Top News:
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
Inside a power struggle at WSJ between editor Matt Murray and publisher Almar Latour over how the paper should remake itself to attract new digital readers — A special team led by a high-level manager says Rupert Murdoch's paper must evolve to survive. But a rivalry between editor and publisher stands in the way.
Discussion:
@edmundlee, @raju, @mylesudland, @sridharpappu, @mccarthyryanj, @ourand_sbj, @raju, @rafat, @ryanchittum, @janebsinger, @mattietk, @johngapper, @moorehn, @krmaher, @adrianweckler, @gorskon, @niubi, @edmundlee, @markberman, @benyt, @davecbenoit, @thirdwaykessler, @edmundlee, @karaswisher, @matinastevis, @sdkstl, @tonyromm, @joshsternberg, @dicktofel, @crtejada, @tomgara, Talking Biz News, @janemayernyer, @jayrosen_nyu, @nancook, @lionelbarber, @waltmossberg, @sherman4949, @jeffjarvis, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @karaswisher, @iansalisbury, @fenitn, @raju, @edmundlee, @bradleyhope, @edmundlee, @jenrossa, @bradleyhope, @edmundlee, @robinwigg, @davidclinchnews, @rafat, @matthewstoller, @retheauditors, @nytimes, @picardonhealth, @batess, Cleverly Painted Mules, @jswatz, @bakerluke, @brianstelter, @fvogelstein, @andreasharsono, @dkiesow, @kenli729 and @kvox
Discussion:
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: .@WSJ is one of the nation's great papers. @rupertmurdoch considers it the crown jewel of his empire. Most of its readers are older white men, and it needs to evolve if it's going to survive. But a rivalry between the editor & publisher stands in the way. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: Who is named and not cited as having specifically declined to comment is often a good clue for who talked for these internecine media articles, and good hidden context for underlying leak motives: @nytimes on “Inside” the Fight for the Future of @wsj https://www.nytimes.com/...?
Myles Udland / @mylesudland: “Woke” basically has no meaning anymore except to identify the user as kind of an asshole. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Sridhar Pappu / @sridharpappu: “What is the Wall Street Journal?” @edmundlee with a great look at the infighting and indecision within the the crown of the Murdoch print empire and the struggles to define its future: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ryan McCarthy / @mccarthyryanj: Really curious what the WSJ is spending overall to make this digital transition compared to what, say, the NYT has spent. Between hires, acquisitions, data, marketing, new journalists...NYT has spent a ton. Just wonder if WSJ has comparable resources. https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Ourand / @ourand_sbj: Must read story by @edmundlee. I read this as an in-depth piece on the future of news media - with so much good color and so many good scoops sprinkled throughout. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: In the category of many things can be simultaneously valid, @wsj newsroom (independent from ones views of its edit page) performance under Matt Murray stewardship has been refreshingly good, especially relative to the previous regime, incl coverage of Trump administration topics.
@rafat: The change that WSJ wants — relevance for future — will likely have to come from outside, cliched as it is to say. It should've been lot more aggressive going after @MorningBrew type brands. And it has to turn more B2B, never really cracked it well, despite being part of DJ.
Ryan Chittum / @ryanchittum: Oh, FFS. The stupidest goddamn thing the Wall Street Journal could do is try to follow the Times and WaPo (even AP!) and become successor ideology/partisan organs. The WSJ plays it more fairly than any paper in the country. Preserve that at all costs. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jane Singer / @janebsinger: WSJ is a media rarity: a newspaper making serious money. Its digital business model was decades ahead of the curve. Yet its culture is deeply change-resistant. Now a team of internal innovators is battling for an overhaul aimed at diversifying readership. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matt ‘TK’ Taylor / @mattietk: Well this takedown of the internals of a News Corp newspaper trying to wrangle with digital change and being somehow unable to even though it's existential sure sounds familiar 🤨 https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Gapper / @johngapper: This is pure dog-eat-dog media gossip about a direct rival, so I naturally enjoyed it https://www.nytimes.com/...
Heidi N. Moore / @moorehn: This story reminds me of something that another senior reporter told me when I joined the WSJ. We were in the elevator and I said something like “I've learned something about the culture here...” and he said, “....is it that everyone hates each other?” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Katherine Maher / @krmaher: “We have a broad cultural fear of change and we overweight the possibility of alienating some readers, compared to our opportunity cost of not changing and growing.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Adrian Weckler / @adrianweckler: Depressing and noteworthy that only 3 have properly, sustainably gone digital in a market as big and advanced as the US https://twitter.com/...
@gorskon: It's worse than that. @WSJopinion is a full on right wing propaganda/disinformation/science denial machine. It's not fixable, absent new ownership and a complete replacement of the editorial board and its entire opinion page. https://twitter.com/...
Bill Bishop / @niubi: “The Journal got digital publishing right before anyone else. It was one of the few news organizations to charge readers for online access starting in 1996”. Hahaha, far from it, thankfully, otherwise they wouldn't have paid 500M+ for MarketWatch in 2004 https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: The report argues the the paper should attract new readers — women, people of color and younger professionals — by focusing more on topics such as climate change and income inequality. But after almost a year, the report still has not been distributed.
Mark Berman / @markberman: I always want to hear people who say stuff like this expand a little on what they mean, I just wanna hear em clearly elucidate their thought process here https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Dave Benoit / @davecbenoit: I would like to clarify something here in this NYT story ... WSJ reporters know how to rotate a PDF. Ok great, thanks. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jim Kessler / @thirdwaykessler: If the @wsj wants to modernize and gain market share they should first junk the entire editorial board which appeals only 80+ year-old, tut-tutting men with droopy jowls. @edmundlee writes https://www.nytimes.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: One of @wsj's own media reporters filed a story on the contents of the study last August. It was spiked. The report, called The Content Review, has effectively been shelved.
