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
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 — There has been a bit of controversy around Substack over the last week; I'm not going to get into the specifics of various accusations …
Discussion:
Freddie deBoer, @davidsirota, Washington Post, Let Your Life Speak, @mathewi, @chrislhayes, Dana Blankenhorn, TK News, @timodc, @thestalwart, American Press Institute, @janefriedman, @kantrowitz, @caseynewton, @melissakchan, @ericnewcomer, @alexhern, @tomgara, @dhh, @robkhenderson, @mattzeitlin, @kantrowitz, @alexhern, @them_l_g, @karlbode, tiny driver, @jamessurowiecki, @stratechery, @m_c_klein, @nickconfessore, @kerrymflynn, @alex, Proof, @mattyglesias, Grasping Reality Newsletter,, @juddlegum, @asymmetricinfo, @paulconstant, @benyt, @notjessewalker, @razibkhan and Today in Tabs
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.
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 …
Laura Hazard Owen / Nieman Lab:
Study of subscriber retention techniques at 526 news organizations across the US: just 41% “make it easy” for subscribers to cancel their subscriptions online — Bad news for people who hate using the phone: Just 41% of U.S. news publishers “make it easy” for subscribers to cancel …
Discussion:
American Press Institute, American Press Institute, @kerrymflynn and @bryanmvance
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.
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.
Oliver Darcy / CNN:
Eric Spinato, the head booker and senior story editor for the Fox Business Network who worked primarily with Maria Bartiromo, dies from the coronavirus — New York (CNN Business)Eric Spinato, the head booker and senior story editor for the Fox Business Network, died over the weekend, the network said Monday.
Discussion:
Mediaite, HuffPost, TVNewser, Talking Biz News, @slpng_giants, @mikenoe, @fridaghitis, @oliverdarcy, @dougheye, @jedi_adopted, @brianstelter and The Hill
Damien Wilde / 9to5Google:
YouTube confirms it is testing a feature in the US that automatically detects products in videos and provides related content links — As part of one of YouTube's latest experiments, the video-sharing platform looks to expand beyond the “Products in this Video” feature that auto-detects specific items …
Discussion:
@lanceulanoff, @mattcassinelli, The Verge and @brianroemmele, more at Techmeme »
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, The Verge, @benioff, @ourielohayon, @julialaroche, @patrick_oshag, @alex, Insider and Ad Age
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 …
Jem Aswad / Variety:
Tencent Music and Warner Music to expand licensing agreement with a joint venture record label in China; Tencent became a 20% owner of Universal Music last year — Tencent Music Entertainment Group, part of the massive China-based Tencent media company, and Warner Music have announced …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, TechCrunch, Rolling Stone and Music Business Worldwide