf: @chr1sa @hunterwalk I appreciate the compliment, but it felt as if Theranos got anointed b/c of pedigree and no critical thinking was engaged—no medical knowledge required, perhaps. But also, we have a younger, less-experienced press b/c of layoffs and poor wages.
@can: @isosteph @hunterwalk I think about that but one thing I agree is anonymity flattens the entire org. With an even 100ppl co, chances are someone has an axe to grind
@fredbenenson: As someone who work(s/ed) in tech and whose closest friends are almost all current or former journalists, this is extremely on point! https://twitter.com/...
Eric Newcomer / @ericnewcomer: This is reasonable https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: and the comments that the reporter acted in bad faith is incredibly rich ... how many times has Big Tech and its handlers issued non-responses via press release, or limited access to executives, or played word games? ...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: the danger isn't the press — imperfect but willing to own its mistakes — it's the idea that only tech people can credibly comment on the tech industry...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: ... read the story. It's neither alarmist nor glib, and it offers salient examples of how Silicon Valley — an industry notorious for its solipsism — is handling a new unknown (as is every other business around the world)...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: As a media reporter, I've done my fair bit examining the press and the business behind the press (along with my colleagues and my competitors), and we're as skeptical and at a remove as we are looking at anyone else. Would love to see tech build in the same detached gaze. (fin)
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Tech folks (not just one VC dude) are losing it over this balanced, sharply reported story from @shiringhaffary on the industry's reaction to the coronavirus https://www.vox.com/... ...
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
UK newspaper groups, including the Daily Mail, express concerns that Ofcom's plan to monitor social media posts could result in censorship of their websites — News Media Association asks UK government for ‘harmful content’ opt-out for news publishers — Newspaper groups fear …
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
AppAnnie: YouTube dominated 70% of time spent on Android phones watching the top 5 streaming apps in 2019; the other four were fueled by viewing time in China — YouTube is top dog when it comes to keeping people's attention — Here's a fun number to think about: in 2019 …
Discussion:
@glenngabe, WIRED UK, @carlospache_co, The Streamable, @loudmouthjulia and @loudmouthjulia
Discussion:
Glenn Gabe / @glenngabe: AppAnnie: YouTube dominated 70% of time spent in the top 5 streaming apps in 2019 (Android); the other four were fueled by viewing time in China YouTube is ~7X larger than Netflix in viewing hours: https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Maria Mellor / WIRED UK: HQ Trivia went out in a farcical, drunken blaze of glory
Carlos Pacheco / @carlospache_co: YouTube represents 70% of the total time people spend on their phones watching video “...TikTok, still isn't hurting YouTube, but it is putting a small dent in Netflix.” YouTube is the frontrunner in the mobile streaming wars, and it's not even close https://www.theverge.com/...
Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable: YouTube Is Currently Dominating Mobile Streaming Arena, According to New Report
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Happy news: I got over my writers block. We have new numbers on mobile streaming usage data, and I used that to talk about what it means going forward for Netflix/Disney, what it means for YouTube/TikTok, and why Quibi, amazingly, sums up where we are best w/mobile rn. anyway! https://twitter.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: This story is also based on this chart, which is still absolutely fucking insane. I went even deeper, because I wanted to know what this meant considering everything we're talking about with this revolutionary pivot to streaming, and the numbers are crazy. https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Tim Rogers / Nieman Reports:
How independent Latin American journalists are working around repressive regimes, from exile journalism on Nicaragua to English-language outreach in El Salvador — Despite social turmoil, financial woes, and repressive regimes, Latin American reporters are keeping the journalism alive
Discussion:
Tin Royers / @nicadispatch: Here's the piece I wrote for @NiemanReports on freedom of the press in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Chile. Un fuerte abrazo solidario to all the brave journalists who took the time to talk to me for this article. You're my heroes. Adelante! https://niemanreports.org/...
David Beard / @dabeard: His dad, journalist Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, was gunned down for opposing a dictatorship. That dictatorship was overthrown. Now Carlos Fernando Chamorro, also a journalist, is returning from exile, facing the wrath of another dictator. https://niemanreports.org/... @nicadispatch https://twitter.com/...
@niemanlab: “Across the hemisphere, the combination of weak democracies, authoritarian creep, struggling economies, government retaliation against advertisers, and worsening levels of political and social violence are pinching journalists from all sides.” https://niemanreports.org/... https://twitter.com/...
John F. Harris / Politico:
Bernie Sanders' reversal on releasing health records highlights how pervasive the Trump precedent is and the dilution of mainstream media's institutional power — Where are those medical records you promised to show us, NBC News' Chuck Todd asked last weekend on “Meet the Press.”
Discussion:
John F. Harris / @harrispolitico: Sanders embraces the Trump precedent in telling journalists to pound sand....Can a 78-year-old man with heart disease renege on pledge to release full health records and not pay a price? Column this morning. 👇https://www.politico.com/ ...
Peter Baker / @peterbakernyt: In reneging on promise to release full medical records, Sanders “shows how pervasive the Trump precedent is,” writes @harrispolitico. Even his foes “are ready to follow trails he has blazed in taking flight from public accountability.” https://www.politico.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: This is bothsidesist blather: “Even politicians who stand against him on every issue, and who speak solemnly about the need to restore norms shattered during this presidency, are ready to follow trails he has blazed in taking flight from public accountability.” https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: At one time, says John Harris of @politico, “It was unpleasant and politically expensive to be in the crosshairs of the New York Times, the Washington Post, or a major broadcast network like NBC.” Not true any longer. For Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump. https://www.politico.com/...
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Redbox launches ad-supported Free Live TV, which offers a curated set of movies and TV shows organized into channels, from brands like TMZ, USA Today, NowThis — Redbox has entered the ad-supported streaming market with the launch of Redbox Free Live TV. The company, best known …
Discussion:
Dalvin Brown / USA Today: Attention cord-cutters: Redbox rolled out a free online streaming service with live TV
Stephanie Sengwe / The Streamable: Redbox Launches Free Streaming Service With Live TV
Justin Herrick / PCMag: Redbox Made a Streaming Service You Don't Need
Taylor Lyles / The Verge: Redbox launches an ad-supported streaming TV service
Chris Stokel-Walker / WIRED UK:
Former BBC execs and sources detail Project Kangaroo, BBC's 2007 attempt to create a Netflix-like service which was blocked by UK's Competition Commission — Insiders reveal just how close the BBC came to launching a credible Netflix competitor - only to have the door slammed in its face
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