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: Great piece by @edmundlee on RupeWorld which gives me the digital deja vu shakes. Sound familiar @waltmossberg ?: Inside the Fight for the Future of The Wall Street Journal - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matina Stevis-Gridneff / @matinastevis: Very interesting read but also mixed emotions about this story in my new paper about my old paper. What I do know is that the one thing there's no shortage of at the Journal is newsroom talent. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Staci D Kramer / @sdkstl: From the thread 🤦♀️ >>A senior editor said he was worried the paper might be sued if it came out that its reporters were passing over white people to quote Black people.<< https://twitter.com/...
Tony Romm / @tonyromm: “The No. 1 reason we lose subscribers is they die,” goes a joke shared by some Journal editors. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@joshsternberg: Palace intrigue stories are generally just gossip inching toward light. However, with nuanced reporting and dexterous writing from @edmundlee, we get the goods: a narrative that flows between a human story and a business story. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Richard Tofel / @dicktofel: This is fascinating, not least in spurring thinking about why the sources for it want it published now. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Carlos Tejada / @crtejada: Boy is this true: “What's unusual about the recent events at The Journal is the public nature of the grievances. The Times, by contrast, is known for how its internal spats become public. At The Journal, workplace gripes tend to stay within the family.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tom Gara / @tomgara: I guess it's a secondary point to the palace intrigue stuff here, but I'm still kinda bemused by the idea the WSJ needs to target “young” audiences with more shiny general interest digital stuff etc https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Roush / Talking Biz News: The WSJ battle: EIC Murray vs. publisher Latour
Jane Mayer / @janemayernyer: “They hate each other” — (said of the publisher and editor of the Wall Street Journal- where Rupert Murdoch's high-school-aged daughter is suggesting new content) via @NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: Anyone who pays attention to the news industry's struggles to adapt and survive is required to read and study this article. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Nancy Cook / @nancook: This very gossipy deep dive on the WSJ is making the rounds of my journalist pal text chains: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lionel Barber / @lionelbarber: Deliciously gossipy account of the Wall Street Journal's search for growth and re-invention in the age of woke news - from a scrupulously objective - ahem - New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/...
Walt Mossberg / @waltmossberg: We only have 3 financially solid, heavily staffed, high quality national “newspapers” that have made the leap to digital: the @nytimes, the @washingtonpost and the @WSJ. It's important to cover their internal affairs the way @edmundlee did about the WSJ. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Alex Sherman / @sherman4949: Palace intrigue at a top newspaper? Must be an @edmundlee joint. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis: No, The Times own version of its strategy is flawed. Without the huge audience that free brought, The Times would not have been able to convert the number of readers it has to subscription. https://www.nytimes.com/... See: https://www.digitalriptide.org/ ... https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Again, the company takes issue with how we characterize the drama inside the newsroom. You can read for yourself: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: A special innovation group analyzed what the paper is doing right and what it's doing wrong. In July, the team dropped a 209-page report. The Journal wants to double its subscriptions. To hit that goal it needs 100 million readers a month. But it rarely cracks above 50 million.
Kara Swisher / @karaswisher: I will never forget the endless and braindead meetings in the 1990s and early 2000s about “how we get young people to read the print paper.” https://twitter.com/...
Ian Salisbury / @iansalisbury: This is going to be hard — not presenting what young progressive activists want as the natural, just outcome of “progress,” while also not dismissing it — is exactly what makes the Journal so good. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Fenit Nirappil / @fenitn: It gets lost that woke means awoken to the realities of racism and injustice in society. When journalists use woke in a derogatory context, they are betraying a biased perspective that ignores inconvenient facts https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Raju Narisetti / @raju: With @FT, @wsj still remains a must-read for business-minded audiences as biz magazines (Fortune/Forbes/BW et al) morph into events-centric brands/fade; Bloomberg/Reuters still need to focus on meeting main client needs (speed); and Business Insider just mounting a decent catchup
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: That's because a brewing fight between the paper's editor, Matt Murray, and its publisher, Almar Latour, has gotten in the way. The have never gotten along. “They hate each other,” one person who knows both said.
Bradley Hope / @bradleyhope: What this story missed entirely is what the WSJ reporters thought of the “ideas” coming out of the “innovation” group. They surely weren't about increasing and highlighting the @WSJ's tremendous enterprise journalism https://www.nytimes.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: The report said the paper needs to quote more diverse subjects. But how? Should they survey subjects about their background? A senior editor said he was worried the paper might be sued if it came out that its reporters were passing over white people to quote Black people.
Jennifer Rossa / @jenrossa: My takeaway is that maybe men should listen to women. https://twitter.com/...
Bradley Hope / @bradleyhope: That leaked presentation was embarrassing in the newsroom for its utter lack of interesting or original ideas. It was clear they had no connection whatsoever to the journalism underway at the WSJ.
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: That tension has stifled progress, insiders say. The company disputes the characterization and cites The Journal's overall growth and rising profits. And there's more to the saga:
Robin Wigglesworth / @robinwigg: Don't WSJ journalists realise that they can just rotate images in any PDF reader? https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
David Clinch / @davidclinchnews: I know more than most about the people and the business issues involved in this fascinating read from @edmundlee and I still learned a lot. “Inside the Fight for the Future of The Wall Street Journal” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@rafat: Lotsa throat clearing in a supposedly deep dive story with little business analysis or insight, opportunity lost. Also as @jeffjarvis said, role of racist Murdoch & ilk not explored at all. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Matt Stoller / @matthewstoller: “The Journal of the future, they say, must pay more attention to social media trends and cover racial disparities in health care, for example, as aggressively as it pursues corporate mergers.” Yes because mergers have nothing to do with racial disparities in health care. jfc. https://twitter.com/...
