Top News:
The COVID Tracking Project:
The COVID Tracking Project, founded by three journalists and supported by The Atlantic, says it will issue its final update on March 7 and close in May — After a year of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting COVID-19 data for the United States, we're ending our data compilation work in early March.
Discussion:
@covid19tracking, @alexismadrigal, @yayitsrob, @ericuman, @covid19tracking, @thejoshklein, @covid19tracking, @alexismadrigal, @alexismadrigal, @alexismadrigal, @covid19tracking, @kottke, @peterj_walker, @covid19tracking, @jburnmurdoch, @kissane, Why is this interesting?, @emilybell, Crain's New York Business and Engadget
Discussion:
@covid19tracking: Some important news about CTP: After a year of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting COVID-19 data for the United States—and months of preparation for what we're about to announce—we're ending our data compilation work on March 7. https://covidtracking.com/...
Alexis C. Madrigal / @alexismadrigal: Well, after months of quiet preparation, we're ready to announce that we'll be spinning down data collection soon. https://twitter.com/...
Robinson Meyer / @yayitsrob: We started @COVID19Tracking to pressure the government into releasing data we were sure it had. Then we realized it didn't have that data at all—it was using ours. We had to keep going. Now, the public's government is ready to track the public's data. It's time for us to go. https://twitter.com/...
Eric Umansky / @ericuman: “To be a force for reality.” That's how the @COVID19Tracking's @kissane & @alexismadrigal describe what drove them. And really, it's a great mission statement for journalism generally. https://covidtracking.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@covid19tracking: We didn't come to this decision easily, but we have believed from the very beginning of the project that the work of compiling, publishing, and analyzing COVID-19 data for the US properly belongs to federal public health agencies.
Josh Klein / @thejoshklein: “No one expected a volunteer pop-up collective to publish and interpret public health data for the United States for the first year of a global pandemic... while our world-famous public health agencies remained sidelined and underfunded” #DataHeroes https://covidtracking.com/...
@covid19tracking: We will be archiving everything we've published and publishing a lot more documentation and analysis in the coming weeks and months. We care about this data and about all the context around it, and we're going through a very careful archive process.
Alexis C. Madrigal / @alexismadrigal: This is, of course, a bittersweet moment for those of us at @COVID19Tracking. We've built a community with incredible capacities and stores of knowledge. But this project was never meant to last forever. And we could not have continued indefinitely with our current model. https://twitter.com/...
Alexis C. Madrigal / @alexismadrigal: Choosing a measured, responsible spindown is a very tough choice to make, but @kissane and I deeply believe that it is the right one for our people and for the country.
Alexis C. Madrigal / @alexismadrigal: It won't be the end of the project. We've always had a strange dual role as data-provider *and* fierce critics of that data. From March-May, we will focus on that latter role, producing a set of documents we hope will help correct public health data problems in the future.
@covid19tracking: The CDC and HHS are now publishing data that is much more comparable to the figures we have been compiling from states since last spring. Gaps and inconsistencies remain, and we will continue to analyze federal data and document what we find through the end of May.
@kottke: The COVID Tracking Project will stop its work in early March because the US government is finally doing this vital task. A huge HUGE thank you to the @COVID19Tracking team for their service. https://covidtracking.com/...
Peter Walker / @peterj_walker: It's been the privilege of a lifetime to get to work with the brilliant, generous, dedicated humans at @COVID19Tracking. We're wrapping up daily updates on March 7. More teary, personal threads to come I'm sure but for now: https://covidtracking.com/...
@covid19tracking: But after months of discussion with advisors and agencies, we believe this is the right thing to do for COVID-19 data in the US, and for our people as well. Please do take a moment to read the post if you have questions. https://covidtracking.com/...
John Burn-Murdoch / @jburnmurdoch: It's remarkable so many of the best, most consistent & reliable Covid datasets are volunteer projects or similar. Unaffiliated and often unsupported by governments or health agencies. Covid Tracking Proj is a classic of the genre. Incredible work from the team over the last year https://twitter.com/...
Erin Kissane / @kissane: We have a lot of work ahead of us at @COVID19Tracking, but announcing now that we're winding down data collection to focus on a last push on federal accountability feels very right. https://covidtracking.com/...
Emily Bell / @emilybell: What an amazingly important piece of journalism; sustained, detailed and genuinely life-saving. @kissane @alexismadrigal @yayitsrob and team brought the principles of open news and data journalism together to great effect https://twitter.com/...
Igor Bonifacic / Engadget: The COVID Tracking Project will stop collecting data on March 7th
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Elon Musk's Clubhouse appearance was a kind of test case for a16z's media ambitions and showed how the app could work as the audio version of Medium — I. Andreessen Horowitz and the backdoor pilot — Hey, did you hear Elon Musk went on Clubhouse? — The media and venture capital worlds …
Discussion:
Eric Newcomer / @ericnewcomer: so undisclosed future a16z partner hosts event with a16z partner where a16z portfolio company does crisis PR but it's billed as this big organic thing with Elon Musk?
