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:
@michaelluo, Fox News, @bgrueskin, The Wrap, @markharrisnyc, @markharrisnyc, @gary_weiss, @lollardfish, @eholmes, @dylanbyers, @ashleyfeinberg, @oliverdarcy, @maggienyt, @jackshafer, @michaelluo, @michaelluo, @michaelluo, @kayrosef, @nickconfessore, @ryanlcooper, @felixsalmon, @ashleyfeinberg, @tomwatson, @linzsports, @thetowncrier, @hughnaylor, @danmcgowan, @katzonearth, @jmartnyt, @erikwemple, @menshevikm, @ejwillingham, @mattyglesias, @zackkopplin, @maxkennerly, @lalpert1, @govhowarddean, @jonisawesomest, @t_fisherking, @neeratanden, Mediaite, @mldauber, @dougherty_jesse, @jasonleopold, @cliffordlevy, @zigmanfreud, @thelizlane, @marcambinder, @anthonyzenkus, @felixsalmon, @motelamanda, @hughnaylor, @5dollarfeminist, @johncarreyrou, @journogeoffz, @markwby, @loopemma, @bgrueskin, @liamstack, @will_bunch, @timothys, @cillizzacnn, @davidenrich, @jeffjarvis, @petersterne, @mattyglesias, @abgutman and bookforum.com
Discussion:
Michael Luo / @michaelluo: 1/ THREAD: In his column on @ronanfarrow, @benyt, whom I have respect for, does the same thing he accuses Ronan of—sanding the inconvenient edges off of facts in order to suit the narrative he wants to deliver.
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: “Shakiness at its foundation” @benyt delves into some of Ronan Farrow's best-known scoops, and often finds uncorroborated claims based on thin sourcing https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lindsey Ellefson / The Wrap: NY Times Media Columnist Ben Smith Questions Ronan Farrow's ‘Misleading’ and ‘Dangerous’ Journalism
Mark Harris / @markharrisnyc: I'm not being snide. But it is important, in looking at the framing of the Ronan Farrow story, to note that the editor of the NYT has called resistance journalism “an untenable, nonjournalistic, immoral position” for the paper. https://www.motherjones.com/ ...
Mark Harris / @markharrisnyc: I would like to read a piece in the NYT about the hazards and compromises of access journalism that is at least as long, stern, and detailed as the one I read today about the purported dangers of “Resistance journalism.”
Gary Weiss / @gary_weiss: In case you were wondering, why @nytimes got rid of its Public Editor, and started burying corrections instead of putting them on page two. Otherwise the public might realize that much of what's in the Times is too bad to be true. https://twitter.com/...
David M. Perry / @lollardfish: The interesting story to me is how standard media norms precluded journalists from reporting on known rapists who happened to be rich and powerful men (mostly but not always white). It was a failure of our norms, as less powerful alleged rapists were not so protected. https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Holmes / @eholmes: This reminds me of the time I was kicked off a presidential campaign bus and my editor said, “They didn't disrespect you, they disrespected the Wall Street Journal.” Coming for @RonanFarrow means coming for @NewYorker ⬇️ https://twitter.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: The @benyt column on Ronan Farrow isn't just an indictment of @RonanFarrow, but an indictment of all journalism that eschews the messy complexity of truth in favor of dramatic and oversimplified narratives.... https://link.nbcnews.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: absolutely phenomenal https://twitter.com/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: Editor of http://newyorker.com/ responds to @benyt's column: https://twitter.com/...
Maggie Haberman / @maggienyt: “if reporters swim ably along with the tides of social media and produce damaging reporting about public figures most disliked by the loudest voices, the old rules of fairness and open-mindedness can seem more like impediments than essential” tenets https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jack Shafer / @jackshafer: There is something wonderfully cleansing about a full-bore @nytimes vs. @NewYorker fight.
Michael Luo / @michaelluo: 15/ We take corrections seriously and would be happy to correct something if it were shown to be wrong. But Ben has not done that here.
Michael Luo / @michaelluo: 2/ We provided detailed responses to Ben that contradict the narrative he wants to tell. They didn't make it into the column, so I'll outline some of them here.
K. Rosef / @kayrosef: We are in the middle of a deadly pandemic right now. Over 90,000 Americans are now dead and there's no end in sight. So the top story from the New York Times is...an oddly timed hit piece on Ronan Farrow. https://twitter.com/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: As with any reporting that raises serious questions about an important figure, people ought to read @benyt's story and make up their own minds. But I'm struck by how the replies to his tweet below prove Ben's point about “resistance journalism.” https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Cooper / @ryanlcooper: there is some stuff to chew on in here but this nitpicking would be far better directed at the NYT's own routinely-dogshit political coverage https://www.nytimes.com/...