Francine McKenna / @retheauditors: Inside the Fight for the Future of The Wall Street Journal | “News Corp recently hired the consulting firm Deloitte to work on a project to consolidate its many divisions, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. ” https://www.nytimes.com/...
@nytimes: As the U.S. population grows more racially diverse, older white men still make up the largest chunk of The Wall Street Journal's readership. Some newsroom employees say change is crucial to the paper's survival, but executives aren't convinced. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Andr Picard / @picardonhealth: Inside the Fight for the Future of The Wall Street Journal @WSJ. Rupert Murdoch's paper must evolve to survive. But a rivalry between editor and publisher stands in the way, by @edmundlee https://www.nytimes.com/... via @nytimes #journalism
Stephen Bates / @batess: Decent write-up @edmundlee, but much omission of the utter lack of quality/ethics of the OpEd pages, the same recycled tropes from the same flawed sources, almost on quarterly schedule. The print version of Carlson/Hannity, fit only for bird cage liner. https://www.nytimes.com/...
John Schwartz / @jswatz: “A few people on the business side and some top editors who had seen the analysis by Ms. Story's team dismissed it as a ‘woke’ strategy, given its emphasis on appealing to underrepresented readers, the people said.” @edmundlee w/the telling detail https://www.nytimes.com/...
Luke Baker / @bakerluke: Everything you might be interested in knowing about what's going on at the Wall Street Journal @WSJ https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: >> @edmundlee's big look at Murdoch's WSJ, “The Content Review,” and why “the impasse over the report has led to a divided newsroom...” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Fred Vogelstein / @fvogelstein: This made me wonder how the pre-Murdoch @wsj would fare today. It looked at business expansively and creatively. I loved it. @rupertmurdoch's goal was to make it narrower. And now that seems to be its biggest problem. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Andreas Harsono / @andreasharsono: The Wall Street Journal is a rarity in 21st-century media: a newspaper that makes money. But the U.S. population is growing more racially diverse, older white men still make up the largest chunk of its readership, with retirees a close second https://www.nytimes.com/...
Damon Kiesow / @dkiesow: I find it hard to read past facile arguments about business models. The WSJ was able to charge for digital early on because it is a business-focused publication often paid by expense account. https://www.nytimes.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Kenneth Li / @kenli729: So many reveals in this must read by @edmundlee including this reminder of how thankless it is to cover own company : “The Journal's own story by Mr. Trachtenberg on The Content Review still has not run.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
RELATED:
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
A look at WSJ's internal study, The Content Review, which recommended ways for WSJ to attract new readers, specifically, women, POC, and younger professionals — A look at what the newsroom's internal study — The Content Review — concluded about the paper's faults.
Discussion:
@edmundlee, @edmundlee, @tomcritchlow, @edmundlee, @cristymsilva, @edmundlee, @tomnamako, @cristymsilva, @jbflint, @cristymsilva, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee, @edmundlee and Talking Biz News
Discussion:
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Of the lead stories The Journal runs, few, if any focus on race or gender, or feature “real people”: https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: The @wsj audit that has caused so much consternation (and that has been kept hidden from most of its own newsroom) is called The Content Review. You may have seen a version of it on BuzzFeed, but what follows are excerpts few have seen before: https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tom Critchlow / @tomcritchlow: Love seeing real work documents like this. Gives you a reference point for doing this kind of work as a consultant... https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Churn rate: https://twitter.com/...
Cristina Silva / @cristymsilva: We need more audits so we can truly understand how awful, classist, xenophobic, sexist, homophobic and racist our coverage is. And then make sweeping changes. https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: The Journal's own newsroom's perceptions on how the paper covers race: https://twitter.com/...
Tom Namako / @tomnamako: (Sorry guys) “In October, a pared-down version of The Content Review was leaked to BuzzFeed News, which included a link to the document as a sideways scan. (Staffers, eager to read the report, had to turn their heads 90 degrees.)” https://www.buzzfeednews.com/ ... https://www.nytimes.com/...
Cristina Silva / @cristymsilva: The report found that over a three-month period, of the 108 lead stories it published “only one had race as the main topic.” It added: “None had gender as the main topic, and none had L.G.B.T.Q.-specific issues as the main topic of the story. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Joe Flint / @jbflint: To paraphrase Barry Zuckercorn, it's a really big document. https://twitter.com/...
Cristina Silva / @cristymsilva: “many of our stories do not have human protagonists. But when they did, we found that 13 percent were people of color.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Recommendations on what The Journal should stop doing: https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: Some details on where WSJ subscribers are coming from: https://twitter.com/...
Edmund Lee / @edmundlee: The Journal keeps bumping up against that 50 million ceiling: https://twitter.com/...
Nicholas Kulish / New York Times:
Across the US, billionaires have decided that a newspaper is an essential part of the civic fabric and are buying local papers, often with mixed results — Billionaires aren't usually cast as saviors of democracy. But one way they are winning plaudits for civic-minded endeavors is by funding the Fourth Estate.
Discussion:
@jayrosen_nyu, @lenfestinst, @frannydink, @austinbogues, @mgsiegler, @timafranklin, @dskok, @benestes, @dkiesow, @amlwhere, @sewellchan, @pastryplate, @underoak, @tymccormick, @lyman_brian, @ckrewson, @brianstelter and @toddlighty
Discussion:
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “The advantage of a local owner who cares about the community is that they in theory can give you runway and also say, 'Operate at break-even on a cash-flow basis and you're good.'” That captures why billionaires buying newspapers is sometimes welcomed. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Lenfest Institute / @lenfestinst: The @PhillyInquirer was donated to The Lenfest Institute “to maintain editorial independence and maximum flexibility to run as a business while also encouraging philanthropic support.” Thoughtful @nytimes look at philanthropy in news https://www.nytimes.com/...