Alex Heath / @alexeheath: A notable move in the venture capital world: Angel investor and Clubhouse host extraordinaire @sriramk has been named a general partner at @a16z, the firm behind Clubhouse's funding rounds https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: This week's free @platformer column expands on this thought to consider what Clubhouse enables, and what Elon's appearance revealed. https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Mauricio Cabrera / The Muffin por Mauricio Cabrera: Confirmado: Silicon Valley no quiere al periodismo
@jaycodon: Some people in media are really upset by a16z expanding its media operation. Why? Companies have been doing content marketing for years. This is no different. They'll tell fluffy stories about technology. Journalists will report. Readers will find what they want.
Sarah Szalavitz / @dearsarah: Leaving Musk aside, seems more like how the venture capitalists who fund Clubhouse—who are not coincidentally on the app's Suggested User List—are guaranteed an audience by the app & thus an audience for the content they produce for their new ‘media’ arm? https://www.theverge.com/...
Bradley Leimer / @leimer: Clubhouse's moment arrives https://www.platformer.news/ ... It's live, spontaneous, and a bit of a mess like early twitter. It does feel like radio a bit. If they fix the UI, temper down notifications, and make it more inclusive, it could be interesting. It's likely a privacy nightmare.
Eric Newcomer / @ericnewcomer: i suspect some venture firms will begin to remember why they liked independent media
Eric Newcomer / @ericnewcomer: though will be interesting to see who tries to replicate the a16z strategy
Damilare / @darethetrigger: Clubhouse offers all the distribution upside of a podcast without the planning or editing that recording an actual podcast would entail. It's what Anchor tried to become and never quite did. https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: Marc Andreessen just hired the moderator of that conversation he blocked journalists from on Clubhouse last night with Elon. So, if there were any doubt about the A16Z's intentions to control convos on Clubhouse, should be all cleared up. @alexeheath https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
Cory Weinberg / @coryweinberg: something something go direct, clubhouse, a16z, journalism https://twitter.com/...
@rafat: I still haven't found a use case for Clubhouse in my life, but at least this is the first good attempt at explaining the nuances of its appeal to non-hucksters who do like using it, by @CaseyNewton https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: It's the same person in both situations lol. Basically sponcon for a16z https://www.theinformation.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Mark Little / @marklittlenews: In my early experience of Clubhouse, I have many questions about many potential unintended consequences, but also immediately feeling its value as an accelerant for communities based on passion, profession and potentially place. https://www.platformer.news/ ...
Washington Post: Elon Musk grills Robinhood CEO over GameStop trading freeze: ‘The people demand answers’
Dan Froomkin / Press Watch:
Political reporters need to be rebranded as government reporters, covering problems and those trying to solve them instead of who is winning messaging wars — The newly announced resignation of Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron, the abrupt stepping-down of Los Angeles Times …
Discussion:
Andrew Sullivan / @sullydish: At its heart, this is a screed against “whiteness” and “white values”. A small glimpse into the racism our elites now uphold as self-evident. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Political reporters need to be rebranded as government reporters, covering problems and who's trying to solve them instead of which party is winning today's messaging war. https://presswatchers.org/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: In his new column, @froomkin argues that political reporters should rebrand as government reporters covering probems and what's being done about them— rather than parties and what's being said about them. https://presswatchers.org/...
David Folkenflik / @davidfolkenflik: This column from a liberal media critic is worth the read for the fundamental insight: as constructed, political press corps instinctively sidesteps the harder job of reporting on/assessing whether policies work and serve public https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: The second section encourages political reporters to learn from their big mistakes covering Bush/Cheney, Obama, the 2016 election and Trump. Which they haven't. https://presswatchers.org/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Gregg Gonsalves / @gregggonsalves: OMG. I heart @froomkin. Political reporting in the context of this pandemic has a lot to answer for. Dan lays out the problem in more general terms. Sadly, most of the biggest names will brush this off, because they know better. https://presswatchers.org/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: I wrap up by calling for reporters to pursue serious consequences for officials who lie to them, whether it's on or off the record. Because in a world with no consequences for lying, fact-based journalism has little value. https://presswatchers.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Stephen Northrup / @sjnorthrup: As counterintuitive as it may seem, this shift has been well underway for a while in a number of “inside the Beltway” outlets. It's certainly been underway in general health care reporting, even before the pandemic. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: I would love to hear a response from someone high up in the NYT, WaPO or LAT newsrooms, about what is or isn't realistic about this. https://twitter.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: Politico Playbook PM leads with absolutely the right question! “HOW MUCH MONEY DOES AMERICA NEED?” But (surprise!) it doesn't actually address that question once. Not a tiny bit. It's just more game coverage. https://www.politico.com/...
Dan Froomkin / @froomkin: This was one of the inspirations behind my latest column. https://presswatchers.org/... https://twitter.com/...
