Category: Press

April 10, 2014 media notes: study on Twitter, Facebook and TV; Turkey keeps ban on YouTube; last US press council closes

4/10/2014

For Thursday, April 10, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

A new study by the Nielsen-financed Council for Research Excellence suggests our enthusiasm about the interplay of social media and the television is still a bit overblown. A survey indicates that people aren't using Facebook and Twitter often when they're viewing TV, and those who are using those platforms are posting about something other than what they're viewing. Vindu Goel, writing for The New York Times, concludes that Twitter and Facebook wield little influence on TV.
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Court ruling or no court ruling, the Turkish telecommunications authority is refusing to lift its ban on YouTube in the country. The court has ruled that the ban breaches human rights, but the government and its regulator insist YouTube postings of illicit recordings from secret security talks is part of a "dirty campaign" to topple the government.
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Craig Silverman, writing for Poynter, notes the closure next month of the last U.S. state press council. The Washington Press Council, overseen for more than a decade by John Hamer, will close when he retires in May. There is no word from its board on what will emerge in its place.

January 22, 2014 media notes: Guardian blocked in China, Rosen on Grantland, what makes a story go viral

1/22/2014

Here are some media stories of note for Wednesday, January 22, 2014:

The Guardian is the latest media organization to find itself in collision with the Chinese government. The Guardian's site has been blocked following its story on the offshore wealth of the government leadership.

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Jay Rosen, the NYU scholar recently hired by the new Pierre Omidyar news organization, offers some thoughts on the controversy this week involving the Grantland site. It published an investigative story on a golf club inventor; in the process of its research, it revealed the inventor's trans history, and she killed herself.

Rosen says the episode is the best argument for diversity in a newsroom. More than a dozen employees saw the story before it was published, but none had an understanding of the transgender community.

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Maria Konnikova, writing for The New Yorker, looks at a book that identifies the six elements that contribute to the viral nature of a story.

Not surprisingly, emotion and arousal top the list. But social currency is also a key (it makes people feel they're smart). A memory-inducing trigger helps, as do lists, as does the quality of the story itself.

media notes 12.20.13

12/20/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Friday, December 20, 2013:

The New York Times has boldly moved into the native advertising arena. Before it goes there, it has explained to its audience and employees the principles that will guide the activity: clear labelling of a Paid Post, a different look than its editorial content, and its creation by the sales department and not the newsroom, among other things. The Times' public editor, Margaret Sullivan, immediately wrote about it Thursday and identified some of the results of her reporting, including the eight-figure revenue expectation and the allocation of some key online real estate to the effort.

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger looks at the differences between Britain and the U.S. on the National Security Agency surveillance issue. In America, a healthy debate is under way. In Britain, apathy abounds. This follows what Rusbridger calls a thoughtful and well-informed U.S. report this week commissioned by the President into the revelations largely unfurled by his newsroom. That report calls for changes in how the NSA does its work and argues for a strong defence of journalism to do its work.

Cory Haik, the Washington Post executive producer for digital, provides her predictions for 2014 in the Nieman Journalism Lab series. She argues that this will be the year of news that anticipates the audience's needs, something she calls adaptive journalism, available whenever and however. It will be a time of great experimentation with a device-first ethos.

Pierre Omidyar's new media company has a name: First Look Media. It has committed its first $50 million to the operation. And it is starting to take shape as a hybrid for-profit technology firm and a non-profit journalism company. Profits from the former will help the latter. Company advisor Jay Rosen, the NYU scholar, provides some details in his latest Pressthink column.

media notes 11.18.13

11/18/2013

For Monday, November 18, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

The unnamed NewCo financed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar has been recruiting some significant journalists: Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Dan Froomkin and Jeremy Scahill all have impressive pedigrees.

But arguably the most intriguing addition is the latest: NYU scholar Jay Rosen, one of the most successfully consistent observers of media in recent years, who wrote this weekend that he is leaving the press box for the field.

