Top News:
Jay Rosen / PressThink:
A look at instances where journalistic practices have improved in response to the Trump years, such as providing better context in explaining officials' actions — Even after all that has happened from the escalator to the insurrection, you're worried that the American press has learned nothing from the Trump years.
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @mtaibbi, @craignewmark, New Republic, @perrybaconjr, @caseynewton, @jayrosen_nyu, @nicdawes, @reemkhurshid and @mlcalderone
Discussion:
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “By comitting to the Big Lie — and its derivative, making it harder to vote — the Republican Party has, in effect, withdrawn from the unspoken deal it had with mainstream journalism in the United States.” From my NEW post. https://pressthink.org/... I hope you will read it. 😎
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Journalists need a “bias towards democracy,” says @mehdirhasan in my latest post. That means “acknowledging and documenting how American democracy is under attack and not pretending there is anything normal or unremarkable about our current predicament.” https://pressthink.org/...
Matt Taibbi / @mtaibbi: With respect, I disagree with professor Rosen. I'd take this idea more seriously if he were also in favor of denying the “he said, she said” format to politicians who knowingly peddled untruths about, say, the Russia fiasco. Bullshit runs in all directions. https://twitter.com/...
Craig Newmark / @craignewmark: (this is seriously important for national security and protecting democracy everywhere /Craig) If you're worried that journalists have learned nothing from the Trump years... Via @jayrosen_nyu https://pressthink.org/...
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw / New Republic: The Eternal Fantasy of a Racially Virtuous America
Perry Bacon Jr / @perrybaconjr: Lots of details I did not know here. And several specific models for news organizations. A must-read. https://twitter.com/...
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: “We can lose this thing if we don't learn how to defend it. That's the attitude the press ought to have toward American democracy.” https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: You're worried the American press has learned nothing from the Trump years. You see it falling into old patterns. Your frustration is rising, your patience thinning. You can't believe we're going back to what was— after all that! My NEW post is for you. https://pressthink.org/...
Nicholas Dawes / @nicdawes: It may not be a wave of reform, but there sure are some ripples. @jayrosen_nyu on signs of hope from news outlets that have embraced a pro-democracy bias. https://pressthink.org/...
Reem Khurshid / @reemkhurshid: “As disinformation and misinformation take more and more of a foothold in our social media feeds and dinner-table discussions, it is important for our journalists to adapt, as transparently as possible, to bring you the facts and not memory-hole the damage done to our democracy” https://twitter.com/...
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
The controversies around Substack miss the point that it is just a tool for sovereign writers, who are in control as they are paid directly by subscribers — Manage your Stratechery subscription. — There has been a bit of controversy around Substack over the last week …
Discussion:
@davidsirota, Washington Post, @chrislhayes, @juddlegum, Today in Tabs, @mathewi, Dana Blankenhorn, @timodc, @thestalwart, @janefriedman, @caseynewton, @melissakchan, @ericnewcomer, @alexhern, @tomgara, @dhh, @robkhenderson, @mattzeitlin, @kantrowitz, @alexhern, @them_l_g, @karlbode, @jamessurowiecki, @stratechery, @m_c_klein, @nickconfessore, @kerrymflynn, @alex, @mattyglesias, Grasping Reality Newsletter,, @asymmetricinfo, @benyt, @notjessewalker, @razibkhan, Noahpinion, @mattyglesias, @adamconover, @athertonkd and @imgarysuarez
Discussion:
David Sirota / @davidsirota: One problem with Substack is that it seems to be replicating a mini version of the media industry's winner-take-all economy — it is fabulously enriching a handful of name-brand pundits, but many of those name brands are not spreading the resources to fund TEAMS of journalists
Megan McArdle / Washington Post: The Substack controversy's bigger story
Chris Hayes / @chrislhayes: The best thing about the emergence of @SubstackInc is just reading people making arguments at a length greater than 240 characters! Actual, genuine exchange requires more space than tweets. There are lots of things I love about Twitter, but it's bad for debate.
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Use Substack to write about something other than Substack and/or yourself challenge
Rusty Foster / Today in Tabs: You Have The Most Beautiful Fangs I've Ever Seen
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: “What is important to understand is that Substack is not in control of this process. The sovereign writer is another product of the Internet, and Substack will succeed to the extent it serves their interests, and be discarded if it does not” https://stratechery.com/...
Dana F. Blankenhorn / Dana Blankenhorn: Be Your Own Brand — This is the first piece of advice I give young journalists.
Joe Weisenthal / @thestalwart: This is interesting about Substack. One way that writers on the platform really are different than creators elsewhere https://stratechery.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jane Friedman / @janefriedman: “Writers who can command a paying audience have been significantly underpaid.” It's not that Substack competes w/existing pubs for the best writers; rather Substack makes it easy for the best writers to discover their actual market value. https://stratechery.com/... —@benthompson
Casey Newton / @caseynewton: The act of reading this for me was just furiously nodding for 12 minutes https://stratechery.com/...
Melissa Chan / @melissakchan: Interesting @benthompson piece RE Substack: “Sovereign writers, particularly those... on opinion, depend on journalists actually reporting the news. This second unbundling, though, will divert... more revenue to the former at the expense of the latter.” https://stratechery.com/...
Eric Newcomer / @ericnewcomer: “Sovereign Writers and Substack” from @benthompson is smart as usual https://stratechery.com/...
Alex Hern / @alexhern: One thing about Substack Pro that I've been wondering: on a blunt level, the claim that they don't view it as an editorial deal can't be true, right? There simply must be some editorial control, even if it's simply a demand for a set quantity of content
Tom Gara / @tomgara: “writers who can command a paying audience have heretofore been significantly underpaid” https://stratechery.com/...