James Fallows / @jamesfallows: This dispatch by @froomkin is full of *so* much important and crucial advice that my first instinct was to just screenshot it all. Instead, please read it all! https://presswatchers.org/... h/t @GRobLewis Two samples: https://twitter.com/...
@risj_oxford: The next generation of editors should be “abandoning the failed, anachronistic notions of objectivity, recognizing and rejecting establishment whiteness, and finding dramatically more effective ways to create an informed electorate,” writes @froomkin https://presswatchers.org/...
Perry Bacon Jr / @perrybaconjr: The political media shifted during the Trump era (less both sides-ism), essentially conceding its critics were right. Two of the most prominent critics were @froomkin and @farai. So very much worth reading their latest thoughts. https://presswatchers.org/... and https://www.msnbc.com/...
Perry Bacon Jr / @perrybaconjr: I can't pick one section to highlight from this great conversation between @farai and @trymainelee. If you care about journalism, politics and/or racial issues, you should definitely read two of the country's leading black journalists speaking so honestly. https://www.msnbc.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Perry Bacon Jr / @perrybaconjr: The other thing @froomkin gets so right is that while political journalists have been perhaps too unwilling to write about today's GOP honestly and directly, we were probably not critical enough of Obama (in the right ways) either. https://presswatchers.org/... https://twitter.com/...
Marci Harris / @marcidale: YES PLEASE!! Hard for elected officials to turn from campaigning to governing when the media never makes the jump with them Whole piece is must-read, especially re: whiteness Thanks @froomkin Cc: everyone in media https://twitter.com/...
Sandy Garossino / @garossino: Covid being a perfect example. https://twitter.com/...
RELATED:
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Survey: 42% of Americans trust journalists more if they keep their views private; 36% trust them more if they are “open and honest” on social media about views
Survey: 42% of Americans trust journalists more if they keep their views private; 36% trust them more if they are “open and honest” on social media about views
Discussion:
@benyt, @sopandeb, @sopandeb, @taylorlorenz, @jbarro, @yashar, Memex 1.1, @lukeoneil47, @goldietaylor, @byjoelanderson, @genepark, @choire, @benyt, @transscribe, @ryangrim, @espiers, @soledadobrien, @mariabustillos, @jeffjarvis, @yashar, @mattyglesias, @russian_starr, @jilliancyork, @jeffjarvis, @sopandeb, @wesleylowery, The Media Nut, @jayrosen_nyu, @edzitron, @sammy_roth, @taniel, @chrisgeidner, American Press Institute, @hshaban, @chick_in_kiev, @ewong, @wesleylowery, @ericzuck, @briannawu, @joannastern, @nishachittal, @joannastern, @moneyries, @joshtpm, @allisonlcarter, @andrewmarzoni, @taylorlorenz, @benmullin, @felixsalmon, @megreenwell, @larakate, @racheld, @hwise29, @sonnybunch, @benhoffmannyt, @taylorlorenz, @wmreddy, @taylorlorenz, @taylorlorenz, @aegallagher, @morningconsult, @ron_fournier, @ron_fournier, @joshuagreen, @qjurecic, @timodc, @jayrosen_nyu, @carigervin, @mattdpearce, @mattdpearce, @tball and @smgalante
Discussion:
Sopan Deb / @sopandeb: @benyt Twitter, for all its warts, is quite democratizing. It allows journalists a reach, both in the platform and in networking, they wouldn't have otherwise. Who would that benefit the most? People who are underrepresented and don't have the traditional upwards mobility.
Sopan Deb / @sopandeb: This piece by @benyt is illuminating and well reasoned. But I do think something all these “Should journalists tweet?” pieces miss is that Twitter has allowed POC journalists a platform they're often denied in traditional newsrooms. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: This is an interesting piece by @benyt on newsrooms relationship to twitter. One thing I think to note is that pretty much every reporter I've ever managed seemed to be happy to abide by social media guidelines... if they understood what they were https://www.nytimes.com/...
Yashar Ali / @yashar: 1. Some people were apparently confused by what I said to @benyt for his column...specifically the part I highlighted. Some found the number of requests I get to be unbelievable and others think it's insane that reporters would send so many requests https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
John Naughton / Memex 1.1: Monday 1 February, 2021 — Orchid in a window — Quote of the Day … - Michael Novak, writer and philosopher
Luke Oneil / @lukeoneil47: The unspoken truth in stories like this is journalists are not supposed to tweet their own point of view if it comes from the left. Status quo and conventional wisdom (centrist and center right) takes are considered de facto neutral. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Joel D. Anderson / @byjoelanderson: Echoing what other folks I respect have already said: My journalism career probably ends a decade earlier — for better or worse — without Twitter. Plus, speaking for myself, I'm exposed to so many good and smart people on here. Twitter is often good, too. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Gene Park / @genepark: the reason i never say the f word in tweets lies within this @benyt piece lol https://www.nytimes.com/...
Choire Sicha / @choire: For years I've been saving it all up for a single tweet so vulgar, so horrific, so enthralling, that not only will it get me fired but a bad tweet wormhole will erase my sad path through this world, destroying everything I've touched. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: This suggests, I think, that different outlets should take different approaches, rather than that everyone should try to average these findings https://twitter.com/...
