Top News:
James Walker / Press Gazette:
BuzzFeed proposes cutting 17 of BuzzFeed UK's 37 editorial staff, with most losses to the Buzz section covering pop culture — Buzzfeed UK's editorial team will be cut by nearly half, its own media reporter has claimed, down from 37 to 20 journalists based in London.
RELATED:
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
BuzzFeed laid off its Director of Quizzes because lots of people are willing to make quizzes for free — “This post has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone create a post. Learn more or post your buzz!”
Discussion:
Fluxblog, @johnastoehr and @kateotherkate
BuzzFeed News Staff Council:
In a letter to BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti and others, the BuzzFeed News Staff Council demands that BuzzFeed pay out earned paid time off to laid-off employees
In a letter to BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti and others, the BuzzFeed News Staff Council demands that BuzzFeed pay out earned paid time off to laid-off employees
Discussion:
@jeremymbarr, @jane__bradley, @peretti, Variety, TechCrunch, @dylanmatt, @janelytv, Fast Company, @rachelysanders, @katienotopoulos, @meganpaolone, @dceiver, @danieldrepper, @rossalynwarren, @mat, @mollyhc, @rosadona, @charles_kinbote, @netw3rk, @jillfilipovic, @kateaurthur, @annehelen, @edzitron, @cwarzel, @annehelen, The Wrap, @cwarzel, @cwarzel, The Daily Caller, @katenocera, @lindseyadler, @buriedbybooks, @laura_nelson, @hshaban, @kateaurthur, @rachel, @mbvd, @weeddude, @rachelysanders, @nick_parco, @juliareinstein, @ellievhall, @chrisgeidner, @theferocity, @dominicholden and Mediaite
Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:
Even as companies like Digital First Media strip-mine local newspapers for profit, their journalists continue doing important work and deserve support — Jeffrey Miller might be the ideal news consumer: He's well-informed, thoughtful and understands the role good journalism plays in American democracy.
Discussion:
Nieman Lab, The Rural Blog, @ehernandez, @thomas_peele, @alanmillernlp, @dangillmor and @sulliview
RELATED:
Steve Cavendish / Washington Post:
How Gannett hollowed out newspapers in Tennessee over decades, leaving stories like hospital mergers and local elections now under-covered — Wednesday was a bloodbath for journalists. BuzzFeed said it would lay off 15 percent of its employees, and Verizon Media announced it would cut 7 percent …
Discussion:
@ralstonreports, @mattdpearce, @jmartnyt, @charlesornstein, @rpetty, @kensands, @carlyewisel, @jrovner, @jayrosen_nyu and @alecmacgillis
Lucinda Southern / Digiday:
Condé Nast International launches Vogue Business, a twice-weekly newsletter for professionals in the fashion and luxury industries, with 21 staffers — Condé Nast International, home to magazine brands like Vogue, GQ and Wired, is making a more direct play for professionals …
Discussion:
Financial Times, @wblau, MediaPost, @sarahmarshall, @digiday, @hugopw, @wblau, Marketing Week and Media Star
Wall Street Journal:
Bill Simmons says The Ringer, focused on its network of 28 podcasts with ~35M downloads a month is profitable; sources say it made $15M+ on podcasts in 2018 — Four years after his acrimonious split with ESPN, the sports entrepreneur is building a different kind of network
Joseph Cox / Motherboard:
Internal docs and sources describe how Facebook educates moderators about political issues and potential “PR fires” that are particular to different elections — Internal Facebook documents obtained by Motherboard show specific steps and strategies taken by the company …
Discussion:
Facebook, The Hill, @tonyajoriley and Fortune, more at Techmeme »
Antonia Noori Farzan / Washington Post:
NBC veteran Tom Brokaw apologizes after saying “Hispanics should work harder at assimilation” on Sunday's Meet the Press, evoking further criticism — Tom Brokaw, the veteran NBC newsman, has apologized for saying that Hispanic immigrants need to do a better job of assimilating …
Discussion:
@tombrokaw, New York Post, Fast Company, New York Times, Politico, NAHJ, @tombrokaw, Fox News, CNN, @tombrokaw, @walshfreedom, @jayrosen_nyu, USA Today, @sulliview, @neidasandoval, @ananavarro, @mariasacchetti, @lesleyhandel and @julito77
Will Oremus / Slate:
An overview of projects like NewsGuard, and how efforts to rank the credibility of news sites can be problematic, despite good intentions — In the era of fake news, a cottage industry of startups is competing to turn media credibility into a booming business. Do we really want that?
Discussion:
@carnage4life, @jeffjohnroberts and @mantzarlis
Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
Guardian EIC Katharine Viner says the group is on track to break even in April, talks about being Guardian's first female editor, paywalls, sexism, and more — Guardian News and Media editor-in-chief Katharine Viner has said a hard paywall “isn't really a conversation” …
Discussion:
@michellemanafy
Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:
As “deepfake” videos become more common and convincing, the tech will give cover to those dismissing real events as fake; DARPA researches ways to detect fakes — Inside the Pentagon's race against deepfake videos Advances in artificial intelligence could soon …
Discussion:
@donie, @publichands, @ecmclaughlin, @donie, @chodger and @johnpaczkowski, more at Techmeme »
Sarah Frier / Bloomberg:
Despite Facebook spending ~$1B last year on Watch, its would-be YouTube killer is a jumble of ads with no hit shows and a tiny slice of overall video revenue — Three long years ago, when the world knew little about Cambridge Analytica and laughed off the specter of fake news, Mark Zuckerberg had a very different kind of problem.
Discussion:
@shiraovide, @simonowens and @reckless, more at Techmeme »