@dhh: “The sovereign writer is another product of the Internet, and Substack will succeed to the extent it serves their interests, and be discarded if it does not”, more tools, fewer platforms, less gatekeeping. Yes please. https://stratechery.com/...
Rob Henderson / @robkhenderson: “the real reason why the media has reason to fear Substack: it's not that Substack will compete with existing publications for their best writers, but rather that Substack makes it easy for the best writers to discover their actual market value.” https://stratechery.com/...
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: “Recurring revenue is much better than selling a book once.” https://stratechery.com/...
Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: And @benthompson sees it the same way: “Memberful is not Stratechery's publisher; I am. Memberful is a tool I happen to use to run my business.” https://stratechery.com/...
Alex Hern / @alexhern: Maybe I'm wrong, and substack really would merrily accept a writer signing up for a $300k deal, writing “farts” in one newsletter once, and then immediately applying for a staffer job at a mainstream publication. Somehow doubt it though.
Mike L. Goodman / @them_l_g: I think this is right as far as it goes from @benthompson but skips over the very real complaint which is that the Substack Pro program is Substack selecting a subset of writers to enter into a more robust relationship with than as a service provider. https://stratechery.com/...
Karl Bode / @karlbode: I know I'm supposed to ignore the 17,000 fired journalists last year and herald substack as some amazing innovation in entrepreneurship but every time somebody casually tosses around how much these guys make my brain's overarching response is depression https://stratechery.com/... https://twitter.com/...
James Surowiecki / @jamessurowiecki: Very good piece by @benthompson (not surprisingly) about the economics of Substack: https://stratechery.com/...
@stratechery: Sovereign Writers and Substack Substack is at the center of media controversy, most of which misses the point that sovereign writers — not Substack — are in control. https://stratechery.com/...
Matthew C. Klein / @m_c_klein: “writers who can command a paying audience have heretofore been significantly underpaid...Substack makes it easy for the best writers to discover their actual market value.” https://stratechery.com/...
Nick Confessore / @nickconfessore: “In short, the best analogy to Substack Pro are book advances, which are definitely something that publishers do.” https://stratechery.com/...
@kerrymflynn: “... suicidal for Substack to kick any successful writers off of its platform for anything other than gross violations of the law or ToS. That would be a signal for every successful writer to seek out a platform that is not just cheaper, but also freer” https://stratechery.com/...
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: Sometimes it is useful to have a business writer look at the issue and @benthompson is not surprisingly the person best situated to explain what's up. https://stratechery.com/...
Brad DeLong / Grasping Reality Newsletter,: BRIEFLY NOTED: 2021-03-22 Mo
Megan McArdle / @asymmetricinfo: I also looked at the business/economics of this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... And Freddie de Boer also writes about this as displaced rage/fear at the increasingly sparse jobs in mainstream journalism: https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/ ... Don't think that's the whole story, but part, definitely https://twitter.com/...
Ben Smith / @benyt: .@benthompson on how Substack isn't really the story https://stratechery.com/...
Jesse Walker / @notjessewalker: “Substack is less threatened by Twitter and Facebook than many think; the social networks want to own the reader, but the entire point of the sovereign writer is that they own their audience. Substack's real threat will be lower-priced competitors.” https://stratechery.com/...
@razibkhan: not really something i'm thinking in the short-term but after reading @benthompson why don't more established writers with newsletters just move somewhere really cheap??? does @mattyglesias need to live in DC anymore? https://stratechery.com/...
Noah Smith / Noahpinion: Substack complaints miss the mark
Matthew Yglesias / @mattyglesias: And it was. Substack is making money off of Slow Boring. More money in fact than they would have made without the deal. But that's what made it a good deal. They needed upside growth more than I did and I needed to minimize downside risk more than they did. Business!
Adam Conover / @adamconover: .@annaleen on Substack's scammy business practices: despite claiming that “any writer can make a living on Substack”, they were secretly paying large amounts of VC money to an undisclosed list of writers in order to make them look like organic successes. https://thehypothesis.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Kelsey D. Atherton / @athertonkd: “So Substack has an editorial policy, but no accountability. And they have terms of service, but no enforcement. If you listen to Hamish, they don't even hire writers! They just give money to people who write things that happen to be on Substack.” https://thehypothesis.substack.com/ ...
RELATED:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Substack is generating negative attention just when it faces competition from Facebook and Twitter to attract writers who want to make money from newsletters
Discussion:
Freddie deBoer, Astral Codex Ten, Let Your Life Speak, @wajahatali, TK News, Tales from the jar side, American Press Institute, What's New in Publishing, Friendmendations, tiny driver, Two Kinds of Intelligence, We Have the Facts …, @davidsirota, The Lizzie Wade Weekly, The Starting Block, Here for It w/ R. Eric Thomas, @sianysianysiany, @alexwilliams, @pkafka, @karrieurbanist, TBQ Talks, Cover your bases, @benyt, Protocol, Memex 1.1, @micsolana, @adamdavidson, @sadydoyle, @hautepop, @davidgerard, @nishachittal, Singal-Minded, @jason, @adamweinstein, @jimmydonofrio, @dannypage, @themadstone, @ubiquity75, @ubiquity75, @ubiquity75, @ubiquity75, @ubiquity75, @themadstone, @travelinganna, @rsingel, @petersterne, @petersterne, @ubiquity75, @travelinganna, @themadstone, @samraskinz, @manymanywords, @mathewi, @therealbradbabs, @patdennis, @stevekrak and @dannypage
Discussion:
Freddie deBoer: It's All Just Displacement — Displacement - Displacement is a psychological defense mechanism …
Scott Alexander / Astral Codex Ten: Adding My Data Point To The Discussion Of Substack Advances
Asha Sanaker / Let Your Life Speak: Well, That Was Unexpected — This newsletter being in its comparative infancy …
Ken Kousen / Tales from the jar side: Tales from the jar side: My book in Beta, Substack woes, and Charl
American Press Institute: Need to Know: March 22, 2021 — Fresh useful insights for people advancing quality, innovative and sustainable journalism
Faisal Kalim / What's New in Publishing: “Creator economy” gets a Facebook-sized hamper: New opportunities for publishers
Allison Driskill / Friendmendations: Friendmendations 3.22.21 — Hey again. — The situation with Substack that I discussed last week remains confusing.