Katelyn Burns / @transscribe: How often has the NYT dropped dirt on WaPo after getting criticized for their own internal employment decisions? https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Grim / @ryangrim: Nuzzi is the best political profile writer since Marjorie Williams and the Post blew the chance to have had both with a ridiculous pdf, @benyt reports https://twitter.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: what is it with newspaper editors and their issues with women who swear? https://twitter.com/...
Soledad O'Brien / @soledadobrien: (Also when you quit those tv newsroom jobs, a big following and a specific voice is a valuable commodity, makes you more marketable and elevates your point of view.) https://twitter.com/...
Maria Bustillos / @mariabustillos: Executives and investors can threaten outspoken journalists with the loss of their jobs, and that makes the mainstream press tame and flabby That's why we need journalist-owned cooperative media: @discourse_blog @DefectorMedia @brickhousecoop (I too loved the @benyt piece) https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: This 🧵✖️💯. @SopanDeb is so right. Twitter enables voices too long not represented in mass newsrooms & news to be heard. When (old, white, male) editors & reporters turn their back on Twitter, they turn their back on those voices. https://medium.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Yashar Ali / @yashar: Something I said to @benyt that didn't end up in his column Often the only safety net a reporter has is their Twitter following. It allows them to seek new employment, get other gigs that they wouldn't necessarily be able to lock in without a following. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Not a huge surprise but @benyt on newsroom spats about Twitter is excellent — the basic question to me is whether news brands want to start paying compensating differentials to exert more control over their employees' social media presences. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Terrell Jermaine Starr / @russian_starr: I appreciate this well-reasoned piece by @benyt and encourage all to read it. I'd only add that most of—if not all—of these never tweet columns come from privileged white men who don't need social media to find work. I'd have no job or opportunities without social media. https://twitter.com/...
Jillian C. York / @jilliancyork: I think this piece by @benyt is frankly, elitist claptrap. Journalists don't just work at Times and the Post. No real consideration of the citizen journalists for whom Twitter is vital, because their countries' newsrooms are co-opted by the state. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: Good column (great lede, great kicker, bad hed) from @benyt today. He touches on one angle I would emphasize: the opportunity for conversation, for listening particularly to those underrepresented in newsrooms. I said that here: https://medium.com/... https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sopan Deb / @sopandeb: @benyt Ben kind of gets at it here, ie. Twitter shifts balance towards “star” reporters. True! But it also shifts power towards underrepresented reporters. And that's something often overlooked. https://twitter.com/...
Wesley / @wesleylowery: this both doesn't surprise me and is extremely important. I once told an editor that, for the beat I cover and readers I court, being unwilling to say (true) things like “sure a lot of the Tea Party was racist” would harm my ability to earn their trust https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Josh Sternberg / The Media Nut: Is advertising in the Super Bowl worth it?
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: You're more likely to be trusted if you conceal what you think... vs. You're more likely to be trusted if you reveal what you think... The two propositions give rise to different social media policies. Of course trust is only one issue. Social control in the newsroom is another. https://twitter.com/...
Sammy Roth / @sammy_roth: I think a big reason there's so much tension between journalists and their bosses on Twitter is that traditional news organizations too often fall victim to a “both sides” mentality that makes it difficult for reporters to hold power to account. Twitter offers them an outlet. https://twitter.com/...
@taniel: One thing I'd add to @benyt's column: what Twitter also helps in political journalism is elevate local or seemingly parochial issues, conflicts, elections by showing their stakes & trends in a way that's hard without the medium's staccato repetition &... https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Geidner / @chrisgeidner: This is very true, and I think it applies to lots of groups who had been kept out of high-profile journalism circles for a long time. Women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ people, indigenous people, and so on. I have talked often about how Twitter enabled my journalism career. https://twitter.com/...
American Press Institute: Need to Know: February 1, 2021 — Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism
Hamza Shaban / @hshaban: A key line that seems to apply beyond tweets, but news coverage itself, during the final weeks of Trump. And one could argue the same dynamic was steering social media companies, prompting them to take action only once Trump was on his way out. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Talia Lavin / @chick_in_kiev: depressingly this is the only reason i get gigs https://twitter.com/...
Edward Wong / @ewong: I thought about tweeting something profane to test my newspaper's social media policy, but decided to read the latest @benyt column instead. (I did tweet earlier tonight about 泡菜, which some people might find distasteful.) https://www.nytimes.com/...
Wesley / @wesleylowery: very true. It allows people otherwise overlooked in their newsrooms to find audience and platform, and also allows those of us who are not in newsroom leadership roles to weigh in on the current and future state of our industry in ways we never could otherwise https://twitter.com/...
