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March 7, 2014 media notes: Newsweek's Bitcoin controversy, Americans still love TV, CJR on non-profit philanthropy

3/7/2014

For Friday, March 7, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

There are relaunches, and then there are relaunches. Witness Newsweek, sold for a dollar only a few years ago, shuttered, now being brought back to print life with today's immensely appealing cover story purportedly on the founder of Bitcoin. Problem is, not everyone agrees he is who he is deemed to be. He certainly denies it. Gawker reports Newsweek stands behind the story. Someone isn't telling the truth. There are plenty of takes on this dispute, and Felix Salmon of Reuters has something comprehensive on it.
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Americans clearly haven't abandoned the television set, no matter the new digital distractions. New data suggest the typical American continues to spend 34 hours a week glued to the first screen, Re/code reports. The younger you are, the less you watch (those over 65 are clocking in 50.5 hours weekly), and while it's true that there has been some decline in live TV viewing, t's not necessarily so that they're not watching TV. They're just delaying their viewing through the recording device.
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Steven Waldman, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, refutes Jeff Jarvis' recent post that suggested philanthropy is misplaced with a journalism non-profit operation. Waldman says non-profits can be sustainable and can serve needs profit-seeking firms can't or won't. Philanthropy is very much needed in the sector, he says.

March 3, 2014 media notes: consensus on journalism's future, Crimean journalism centre seized, First Look and standards

3/3/2014

For Monday, March 3, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

Dean Starkman, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, identifies what he argues is the consensus view on journalism's future. Among them: paywalls are necessary but not a panacea for serious news organizations; the traditional news story retains its primacy; crowdsourcing has its place, but not a substantial one; coverage of state and local governments has suffered and is appalling.
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The situation in the Ukraine poses immense challenges for foreign reporting, but there is no small distress for domestic journalists, either. Masked gunmen broke into and seized the Crimean Investigative Journalism Center. No one was injured, but the center no longer is functioning at its office.
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PandoDaily last week wrote that First Look Media founder Pierre Omidyar had been supplying support to Ukrainian groups opposed to the government. That set off a slanging match with Glenn Greenwald, who noted this was not any grand revelation and that, more importantly, this was not any big deal, in that his journalism was unfettered. Jeff Jarvis, meanwhile, weighed in by declaring First Look could help itself by being less defensive and more assertive in this space. It should declare its principles to assure its audience. Others indicate, though, that Greenwald has already done that.
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media notes 10.05-06.13

10/5/2013

Here are some media stories of note for the weekend of October 5-6, 2013:

Andy Kohut, writing for Poynter, summarizes the recent Pew Research Center surveys on media (he is its research director) and concludes that the younger and middle-aged generations seem unlikely to develop their elders' interests in news. They appear not to be aging into news consumers in the same ways their forerunners did. While news organizations correctly perceive digital as their future, they need to keep expectations low on what their audiences will be.

Jeff Jarvis, writing for Medium, lets loose with a pointed critique of the way viral content generates traffic that helps subsidize news. He sees this as an ultimately unsustainable practice. He hopes a new business model "emerges from the swamp" involving a news organization that attempts to tell the truth. Rather than hitch themselves to every meme, Jarvis believes they should add value to what the community knows.

The Economists looks at the effort at News Corp. in the U.K. to build new value in its publishing business by learning from television. It identifies the News U.K. purchase of rights to video clips from the English Premier League as an example of how to fortify its offerings behind a paywall and build consumer support.

media notes 09.11.13

9/11/2013

For Wednesday, September 11, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

Jeff Jarvis, in his latest Buzzmachine post, looks back on events of 9/11 and says this is the first year in which he has felt hopeless about his nation. He looks at the invasion of privacy, the prosecution of those who report about it, and the use of 9/11 to threaten freedom and build fortresses. He says it is difficult but necessary to search for hope.

