Mediagazer: Interview with the authors of the book Surviving Mexico on how journalists working along the US-Mexico border collaborate and the threats they face (Lise Olsen/The Texas Observer)

8:10 PM ET, November 14, 2021

Top News:

Pope Francis thanks journalists for uncovering the Church's clerical sexual abuse, “helping us not to sweep it under the carpet”, and giving victims a voice — Pope Francis on Saturday thanked journalists for helping uncover the clerical sexual abuse scandals that the Roman Catholic Church initially tried to cover up.

Ezra Klein / New York Times:

Interview with Jay Rosen on how US political coverage is now a choice between pro- and anti-democratic forces, what a pro-democracy media might look like, more — I'm Ezra Klein, and this is “The Ezra Klein Show.” — Hey, it's Ezra. While I'm on paternity leave, we have got an All-Star team sitting in for me.

Discussion: @mariateresa, @adamdavidson, @blackamazon, @wajahatali, @amy_siskind, @jayrosen_nyu, @jayrosen_nyu, @jerichoyeti, @tomeblen, @ddimick, @pastpunditry, @jayrosen_nyu, @binxbolling2021, @michellesdude and @andrew_chung_

Vivian Wang / New York Times:

A look at the sharp shift at Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK, which used to be known for its editorial independence but is now a mouthpiece for Beijing — RTHK has often set the news agenda with its aggressive coverage of the city. But a Beijing clampdown has changed that, with pro-China coverage filling the void.

Discussion: @walker_ct, @lokmantsui, @vwang3, @ruthbenghiat, @jameshohmann and @tripgabriel

The Economist:
Hong Kong immigration authorities decline to renew the employment visa of Economist correspondent Sue-Lin Wong

Dominic Ponsford / Press Gazette:

Survey of 132 senior news industry leaders from 42 countries found 89% are committed to hybrid work and 9% plan a return to the pre-pandemic working model — Pandemic-led changes to the nature of the newsroom look to be permanent and global, according to a new Changing Newsrooms report …

Discussion: @risj_oxford, @janebsinger, @risj_oxford, @risj_oxford, @marilink, @kennedy_writes, @charlottetobitt, @pressgazette and Reuters Institute …

Lise Olsen / The Texas Observer:

Interview with the authors of the book Surviving Mexico on how journalists working along the US-Mexico border collaborate and the threats they face — Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante and Jeannine Relly, journalism professors based at the University of Arizona, spent the last decade collecting dozens …

Discussion: @celestegdb, @utexaspress, @melissalalinea and @texasobserver

Adam B. Vary / Variety:

Disney+ Day, celebrating the streaming service's two-year anniversary by touting 45+ series, features, and specials, didn't deliver much news or amazing footage — The promotional cavalcade covered every section of the service — Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Disney animation and live action …

Discussion: @sonnybunch, The Streamable, SlashFilm, @adambvary, Variety, @slashfilm, @variety, @variety, CNET, It's the Pictures, SlashFilm, ScreenRant, USA Today, The Wrap, CNET, The Verge and CNET

Paul Farhi / Washington Post:

WaPo corrects and removes portions of two articles from 2017 and 2019 that identified a Belarusian American businessman as a key source of the Steele dossier — The Washington Post on Friday took the unusual step of correcting and removing large portions of two articles …

Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
CNN, which has long claimed the Steele dossier was at least partly corroborated, has not said whether it still stands by that reporting

Discussion: @maxabrahms, @realslokhova, @ggreenwald, @sulliview and @davidfolkenflik

Chris Stokel-Walker / Wired UK:

Substack touts itself as an alternative to toxic, ad-driven social media, but many of its top earners are polarizing figures who were deplatformed elsewhere — The company's CEO says the old way of social media is broken—but is his alternative much different?

Discussion: @counternotions, @kantrowitz, @carnage4life, @jenniferm_q, @ggreenwald, @glennf, @stokel, @jessesingal and @rasmus_kleis, more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Apple, Spotify, and other companies that distribute podcasts have done little to rein in COVID-19 misinformation, escaping the scrutiny social media giants face — False statements about vaccines have spread on the “Wild West” of media, even as some hosts die of virus complications.

Discussion: @carnage4life, @ufjschool, @davewiner, @peterhamby, @evan_greer, @katieharbath, @evelyndouek, @derekwillis, @celinegounder, @technollama, @elijahschaffer, @jeffjarvis, @shanoorseervai, @yoda, @marcatracy and @tiffkhsu, more at Techmeme »

Paris Martineau / The Information:

Sources: Amazon formed a PR team in 2016 to find 90%+ of media reports it deemed inaccurate within two hours of publication, and to obtain corrections — There was a time when Jeff Bezos barely cared about public relations. But after years of increasingly hostile media coverage …

Maria Bustillos / Columbia Journalism Review:

Interview with Kyiv Post EIC Brian Bonner on what caused the paper's sudden shutdown, his relationship with the owner, the Post's future, and more — Since 2008 the English-language Kyiv Post, under the leadership of editor-in-chief Brian Bonner, has consistently uncovered corruption …

Discussion: @mariabustillos, @andrew_danieri, @lrozen, @euan_macdonald, @mariabustillos, @mariabustillos, @martajewson, @lrozen, @pmwbxl, @biz_ukraine_mag, @iaponomarenko and The Fix

Pranob Mehrotra / XDA Developers:

Instagram appears to be working on a feature that lets Live creators add moderators to their streams — Early last month, Instagram announced two new features for Live creators — Live Scheduling and Practice Mode. The features aim to help make life easier for creators on the platform …

Discussion: 9to5Mac

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Instagram tests paying $10,000+ bonuses to select Reels creators, as part of a program announced in July

Discussion: ScreenRant, @lanceulanoff, @cowbuttcrunchie, @yayahan, @erikaheidewald, @_msalhotra, Today in Digital Marketing, Gizmodo, Digital Trends, Protocol, Ad Age, The Verge, The Verge and Engadget

Maxwell Strachan / VICE:

Interview with Sam Lessin and YouTuber Marina Mogilko about a $1.7M investment in her, in exchange for 5% of her creator-related earnings for the next 30 years — She gets $1.7 million. Sam Lessin's venture firm gets 5% of her creator earnings for 30 years. “it's def not indentured servitude,” he says.