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: Are there any more sacred cows in journalism than Ronan Farrow and David Remnick? You have to be fearless when you're on the media-criticism beat, but this from @benyt is next-level. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ashley Feinberg / @ashleyfeinberg: i dunno, there sure is a lot of throat-clearing and implication without actually saying the thing for someone who's trying to ding farrow for doing just that https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tom Watson / @tomwatson: The irony of the NYT - which abandoned both ethics and principle in its catastrophic political coverage during an era of incipient fascism - running big with this can't be overstated. https://twitter.com/...
Lindsay Gibbs / @linzsports: This is a very weird piece! https://twitter.com/...
Jason Whittaker / @thetowncrier: In @nytimes, @benyt takes a pin to the bubble around @RonanFarrow, who “may now be the most famous investigative reporter in America”. “His work ... reveals the weakness of a kind of resistance journalism that has thrived in the age of Donald Trump.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Hugh Naylor / @hughnaylor: All that said, I hope Ronan has a wildly successful career. I just think he needs more mentorship to really grow into the reporter he wants to be (and who we want him to be) https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dan McGowan / @danmcgowan: “But Mr. Farrow brings that same inclination to the other big theme that shapes his work: conspiracy. His stories are built and sold on his belief — which he rarely proves — that powerful forces and people are conspiring against those trying to do good...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@katzonearth: I've had my suspicions for a while. Good on @benyt for sticking his neck out. This is a damning read. https://twitter.com/...
Jonathan Martin / @jmartnyt: Every reporter - and aspiring reporter - should read this @benyt piece > https://www.nytimes.com/...
Erik Wemple / @erikwemple: Super-deep accountability journalism by @benyt on Ronan Farrow's written record. Muscular debunking work, though it falls short of excusing NBC News's fumbling of Farrow's Weinstein reporting. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Gorilla Warfare / @menshevikm: wow. he said he couldn't fully verify something and it turns out it couldn't be fully verified. damning stuff https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: The piece scores several good points but the “Resistance Journalism” frame doesn't make sense to me. Something I bet most readers don't know: Books are less rigorous than periodicals & you should be suspicious of book-only investigative work. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Zack Kopplin / @zackkopplin: Ronan Farrow is definitely problematic in some ways, but this would be better as an analysis of celebrity and power rather than a critique of young journalists ethics https://twitter.com/...
Max Kennerly / @maxkennerly: This article is an embarrassment for the NYTimes. The very first example, the one that's supposed to grab the reader's attention, is <drumroll> Farrow's source being so 100% legit—an IRS analyst with access to Michael Cohen's SARs!—that he got prosecuted for the leak. /1 https://twitter.com/...
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: I think a lot of journalists who have worked on stories that Ronan Farrow became involved in have asked many of these same questions https://www.nytimes.com/...
Howard Dean / @govhowarddean: As usual, a very thoughtful column by Ben Smith. Assuming he is mostly correct, this is another way trump has debased America. What Farrow has done may not comport with the more ethical, better refereed journalism of yesteryear. It is incredibly effective, however. https://twitter.com/...
@jonisawesomest: @benyt @perlberg If Ronan Farrow really wanted to cover sexual assault, he'd do it the proper way, by hiding it in a later paragraph of a book review, like the Times does.
T. Fisher King / @t_fisherking: At this point I think the NY time staff pretty much, wake up, stretch, shower and ponder, “How AWFUL a human being are we gonna be today? https://twitter.com/...
Neera Tanden / @neeratanden: It's kind of remarkable that the @nytimes rejects a public editor of its own work but has a media critic willing to dissect others. If it's a good idea to do then they should do it for themselves. https://twitter.com/...
Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite: New York Times Media Columnist Ben Smith Delivers Take Down of Ronan Farrow's ‘Misleading’ Reporting
Jesse Dougherty / @dougherty_jesse: This, from @benyt, is what I tought but couldn't articulate after reading “Catch and Kill” and “She Said” back-to-back earlier this year. Fascinating: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jason Leopold / @jasonleopold: “Two years after publication, little of [Ronan] Farrow's article holds up, according to prosecutors and court documents. The Treasury Department [financial] records on Michael Cohen never went ‘missing.’” Damning @benyt column https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cliff Levy / @cliffordlevy: This column is epic. David Carr would have been proud. https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Ziegler / @zigmanfreud: This piece this is a MUST read! It backs up a lot of what I have been saying about @RonanFarrow being a fraud ever since I heavily researched the Matt Lauer allegations, which I believe to be false. I can assure you this is just the tip of an iceberg & much more is coming soon! https://twitter.com/...
Liz Lane / @thelizlane: What is so unbelievably troubling about this @nytimes piece re @RonanFarrow is that it uses the complicated/traumatizing experience of women reliving their assault as reason to doubt or challenge his sensitive and nuanced reporting. What a shame. #MeToo https://www.nytimes.com/...