Colin Freeman, writing for The Daily Telegraph, argues that prosecuting journalists for paying for news is bad for everyone. Freeman says there is a "class prejudice" about paying for content. It is increasingly difficult to gain access to information, and he asserts that paying for it is not nearly as bad as prosecuting about it. "You may not approve of paying for information, but as things stand, it is increasingly one of the only ways in which non-sanitized stories come out," he writes. Prosecution only helps the institutions trying to shield the content, he says.

Earlier this week three Shorenstein Center Fellows released Riptide, a lengthy report on digital disruption of legacy media. The reaction hasn't been universal acclaim. Andrea Peterson, writing in The Washington Post, represents a cohort that found considerable limitations in the extensive research, principally in the lack of diversity of those interviewed. She argued that the report failed to recognize how the Internet gave a range of under-represented voices an opportunity to reach audiences with their work.

media notes 08.08.13

8/8/2013

Good Thursday, here are some media stories of note for August 8, 2013:

Human Rights Watch, the organization that examines freedom of expression worldwide, discusses how Russian authorities have harassed individuals and firms critical of the planning for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. The organization says authorities have intimidated and threatened those who have criticized the use of migrant workers, the health and environment impact of construction, and the forcible eviction of residents to make room for facilities. In recent weeks there have been other concerns about Russia's new laws that have been seen as open threats to homosexuality in the country.

Alastair Reid, writing for journalism.co.uk, likens negative online comments to broken windows. He argues that the below-story comments has an impact on readers, journalists, and the brand. While there are clear benefits to comments in strengthening journalism and engaging audiences, he notes it is not all positive. "If the publication is your home, then comment threads are the party you are hosting," he writes.

Friday will be a difficult day for AOL's Patch.com. Many of its sites will be shuttered, and while AOL expresses high-level support for the hyperlocal journalism sites across America, the step back is bound to raise concerns about the concept. Jeff Jarvis, in writing a Buzzmachine post, suggests the approach should be to invest and permit employees to take over and run the sites.

Anna Li, writing for Poynter, suggests journalists can benefit immensely from a clearer understanding of design thinking. She identifies the several steps designers take in generating content: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. She argues a regimen of this type can ensure a clear framework for journalism.

media notes 07.25.13

7/25/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Thursday, July 25, 2013:

The European Commission has added its voice to concerns about press freedom of expression in Turkey following extensive firings of journalists in recent days, including the readers' editor for Sabah, Yavuz Baydar. He has also written a detailed account of challenges for journalists in Turkey for the Index on Censorship magazine.

Jeff Jarvis, in his latest post for his Buzzmachine blog, argues that Google has just relegated the television to the second source of video content with the surprise release of its $35 Chromecast device that plugs into the TV and screens video and other content on the set. "Simply put, I'll watch more Internet content because it's so easy now." He outlines the implications of the thumbdrive-style device and says it will set Apple back on its heels with its simplicity and capacity.

Sharon Waxman, the editor of The Wrap, writes from Wednesday's Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference that the decline of newspapers was inevitable. Advertising was simply departing and there was nothing the big papers could do about it. While digital innovation was sustaining journalism, it was disrupting advertising.

Cory Bergman, general manager of Breaking News, writes about Facebook's focus on mobile as an example of how to excel in the digital age. He views its determination to create a mobile footprint as a wake-up call to media organizations who will have trouble keeping pace.

media notes 07.12.13

7/12/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Friday, July 12, 2013:

Margaret Sullivan, The New York Times' public editor, reviews a recent article in which anonymous sources speculated that Edward Snowden unwittingly leaked state secrets to China while he was in Hong Kong. She wonders how acceptable it was to include anonymous speculation of that sort, given the reputational damage possible for Snowden. She concludes that the Times should have thought more about publishing the speculation.