Ida Yalzadeh / tiny driver: 36. a(nother) letter to my students + a “third world solidarity” syllabus
Zana Fauzi / Two Kinds of Intelligence: I am feeling Impfneid. Are you too?
Grant Sharples / We Have the Facts …: My Final Post on Substack
David Sirota / @davidsirota: Additional thought: I have nothing against name brands making great money for their work. My point is that we can create something more than a winner-take-all media — one where name brands make great money but ALSO unselfishly choose to invest in supporting teams of journalists.
Tina Carmillia / The Starting Block: The 46th Block: Publishing as intended
R. Eric Thomas / Here for It w/ R. Eric Thomas: Bird: Here for It, #220 — Hi! It's R. Eric Thomas. From the internet? — Hi!
Sian Meades-Williams / @sianysianysiany: There's so much to unpick around Substack Pro. Once you start paying writers directly, you can't sit on the fence about your editorial policy. You can't pretend to be neutral anymore. https://www.vox.com/...
@alexwilliams: I've looked at Substack and then started reading posts like this one: https://www.vox.com/...
Peter Kafka / @pkafka: @Jason @mattyglesias @SubstackInc @Ghost Here is Matt's take, which seems quite reasonable: He left money on the table in return for a guarantee. Win win. (And here's my story: https://www.vox.com/...) https://twitter.com/...
Karrie Jacobs / @karrieurbanist: The problem is always money. But the other problem is that being a newsletter writer is about as appealing as being a ghost kitchen. https://www.vox.com/...
Susan Mernit / Cover your bases: Cover Your Bases 27 — This week: A reflection on something personal and reflective, like AAPI hatred.
Ben Smith / @benyt: Intensifying, not replicating. This is the whole point... https://twitter.com/...
David Pierce / Protocol: The power and perils of AI
John Naughton / Memex 1.1: Saturday 20 March, 2021 — Heave! — Quote of the Day … - Nathan Gardels, Noema magazine
Mike Solana / @micsolana: this is what the conversation is really about, fyi. popular writers have been subsidizing the work of unpopular writers for years. popular writers going direct, and finally getting paid what they earn, is going to end a lot of careers. https://twitter.com/...
Adam Davidson / @adamdavidson: I think the point is that, with fewer than 10,000 readers, he can make many multiples of writers for publications that reach millions. That's the new, Passion economy. Monetizing intensity of engagement, not raw numbers. I think, on balance, it's good for journalism. https://twitter.com/...
Jude Ellison S. Doyle / @sadydoyle: I'm quoted here, on leaving Substack. My name is also in the URL, which, after 12 years of this, I know enough to recognize as Not Great, Bob: https://www.vox.com/...
Jay Owens / @hautepop: My latest estimates had Yglesias at 9,000 paying subscribers - turns out he has 9,800: vindicating! Added some March 2021 estimates to my Biggest Substacks doc https://docs.google.com/... https://twitter.com/...
David Gerard / @davidgerard: I'd love to know what the median of newsletters is. My blog gets $400/mo on Patreon (I LOVE YOU ALL), which is v. far from a living but I understand is in the upper half https://twitter.com/...
Nisha Chittal / @nishachittal: seems like those substack advances are actually really undervaluing writers https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jesse Singal / Singal-Minded: “Moral Clarity” Sounds Like A Great Concept In Theory, But Journalists Embrace It In A Wildly Inconsistent And Opportunistic Manner
@jason: As I predicted, substack writers are leaving for @ghost (according to this @pkafka story) Ghost is 99% cheaper because is charging based on a SaaS model — I am not an investor in GHOST but I would love to be! Hit me up team GHOST https://www.vox.com/...
Adam Weinstein / @adamweinstein: Gonna restart my old Substack and every entry is gonna be “Matt Yglesias pay off my student loans” https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jimmy D / @jimmydonofrio: @DannyPage The ability to *potentially* pull in ~$900K from <10K subscribers is a hell of a grift, though. Takes somebody special to fumble that bag.
Danny Page / @dannypage: there's basically no network effects either on Substack, so it doesn't trickle down to other folks. The only winners are the founders and the VCs.
Maddie Stone / @themadstone: I would like to shutup about this and go back to talking about science but @SubstackInc owes the trans community an apology and some real introspection. Trans rights are human rights. We're not going to get far solving climate change if we can't agree who deserves human rights.
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: I am quite sympathetic to that desire*, but I think we differ in that I have spent 15 years studying every day the ways these firms work to capitalize on those desires, all the while a. offering something that's a satiating lookalike and tantalizing but ultimately empty calories
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: There is a portion of the neckbeard army types who send hate mail and rain down garbage on any person (woman) they can when one of their icons lights the fire. But controlling for that group, I was baffled by some of the indictments — particularly that I am a shill for Big [x].