Marc Ambinder / @marcambinder: .@benyt seems to gravitate towards journalism's third rails ... and this one is perhaps the thirdliest....most thir...well, the most electrically charged of all of them. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Prof Zenkus / @anthonyzenkus: The timing of this trash hit piece by the Times is very interesting. The establishment is in full freak out mode, literally trying to discredit the journalist who brought down Harvey Weinstein. That and Axelrod tweet tonight makes me think they're worried that something's coming https://twitter.com/...
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: @benyt This of course after he asked “whether The New Yorker can keep pace with the red-hot Atlantic” in a previous column. If this is going to be a running theme, I am SO here for it
Amanda / @motelamanda: this article is bizarre for a number of reasons but it's the timing of this that's so weird to me farrow's book came out 7 months ago and he hasn't published any new reporting since why publish this out of the blue? https://twitter.com/...
Hugh Naylor / @hughnaylor: This article is really important. A really bad man was taken down. But how many non-bad people will end up fucked over by loose reporting? Good journalism and rule of law for not letting mob sentiment overtake us —> a key struggle for America nowadays https://www.nytimes.com/...
Liz Dye / @5dollarfeminist: NYT, why are you like this????? The guy is 32 and brought down Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer. And, not for nothing, but he did it without bankrupting the New Yorker with defamation suits, either. https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Carreyrou / @johncarreyrou: Journalistic high-mindedness from @benyt, the guy who pubbed the Trump dossier without fact-checking a shred of it and who later refused to retract the Trump-instructed-Cohen-to-lie-to- Congress story. Rich with irony and quite brazen. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Geoff Ziezulewicz / @journogeoffz: “if reporters swim ably along with the tides of social media and produce damaging reporting about public figures most disliked by the loudest voices, the old rules of fairness and open-mindedness can seem more like impediments than essential journalistic imperatives.” https://twitter.com/...
Mark Byrne / @markwby: @benyt Implying that there is some kind of rot at the core of Farrow's work simply because you're unable to reverse engineer the extent of his reporting and he won't divulge is sources is some pretty fucked up media reporting.
Emma Loop / @loopemma: Why criticize Farrow when there are so many slimeballs out there? Because reporting — especially of this magnitude — should always be held to the highest standard. Journalism is about the truth, even the truths we don't like, and we need credibility to successfully expose them. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: Not mentioned in the column is the piece that Farrow co-authored in 2018, about an accuser from Brett Kavanaugh's college days https://www.politico.com/...
Liam Stack / @liamstack: “The best reporting tries to capture the most attainable version of the truth... Instead, Mr. Farrow told us what we wanted to believe about the way power works, and now, it seems, he and his publicity team are not even pretending to know if it's true.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@will_bunch: 1. I won't quibble with @benyt finding cases of excess and unfairness in Ronan Farrow's reporting - it was a solid, well-reported piece - but I do worry (and maybe I'm alone in this) about the overall context. I've worked with a lot of investigative reporters over 40 years and...
@timothys: This sounds a lot like the Times' reporting on North Korea over the last three years, which @benyt should also take a deep look at. “Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Cillizza / @cillizzacnn: One of the things I really admire about @benyt: He's utterly fearless https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Enrich / @davidenrich: Wow. This is pretty devastating. Make sure not to miss the final anecdote. @benyt https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: This is a pretty broad statement without examples, extrapolating from n=1. Perhaps better to make the story about Farrow just be about Farrow and not make a trend of it. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@petersterne: @benyt The critical examination of Farrow's work is good, but I'm troubled by your framing of the IRS leaker. He broke the law, but that doesn't mean he was lying to Farrow or behaving unethically. Surely you can agree that it's good when sources leak docs to journalists.
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: I thought it was odd of @benyt to link alleged flaws in Ronan Farrow's work to “resistance journalism” when one of his clearest examples of Farrow getting something serious wrong involved him attacking Hillary Clinton.
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
Discussion:
Kayleigh Barber / Digiday: Boston Globe Media sees ads slump 30% but subs increase by 35%
Curt Woodward / @curtwoodward: Huge milestone for the Globe: 200,000 digital-only subscribers. Subscription revenue is sustainable, incredibly well-aligned with the mission, and devoid of fraud and middlemen. Thanks to our incredible community for this support! https://www.wgbh.org/...
Dan Zedek / @danzedekdesign: Big subscriber boost for @BostonGlobe. Great to see the excellent work by @GlobeMcGrory's team finding the readership it deserves. https://twitter.com/...
Jure Gostisa / @gustlovina: Corona bump - the first global digital news subscriptions bump. Let's hope it was also the last.🙄 https://twitter.com/...