It isn't clear from his latest PressThink post if the move is a permanent departure from the academic realm. Rosen says he'll advise Omidyar as the company launches. He wants to apply the thinking in his essays to the practical world of business.

Frédéric Filloux looks at how Omidyar could/might/should invest the $250 million he suggests will be in play for the new venture. In his latest Monday Note, Filloux suggests there is money to be made in investigative journalism and that Omidyar's model will be a for-profit entity. He suggests a print version, different languages of publication, a fact-checking operation, user profiling to create verticals, a Web TV operation, newsletters, and an updating mobile service.

Emily Bell, the Tow Center chief writing for The Guardian, writes about the flurry of high-profile journalists on the move: the new Omidyar clan, Nate Silver's departure from The New York Times to ESPN, Brian Stelter from the Times to CNN, David Pogue from the Times to Yahoo, Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg and the AllThingsDigital teaparting ways with the Wall Street Journal, and so on. Far from a statement of concern by them, Bell sees the moves as healthy signs of vitality.

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When cybersecurity is an issue for journalistic organizations, it only makes sense that journalism schools start preparing students for the life ahead. Laura Kirchner, writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, examines some of the early initiatives on securing content and operating with a high degree of privacy in a world of heavy surveillance.

media notes 10.31.13

10/31/2013

For Thursday, October 31, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

The British government has imposed through a royal charter a new regime of press regulation over the wishes of much of the industry. The BBC reports that under the new system, a panel will be appointed to oversee a regulator of independent and former press members to set standards, adjudicate and arbitrate complaints, order corrections and impose fines on those organizations in the system. The government rejected the bid by a large portion of the industry to create a self-regulatory body. Many media organizations indicate they will not sign on to the new entity, which could leave them with more legal jeopardy. The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, calls the concerns about heavy-handedness "hyperbole" and insists no media organization will be required to sign on to the new program under the charter. Meantime, in the phone-hacking trial that begat the inquiry that begat the charter, Reuters reports that three editors have pleaded guilty as more prominent editors stand trial, which has heard of the dog-eat-dog rivalry that begat the scandal.

A new report from University of Southern California suggests Americans will be consuming an average of 15.5 hours of digital media by 2015. Last year consumption grew five per cent to some 13.6 hours daily for a total of 1.46 trillion hours, the Los Angeles Times reports. Five years ago the total was 11 hours daily. A large growth area will be video viewing: 11 hours a month by 2015, up from six hours last year and less than three in 2008.

Earlier this month some women in Saudi Arabia began flouting the law by driving. Now a journalist has been detained following his newspaper commentary in support of the emancipation of women and the particular ban on their driving. Tariq al-Mubarak, writing for the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, called for an end to the ban and the harassment of those who support women's rights.

SafeSource, based on code developed partly by Aaron Swartz before his recent death, has launched with Forbes in an effort to provide anonymity safely and securely to those who provide tips and other confidential information to journalism organizations. The journalism.co.uk sites notes the messages will travel through thousands of servers with encryption.

media notes 10.25.13

10/25/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Friday, October 25, 2013:

When you really want to ask a higher authority for help, there are few more exalted avenues for an appeal than the Queen of England. The Guardian reports that seven global journalism organizations have written to urge her not to sign the proposed royal charter that would establish a regulatory regime for the British press. The signatories describe the charter as "toxic" and as camouflage for "repressive" press controls and say it will chill journalistic freedom of expression. The final draft of the charter is due to be submitted to the privy council next week, then is scheduled under the legal process to be signed by the Queen.

Meanwhile, several British press organizations have moved swiftly to signal how they will implement an alternative to the royal charter: a press regulatory body that will be operational some time in 2014. The Independent says the organizations have identified the selection process for panel members in what it describes as the toughest regulatory entity anywhere in the world.