Frances Dinkelspiel / @frannydink: Great article, partly about why journalism is a public good that needs donations and philanthropic dollars to succeed. Donate please to your local paper ( including @berkeleyside and @oaklandside )to help. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Austin Bogues / @austinbogues: “It's not just, go find yourself a rich guy. It's the right rich person. There are lots of people with lots of money. A lot of them shouldn't run newspaper companies,” said Ann Marie Lipinski curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. https://www.nytimes.com/...
M.G. Siegler / @mgsiegler: “The great fear of every billionaire is that by owning a newspaper they will become a millionaire.” 📰💸 https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tim Franklin / @timafranklin: “American democracy is sailing through choppy waters, and they've decided to buy a newspaper instead of a yacht,” @JimFriedlich of @lenfestinst says of the trend of ultra rich buying struggling local news orgs. https://www.nytimes.com/...
David Skok / @dskok: “I think philosophically, we've long accepted that we have no museums or opera houses without philanthropic support,” said @AMLwhere. “I think journalism deserves the same consideration.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ben Estes / @benestes: One of the problems with newspapers these days is that they're still called newspapers https://www.nytimes.com/...
Damon Kiesow / @dkiesow: The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that local news media do not need local control. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ann Marie Lipinski / @amlwhere: “We've long accepted that we have no museums or opera houses without philanthropic support. I think journalism deserves the same consideration.” @nkulish talks with me and others about this pivotal moment for newspaper ownership. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Sewell Chan / @sewellchan: “They've decided to buy a newspaper instead of a yacht.” A look at affluent owners who swooped in to rescue newspapers from rapacious chains. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@pastryplate: They're no saving a democracy... they are shaping a culture. It's the long game that only billionaires can afford. Let's see what newspapers are like in ten years... bet they'll mirror capitalist values even more... guess where unions will be... https://twitter.com/...
Andria Krewson / @underoak: “There are lots of people with lots of money. A lot of them shouldn't run newspaper companies. ... Sam Zell is Exhibit A. So be careful who you ask.” - Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard https://www.nytimes.com/...
Ty McCormick / @tymccormick: “I think philosophically, we've long accepted that we have no museums or opera houses without philanthropic support...I think journalism deserves the same consideration.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Lyman / @lyman_brian: Good piece, though it's interesting that national newspapers look at “local journalism” through the prism of regional papers, with far more resources than most publications have. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Chris Krewson / @ckrewson: “There's not a doubt in my mind that The Los Angeles Times is in a better place today than if Tribune had held on to it these last three years,” said Norman Pearlstine, who served as exec editor for 2 yrs. “I don't think that's open to debate or dispute.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
Brian Stelter / @brianstelter: “From Utah to Minnesota and from Long Island to the Berkshires, local grandees have decided that a newspaper is an essential part of the civic fabric. Their track records as owners are somewhat mixed, but mixed in this case is better than the alternative.” https://www.nytimes.com/...
RELATED:
Lukas I. Alpert / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Bainum had a side arrangement with Alden CEO Heath Freeman to buy Baltimore Sun, but made his own Tribune bid after suspecting Alden changed terms — New York hedge fund was on verge of expanding its newspaper empire when Maryland hotel magnate Stewart Bainum turned the tables
Discussion:
@justingeorge, @bgrueskin, @roncharles, @jowens510, @ltaford, @lalpert1, @ssdance, @ianbassin, @bangebguild, @stevedaniels27 and Poynter
Discussion:
Justin George / @justingeorge: Thankful to Stewart Bainum, who recognizes newspapers' important role in society, for standing up against Heath Freeman & the Alden hedge fund, whose track record has been to scavenge & plunder as much profit out of newspapers rather than reinvesting in them. Free the Sun! https://twitter.com/...
Bill Grueskin / @bgrueskin: It would be quite a moment if Patrick Soon-Shiong, the savior of the LATimes, is the one to let Tribune papers fall into the clutches of Alden Capital. Via @lalpert1 https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Ron Charles / @roncharles: “Whether the decline of this once-towering American newspaper chain accelerates rapidly or is meaningfully reversed will be determined in the next few weeks.” https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Jeremy C. Owens / @jowens510: How are we as an American people allowing this to happen to one of our most important local institutions? When will a Silicon Valley billionaire step up like in Baltimore (!) and Chicago? https://www.wsj.com/... #SaveLocalJournalism https://twitter.com/...
Liam T.A. Ford / @ltaford: Well. Alden not keeping its word may have triggered all this. https://www.wsj.com/...
Lukas I. Alpert / @lalpert1: Here's the real story behind how hedge fund Alden Global Capital fumbled the ball on the one yard line in its takeover effort of Tribune Publishing https://www.wsj.com/...
@ssdance: Maybe the most revelatory and explanatory story yet on this saga: Alden Clashes With Billionaire Over Future of Tribune—and of Local News - WSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
Ian Bassin / @ianbassin: Grateful to Stewart Bainum and Hansjorg Wyss for trying to save local papers and shift them to a non-profit model. Strong, local media whose incentive is news not hedge fund profitability is critical to our democracy. https://twitter.com/...
Bang-Eb Guild / @bangebguild: Neil Chase, former executive editor of Alden's @mercnews and @EastBayTimes until 2018, said he once provided a presentation to @MediaNewsGroup COO “explaining methods to boost digital subscribers, but when the meeting ended, the executive left the report lying on the table.” https://twitter.com/...