Deanna Pan / @ddpan: “It took us 7 years to get our first 100,000 digital-only subscribers, and about 11 months to get to 200,000,” @GlobeMcGrory said. Thank you, Globe subscribers, for your support! https://www.wgbh.org/...
Victoria McGrane / @vgmac: Thank you @BostonGlobe subscribers! We love you! https://twitter.com/...
Dan Kennedy / @dankennedy_nu: The @BostonGlobe hits the 200,000 mark for digital subscriptions. Now it has to figure out how to hold onto them. My @wgbhnews column: https://www.wgbh.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen / @rasmus_kleis: “It took us 7 years to get our first 100,000 digital-only subscribers, and about 11 months to get to 200,000” @GlobeMcGrory says. Well done to everyone at @BostonGlobe, so absolutely delightful to hear good news about digital progress in local news https://www.wgbh.org/...
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, @davemorgannyc, @newsceo, @jason_kint, @megancgraham, @profcarroll, @slpng_giants and @megancgraham
Discussion:
Meg Graham / @megancgraham: Last month, I started finding my stories on ad-supported sites that were ripping off content from publishers. To see how easy it was to monetize these sites, I made one. Within days, I was approved by adtech co's to run ads on stories “stolen” from CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dave Morgan / @davemorgannyc: Great work @megancgraham exposing how Programmatic Ad Biz supports fraud, undermines journalism and is protected by “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” adtech world, from @Google on down ... https://www.cnbc.com/...
David Chavern / @newsceo: An incredible piece of journalism. The intersection of ad tech and news content theft. https://twitter.com/...
@jason_kint: In hours, a reporter “outmoderated” Google and its $175B/year empire. If there ever was a case for all open programmatic advertising requiring “whitelisting” (rather than the 40k+ websites per campaign according to recent @ISBAsays research) then it's staring industry in face. https://twitter.com/...
Meg Graham / @megancgraham: Not that this is surprising in the least, but here's my story on ad-supported plagiarism, scraped in full on four websites that are running ads on it through @google, @criteo, @MGID and more https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
David Carroll / @profcarroll: The first 20 years of digital attention merchandising achieved frictionless automated revenue and data sharing at scale. Is it any wonder a toxic disinfoscape schemed by fraud-filled hucksters monetizes the infodemic of today? https://twitter.com/...
@slpng_giants: 3.5 years after we started alerting advertisers who appeared inadvertently on Breitbart, the opaque ad tech that was allowing them to clear $8 million in cash flow a year hasn't changed. It would be one thing if it was just a scam, but it's also harming the Internet and society. https://twitter.com/...
Meg Graham / @megancgraham: In mid-April, I tweeted this. It sparked some really interesting conversations about what's going on here — why are sites incentivized to do this? How do they do it? Who's even visiting these sites? Why is anyone in their right mind advertising on them? https://www.cnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
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:
John Koblin / @koblin: Senior executives have been pushed out. Most of the talent and development team has been gutted. As ViacomCBS execs take the reins, the comedy world is worried about the future of Comedy Central https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimesbusiness: Comedy Central, the onetime home of Stephen Colbert and Amy Schumer, has laid off most of its old leadership team and filled its schedule with reruns as it looks to make shows that are cheaper to produce https://www.nytimes.com/...
Joe DePaolo / Mediaite:
Trump ratchets up his attacks on a local news reporter, again sharing footage of the reporter being verbally abused by anti-lockdown protesters in Long Island — Four days after the video first caught his attention, President Donald Trump is ratcheting up his attacks on a local news reporter …
Discussion:
Donald J. Trump / @realdonaldtrump: This love of Country went all over. They hate Fake News, and so do I! https://twitter.com/...
Jordan Fischer / @jordanonrecord: I get why people are mad at the press. I do. We have privileged jobs. But I promise you that when we're all gone, when the companies you work for use pandemic relief to do stock buybacks and pad CEO bonuses instead of helping you, they aren't going to write about it themselves. https://twitter.com/...
Stephanie Tsoflias Siegel / TVSpy: President Trump Keeps Tweeting His Support of Protesters Harassing Long Island Reporter
Renato Mariotti / @renato_mariotti: This is the second time that Trump tweeted with approval about the same video, which depicts people acting hateful towards a reporter. https://twitter.com/...
Rebecca Klar / The Hill: ‘Hang Fauci, Hang Gates’ sign held at Open New York protest
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: Trump has shared the video of local TV reporter @KevinVesey being harassed 4 times now, including again this morning. He's tacitly giving permission for his supporters to behave the same way elsewhere.
Chris Megerian / @chrismegerian: This is the third time the president has shared this video of people harassing a local news reporter https://twitter.com/...
Maggie Haberman / @maggienyt: Not like it's new for potus to encourage people to go after reporters but this one is of a reporter - who the president has likely never met or heard of - who now gets to be targeted by potus supporters who dislike the press. https://twitter.com/...