Jeff Jarvis, writing for The Guardian, pursues a recent theme in his Buzzmachine blog about who is a journalist. He notes the trial of Bradley Manning, on trial accused of providing government cables to WikiLeaks, and the testimony by Harvard scholar Yochai Benkler, who told the court that journalism today involves networks. Any effort to chill citizens from participating in that network will have an impact on a free press, Benkler said. What may determine the fate of Manning (and possibly Edward Snowden if he comes to trial) is whether the leaks of secret holdings were made to journalistic organizations --- thus the debate on who is a journalist and what is a journalism organization.

Peter Kafka, writing for AllThingsDigital, has a look at a new report on tablets that suggest they are tethered almost always to WiFi. Only one in five tablets sold have chips for data connection, only half of those are ever activated, and about half of those are deactivated along the way. While it is possible someone is looking at this site from the middle of a field, Kafka suggests it's far more likely someone is looking from a desk in an office.

media notes 07.01.13

7/1/2013

Some media stories of note for Monday, July 1, 2013:

David Carr, in his latest Media Equation column for The New York TImes, examines the blurring line between journalism and activism and the rise of non-governmental organizations in supplying content. But he also uses the column to explore the recent questions about whether Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald, who has unfurled several government secrets in recent weeks, and Alexa O'Brien, who has been following the trial of Bradley Manning, qualify as journalists.

Margaret Sullivan, the public editor for the Times, also examines who is a journalist, noting the Times' correction on O'Brien last week and the reason the journalism label matters (it would ensure coverage of a shield law to prevent prosecution, for instance). Still, Sullivan says, a "real journalists is one who understands, at a cellular level, and doesn't shy away from, the adversarial relationship between government and press --- the very tension that America's founders had in mind with the First Amendment."

Jeff Jarvis, in his latest Buzzmachine column, says journalism is a service and that anything that reliably helps a community organize their knowledge can be described as journalism. The term journalist is limiting, he says. Rather, "we are servants or an informed society."

media notes 06.18.13

6/18/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Tuesday, June 18, 2013:

Andrew Beaujon, writing for Poynter, presents the latest not-so-great news about American media trust. Newspapers and TV news were trusted "a great deal" or "quite a lot" by a mere 23 per cent of those surveyed. Within the range of error, TV news trust rose by two points and newspaper trust declined by two points. The good news is that these two media were trusted more than big business, organized labour, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and Congress. The bad news is that they were behind many institutions and organizations, including the military, police, church, presidency and others.

Jeff Jarvis, writing for his Buzzmachine blog, argues that all journalism is a form of advocacy of some sort. He looks at the recent leaks by Edward Snowden, carried by Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian, and notes that they challenge their own politics; instead, they stand up for certain principles. In that regard, he notes, the true test of journalism is its advocacy on the part of principles and the public.

Tom Rosenstiel, writing for Poynter, argues for journalism that does more than make sense of distributed information. He worries that technology's capacity to provide information is driving journalism to move too quickly --- and driving journalism away from discovery into a simple augmentation of delivered content. Technology deepens journalism's potential, but he asserts it needs to be used better.

media notes 05.31.13

5/31/2013

Some media stores of note for Friday, May 31, 2013:

Jeff Jarvis, posting to Medium, argues the case against sponsored content. (The New York Times is reported considering more such content, Bloomberg reports.) Jarvis asserts that the trend in sponsored material diminishes the news brand, gives rise to conflicts of interest, and confuses the audience with inconsistency. He also argues that news organizations ought to focus on being in the relationship business, more so than the content business, and that marketers should recognize that sponsored content won't benefit from the sponsored content business, either.

The U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, met a handful of news organizations Thursday (another handful declined his invitation) and acknowledged mistakes had been made in spying on media that were evincing leaks from government. Politico reports that Holder told organizations he understood what had been done wrongly. Meantime, National Journal argues there were good reasons why journalists shouldn't have met Holder.

The largest media owner is Google. That is the finding of the ZenithOptimedia report. Press Gazette says the report suggests Google's holdings total 65 of all Internet searches and 82 per cent of all Internet paid search advertising. The value is an estimated $37.9 billion.

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