Richard J. Tofel / Second Rough Draft:
The potential rescuers of individual Tribune newspapers should stop printing the papers and go all digital, right away, to cut major costs of standalone outlets
Discussion:
@underoak, @scmitchp, @mikeorren, @mikeorren, @scmitchp, @mikeorren, @scmitchp, @mikeorren, @chaseneil, @mikeorren, @stephjantzen, @dicktofel, @cleonardnews, @tom_mallory, @peterhimler, @ckrewson, @ckrewson and @joegermuska
Discussion:
Andria Krewson / @underoak: This is a really attractive idea because one wouldn't have to unwind Trib's interconnected tech system for print. It would cost some jobs. But I'm not sure how I reconcile it with ideas like @queencitynerve's reasoning for print. http://mediahub.unc.edu/... https://twitter.com/...
@scmitchp: @mikeorren Great Last Jedi comparison! I like Richard a lot but he doesn't understand the finances of businesses like ours. It would be suicide to get rid of print. Also: the guiding ethos of digital subs really is really being all in on your readers/audience.
Mike Orren / @mikeorren: If you want a preview of what the local news biz is going through for the next few years, go watch The Last Jedi, specifically the slow-speed chase. Conserve fuel while preparing to escape in a different ship. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Orren / @mikeorren: Print subscription revenue is the fuel that gets us across the chasm. Would be foolish to flush it Betting on a bunch of older print readers to quietly migrate to web isn't a wager I'd be willing to make Don't get me wrong — the inflection point is coming, but it's not here yet
@scmitchp: @mikeorren I have mixed thoughts on the E-Paper now after 18 months of trying to use it as a gateway product but get where you are going here....
Mike Orren / @mikeorren: @SCMitchP Not a gateway; a long offramp.
@scmitchp: @mikeorren If you are truly treating your audience like gold, telling the significant portion of your audience that wants print to take a hike doesn't make sense. And as you say, it's still profitable and helps propel us to our likely digital only future.
Mike Orren / @mikeorren: @SCMitchP If I wasn't so busy running the biz I'd drop a thinkpiece on why the ePaper is the fulcrum product that will make all the difference.
Neil Chase / @chaseneil: The most important advice for anyone who buys a newspaper today, from @dicktofel: Have the guts to stop printing it. Trade today's revenue for a chance to still be serving your community tomorrow. https://twitter.com/...
Mike Orren / @mikeorren: I really want to agree with this philosophically. The 2nd point about making unpopular decision up front is compelling. But the truth is that at every metro daily I've seen, print is *still* propping up everything else, not the inverse... https://twitter.com/...
Stephanie McGann Jantzen / @stephjantzen: This is an interesting piece worth reading. Local news is so important-even more so in an age of so much misinformation. His first directive: stop printing papers so you can remain in business: https://twitter.com/...
Richard Tofel / @dicktofel: Here's this week's Second Rough Draft newsletter, with a modest proposal for the local rescuers of the Tribune papers: stop printing them ASAP. https://dicktofel.substack.com/ ...
Christopher Leonard / @cleonardnews: I strongly recommend reading the @dicktofel newsletter. This one is provocative. I despair at the potential loss of physical newspapers and truly hope it's not necessary. “Memo to Tribune Rescuers: First Thing You Do, Stop Printing the Paper” https://dicktofel.substack.com/ ...
Tom Mallory / @tom_mallory: “Those of us once in the print-and-digital newspaper business have long understood ... that as much as 80-85% of all expenses traditionally came in the process of marketing, printing and delivering the physical product.” https://dicktofel.substack.com/ ...
Peter Himler / @peterhimler: Advice from a news industry vet to the would-be new owners of Tribune Publishing: “...as you soon as you get control, or even as a condition of doing so if possible, take the newspapers out of print, and go all-digital.” - @dicktofel https://dicktofel.substack.com/ ... #journalismmatters
Chris Krewson / @ckrewson: .@dicktofel on the Tribune Rescue Plan: “None of your cohort of putative owners has the wealth of Jeff Bezos, who literally need not care how much the Washington Post costs him— it couldn't conceivably be enough to affect him or his philanthropy materially.” 1/
Chris Krewson / @ckrewson: “Rather, you are situated more similarly to Patrick and Nika Soon-Shiong at the Los Angeles Times, John and Linda Henry at the Boston Globe and even the Lenfest Institute in Philadelphia... willing to lose money to save the local paper, but only so much.” https://dicktofel.substack.com/ ...
Christopher Cadelago / Politico:
How a gamer calling themselves Kacey Montagu posed as a reporter for fictitious White House News and managed to fool journalists and the Biden administration — Four times in recent weeks, members of the White House press corps have relayed questions to press secretary Jen Psaki …
Discussion:
New York Post, @secmontagu, @anthony, @mikebarnicle, @nycsouthpaw, @evandonovan, @nycsouthpaw, @mattzeitlin, @emilcdc, Insider, @ositanwanevu, @blakehounshell, @samstein, @svdate, @seanspicer, @ccadelago, @samstein and Mediaite
Discussion:
Kacey ‘Lego’ Montagu / @secmontagu: Glad you liked it Sean! I did inquire about that Easter Bunny's costume you had! https://twitter.com/...
Anthony DeRosa / @anthony: How a Roblox gamer infiltrated the White House press corps. ‘Kacey Montagu’ posed as a reporter for the fictitious WHN and managed to fool real correspondents — and even the new Biden administration https://www.politico.com/...
Mike Barnicle / @mikebarnicle: Imagine this dope critiquing the White House press operation!...Go count a crowd. https://twitter.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: All in all, I'd suggest they are a more constructive member of the briefing room community than NewsMax's or OANN's correspondents.