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: and, much more importantly, b. how those activities at the user level — not to mention the arguments take place right here/there — provides cover for deep infiltration and corporate domination IN THE VERY FORM OF the academic-military-industrial complex supposedly being disrupted
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: Don't you all see this? Follow the god damned money. It's the reason why Big Tech has bought and paid for computer science, engineering labs and departments all over the place: to co-opt and set the agenda where it begins!
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: But I'm starting to see why some of the more sincere people feel the way they do. It's because they want and deserve outlets for expression and information that fall outside the dominant institutions of corporate media, the military-academic-industrial complex, and government.
Maddie Stone / @themadstone: It says a lot about Substack's values as a business that openly transphobic writing in clear violation of the content moderation policies is going up daily with impunity.
Annemarie Dooling / @travelinganna: You're not gonna believe this, but people made newsletters before substack existed https://tedium.co/...
Ryan Singel / @rsingel: @petersterne I'm willing to bet Facebook is gonna hold onto the billing relationship
@petersterne: @rsingel Probably, since Facebook is terrible. But Twitter's @revue is making the same promise as Substack: “Bring the audience you've built, and take it with you anytime. You are in control.” https://www.getrevue.co/
@petersterne: This is one of the best things about Substack. All newsletter platforms, and really all social platforms, should make it easy for users to switch. https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dr. Sarah T. Roberts / @ubiquity75: It becomes clearer every single day since this erupted in my life (2/28) just why the intrepid libertarian/right opinion stable of Substack called on their most unscrupulous propensities — and followers — to directly attack and defame me when I simply told the truth. https://twitter.com/...
Annemarie Dooling / @travelinganna: I also just can't believe the amount of money people will pay to hear random people give their opinions https://www.vox.com/...
Maddie Stone / @themadstone: Even if you buy the argument that offering $250k advances to writers isn't an editorial choice—which, for the record, is horeshit—I don't see how you can argue that letting writers make $ publishing hate speech on your platform isn't a *business* choice. https://www.vox.com/...
Sam Raskin / @samraskinz: What a sucker I am for reporting and not getting in the takes game https://twitter.com/...
Meredith Haggerty / @manymanywords: This absolutely makes me feel like I know a little more about Substack's money situation; also because of Substack I still have so very many questions. https://www.vox.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: So Matt Yglesias tells Peter Kafka that if he hadn't taken an upfront payment from Substack, he would have made about $750,000 this year from subscribers but because he took their deal he will only make $380,000 or so https://www.vox.com/...
Bradley Babendir / @therealbradbabs: one thing that sort of sucks because i think yglesias is a bad writer but seems relevant in the substack discourse is that he's very popular and substack is much better off / he's much worse off having taken their deal as opposed to going it alone https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Pat Dennis / @patdennis: I am a fan of the substack model and subscribe to some, but I really think the company itself, for writers, shouldn't exist, because the ultimate product they're selling (monetize your die hard twitter followers), is so simple and easy to duplicate https://www.vox.com/...
Steve Krakauer / @stevekrak: Extrapolate this out. Even at 5% or 10% (500-1,000 paid subscribers) this is a self-sustaining business. People can make a living with a small but dedicated group of people who value their work. And also think about how damaging it is for others to try to cut off this pipeline. https://twitter.com/...
John Koblin / New York Times:
Nielsen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show lost more than a million viewers, a decline of 43%, following Ellen's on-air apology in September — “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” a sturdy daytime hit, has had a steep ratings decline since the host addressed accusations by former staff members that led to firings and an internal investigation.
Discussion:
Mediaite, @brooksbarnesnyt, The Week, @helaineolen, Decider, Jezebel, @thrasherxy, @kantrowitz, @jbflint, @martinemontreal, @bennettmadison, @nytstyles, @markberman, @koblin and @dylanbyers
Discussion:
Leia Idliby / Mediaite: Ellen Loses 1 Million Viewers After ‘Toxic’ Workplace Allegations, Ratings Now in Orbit of Steve Wilkos
Brooks Barnes / @brooksbarnesnyt: “Ellen” now finds itself uncomfortably close in the ratings to also-ran shows like the one hosted by Jerry Springer's former security guard. By @koblin https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brendan Morrow / The Week: Ellen DeGeneres' viewership is down 43 percent since her toxic workplace apology
Helaine Olen / @helaineolen: One of the life rules that never fails me is that people who need to tell you how nice and kind they are not. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Greta Bjornson / Decider: ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’ Hemorrhages Over 1 Million Viewers Since Toxic Workplace Scandal
Joan Summers / Jezebel: Does Anyone Even Watch Ellen's Show Anymore?
Dr. Steven W. Thrasher / @thrasherxy: Step back and think about what happened with Arrested Development, too. While both may be derided as “CC,” it's very heartening that viewers care about the working conditions of the people who make the art and entertainment they enjoy. https://twitter.com/...