Eric Zuckerman / @ericzuck: Get you a newsletter than can do both. @revue https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Brianna Wu / @briannawu: Journalism school: “Speak your truth, even when it makes the powerful uncomfortable!” Journalism conglomerates: “Please refer to these strict guidelines before speaking your truth. It makes our #brand uncomfortable.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Joanna Stern / @joannastern: Before I hit the tweet button I always remind myself of our social media policy, which means, well, I have a lot of things saved in drafts.
Nisha Chittal / @nishachittal: “If I ran a newsroom,” he said, “I'd both tell my people I wasn't going to come after them for stupid tweets and also basically beg them to tweet as little as possible.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Joanna Stern / @joannastern: This week's @benyt column speaks to me deeply. It's a careful balancing act being a @wsj columnist and editor and being such a great tweeter. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Ries / @moneyries: Whatever the platform, newsroom managers will always be fearful of giving their journalists a voice outside the traditional restraints of said newsroom. Everyone needs an editor until they realize they don't. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Josh Marshall / @joshtpm: A really sincere thanks to TPM readers who've made it possible for me for twenty years not to have to worry about this shit. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Allison Carter / @allisonlcarter: A lot to chew on here. My main thought: A journalist's social media should be judged in its totality rather than for one or two bad tweets, in all but the most egregious circumstances. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Andrew Marzoni / @andrewmarzoni: Call me sentimental but David Carr's memory deserves more respect than being used as clickbait for a story in which pundits weigh in on whether they should be allowed to tweet. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: I wish more newsrooms would move away from this antagonistic relationship with their own writers and work on better, more proactive strategies for social media. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Mullin / @benmullin: Better to break news in a bulletproofed story than a tweet. Best to avoid giving bad-faith critics wiggle room to attack your reporting using your tweets: https://nytimes.us4.list-manage.com/ ...
Felix Salmon / @felixsalmon: This is what @AxiosNick actually does https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Megan Greenwell / @megreenwell: Of all the types of questionably actionable Twitter behavior, lobbying this “independent reporter” to tweet your stories is by far the most egregious. (I don't believe for a second that hundreds a day do this.) https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Lara Cohen / @larakate: Newsrooms don't always love when their reporters tweet for a lot of reasons — not the least of which is that twitter followers & engagement show that individual journalists are often more powerful than their collective news brands. Smart news orgs leverage rather than fight this https://twitter.com/...
Dodes / @racheld: This was an interesting column. When I worked at the WSJ, I tried to be careful with Twitter, but nevertheless found myself in trouble (not huge trouble but distressing nonetheless) for a couple of Tweets over the years. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Hannah Wise / @hwise29: What if instead of worrying about the platform, journalists focused on how effectively they are reaching, listening to, and serving the unique information needs of their audience, wherever those audience members may be? https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sonny Bunch / @sonnybunch: Reporters shouldn't tweet but that's only because no one should tweet, never tweet. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Benjamin Hoffman / @benhoffmannyt: For full disclosure in this piece about social media, the list of top follows at the NYT should have clarified that @TheSteinLine got that large following through his takes on Buffalo sports history. The NBA stuff is a side hustle. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: The most success I found was working very closely w/ writers (and editors) to shape a proactive content strategy for their feeds, even helping them structure ways to grow their own brand that didn't jeopardize the house brand. I used to send out “suggested tweet” emails abt news
William Reddy / @wmreddy: “David Carr, the legendary Timesman who made this column a destination, told me back in 2012 that he kept a “helicopter on the roof” of The New York Times Building in case he needed to escape.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: Disciplining people for one off tweets is not something I ever found to be effective when I was in senior newsroom management. Often it just lead to anger among staff and confusion because punishment would seem arbitrary. I stopped sending the “your tweet” emails very early
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: For the vast majority of my career I was a social media director and have written the social media guidelines for 3 major newsrooms. No 2 people will ever interpret the same set of guidelines the same way. And that's the crux of the problem imo
Aileen Gallagher / @aegallagher: There's not a social media policy in the world that address the crux of the problem: What's good for social media is often bad for journalism. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@morningconsult: “But newsroom conversations about bias and trust tend, oddly, to leave out the audience. So last week, I persuaded @MorningConsult to survey Americans on, more or less, the question of whether we should all shut up on social media,” writes @benyt. https://nyti.ms/3r6JeQK https://twitter.com/...
Ron Fournier / @ron_fournier: I especially like the kicker where @benyt asks us to finance his helicopter. Another great column https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ron Fournier / @ron_fournier: “And many of the battles over Twitter are really battles over journalism itself, and over whose perspective and judgment is central in an era when the country and the industry are wrestling with big questions of race and gender and power.” ~ @benyt https://www.nytimes.com/...
Joshua Green / @joshuagreen: Huge sympathy for @yashar — I'd absolutely lose my mind if this were me https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Quinta Jurecic / @qjurecic: twitter is in the strange situation of both creating and annihilating job security for journalists, which feels appropriately contradictory https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “41% agreed with the statement, ‘I trust journalists more if they keep their political and social views private,’ while 36% agreed with the opposite statement, ‘I trust journalists more if they are open and honest about their political and social views.’” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@carigervin: Like no fucking shit. (Not gonna tag my former bosses but also NO FUCKING SHIT.) https://twitter.com/...