Jemele Hill / @jemelehill: This is a great thread, but I take issue with the word “privileged.” Journalism is a working class profession. Either way, people do not understand how much local journalists hold leadership accountable. Worth reading 👇🏾 https://twitter.com/...
Bruce Arthur / @bruce_arthur: This thread gets at something that people don't always get: conservative media is largely about making you mad. Maybe scared too, but mostly it cultivates anger with lies. Actual honest media fights for you whether you like and trust us or not, and never more than in the pandemic https://twitter.com/...
Pat Kiernan / @patkiernan: Update on the local reporter who was harassed for trying to cover a “reopen” protest. Now POTUS has deemed it his Monday morning priority to cheerlead the harassment. https://twitter.com/...
Michael Calderone / @mlcalderone: Good thread: Highlights important accountability work journalists do, acknowledges how serious scrutiny can improve the work journalists do, and addresses some common critiques of the media https://twitter.com/...
Ariel Zilber / Associated Press: ‘Fake news is not essential’: Trump celebrates local reporter being abused and intimidated …
Chris Cillizza / CNN: This viral video of Trump supporters screaming at a reporter is a Rorschach test of America right now
Samantha Lock / The Sun: ‘GREAT PEOPLE’ Trump backs anti-lockdown protesters in Long Island who shouted abuse at a local reporter in viral video
Margaret Sullivan / @sulliview: Great thread https://twitter.com/...
Ted Johnson / Deadline: “Fake News Is Not Essential!”: Donald Trump Shares Video Of Protesters Berating Long Island News Reporter
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: Some Washington Examiner ex-staffers believe that their editorial director, Hugo Gurdon, turned a blind eye to workplace grievances as long as traffic grew. https://www.cjr.org/...
Oliver Darcy / @oliverdarcy: @howardpolskin reports that the law firm hired to conduct a third party probe of WaEx's culture/policies has completed its review and will have findings later in spring. But, Polskin reports, several women who filed complaints were never contacted for it. https://www.cjr.org/...
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:
Nicole Sperling / New York Times: Two Projects Are Filming Again. Here's How They're Doing It.
Erik Hayden / @erik_hayden: “the rules for shooting vary from territory to territory and in some cases within a single country” https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Mia Farrow / @miafarrow: Two film makers have found their way back into production: In Iceland, a Netflix series relied on testing and color-coded armbands. In Australia, the entire cast and crew of a Stephen King adaptation quarantined together. via @NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lexi Alexander / @lexialex: For a short moment last month I thought Covid could become an equalizer in the film business, that it would come down to a filmmaker's ability to work with a smaller crew, less toys etc. but I was wrong. It's going to be about connections and money...and guess who has those? https://twitter.com/...
Jordan Hoffman / Vanity Fair: Are These The New Protocols for Film and TV Production?
@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:
@viceunion, Columbia Journalism Review, Press Gazette, Nieman Lab, @bcmerchant, @pmsunion, @xpangler, @sydegee, @treytylor, @lalpert1, @cliomiso, @plbarghouty, @sammy_roth, @raxsha, @om, @margotroosevelt, @ashkan, Breitbart, @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
Discussion:
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette: Vice chief exec warns tech giants' ‘squeeze’ on publishers ‘becoming a chokehold’ as cuts fall
Brian Merchant / @bcmerchant: To put things in perspective: After decades of layoffs, there were 88K newsroom jobs by the end of 2019, counting digital. According to the NYT, there have been ~36k lost jobs since then. There is now approximately one mid-sized town worth of journalists covering the entire US.
@pmsunion: I for one am saddened to see another writers Union be seemingly powerless when it comes to fighting against their bosses in a financial battle. This is why the PMSLU must bravely soldier on in the shameless hawking of overpriced products for which it does not have proper license. https://twitter.com/...
Todd Spangler / @xpangler: In a statement, Vice Union said: “We understand that the entire news industry is hurting. We do not understand why Vice chose to lay off many of our colleagues in the middle of a global pandemic instead of exhausting all options to save these jobs” https://variety.com/...
@sydegee: never in my life have i experienced a layoff with dignity https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Trey Taylor / @treytylor: What do we do now that there are 32 editors left and 253789439 freelance writers
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: @bcmerchant @alexeheath Oh, of course, the industry has been suffering a crushing decline over the past 15 years or so, but my main point was that we didn't just see 36k jobs disappear in the last 2 months
Clio / @cliomiso: just got laid off! love my team so much at vice, some of the best people i've ever worked with. solidarity to those getting cut & those still working in unsustainable conditions. ownership doesn't care about journalism, but we do and we're going to build the industry we deserve
Phoebe Leila Barghouty / @plbarghouty: It looks like Vice is still using gchat to lay off employees. I was on my first vacation when Nancy from HR told me my “role was eliminated” over gchat along with dozens of my colleagues. https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ...