Alex Kantrowitz / @kantrowitz: TIL Steve from Jerry Springer has his own show. 1.1 million people watch it. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Martine St-Victor / @martinemontreal: What is pearl-clutching to me here is not that Ellen's viewership has dropped 43% (now at 1.5M viewers) but rather that 3.1M people watch Dr. Phil. I don't get it, folks. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Bennett Madison / @bennettmadison: Mink Stole vibes: “Jennifer Garner, appearing remotely, raced to her hotel room balcony at the host's request to tell passers-by how much she adored Ms. DeGeneres. “I love her!” Ms. Garner shouted. “She's kind! She's a humanitarian! She loves animals!"" https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mark Berman / @markberman: the end of this graf is absolutely ice cold https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
John Koblin / @koblin: In the summer, there were accusations of a toxic workplace. And in the six months since, a million viewers have tuned out of The Ellen DeGeneres Show https://www.nytimes.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: “Ellen” ratings down to 1.5m from 2.6m. The show “finds itself uncomfortably close to shows hosted by Maury Povich (1.4m), Kelly Clarkson (1.3m), Rachael Ray (1.2m), Tamron Hall (1.1m) and Jerry Springer's former security guard, Steve Wilkos (1.1m).” https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
CNN lost 45% of prime-time audience in the past 5 weeks and WaPo unique visitors fell 26% from Jan. to Feb., as outlets lose audience gained during Trump years — Of all Donald Trump's prophecies and predictions — that Mexico would pay for a border wall, that coronavirus would spontaneously disappear …
Discussion:
Mediaite, @farhip, @muskrat_john, @tomgara, @daweiner, @benjaminramm, @jayrosen_nyu, @brannonmc, @jeffcannata, @dylanbyers, @jsaquella, @rasmussen_poll, @zaleskiluke, @hotlinejosh, @ggreenwald, @tomgara and @jtemple
Discussion:
Marisa Sarnoff / Mediaite: Post-Trump Ratings Slump Hits TV, Digital News Websites
Paul Farhi / @farhip: From Trump bump to Trump slump: Viewers and readers begin to drift away as the news cycle simmers down. Something I wrote: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
John Kovalic / @muskrat_john: And if only World War II had lasted longer, newsreels would still be a thing. How foolish we were. Lesson learned. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: I didn't realize until the replies to this that there currently appears to be an earnest resistance meme that the media is drumming up a fake border crisis? https://twitter.com/...
David Weiner / @daweiner: Nine paragraphs in: “It's unlikely that media executives expected the furious demand for news in 2020 and early 2021 would last indefinitely.” Trump or no Trump, this happens every 4 years. It's like toy sales being down 2 months after Christmas and framing it as a retail failure https://twitter.com/...
Benjamin Ramm / @benjaminramm: The networks are eager for the next ‘controversial’ rabble-rouser https://twitter.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “Barely two months into the post-Trump era, news outlets are indeed losing much of the audience and readership they gained during his chaotic presidency.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... Ancient proverb: may you live in less interesting times.
Brannon McAllister / @brannonmc: Mmm. Maybe it's less an indictment of news and more a result of there *not* being mobs scaling the Capitol or daily manufactured outrage from the White House. https://twitter.com/...
Jeff Cannata / @jeffcannata: Sane people stopped obsessing about the news, while the cultists are still addicted to the cult. https://twitter.com/...
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: I recall quite a lot of breathless coverage about Fox News being ‘lost’ or ‘in crisis’ back in early February bc ratings were down. Today? “Fox News... has essentially regained its leading position by standing still.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@jsaquella: News shouldn't be about ratings. If half your line up is opinion shows, you shouldn't be able to call yourself “news” anyhow https://twitter.com/...
@rasmussen_poll: Funny thing about this trend below? Our traffic is now back at close to pre election levels. And while our Twitter Follower count is still down 10% since “the purge” (to 338K), we've now averaging around 1M Twitter Impressions daily. That exceeds our 2020 daily average. 🧐 https://twitter.com/...
Luke Zaleski / @zaleskiluke: small price to pay for now, frankly there will be a natural disaster or worse soon enough https://twitter.com/...
Josh Kraushaar / @hotlinejosh: “CNN has lost 45 percent of its prime-time audience in the past five weeks, according to Nielsen Media Research. MSNBC's audience has dropped 26 percent in the same period. Fox News has essentially regained its leading position by standing still” https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Glenn Greenwald / @ggreenwald: Media outlets turning themselves into non-stop Trump #Resistance outlets gave them a temporary sugar high at the expense of their long-term credibility & profit. And how much did this headline hurt to write? https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Ben Smith / New York Times:
Interview with author Ibram Kendi, who is working with The Boston Globe on The Emancipator, an online publication with a seven-figure budget to cover racism — The author Ibram Kendi and The Boston Globe are teaming up to cover racism, inspired by Boston's 19th-century abolitionist newspapers.
Discussion:
Wesley / @wesleylowery: “When you stop debating whether climate change or systemic racism is real and whether it's a problem, you can then debate the more salient question what to do about it,” she said. “To me that is reality-based journalism, not advocacy journalism.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Andrew Sullivan / @sullydish: One of the funnier aspects of this story is Ben Smith getting a brief audience in the lobby of a building! But he's so grateful he writes a piece without a single tiny criticism in it. It's so craven. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: I don't like this. Assuming Garrison's estate's/heirs' interest in the name has ended, it should be in the public domain, not easy pickings for Dark Money Bigots Incorporated down at the trademark office. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: Of all the people to take up this particular cudgel https://twitter.com/...
@donnerkay: Amen. Both systemic racism and climate change are real and evidence-based, not “wedge issues” to be ping-ponged back and forth in a two-sided, red-blue horse race. Journalism must, must grow up and do better at truth-reporting. https://twitter.com/...
Ben Shapiro / @benshapiro: The complete and utter self-destruction of our establishment media continues apace https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jonah Goldberg / @jonahdispatch: “They hope to revive the tradition of a generation of media that predates the formal division of news and opinion in 20th-century American journalism.” I dunno, rumors of that tradition's demise seem greatly exaggerated. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Geidner / @chrisgeidner: This is exciting! A lot of what's in @benyt's story tonight is why I'm at @theappeal. While I just joined The Appeal in January, they've been doing incredible work — and we've expanded it significantly this year. https://twitter.com/...