Evan Donovan / @evandonovan: Four times recently, ‘Daily Mail reporter Kacey Montagu’ has submitted questions to the White House through fellow reporters bc of a Covid issue. One problem: “There is no Kacey Montagu, except as a digital impersonation of a White House correspondent.” https://www.politico.com/...
Southpaw / @nycsouthpaw: This person appears to have provided a valuable service in rapidly putting the public schedules and pool reports online and posed poorly worded but perfectly earnest questions.
Matthew Zeitlin / @mattzeitlin: if you're obtaining financial disclosure forms, talking to White House officials, and using journalistic fora to get reporters to ask your questions at press conferences, are you really “pretending” to be a White House reporter? https://www.politico.com/...
Emil Caillaux / @emilcdc: @chrisgeidner @politico Why is a blog called a “fictional outlet”? POLITICO should remember its roots as an email chain sent out at 4 am.
Dan Whateley / Insider: A Twitter and Roblox user posing as a White House reporter snuck in 4 questions to press secretary Jen Psaki
Osita Nwanevu / @ositanwanevu: “They believe Montagu's White House moonlighting began as something to boast about in the online global gaming platform called ROBLOX, where users jokingly call themselves ‘Legos.’” https://twitter.com/...
S.V. Dte / @svdate: The previous White House invited Gateway Pundit, OAN, Epoch Times, Newsmax (the new, conspiracy theory edition) to the briefing room.... Sooooo.... https://twitter.com/...
Sean Spicer / @seanspicer: This tells you everything you need to know about both the geniuses that make up the WH press corps as well as the current press shop How an online ‘Lego’ gamer infiltrated the White House press corps https://www.politico.com/... via @politico
Christopher Cadelago / @ccadelago: NEWS: How an online ‘Lego’ gamer infiltrated the White House press corps ‘Kacey Montagu’ posed as a reporter for the fictitious WHN and manage to fool real correspondents—who asked 4 of her questions to Press Secretary Jen Psaki in recent weeks. https://www.politico.com/...
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Nielsen says the pandemic shrunk the size of its TV consumer panel, but it defends its viewership data and says streaming's rise doesn't offset linear TV's fall — The media industry's go-to authority for measuring audiences acknowledged on Friday that the recent coronavirus pandemic bent its yardstick …
Discussion:
Columbia Journalism Review, Variety, @arianapekary, @jayrosen_nyu, @bristei, nielsen.com, MediaPost, @bristei and @loudmouthjulia
Discussion:
Ariana Pekary / Columbia Journalism Review: CNN Public Editor: how a ratings fixation affects coverage
Brian Steinberg / Variety: TV Networks Frustrated by Nielsen's Count of Audiences During Coronavirus
Ariana Pekary / @arianapekary: Me @CJR: Nielsen ratings are likely wrong, making cable news reliance on them even worse. The pandemic has likely resulted in “significant undercounting.” And digital use, a growing (young & urban) portion of viewers, is not integrated in data overnight. https://www.cjr.org/...
Jay Rosen / @jayrosen_nyu: “Using ratings to determine news value is riddled with potential problems. Basing today's content on what people wanted to watch yesterday means you inherently lose the ‘new’ in news.” https://www.cjr.org/... Recommended.
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: The media industry's go-to authority for measuring audiences acknowledged on Friday that the recent coronavirus pandemic bent its yardstick, but maintained nothing is broken..... https://variety.com/... via @variety
Wayne Friedman / MediaPost: Nielsen: Long-term TV Viewing Changes Part Of Larger Trend
Brian Steinberg / @bristei: The VAB, a group representing the TV networks, will hold a press conference today to discuss Nielsen's measurement of viewership during the pandemic @Variety reported Weds that networks and Nielsen were at odds over counting viewers during coronavirus https://variety.com/...
Julia Alexander / @loudmouthjulia: Perfect example of two things being true at once: Nielsen's methods are antiquated, seeing big holes within its measurement spectrum. And, less people watched network television because of a litany of reasons, but especially when sports and new TV shows were on a pandemic hiatus. https://twitter.com/...
William Turvill / Press Gazette:
Print circulations of WSJ and USA Today fell 19% and 60% respectively from Q1 2020 to Q2/Q3 as hotels closed, accounting for the majority of the decline — USA Today lost more than half of its print sales as US newspaper circulations were hit by the Covid-19 crisis last year, Press Gazette research has found.
Discussion:
Nicholas Jackson / @nbj914: With hotels closed during the pandemic, USA Today lost 60% of its remaining print circulation: https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/ ...
The Guardian:
TV ratings plummeted in UK on Friday and BBC was flooded with complaints after broadcasters cleared schedules to air blanket coverage of Prince Philip's death — Corporation opened dedicated complaints form on its website to deal with high volume of comments
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Irish Times, Variety, @variety, @shibleytelhami, New York Post, @jamesrbuk, Conquest of the Useless and @thattimwalker
Discussion:
Manori Ravindran / Variety: Prince Philip: BBC Sets Up Complaints Line For ‘Too Much TV Coverage’ of Duke's Death
@variety: The BBC has set up a dedicated complaints page for viewers fed up with its own blanket coverage of the death of Prince Philip https://variety.com/...
Shibley Telhami / @shibleytelhami: British viewers switch off their TVs in droves after broadcasters aired blanket coverage of Prince Philip's death, audience figures revealed on Saturday, and the BBC received so many complaints it opened a dedicated complaints form on its website. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
Marisa Dellatto / New York Post: BBC viewers complain about overkill coverage of Prince Philip death
James Ball / @jamesrbuk: “The game was still shown in full on the BBC's iPlayer service and BBC Sport website, apparently in the belief that showing women's sport on a digital service during a period of royal mourning is more respectful than allowing it on linear television channels.” https://twitter.com/...