Sammy Roth / @sammy_roth: Journalism is reeling. If there's a publication you like to read and you want to keep reading it, now is the time to spend some money and support the work. https://www.niemanlab.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Raksha Muthukumar / @raxsha: Absolutely furious at the all the replies telling ppl to just learn to code in response to layoffs!!! What, you think you're better bc your layoffs haven't happened yet?? Enjoy your world w no artists and writers you absolute empathy lacking robot wankers https://twitter.com/...
@om: It is amazing to see after blowing through nearly $1.7 billion (including debt) @VICE CEO blames Google & Facebook for its troubles. Maybe just maybe people didn't want their product, and maybe there were some bad choices made. #vicelayoffs https://nypost.com/...
Margot Roosevelt / @margotroosevelt: .@VICE lays off 100 employees after management refused to consider workshare option or cut executive pay, per @viceunion https://twitter.com/...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / @ashkan: This week was brutal for workers in media: https://www.mediagazer.com/... It'll be interesting to look back to see how many “storytelling/entrepreneurs” emerged from the ashes: https://www.linkedin.com/...
Christina Warren / @film_girl: This from @jscros is really good. There is no good way to do layoffs. It doesn't exist. But there is a way to do it with respect and humility and that's something I wish companies of all sizes would consider. https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ...
Robert Zacny / @robzacny: Thanks to those who reached out. The Waypoint team remains intact after what's become a regular ritual of layoffs. As always, it was handled with great cruelty and scant reason. We know we're lucky. Our colleagues deserved better, and we're grateful @viceunion demands better.
Aleksander Chan / @aleksnotalex: the handwringing from execs about “tough choices” is just them psyching themselves up to take you out. to me, the only useful memo from the ceo in a layoff is plain language about how and when you'll know if you still have a job https://discourseblog.substack.com/ ...
Brianna Provenzano / @bri_provenzano: Not sure how we're supposed to do “mass media layoffs” without being able to get drunk in dive bars together. God is really pushing it with this one!
Marie Solis / @msolis14: today was my last day at VICE. I got to work with some of the kindest, smartest people in journalism there and I'm truly devastated. solidarity forever
Isobel Yeung / @isobelyeung: Gutted to see so many talented media folks lose their jobs this week. Please hire them all. https://twitter.com/...
Victor Pickard / @vwpickard: This is so terrible. We have to start seeing these cuts as a tragedy for all of us. It's not about the failure of specific business models. Rather it's systemic and it's a blow to any hope we might have for achieving a democratic society. https://www.niemanlab.org/... via @NiemanLab
Harry Cheadle / @hcheadle: after ten years, my streak of working at vice without getting laid off has come to an end. I will be looking for work etc. in the near future but right now I'm going to take the dog for a walk
Daniel Newhauser / @dnewhauser: So I passed my one year mark at Vice last week & never tweeted about it. But I guess one year is where it ends. I got axed today. I'm grateful for the amazing journalists who helped me do some of the best work of my career there. On to the next step. If you're hiring, LMK
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: @bcmerchant @alexeheath The Times' tally includes the 10s of thousands who had their pay reduced or were hit with part-time furloughs, so the actual job loss figure is substantially less than what you are citing here
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: @bcmerchant @alexeheath The Times' tally also appeared to include all 20k of Gannett's employees who were hit with partial furloughs, about 15k of whom are not involved in newsroom operations. The situation is bad, but not as apocalyptic as the Times made it seem
Brian Merchant / @bcmerchant: @lalpert1 @alexeheath i don't know, starting the year with 88k down from half that a decade ago is already pretty apocalyptic — and w thousands more shed now, seems pretty bad
Daniel Hernandez / @longdrivesouth: More layoffs coming at #Vice. The emotional toll of this ... across digital media at large. Solidarity @viceunion: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Sally Hayden / @sallyhayd: Thoughts with former colleagues at Vice, as well as everyone at Buzzfeed, Quartz, the Economist, etc. where layoffs are ongoing. This is a terrible time for journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: In the long run, journalism needs to be completely decoupled from corporate advertising
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: The shrinking of legacy and “new” media ventures is a tragedy but also an opportunity for journalists There are thousands of stories that should be told that are not being told And people are willing to pay for those stories
@onionincunion: This is awful. Solidarity with @viceunion, and shame on CEOs like Nancy Dubuc for pretending they're doing anything to protect workers. https://twitter.com/...
Amy Rose Spiegel / @amyrosary: VICE lost so many talented people today. A lot of them were already-underrepresented women of color and trans women on our staff. I am heartbroken and pissed. https://twitter.com/...