Maria Konnikova, an author and psychology PhD writing for The New Yorker, reviews the science behind online comments and the particular impact of anonymity. She concludes that the suppression of online comments simply shifts those who misbehave to other venues. "Whether online, on the phone, by telegraph, or in person, we are governed by the same basic principles. The medium may change, but people do not," she concludes. "The question instead is whether the outliers, the trolls and the flamers, will hold outsized influence—and the answer seems to be that, even protected by the shade of anonymity, a dog will often make himself known with a stray, accidental bark. Then, hopefully, he will be treated accordingly."

U.S. advertising regulators are taking notice that sponsored content, also known as native advertising, has the potential to mislead consumers. In recent months the National Advertising Division, an investigative unit of the Advertising Self-Regulating Council, has examined two case and ruled in one that an advertiser need to modify practices. The New York Times reports the effort is one more area in which sponsored content is under scrutiny as it develops and helps digital outlets strengthen their business models.

media notes 10.21.13

10/21/2013

For Monday, October 21, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

David Carr of The New York Times looks at the arrival of tech money and ideas into journalism with the recent involvements of Pierre Omidyar, Laurene Powell Jobs, Jeff Skoll and Jeff Bezos as new journalism proprietors. Technology and journalism, once antagonists, are giving "bromance" a try, he writes. Carr also interviews Omidyar, and while there are no details of his new enterprise (that includes Glenn Greenwald, among others), there is the sense that it will aim to be general interest in nature and recognize the challenge of getting people to pay for the most serious elements of journalism.

Others have examined the role of the article in digital article --- as a means, not an end --- but Frédéric Filloux in his latest Monday Note has an extensive look at how the story serves as a gateway to knowledge in the newer environments of technological sophistication. Filloux notes the article serves as an audience concentrator, an entry point to the web's depths, and a potential promotional vehicle that will drive (with the proper separation of editorial and marketing) revenue.

This will be a big week in the drive to create a new form of press regulation, or self-regulation, in the U.K. The Guardian notes the results of two recent public opinion polls on which approaches have the most support. It appears the public wants an independent press, but also an independent form of oversight. Draft contracts on a self-regulatory system will be circulated this week, and it is unclear how many newspaper companies will sign on.

media notes 08.07.13

8/7/2013

Good Wednesday, here are some media stories of note for August 7, 2013:

The Guardian was one of the remaining voices to be heard in the British news industry's recent effort to self-regulate, and it has opted to stay out of the proposed press regulator. It says the initiative is a threat to its independence, will not help those victimized by bad press, will be dominated by the largest national operations, and is unlikely to receive privy council support in any event. The privy council will soon review the proposal, which has the support of several leading national properties.

The number of American adults who use social media continues to rise. The latest report from the Pew Research Center suggests 72 per cent use social media, up five points from 2012. Jessica Lee, writing for ClickZ, notes that the over-65 age group continues to embrace social networks, with 43 per cent now using them. Twitter users continue to be a relatively small cohort: only 18 per cent overall, but 30 per cent of those 18-29.

A new report from ForeSee.com indicates tablet use is growing and that one key strength of the devices is the preference Americans have for consuming media on them over their personal computers. The survey indicated tablets and smartphones scored a 77 on a 100-point scale, while PCs scored 67. Matthew Miller, writing for ZDNet, indicates iTunes, Netflix and HBO Go were the most preferred sources of content.

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 06.17.13

6/17/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Monday, June 17, 2013:

David Carr's latest Media Equations column for The New York Times discusses the changed nature of traditional, big media in the new landscape of players and platforms. Carr looks at (as the headline indicates) how big news forges its own path, no longer reliant on a large organization to drive large results. He notes many recent examples of how major stories made their way in unusual circumstances to public attention.

Paul Farhi, writing for the Washington Post, examines the wealth of familial connections, and possible conflicts, involving journalists and the Obama administration. While media organizations are vehement in denying these connections affect their coverage, Farhi notes that many media critics believe the administration is treated lightly as a result.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has released a report on the faltering effort to entrench press freedom in Burma. It notes an extensive array of legislation and practices by government to make more difficult to pursuit of a free press in the country and it calls for the repeal of several bills and policies so that an independent press might emerge.

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