Tom Panelas / @tompin: Can they “bring to American #racism [a] sense of urgency”? In a country where tens of millions of white people are blissfully indifferent to the most pervasive source of rot in our society? I wish them well! A project worth watching. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Kim Gallon / @blackdigitalhum: See this is the stuff that enrages me! How do you write a piece like this without once mentioning the tradition of the Black Press? Without it, there would be no Ibram Kendi or any Black Intellectuals/Scholars. The complete erasure of it is shocking. 1/2 https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ron Fournier / @ron_fournier: “When you stop debating whether climate change or systemic racism is real and whether it's a problem, you can then debate the more salient question what to do about it.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ibram X. Kendi / @dribram: “When you stop debating whether climate change or systemic racism is real and whether it's a problem, you can then debate the more salient question what to do about it,” @binajv said. “That is reality-based journalism, not advocacy journalism.” by @benyt https://www.nytimes.com/...
PEN America / @penamerica: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi (@DrIbram) and the Boston Globe's Bina Venkataraman (@binajv) have come together to create @the_emancipator, a publication inspired by 19th-century abolitionist newspapers such as William Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Michael Kruse / @michaelkruse: “If there was ever a body of people who should be arguing out the definition of a term, particularly a seemingly politically charged term like ‘racism,’ why would it not be journalists?” @DrIbram tells @benyt. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ibrahim Hirsi / @ihirsi: This is amazing! People are FINALLY realizing the importance of bringing to journalism the debate that often unfolds behind the walls of the academy. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Liz Kineke / @lizkineke: I'm so happy to see they are creating a publication that marries academic scholarship with journalism. It's desperately needed in these times: He Redefined ‘Racist.’ Now He's Trying to Build a Newsroom. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kerrymflynn: “As mainstream newsrooms wring their hands over what it means to be neutral, The Emancipator can — in theory — ... erase the 20th-century divide between news and opinion, and blend reportage, data and argument about how to change society now.” - @benyt https://www.nytimes.com/...
Elizabeth Spiers / My New Band Is:
Conde used McCammond's tweets as an excuse to fire her because it can't fire Wintour, who inappropriately hired an EIC with no managerial or fashion experience — Conde Nast recently hired 27 year old political reporter Alexi McCammond to be the editor in chief of Teen Vogue and rescinded …
Discussion:
The Corsair, @espiers, Discourse Blog, The Guardian, @eugene_scott, @espiers, Hong Hate Horoscope, @hofrench, @freeblackgirl, @katherinespiers, @ryangrim, @sarthakgh, @maggienyt, @mathewi, @eshalegal, @hkanji, @sulliview, @espiers, @harryh, @them_l_g, @cathyreisenwitz, @stevebattaglio, @natashaldaly, @jbflint, @ldobsonhughes, @sierratishgart, @edmundlee, @nishachittal, @brosandprose, @bananapeele and @annehelen
Discussion:
Ron Mwangaguhunga / The Corsair: Why Conde Nast Should Have Kept Alexi McCammond
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: I wrote about the Teen Vogue situation, and what's missing from the dominant narrative about it: https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Aleksander Chan / Discourse Blog: The ‘Teen Vogue’ Mess Is What Happens When Bosses Don't Listen
Nina-Sophia Miralles / The Guardian: Inside Vogue, where women have the top jobs but men still rule
Eugene Scott / @eugene_scott: “Conde knows they made a bad decision, and they have to throw someone under the bus, which is what they do in situations like this. Who is it? McCammond, of course. Alexi McCammond was fired because Conde Nast can't fire Anna Wintour.” https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: Also special bonus: I got thrown under the bus by Conde Nast PR myself once, and that story is in the newsletter.
Nianyi Hong / Hong Hate Horoscope: Hong Hate Horoscope: Week of March 22, 2021
Howard French / @hofrench: So powerfully on point. “My New Band Is: Teenage Mistake - My New Band Is” https://pullquote.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Evette Dionne / @freeblackgirl: This is phenomenal (and true): “Alexi McCammond was an inappropriate hire for the editor-in-chief position at a large national magazine. Who's to blame for that? Anna Wintour.” https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Katherine Spiers / @katherinespiers: Hello media nerds: this essay is GREAT. Very validating for anyone who's worked under someone hired for being “cool.” https://twitter.com/...
Ryan Grim / @ryangrim: To continue to insist today that @alexi had “no experience editing,” now that it's widely known she was an editor at both Bustle and Axios, is negligent enough to press up against libel. But whatever makes people feel better, I guess. https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Sar Haribhakti / @sarthakgh: This Is About The Tweets is the story Conde Nast wants to tell...Tweets are bad, and a justifiable reason to rescind the offer. There should also be a statute of limitations on stupid teenage mistakes. These two things are not mutually exclusive - @espiers https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Maggie Haberman / @maggienyt: “...it says something about Wintour's disregard for the publication that she thinks someone with no experience can run it.” https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: “McCammond was an inappropriate hire and not because she is an inappropriate hire for any position, but because she is an inappropriate hire for the editor in chief position at a large national magazine. Who's to blame for that? Anna Wintour” https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Hussein Kanji / @hkanji: Is this really just about some old tweets? Probably not. Here's why: imaging you are a staffer at Teen Vogue. Your new editor in chief has just been announced, and she has no managerial experience, no experience editing, and no fashion experience https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Elizabeth Spiers / @espiers: @JacindaAuMaroc @TruthMatters333 And as I said here, it also speaks to how little Wintour actually thinks of Teen Vogue and the people who work there, many of whom are women of color themselves: https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Harry Heymann / @harryh: The always excellent @espiers has an essay up on this topic on how there is likely more to this story than meets the eye. Definitely worth reading. https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Mike L. Goodman / @them_l_g: People are saying the firing wasn't really actually about the old tweets as if that makes it better but it makes it worse. It's a disaster for actually fighting racism when people use objecting to racism as pretext for other objections. https://twitter.com/...
