Top News:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Ronan Farrow, while producing revelatory reporting, often omits inconvenient details in his stories and at times suggests conspiracies he cannot prove — He has delivered revelatory reporting on some of the defining stories of our time. But a close examination reveals the weaknesses …
Discussion:
@bgrueskin, @mattyglesias, @mattyglesias, @jeffjarvis, @govhowarddean, @felixsalmon, @ashleyfeinberg, @linzsports, @thetowncrier, @hughnaylor, @danmcgowan, @katzonearth, @jmartnyt, @erikwemple, @menshevikm, @ejwillingham, @zackkopplin, @maxkennerly, @lalpert1, @t_fisherking, @neeratanden, Mediaite, @mldauber, @dougherty_jesse, @jasonleopold, @cliffordlevy, @zigmanfreud, @thelizlane, @marcambinder, @anthonyzenkus, @felixsalmon, @motelamanda, @hughnaylor, @5dollarfeminist, @journogeoffz, @markwby, @loopemma, @bgrueskin, @liamstack, @timothys, @davidenrich and @abgutman
@kerrymflynn:
Vice to lay off 55 in the US and ~100 globally, citing the fact that digital organization accounts for 50% of headcount costs but brings in about 21% of revenue — Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc on layoffs: 55 in US + ~100 globally: “The reality is that some tough decisions had to be made primarily around our digital teams. Currently, our digital organization accounts for around 50% of our headcount costs, but only brings in about 21% of our revenue” https://twitter.com/...
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, Press Gazette, @viceunion, Nieman Lab, @treytylor, @lalpert1, @xpangler, @sydegee, @pmsunion, @cliomiso, @bcmerchant, @plbarghouty, @sammy_roth, @raxsha, @om, @margotroosevelt, bookforum.com, Breitbart, @ashkan, @film_girl, @robzacny, @aleksnotalex, @bri_provenzano, @msolis14, @isobelyeung, @vwpickard, @hcheadle, @dnewhauser, @lalpert1, @lalpert1, @bcmerchant, @longdrivesouth, @sallyhayd, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @onionincunion, @amyrosary, @byjoelanderson, @stuartathompson, @stuartathompson, @stuartathompson, @anrao, @stuartathompson, @lainnafader, @amandakhurley, @lainnafader, @viceunion, @transgamerthink, @cmonstah, @ericnus, @stuartathompson, @mattdpearce, @andybcampbell, @saba_h, @jaylclendenin, @tomiobaro, @jessicalessin, @thecultureofme, @erickfernandez, @timcast, @kerrymflynn, @rozzy, @ashkan and @kerrymflynn
John Koblin / New York Times:
Comedy Central, a factory for A-list comedians, is in decline, losing almost all its top executives and, sources say, shifting to unscripted, cheaper shows — The network that made the careers of Dave Chappelle, Stephen Colbert and Amy Schumer has laid off top executives while looking to make shows that are cheaper to produce.
Discussion:
@nytimesbusiness, @nytimes, @koblin and @henereyg
Dan Kennedy / wgbh.org:
Boston Globe now has nearly 205K subscribers, up from 145K before the pandemic, though most new subscriptions were sold for ~$1/month for the first six months — The Boston Globe now has more than 200,000 digital subscribers, editor Brian McGrory said at a Zoom gathering of the Society …
Discussion:
Digiday, @curtwoodward, @danzedekdesign, @gustlovina, @ddpan, @tednesi, @vgmac, @dankennedy_nu and @rasmus_kleis
Howard Polskin / Columbia Journalism Review:
How Washington Examiner's editorial head Hugo Gurdon increased site traffic with a factory-like team producing over 100 short, digestible news stories per day — At ten thirty on the morning of Thursday, February 13, Hugo Gurdon, editorial director of the Washington Examiner, opened his daily editorial meeting.
Discussion:
@cjr, @cjr and @oliverdarcy
Scott Roxborough / Hollywood Reporter:
Several European countries, including Iceland, the Czech Republic, Poland, and France, have reopened for film and TV shoots with varying safety guidelines — Several European countries, including Iceland, the Czech Republic, Poland and France, have begun to allow film and television production under new COVID-19 guidelines.
Discussion:
New York Times, Variety, @miafarrow, @erik_hayden, @lexialex and Vanity Fair
Thomas Grove / Wall Street Journal:
Russia's leading business newspaper Vedomosti, whose founders include WSJ and FT, struggles to stay independent amid allegations of Putin's influence on new EIC — One of the country's last independent voices could soon be stifled as Putin expands political control
Discussion:
@wsj, @whitstillman and @herbscribner
Axios:
US Sec. of State Pompeo alleges that China threatened to interfere in US journalists' work in Hong Kong and warned doing so may risk Hong Kong's status with US — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement on Sunday warning China the U.S. would take action if authorities interfere …
Discussion:
United States Department …, @stengel, @freedomnowla, Reuters, @baldingsworld, Fox News and The Atlantic
Megan Graham / CNBC:
A reporter set up a bogus news website, scraping stories from CNBC, and says it was shockingly easy to generate ad revenue using various ad tech companies — - In recent years, it's become common for fraudsters to make ad-supported “news” sites with content scraped from legitimate publishers.
Discussion:
@megancgraham, @newsceo, @jason_kint, @megancgraham and @slpng_giants
The Daily Beast:
Insiders wonder if The National Enquirer, besieged by scandals and devastated by the lack of newsstand sales during the pandemic, is in its final death spiral — ‘THE LAST OF THE DINOSAURS’ — As a documentary about the “scandalous” tabloid airs on CNN, insiders ponder whether …
Discussion:
New York Post
Max Willens / Digiday:
Digital publishers say the ad market is currently split between small and huge deals, eliminating $100,000-$300,000 deals that most large publishers rely on — The coronavirus is causing many publishers to experience of bifurcation of their ad sales that's led to an evaporation of the mid-sized deal.
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
As outlets learn to operate remotely, distributed newsrooms can attract greater diversity of talent, often lacking in coastal media bubbles — New York (CNN Business)The pandemic forced many journalists who previously crowded around media capitals such as New York City and Washington DC to abandon their offices.
Discussion:
@carolbarash, @jessicahuseman, @stphnfwlr, @jowens510, @frankpallotta, @dicktofel, @jeremymbarr, @media_evan, @kerrymflynn and @kerrymflynn