Joel D. Anderson / @byjoelanderson: this is an incredibly bleak time all the way around. i'm so sorry for everyone at vice, buzzfeed, the cleveland plain-dealer, and pretty much every other media outlet because we're seemingly all going to feel the same or a similar pain at some point. https://twitter.com/...
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: Dubuc's contract “is said to reward her for selling the company,” according to VF, which could really explain a lot of shortsighted rush-to-profitability moves she's made. seems less like long-term nurturing of the company/its people and more like a mad dash to bonusland
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: for instance job-sharing during a downturn makes a lot of sense if you're a company that values talent and you're thinking long-term. LA Times did that. but VICE didn't bite. because a smaller staff is more attractive to buyers?
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: this is why Dubuc's disinterest in her staff is so puzzling. VICE, way more than other media, is entirely based around the voice of its writers/employees. you can't just swap in reporters randomly, at a whim, and keep what made VICE successful. https://twitter.com/...
Ankita Rao / @anrao: The only reason VICE became VICE was because its journalists dared to go to corners of the earth and internet nobody else would. That's why I worked there. What is the end game?
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: it's worth looking at her own job performance. she decided to “go big” and invest in VICE Live, a two-hour TV show (teens love scheduled cable TV right!). it was canceled in 2 months. one VICE insider called it “the worst two hours of TV ever made.”
Lainna Fader / @lainnafader: This has been such a terrible week for the media industry. Heartbroken for friends and colleagues at Conde, Quartz, Vice, and maybe even more. The worst part is it's not an issue of quality of work, but of a broken business model and other external forces https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
Amanda Kolson Hurley / @amandakhurley: Co-sign. Also, I'm sure traffic is way up at most or all of these outlets (+ Buzzfeed)—people have been consuming so much news during the pandemic. That doesn't even matter without a workable business model. https://twitter.com/...
Lainna Fader / @lainnafader: + BuzzFeed We all deserve so much better than this https://twitter.com/...
@viceunion: Today as always, we are grateful for our union and hope more newsrooms organize for better job protections and guaranteed severance.
Heather Alexandra / @transgamerthink: Been a bad week for the industry and the blame falls squarely on the shoulders of executives who lack the imagination to *actually* collaborate with workers. https://twitter.com/...
Carolina A. Miranda / @cmonstah: Seeing how many companies don't want to deal with workshare makes me happy I work @latimes. Because not trying to preserve your newsroom is a hot crock of bull 💩 https://twitter.com/...
Eric Nusbaum / @ericnus: The one constant theme of my time working at VICE was corporate management finding creative new ways disregard and disrespect the incredible work done by its journalists while also selling that journalism to potential investors & financiers. I'm sad that nothing has changed. https://twitter.com/...
Stuart Andrew Thompson / @stuartathompson: since arriving, the only thing VICE ceo Nancy Dubuc seems to be good at is laying people off. she's ended about 400 jobs in two years. https://twitter.com/...
Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce: “For more than a month, VICE repeatedly refused to discuss workshare programs.” 😡 https://twitter.com/...
Andy Campbell / @andybcampbell: Over just three days, Condé Nast, Quartz and VICE gutted their newsrooms with layoffs. This is a historically bad year for digital and local journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Saba Hamedy / @saba_h: This was an awful week for media. It's incredibly depressing to see all these amazing journalists across many outlets lose their jobs. Thinking of them, and our industry. I don't have hiring powers but I'm always here to lend an ear to anyone who needs it ❤️ https://twitter.com/...
Jay L. Clendenin / @jaylclendenin: if the program is available, and companies truly value their employees, why wouldn't they look into it plans like the workshare program? https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: Fascinating. Vice cutting digital team because revenue lags traditional. Blames Big Tech. https://twitter.com/...
X A-Jeff / @thecultureofme: i've had a lot of friends lose jobs at vice in the past 20 years and it still sucks how often this happens https://twitter.com/...
Erick Fernandez / @erickfernandez: Seemingly endless bad news coming out of the media industry. https://twitter.com/...
Tim Pool / @timcast: I joined VICE as they started rocketing to the top and I jumped ship right at the top https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ ...
@kerrymflynn: Vice union said they were pushing for a workshare program but management refused. Union also says management refused to make further cuts to exec compensation: https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Osborn / @rozzy: Sad truth: “Digital” doesn't work as more heads with same cost structure. “Digital production” has to be applied to the core. https://twitter.com/...
Ashkan Karbasfrooshan / @ashkan: Every time u read about layoffs, it's fear from @sequoia deck driving it. @Vice built an organization that rivaled traditional in size but without the commensurate revenue so digital's 50% costs vs 21% revenues forces it to cut where future growth is. https://www.mediagazer.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Barton Gellman / The Atlantic:
Reporter describes being under surveillance and investigation by the US government after receiving documents from Snowden and how it affected his personal life — “What time exactly does your clock say?” asked the voice on the telephone, the first words Edward Snowden ever spoke to me aloud.