Cathy Reisenwitz / @cathyreisenwitz: I've also white media guys who can imagine a dumb mistake from their past catching up with them show a lot of empathy for McCammond. But I also haven't seen any of them empathize with staffers faced working for someone who may not respect them based on their race. https://twitter.com/...
Stephen Battaglio / @stevebattaglio: Someone finally had the brains and courage to write this. https://twitter.com/...
Natasha Daly / @natashaldaly: This is The Perfect Take on the Teen Vogue debacle: https://twitter.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: “McCammond should never have been hired...because she had no managerial experience, no experience editing, and no domain expertise in fashion, which is still the primary topic of the magazine. It is still Teen Vogue, not Teen Bon Appetit, or Teen New Yorker or Teen Car & Driver” https://twitter.com/...
Lauren Dobson-Hughes / @ldobsonhughes: A thoughtful, different perspective on the Teen Vogue/Alexi McCammond debacle, filling in information people likely didn't have https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Sierra Tishgart / @sierratishgart: “There's also the issue of the audience that Teen Vogue actually serves. Is it really good to project the notion that nothing you do as a teenager really matters when you're speaking directly to teenagers?” https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Elizabeth nails it https://twitter.com/...
Nisha Chittal / @nishachittal: “McCammond should never have been hired as the EIC of Teen Vogue because she had no managerial experience, no experience editing... it says something about Wintour's disregard for the publication that she thinks someone with no experience can run it.” https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
@brosandprose: “Imagine you are a staffer at Teen Vogue. Your new editor in chief has just been announced, and she has no managerial experience, no experience editing, and no fashion experience.” https://twitter.com/...
Anna Peele / @bananapeele: This is such a smart analysis of the Alexi McCammond Teen Vogue situation by @espiers. The only thing I'd add is that there was maybe some unfair secondhand bad PR from the firing of McCammond's bf from the White House, which indirectly involved McCammond. https://mynewbandis.substack.com/ ...
Gerry Smith / Bloomberg:
NYT had 840K games subscribers at the end of 2020, up 40% YoY, and more than 28M people had played one of its games last year, up 16% YoY — A veteran of FarmVille and Words With Friends looks to entice more subscribers with non-news diversions — The most searched-for terms …
Discussion:
Farhad Manjoo / @fmanjoo: obviously biased here but it's surprising to me that more media orgs aren't doing games. spelling bee is so popular! Games maintain brand loyalty even when news is slow/too terrible and maybe slows canceling when you hate an opinion columnist. Good move bosses https://twitter.com/...
Parker Higgins / @xor: Bloomberg reports that the NYT is investing more in its Games division (where the crossword is published) as the news cycle slows down after Trump https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life: With readership slumping as there's no more Trump news to hate read, NYT wants to diversify into casual games like crosswords & word games. Their newsletters are now being used as top of acquisition funnel to drive people to games. Journalism is changing https://www.bloomberg.com/...
Julia La Roche / Yahoo Finance:
TIME Magazine to auction three covers as NFTs including one asking “Is Fiat Dead?” and plans to add a “pay by crypto” option for its subscribers within 30 days — TIME Magazine plans to lean into surging demand for digital currency and art, currently two of the hottest trends in the global economy.
Discussion:
TIME, @benioff, @keithgrossman, @apompliano, @hunterw, @benioff, @ourielohayon, @patrick_oshag, @alex, Insider, The Verge, @julialaroche and Ad Age
Discussion:
Marc Benioff / @benioff: TIME designed its 1st cover exclusively as an NFT, “Is Fiat Dead?” It's a nod to one of its most iconic cover designs from April 8, 1966 “Is God Dead?” & April 3, 2017 “Is Truth Dead?” & rise of digital currency as an asset class. @JuliaLaRoche https://finance.yahoo.com/...
Keith A. Grossman / @keithgrossman: Collectibles will always be important but @TIME's crypto ambitions are larger as we continue our digital transformation! Within 30-days, TIME will accept cryptocurrencies for digital subscriptions with more to come via @JuliaLaRoche. https://finance.yahoo.com/...
Pomp / @apompliano: This is incredibly intelligent from @TIME and @KeithGrossman. They are turning iconic magazine covers into digital intellectual property. How much will someone pay for the Obama 2008 cover or JFK assassination? We are probably going to find out. https://time.com/...
Marc Benioff / @benioff: TIME is to auction 3 first-NFTs inspired by one of TIME's most iconic covers. These TIME NFTs are available individually or as a collection on the cryptocurrency marketplace SuperRare. The auction is open now & will run until Wednesday, March 24 at 8PM ET. https://time.com/...
Ouriel Ohayon / @ourielohayon: please. no. https://time.com/...
Patrick OShaughnessy / @patrick_oshag: NFTs are a genuinely exciting topic But demand for them is huge, and cost to create them is basically 0 So mediocre supply, like these Time magazine covers, will rise to meet demand As the sports card industry learned in the 90s, best to meter supply https://time.com/...