@mattdpearce: also this dynamic is... very real! https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@mattdpearce: Cards on the table: Social media gives journalists way more bargaining power with employers overall and they relinquish it at their peril. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:
Twitter restored the account of India's leading investigative magazine Caravan after six hours, telling officials that its tweets constituted free speech — The government order to block included a movie star, a political commentator, and a prominent magazine. Their accounts have all been restored.
Discussion:
@pranavdixit, @vinodjose, TIME, TechCrunch, @accessnow, @pranavdixit, @aatishtaseer, @kishor_nr, @risj_oxford, @nicdawes, MediaNama, @nktpnd, @shashj, @pranavdixit, @nicdawes, @mathewi, @nicdawes, @safimichael, @vnemana, @runwithskizzers, @mathewi, @audreytruschke, @hooohaah, @vidyakrishnan, @snehamkoshy, @mknid, @rssurjewala, @harikunzru, @profirmf, @aaschapiro, @vinodjose, Reuters, MediaNama and Scroll.in, more at Techmeme »
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@pranavdixit: The Twitter account of The Caravan, India's leading investigative journalism magazine, has been withheld in India by Twitter “in response to a legal demand.” A source said that Twitter did not inform the magazine about the action. https://twitter.com/...
Vinod K. Jose / @vinodjose: The official handle of @thecaravanindia is withheld in India: https://twitter.com/...
Billy Perrigo / TIME: Why Twitter Blocked Accounts Linked to Farmers' Protests in India—Only to Reverse Course
Manish Singh / TechCrunch: Twitter restricts numerous high-profile accounts in India following ‘legal demand’
@accessnow: We condemn the government of India seeking to block critical voices online. We urge Twitter and other platforms to vigorously challenge government orders that violate India's constitution and human rights. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
@pranavdixit: Twitter usually uploads legal takedown requests to @lumendatabase for transparency. But the company said that that it would not do so in this case since the accounts had been restored. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
Aatish Taseer / @aatishtaseer: What @Twitter is doing in India, shutting down accounts on the government's behest, while apparently speaking truth to power in the US, is basically a modern iteration of the colonial mindset: freedoms are for us civilised folk, the natives be damned.
Kishor / @kishor_nr: This is a far more worrying assault on free speech than anything that happened to Trump https://twitter.com/...
@risj_oxford: “The latest in a long list of targeted attacks that have been mounted on the publication for pursuing important stories fearlessly” - @vinodjose reacts to Twitter temporarily suspending the account of @thecaravanindia https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
Nicholas Dawes / @nicdawes: Good, clear account from @PranavDixit, who has been closely tracking the digital crackdown on dissent in India, of how this all unfolded, and of twitter's important decision to push back: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
Aroon Deep / MediaNama: Twitter largely reverses censorship of Indian accounts, offers no explanation, disclosure
Ankit Panda / @nktpnd: “The move comes during a crackdown on dissent in India, and raises questions about the role that American technology companies play there.” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
Shashank Joshi / @shashj: “On Monday, Twitter temporarily blocked people in India from viewing several accounts belonging to activists, political commentators, a popular movie star, and a leading investigative journalism magazine, the Caravan, on orders from the country's government” https://twitter.com/...
@pranavdixit: A small but important detail: During meetings with IT ministry officials, Twitter conveyed that the accounts and tweets in question constitute free speech and are newsworthy. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ...
Nicholas Dawes / @nicdawes: The farmer protests are the biggest threat to the Modi government since its advent in 2014. It isn't hard to figure out what is going on here: https://scroll.in/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: According to sources, Twitter blocked accounts in India — including that of investigative magazine Caravan — after a request from the government “to prevent any escalation of a law-and-order situation” related to a farmers' protest: https://scroll.in/...
Nicholas Dawes / @nicdawes: This is appalling. The Caravan is one of India's most important independent news organizations. It publishes rigorous investigations that very few others have the courage, or the skill, to pull off. https://twitter.com/...
Michael Safi / @safimichael: Unaccountable big tech platforms, in a country run by right-wing nationalists, turning their power to silence on the liberal left. Not a far-off fantasy- happening right now in India https://twitter.com/...
Salty Supari / @vnemana: We all cheered when Twitter banned Trump, but guess what — they banned one of the few independent new outlets standing up to the Modi regime too. https://twitter.com/...
Preeti Chhibber / @runwithskizzers: We should all be paying attention to what's happening in India https://twitter.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: This happens more than Twitter or FB would like people to know. And the response is always “someone asked us to take it down so we said yes because it came from a guy with a law degree, but we won't tell you why or explain any further” https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Audrey Truschke / @audreytruschke: For those outside India — The Caravan is akin to The Atlantic or The New Yorker. Imagine if @Twitter suspended one of those magazines because the US government disliked its reporting. https://twitter.com/...
Karan mujoo / @hooohaah: Subscribe not out of charity, but because their work is stellar. https://twitter.com/...