Wall Street Journal:
Erroneously unredacted court docs reveal Google ran a secret program called “Project Bernanke” that used past bid data to boost its win rate in ad auctions — Program used past bid data to boost tech giant's win rate in advertising auctions, according to court filing
Discussion:
Insider, @jason_kint, BIG by Matt Stoller, @jason_kint, @jason_kint, @keachhagey, @jeffhorwitz, @wsj, @jason_kint, @ryanjtracy, @jason_kint, @jason_kint and @benmullin, more at Techmeme »
Discussion:
Kevin Shalvey / Insider: Google's secretive ‘Project Bernanke’ reportedly used data from outside advertisers to benefit the search giant's own ad system
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: 😂 , Google, a company with more lawyers, lobbyists, communications people and money than anyone made a clerical error and leaked out sensitive information about its alleged collusion and bid rigging. /1 https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Matt Stoller / BIG: When Google's Fancy Lawyers Screw Up and Jeopardize Sheryl Sandberg, at $1500/Hour
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: this lede. you really couldn't make this up. Google confirming a secret code name of “Project Bernanke” for what @matthewstoller described as “a scheme engineered by Google in which had one arm of its ad business front-running trades for ad inventory.” https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: WSJ also reports that Google confirmed the existence of the deal with Facebook. Signed by Sandberg and including how the two companies would act if investigated. This matching of audiences appears to be new and seems like privacy circumvention to me. /3 https://twitter.com/...
@keachhagey: Google accidentally reveals the existence of “Project Bernanke,” a program using past bid data to boost Google's win rate in auctions, in court filing filing in Texas antitrust suit. w/ @JeffHorwitz https://www.wsj.com/... via @WSJ
Jeff Horwitz / @jeffhorwitz: New from @keachhagey and me: A secret Google program nicknamed “Project Bernanke” used the company's proprietary ad exchange data to give its systems a leg up on competitors. We know this because Google's lawyers committed an OG Adobe PDF redaction error. https://www.wsj.com/...
@wsj: Google for years operated a secret program that used data from past bids in the company's digital advertising exchange to allegedly give its own ad-buying system an advantage over competitors, court documents show https://www.wsj.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: Actually, one bitter comment. “Project Bernanke,” “Jedi Blue,” et al, these are all cute project code names but behind these hundreds of millions is enough $$$ to fund all of the journalists that lost their jobs in 2020. So everyone should be infuriated. /5
Ryan Tracy / @ryanjtracy: In some instances “we're on both the buy side and the sell side,” Google chief economist Hal Varian said in 2019. Asked how the company managed those roles, Mr. Varian said the topic was “too detailed for the audience, and me.” https://www.wsj.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: last comment, this amuses me. I wonder if this is the UK ISBA study. It was super good but it also found over 10% of revenue couldn't even be traced. It also showed Google participating, and of course maximizing profit, on the buying, selling and transacting. Insider trading. /4 https://twitter.com/...
Jason Kint / @jason_kint: This is consistent with the antitrust charges in the complaint and now appears to be confirmed by Google in its *supposed to be* redacted filing. Hard to understand how it's not trading on inside information. There is a nice illustration why it's problematic in the complaint. /2 https://twitter.com/...
Priya Sippy / Rest of World:
Tanzania's late president limited broadcasters' political coverage and revoked newspapers' licenses; activists hope his successor restores their digital rights — Late president John Magufuli tried to control the internet with threats, legal actions and expensive licenses.
Brian Stelter / CNN:
In a letter to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, the head of the Anti-Defamation League called on her to fire Tucker Carlson for invoking “white replacement theory” — New York (CNN Business)The Anti-Defamation League is calling for Fox News to fire Tucker Carlson.
Discussion:
@pbump, Dispatches From A …, @rheabutcher, @wkamaubell, @pbump, @digiphile, @rmac18, Rolling Stone, Unpopular Front, @justinhendrix, @alexisohanian, @aravosis, Newser, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, Mother Jones, @nytimes, Mediaite, @hofrench, @rexhuppke, @jgreenblattadl, @juddlegum, @calebecarma, @emilyctamkin, The Independent, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, HuffPost, Forbes, Associated Press, Salon, Insider, Media Matters for America, Deadline, The Hill, Anti-Defamation League, New York Magazine, The Wrap, Mediaite and The Daily Beast
Discussion:
Philip Bump / @pbump: Went through letters written by Tucker Carlson's immigrant greatx3-grandfather to point out how views of immigrants change over time — and within families. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Jared Yates Sexton / Dispatches From A …: Replacement and Violence: White Supremacy and American Fascism
W. Kamau Bell / @wkamaubell: Tucker Carlson done been a white supremacist and he also done been every white supremacist's favorite mouthpiece. Anybody saying differently is only revealing themselves as a white supremacist. Thank you for coming to my tweet.
Philip Bump / @pbump: About Tucker Carlson, “replacement” theory — and his great-...great-grandfather, immigrant Cesar Lombardi. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ ...
Alex Howard / @digiphile: This week, @TuckerCarlson was more explicit on air about “replacement.” White nationalists celebrated mainstreaming the theory. A racist dog whistle became a bullhorn. In this thread, @JYSexton unpacks the history of “America First.” https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@rmac18: Is it bad if you can't tell who is plagiarizing and who is being plagiarized https://twitter.com/...