Discussion:
@shashj, @shashj, @hatr, @theatlantic, @bartongellman, @jeffreygoldberg, @adriennelaf and @denisewills
Discussion:
Shashank Joshi / @shashj: Gellman on defending against state sponsored espionage. “Against adversaries like this, all I could do was make myself a less appealing target. I layered on so many defenses that navigating through them became a chronic drain on my time, mental energy, and emotional equilibrium” https://twitter.com/...
Shashank Joshi / @shashj: 'I asked Clapper whether I was a valid counterintelligence target. “Theoretically you could be ... Given how Snowden is viewed by the [IC], someone who's in league with him ... that's a valid counterintelligence—and for that matter law-enforcement—target"' https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Hakan / @hatr: Barton Gellman writes about being spied upon - among others, by the U.S. and the turkish intel agency MIT, after having reported on the Snowden docs. https://www.theatlantic.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@theatlantic: “Were my security measures excessive?” writes @bartongellman. “I knew the spy agencies of multiple governments—most notably the United States'—were eager to glean anything they could from Edward Snowden.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Barton Gellman / @bartongellman: “Someone had taken control of my iPad, blasting through Apple's security restrictions.... I dropped the tablet on the seat next to me as if it were contagious. I had an impulse to toss it out the window.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Jeffrey Goldberg / @jeffreygoldberg: Read this to find out what it's like to be surveilled by the government while not being absolutely sure you're being surveilled, or even which government is doing the surveilling: https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
Adrienne LaFrance / @adriennelaf: “Mueller cross-examined me: Were the NSA documents not lawfully classified? Were they not stolen? Did I not publish them anyway? I held out my arms toward him, wrists together, as if for handcuffs. The audience laughed. Mueller did not.” https://www.theatlantic.com/ ...
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.
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 …, @freedomnowla, Reuters, @stengel, @baldingsworld, Fox News and The Atlantic
Discussion:
Michael R. Pompeo / United States Department of State: American Journalists Based in Hong Kong
Dawn After Night / @freedomnowla: @mediagazer Please the US revoke the #HongKong special status, suspend the HK Policy Act. The #CCP won't stop eroding HKers' rights. We still have not gotten our #FiveDemands yet, especially #UniversalSuffrage. #FreeHK #HKHRDA https://twitter.com/...
Patricia Zengerle / Reuters: Pompeo warns China over interference with U.S. journalists in Hong Kong
Richard Stengel / @stengel: Why are you defending American journalists abroad and attacking them as enemies of the people at home? https://www.axios.com/...
@baldingsworld: I can't wait to hear the outraged cries from independent Chinese media and journalists beginning in infinity x never https://twitter.com/...
Frank Miles / Fox News: Pompeo warns China after revealing it ‘threatened to interfere’ with work of US journalists in Hong Kong
Timothy McLaughlin / The Atlantic: Is This Taiwan's Moment? — Taiwanese media this week became …
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
Discussion:
Carol Barash / @carolbarash: I hope y'all take advantage of this huge opportunity to diversify voices and stories! @NBCNews @CBS @CNN https://twitter.com/...
Jessica Huseman / @jessicahuseman: *raging applause* https://twitter.com/...
Stephen Fowler / @stphnfwlr: “There's a dime a dozen media on the East Coast, in New York and DC. There's a lot on the West Coast. We feel like it's really important to ensure a diverse set of voices are elevated, and I think that starts with being in the center of the United States,” @eramshaw said. https://twitter.com/...
Jeremy C. Owens / @jowens510: This is great in theory, but requires super strong and talented middle management able to work with a distributed reporter base. Unfortunately, that level of newsroom management that has been absolutely DESTROYED in recent years. Can it be rebuilt on the fly? https://twitter.com/...
Frank Pallotta / @frankpallotta: WFH becoming normal would be a welcomed future for the media industry. It obviously comes with challenges (so does working in an office), but as ProPublica president Richard Tofel said “it really does help provide a more national and varied perspective.” https://www.cnn.com/...
Richard Tofel / @dicktofel: Good piece by @kerrymflynn on distributed newsrooms now. Agree there is much great journalism beyond NYC and DC. One word of caution in turning this insight against “the coasts”: 40% of the country lives in coastal counties, 66% in coastal states. https://www.cnn.com/...
Jeremy Barr / @jeremymbarr: I think about this sentence for a long time: “I've been in the New York media world for about 20 years now and it can be pretty samesies, right?” https://www.cnn.com/...
Evan DeSimone / @media_evan: People have been predicting the death of New York as a media capital for a decade but this could finally be it. https://www.cnn.com/...
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