Vidya / @vidyakrishnan: This is India's best magazine. Can you imagine Twitter suspending the @NewYorker for covering the #BlackLivesMatter protest? That's what @TwitterIndia has done today- along with suspending 250 handles incl those of the organizers of the #FarmersProtest https://twitter.com/...
Sneha Koshy / @snehamkoshy: How does @TwitterIndia take down handles of even a media organisation #Caravan, without informing the reason to the organisation or its readers? https://twitter.com/...
Nidheesh M K / @mknid: This raises questions, @TwitterIndia. This would be the first such case of censorship of a major news publication in India. You should've informed users why you intervened https://twitter.com/...
Randeep Singh Surjewala / @rssurjewala: After Facebook , Modi Govt seems to have taken control of Twitter India. This back door attempt to block voice of those, who speak for free speech & farmers rights, has unmasked the authoritarian soul of this fascist BJP regime. 1/2 https://www.google.co.in/...
Hari Kunzru / @harikunzru: Caravan? This is like blocking The Atlantic or TNR for writing positively about a protest https://twitter.com/...
Ilyse R. Morgenstein Fuerst / @profirmf: This is really alarming. https://twitter.com/...
Avi Asher-Schapiro / @aaschapiro: Twitter, it seems, is not speaking to journalists on record about its decision to censor one of India's leading magazines, in response to a government demand. https://twitter.com/...
Vinod K. Jose / @vinodjose: While Twitter withheld Caravan's official handle without informing us, you can still access the magazine from the website. Those who don't have subscriptions, you could take one here: https://caravanmagazine.in/... India needs bold fair journalism more than ever, now. https://twitter.com/...
Joseph Choi / The Hill:
Around 80 journalists were arrested in Russia over the weekend amid continued pro-Navalny demonstrations, according to PEN America citing local media reports — Around 80 journalists were arrested in Russia over the weekend amid continued protests against the detainment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny …
Discussion:
PEN America, @repandykimnj, @sensanders, @penamerica, @secblinken, @peterbakernyt and @ivohdaalder
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RepAndyKim / @repandykimnj: Unacceptable yet unsurprising behavior from Putin. The world must come together and speak with one voice to condemn these actions. #FreeNavalny https://twitter.com/...
Bernie Sanders / @sensanders: For the second weekend in a row, thousands of brave Russians took to the streets to protest the corrupt rule of Putin and his thieving oligarchs. Unjustly imprisoned activists, including Alexei Navalny, must be released. https://www.cnn.com/...
PEN America / @penamerica: More than 5,000 Russians have been arrested during pro-Navalny demonstrations. Citing reports from local Russian media, PEN America found that around 80 journalists have been arrested this weekend. https://thehill.com/...
Secretary Antony Blinken / @secblinken: The U.S. condemns the persistent use of harsh tactics against peaceful protesters and journalists by Russian authorities for a second week straight. We renew our call for Russia to release those detained for exercising their human rights, including Aleksey Navalny.
Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters:
Spotify launches in South Korea, the world's sixth biggest music market — STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA on Tuesday made a long-awaited debut in South Korea, the sixth largest music market in the world and home to the K-pop music genre. — The Swedish music streaming giant …
Discussion:
Richard Smirke / Billboard: Spotify Launches in South Korea: 'You're Going to See Korean Culture Throughout the World Amplified'
Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide: Spotify finally launches in South Korea, but with no Free tier
Naomi / Spotify: Spotify Launches in South Korea
Cho Mu-Hyun / ZDNet: Spotify launches service in South Korea
Steven Zhou / VICE:
Free copies of the Epoch Times appeared on Canadian doorsteps last month, leading to complaints as Canada Post suspends some carriers for refusing to deliver it — The newspaper, which has sent promo copies across the country, has come under fire for pushing pro-Trump and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
Ted Johnson / Deadline:
MSNBC president unveils organizational structure that emphasizes the difference between news and opinion and says it will hire a head of documentary acquisition — Rashida Jones, who took the helm of MSNBC on Monday, unveiled a new organizational structure that puts greater emphasis …
Alex Barker / Financial Times:
The New European, owned by Archant, has been bought by NYT's Mark Thompson, FT's Lionel Barber, and others; sources say owner Matt Kelly raised ~£750K — Weekly publication launched after 2016 referendum has been focal point for Brexit resistance — The New European …
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, BBC, Press Gazette, @jbenton, @fox_claire, The New European, @amolrajan, @pressgazette, @jessicalessin, @theneweuropean, @rafat, @amolrajan, @alexwickham, @amolrajan, @theneweuropean, @marklittlenews, @matthewwells, @lionelbarber, @martinsfp, Talking Biz News, The Guardian, Lancashire Telegraph, Telegraph and HoldtheFrontPage
Discussion:
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab: Brexit's done, but anti-Brexit paper The New European is just getting started
Amol Rajan / BBC: The New European bought by consortium from Archant
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette: The New European bought by founder and Archant content boss Matt Kelly
Joshua Benton / @jbenton: New by me —> Anti-Brexit newspaper @TheNewEuropean now has new owners to usher it into a post-Brexit life. Its story shows there's a little life left in print — if done with the right approach and reasonable expectations. https://www.niemanlab.org/...