@alex: do no disagree with this, but how to limit NFT supply is going to be tough when everyone is treating it like the ICO boom from a few year's back — a near-term cash grab https://twitter.com/...
Will Daniel / Insider: Time magazine is selling NFTs and will begin accepting cryptocurrencies for digital subscriptions within 30 days
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: Time made a hypey crypto cover and is selling it as an NFT
Julia La Roche / @julialaroche: .@TIME is looking for a CFO, and one of the key job requirements? “Comfort with cryptocurrencies.” Learn more about Project C at TIME and the 98-year-old magazine's ambitions in NFTs and crypto 👇👇👇 https://finance.yahoo.com/...
Simon Dumenco / Ad Age: Are non-fungible tokens dead? Time releases three NFT covers
Elizabeth A. Harris / New York Times:
Emotional viral TikTok videos are boosting book sales, like The Song of Achilles, which saw its sales jump about 9x after some book reading videos took off — “BookTok” videos are starting to influence publishers and best-seller lists, and the verklempt readers behind them are just as surprised as everyone else.
Discussion:
@harpercollins: .@MillerMadeline's Song of Achilles inspires “dramatic wailing” on TikTok: https://www.nytimes.com/... via @nytimesbooks
Miriam Meckel / @mmeckel: Under #BookTok users recommend books and sob openly into the camera after an emotionally crushing ending. These videos are starting to sell a lot of books, and many of the creators are just as surprised as everyone else. via @NYTimes 😢😭📚💰 😳 https://www.nytimes.com/...
Carly Watters / @carlywatters: Mentally, I read this “in conversation” with the tweets from the last week about burnout and digital in publishing. This just screams how publishing does not know how to capitalize on digital marketing until it's behind the trend, every time. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Taylor Lorenz / @taylorlorenz: “BookTok” videos are influencing publishers and best-seller lists https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimesbooks: TikTok is not an obvious destination for literary conversation. #BookTok, where users recommend books, record time lapses of themselves reading, or sob openly into the camera after an emotionally crushing ending, is changing that. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jim McCarthy / @jimmccarthy528: How many poor twentysomethings in publishing are going to have to sit through meetings filled with well-meaning old people talking about TikTok because of this article? 😭😂 https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimestech: Barnes & Noble locations around the U.S. have set up BookTok tables displaying titles that have gone viral. There is no corresponding Instagram or Twitter table. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sophie Vershbow / @svershbow: Thanks to the New York Times for ruining the week of every social media manager in book publishing https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jake Rosenfeld / @jakerosenfeld1: Can someone cry while reading my book on TikTok? Preferably a “youth.” Premium pay if you really sell the performance. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sarah Brouillette / @brouillettese: this inspired me to add “make a BookTok video” as an assignment option in my first-year literature seminar (thanks @dan_sinykin for the link) https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimesbooks: Ecco saw sales of the 2011 novel “The Song of Achilles” spike starting on Aug. 9 but couldn't figure out why. It eventually traced it to a TikTok video called “books that will make you sob,” published on Aug. 8. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Helen Walsh / Letterbox: Letterbox — Walking the Red Carpet of Book Covers. — Momentum is building for Pull Focus, and I'm excited.
@nytimes: Welcome to BookTok, where someone crying and throwing your book against a wall is actually a good thing. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Mathew Ingram / @mathewi: New book sales strategy: Get teens to cry about your books on TikTok https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
In letter to FCC, Mozilla calls for a return to net neutrality, joined by Dropbox, Eventbrite, Reddit, Vimeo, and Wikimedia — - Firefox-maker Mozilla is leading a push for the Federal Communications Commission to swiftly reinstate net neutrality rules stripped away under the Trump administration.
Discussion:
Evan DeSimone / @mediaevan: Interesting that a lot of the major players who were critical of the original decision (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix) haven't signed on to this or really said much about it since. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@wikimedia: Today, we joined @mozilla and other tech organizations in urging the U.S. @FCC to reinstate net neutrality protections. These protections are critical for preserving the internet as a free and open medium that promotes innovation and the sharing of ideas. https://www.cnbc.com/...
Eli Blumenthal / CNET: Mozilla takes lead in new push for FCC to ‘reinstate net neutrality’
Brooks Barnes / New York Times:
A gender discrimination lawsuit against Disney, filed by two women in 2019, has been joined by eight other female Disney employees and adds pay secrecy claims — A claim that the company illegally prohibits employees from discussing pay has been added to a lawsuit accusing it of paying women less than men.
Discussion:
Margot Roosevelt / @margotroosevelt: Most intriguing: @WaltDisneyCo lawyers commissioned study in 2017 on pay equity at the company. But got a judge to agree to keep it secret, despite pay equity lawsuit. @brooksbarnesNYT https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cristina Tenaglia / @cristina_cp24: Stumbled upon this randomly, and it's consistent with research I've been doing w female journos at @jhrnews- pay secrecy rules further silence women who are already challenged by gender pay gaps. If you can't talk about it...shh...no one will know: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Zlati Meyer / Fast Company: Disney employees accuse company of illegal ‘pay secrecy’ policy in gender discrimination lawsuit
Marcia Brown / American Prospect:
Activists say CNN aired a clip about a border crossing despite warnings it may have been staged, as outlets compete to frame the border situation as a “crisis” — An unusual video has been flagged by activists as deliberately manufactured to present a story of a border crisis …
Discussion:
Ian Gordon / Mother Jones: The Sunday News Shows Went All-In on the “Border Crisis,” and I Think It Gave Me Hives
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