Peter Wade / Rolling Stone: The Daily Show Demonstrates How Tucker Carlson Uses the Language of White Supremacist Murderers
John Ganz / Unpopular Front: Some Thoughts on Antisemitism — In the most recent issue of Jewish Currents …
Justin Hendrix / @justinhendrix: Tucker Carlson should have been fired years ago. https://twitter.com/...
@aravosis: Fox News goes full white supremacist. (And not the woke watered-down version of that phrase that means any and all racism, but actual white supremacist dogma.) https://www.cnn.com/...
Kate Seamons / Newser: ADL Wants to See Fox News Fire Tucker Carlson
Caleb Ecarma / Vanity Fair: Tucker Carlson Leans Into White-Power Hour, Promotes Racist Replacement Theory
Philip Bump / Washington Post: Tucker Carlson's espousal of ‘replacement’ theory is both toxic and ahistoric
@nytimes: The Anti-Defamation League urged Tucker Carlson to resign on Friday, accusing the Fox News host in an open letter of giving “an impassioned defense” of the replacement theory, a racist conspiracy belief popular in far-right circles. https://www.nytimes.com/...
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite: WATCH: Daily Show's Brutal Montage of Tucker Carlson Clips Captioned with Racist Mass Murderer Manifestos
Howard French / @hofrench: He has given at least half of his time slot and foaming at the mouth energy to anti Black commentary for months on end. Will someone finally notice? https://twitter.com/...
Rex Huppke / @rexhuppke: Glad to see the @ADL speaking forcefully against Tucker Carlson's absolutely horrifying parroting of white supremacist “great replacement theory” on his show last night. There is nothing nuanced about what Carlson is doing. It will get people killed. https://www.adl.org/...
Jonathan Greenblatt / @jgreenblattadl: As @brianstelter shares, I wrote to Suzanne Scott, @FoxNews CEO on @TuckerCarlson's long pattern of increasingly toxic rhetoric in recent years and why it's time to end his hate. #TuckerMustGo ⬇️ https://twitter.com/...
Judd Legum / @juddlegum: Tucker Carlson launders white supremacist talking points to millions. He is not an original thinker or a provocateur. He's a charlatan and a bigot. https://www.adl.org/...
Caleb Ecarma / @calebecarma: when I reached out to Fox News about this, a network spokesperson defended Tucker by claiming that he “was not describing white replacement theory” last night and was actually discussing “a voting rights question” https://www.vanityfair.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@emilyctamkin: I disagree with the ADL, in that I don't find it shocking that he would do this, but agree that yes ideally one does not receive tens and tens of thousands of dollars to sit on TV to muse racisms.
Nathan Place / The Independent: ‘Antisemitic, racist and toxic’: Tucker Carlson faces calls to resign after promoting white supremacist ‘replacement’ theory
Ben Sales / Jewish Telegraphic Agency: ADL chief calls for Tucker Carlson's ouster after Fox News host endorses white supremacist conspiracy theory
Mary Papenfuss / HuffPost: Anti-Defamation League Calls For Tucker Carlson's Firing Over White Supremacist Rant
Joe Walsh / Forbes: ADL Urges Fox News To Fire Tucker Carlson For Claiming Democrats ‘Import’ Immigrants To Replace American Voters
Kaity Assaf / Salon: Tucker Carlson's “great replacement” rant draws swift criticism: ADL calls for Fox News to fire host
Azmi Haroun / Insider: Anti-Defamation league calls on Fox News to fire Tucker Carlson after host embraces white supremacist ‘great replacement theory’ on air
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Media Matters for America: White nationalists praise Tucker Carlson's full embrace of their “replacement” conspiracy theory
Ted Johnson / Deadline: ADL Leader Says That Tucker Carlson “Must Go” Following Fox News Host's “Replacement Theory” Remarks
Thomas Moore / The Hill: Anti-Defamation League calls for Tucker Carlson to be fired
Suzanne Scott / Anti-Defamation League: ADL Letter to Fox News Condemns Tucker Carlson's Impassioned Defense of “Great Replacement Theory”
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine: Tucker Carlson Endorses White Supremacist Theory by Name
J. Clara Chan / The Wrap: Anti-Defamation League Head Calls for Tucker Carlson's Ouster for ‘Anti-Semitic, Racist and Toxic’ Commentary
Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Sources: Kimberly Godwin, executive vice president of CBS News, is in final negotiations with Disney to become head of ABC News — Disney has found the next president of ABC News. — Kimberly Godwin, the executive vice president of CBS News, is in the final stages of negotiations with Disney …
Discussion:
TheGrio, @jasminestylestv, @iamamnanawaz, @tiareports, @franklinleonard, FTVLive, @dylanbyers, The Desk, Variety, TVNewser and The Hill
Discussion:
Keydra Manns / TheGrio: Kimberly Godwin to become next ABC News president: report
Jasmine Styles / @jasminestylestv: She's a FAMU alum with A LOT of support across the broadcast industry. What a get for ABC! https://twitter.com/...
Amna / @iamamnanawaz: .@KimGodwinTV ,"a 14-year veteran of CBS, would become the first Black woman to lead a broadcast news division." https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Franklin Leonard / @franklinleonard: If true, Kimberly Godwin will become the first Black woman to lead a US broadcast news division. https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Scott Jones / FTVLive: ABC Poaching CBS Executive
Dylan Byers / @dylanbyers: SCOOP: Disney has found the next president of ABC News. Kimberly Godwin, the executive vice president of CBS News, is in the final stages of negotiations to take the job, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation >> https://www.nbcnews.com/...
Matthew Keys / The Desk: Kim Godwin, CBS News vet, poised to become head of ABC News
Brian Steinberg / Variety: CBS News Veteran Kim Godwin Poised to Lead ABC News
Thomas Moore / The Hill: Report: Disney to name new head of ABC News
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