Claire Fox / @fox_claire: Fascinating to see who has invested in buy-out of The New European. Lots of detail. It tells its own tale about anti-Brexit media interests over recent years. Hint - features FT and NYT via BBC. https://www.bbc.com/...
The New European: Under new ownership — The New European is today under new ownership, following the acquisition …
Amol Rajan / @amolrajan: 1/ SCOOP: Consortium led by Matt Kelly, and including @lionelbarber, ex-@bbc/@nytimes boss Mark Thompson, Ed Williams of Edelman and @taavet have bought @theneweuropean from Archant. Kelly is Editor-in-Chief + CEO. Gavin O'Reilly is Chair. More on my blog shortly
@pressgazette: Matt Kelly hopes “the next chapter of The New European will see it grow into a permanent fixture in the UK publishing landscape, playing a part in the debate around the country's future progress” https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/ ...
Jessica Lessin / @jessicalessin: It is a good sign that after so much exposure to the guts of news, these guys are doubling down and buying more. @MarkDiStef https://www.theinformation.com/ ...
@theneweuropean: The New European is set to continue beyond Brexit after securing new ownership for the newspaper https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/ ...
Amol Rajan / @amolrajan: 2/ Other investors include: Robin Klein (Index Ventures), Saul Klein (Local Globe), Barry Maloney (Balderton), Jeff Henry (ex-CEO of Archant who green-lit the title), journalist Steve Anglesey, ex-McKinsey partner Cornelius Walter and entrepreneur Niels Kroninger. 14 in total...
Alex Wickham / @alexwickham: Oh dear... the New European announces its new 14-strong leadership team and it's made up of 100% old white men... imagine press releasing that https://twitter.com/...
Amol Rajan / @amolrajan: 3/ Title had initial print run of 4 weeks in 2016. With 7,000 news stand sales and 10,000+ subscribers, now makes small profit - on shoestring budget. Early investment will push it into losses. UK print market small/ crowded so long-term needs to persuade people to pay online
Mark Little / @marklittlenews: Been a huge admirer of what Matt Kelly has created and nourished with @TheNewEuropean. Great to see this news: https://www.bbc.com/...
Matt Wells / @matthewwells: Quite revealing that there isn't a single woman named in this story, which contains the all-you-need-to-know line: “O'Reilly and Kelly, who knew each other previously, first discussed the idea while drinking at Piers Morgan's annual Christmas party...” https://www.bbc.co.uk/...
Lionel Barber / @lionelbarber: A very thoughtful analysis from @amolrajan on the challenges and opportunities for the new New European in the post-Brexit era blighted by the pandemic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/...
Laurie Sullivan / MediaPost:
TikTok signs deal with media holding company WPP, allowing the latter's advertisers to have early access to TikTok's advertising products in development — Despite countries including India and the United States banning the app, TikTok has inked a partnership with media holding company WPP …
Matthew Walther / The Week:
The future of GOP belongs to “Barstool conservatives”, as Dave Portnoy emerges as one of the most visible critics of lockdown policies in the US — Over the coming months, hundreds of thousands of words will be written about Donald Trump's presidency and the future of the Republican Party.
Discussion:
CNN, @lachlan, @benwoodfinden, @andrewtwalk, @michaelbd, @matthewwalther, @apblumenfeld, @apblumenfeld and @brianstelter
Discussion:
Lachlan Markay / @lachlan: This @matthewwalther piece on the “rise of the Barstool conservatives” is very good https://theweek.com/...
Ben Woodfinden / @benwoodfinden: This is an interesting piece about American conservatism, but it's relevant to Canadian conservatism as well imo. As politics increasingly realigns around gender divides you can expect conservatism to get more “bro-ey” which is going to make it even less appealing to women. https://twitter.com/...
Andrew T. Walker / @andrewtwalk: I'm definitely not here for *another* version of brash, amoral, character-less, and own-the-libs 2.0 conservatism, even if its aim hits an occasional target correctly. Hard pass. https://theweek.com/...
Michael Brendan Dougherty / @michaelbd: This seems like one possibility. https://theweek.com/...
Matthew Walther / @matthewwalther: What “social conservatism” looks like when religion has receded from the horizon and most of the battles are lost https://theweek.com/...
Austin Blumenfeld / @apblumenfeld: Eh more likely to be Joe Rogan than Barstool. Barstool is too regional of a brand. https://theweek.com/...
Austin Blumenfeld / @apblumenfeld: https://twitter.com/...
John McCarthy / The Drum:
Flipboard CEO Mike McCue says the service “put journalists in charge” of its algorithms to fight misinfo and calls Apple News a black box with no audience data — Flipboard, the media curation app that organizes news into a magazine format, has long balanced algorithms and human curation.
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