Category: Technology

April 21, 2014 media notes: Turkey-Twitter deal; U.S. papers slow decline; Facebook's future may not be Facebook

4/21/2014

For Monday, April 21, 2014, here are some media stories of note:

The Turkish telecommunications regulator at last reached a deal with Twitter following weeks of skirmishing that saw the social media platform banned, then ordered freed by the courts, then resisted by the regulator. The solution: When in doubt, blur. Certain "malicious" content will be pixelated with Twitter's assent.
***
The U.S. newspaper industry data for 2013 was hardly glowing but not entirely gloomy. Advertising revenue declined more than eight per cent, but the arrival of digital paywalls and spurred some new revenue and, with other factors, kept the revenue decline at 2.6 per cent, the lowest decline since 2006. Rick Edmonds, writing about the Newspaper Association of America for Poynter, notes this may not be sustainable revenue. Alan Mutter, in his latest Reflections of a Newsosaur post, notes that nearly two-thirds of newspaper revenue has vanished since 2005.
***
The future of Facebook may not involve the word Facebook. So suggests New York Times technology writer Farhad Manjoo, who looks at the platform's relative failure in launching new features but its extensive initiative to develop new apps through its Creative Labs operation. Facebook will splinter into smaller, more relevant apps, and adopt a series of new ones, he predicts. Ultimately this may be more significant than the big blue platform itself.

media notes 12.17.13

12/17/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Tuesday, December 17, 2013:

The Nieman Journalism Lab every year asks experts for their predictions for journalism in the coming year. Philip Bump suggests 2014 will unfurl technology to produce better location data to verify journalism in new ways. He notes there is a curious element of the public that loves to trick the press, so this technology will add authenticity to the mix to thwart that conduct.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post detects a resurgence of the anonymice. He argues that all sorts of anonymous quotes are emerging in stories at high-profile media, including his organization's, with no seeming good reason. While in some cases there are legitimate whistleblowing reasons to shield identity, mostly it's just a convenience.

Rick Edmonds, writing for Poynter, looks at the annual Borrell Associates advertising forecast and detects challenging times ahead for newspapers' digital sites in retaining their supremacy of share of ads. Their share will drop from 7.1 per cent this year to 3.3 per cent in 2018. That doesn't mean their revenue will decline, Edmonds notes. In fact it will grow by a modest 1.8 per cent. But the larger pie will largely be consumed by pure-play digital operations.

media notes 08.16.13

8/16/2013

For Friday, August 16, 2013, here are some media stories of note:

The Economist writes that "after years of wreaking havoc, the Internet is helping media to grow." It chronicles the rise of subscription services, download fees and new businesses from old media, but acknowledges that the size of the newspaper and music businesses will not be as large. What remains to be seen, it says, is whether journalism can be supported. Then again, it will be easier to experiment and avoid some costly missteps.

Jay Rosen, the New York University media scholar, writes in his Pressthink blog on the changing composition and structure of the fourth estate. Institutionalized press used to monopolize, but now there are others who can pick up the tools of journalism and deliver information without them. He points to the collaboration between former security employee Edward Snowden and columnist Glenn Greenwald (who writes for The Guardian but is financed in large measure by his readers' support). "Wise professionals in journalism will understand this, and act accordingly."

Jack Shafer, the media columnist for Reuters, writes that news has never made money and isn't likely to do so. It has always been part of a bundle of content that collectively cross-subsidizes and pays off. It will be necessary for philanthropists to step in and ensure journalism is underwritten. Otherwise, he argues, the winds of technology will have to "blow a fresh miracle through the news business."

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 05.09.13

5/9/2013

Some media stories of note for Thursday, May 9, 2013:

Poynter has two stories that examine the qualities of the reporting of the saving of three women from captivity in Cleveland earlier this week. Eric Deggans writes about some of the flaws of the early reporting of Charles Ramsay, whose interview following the rescue of the women made him an Internet sensation. Was it a case of jumping on a good story without adequate verification? Were there factors that made Ramsay a particularly attractive story? Then Kelly McBride writes about how to fairly cover the impending rape trial in which the three women have already been identified. "Their names are already central to the story, and that cannot be avoided," McBride writes. But there are several ways for media to minimize harm in the coverage by using clear language and reflexivity to avoid further victimization.

Mathew Ingram, writing for paidContent, explores the idea of the "open interview," in which the full discussion is made available publicly. He notes that many journalists don't provide a transcript or tape unless there is some challenge about the context of a quote or a question about its accuracy. Technology easily permits it now, Ingram writes. Even though there are drawbacks --- not all journalists know how to get to the point when asking a question, and some will appear less than authoritative in their interrogations --- Ingram concludes it's a valuable approach to build audience trust.

Ingram also has a look at LinkedIn's evolution as a platform as it ventures more and more into news provision. He notes the changes in LinkedIn Today's stream of business news with a series of content channels that open inside your profile. While Ingram doesn't accept that LinkedIn has become a media empire, he does note that it is finding a way to direct relevant content to a business-oriented audience.

media notes 05.08.13

5/8/2013

Here are some media stories of note for Wednesday, May 8, 2013:

Josh Stenberg, a former newspaper advertising executive, writes an insiderish account for Digiday on why many newspapers are struggling. He writes of the "blind and bold arrogance" that resists digital change, the oversized ad departments that haven't separated remnant accounts from golden opportunities, the emerging role of messaging and planning that newspapers will be used for by advertisers, the mistake of looking for a single solution, and his assertion that paywalls won't work.

Frustrated about the vulnerability of your online activity? The MIT Technology Review notes that a U.S. government lab has been operating a "quantum Internet" for about two years that sends secure messages between two points using a hub that converts the content and makes it technically impossible to eavesdrop. "The idea is that messages to the hub rely on the usual level of quantum security," the site's physics blog writes. "However, once at the hub, they are converted to conventional classical bits and then reconverted into quantum bits to be sent on the second leg of their journey. So as long as the hub is secure, then the network should also be secure."

Roy Peter Clark, in a piece for Poynter, argues that sometimes there can be too much transparency in the journalistic narrative. He asserts that translucence, the balance between transparency and opacity, is a much more optimal result in many cases because it achieves authenticity while preserving the good reading experience. That said, he also knows that for certain straight news or investigative work, where the writing is less important than the reporting, transparency is much more important.

media notes 18.04.13

4/18/2013

Media stories of note for Thursday, April 18, 2013:

The South China Morning Post notes a new press regulation in China that prohibits quoting any foreign media content without state approval. The regulator wants "strengthened management" of media, effectively a signal that media may not report what has not already been published by state-approved media. It notes a strengthened role for the regulator in recent weeks as it merged broadcast and print oversight.

It may seem self-evident that following a link to open an article would not constitute a copyright infringement, but the British Supreme Court has formally ruled on it. The court overturned an earlier ruling that found newspaper owners' copyright was breached. The Guardian reports that the case is considered significant enough the court has referred the matter to the European Court of Justice so there may be continent-wide common understanding of rights.

Matt Waite, writing for Poynter, discusses the emergence of sensor journalism, the use of technology to measure sound, temperature, movement and other factors to create data that are then converted into stories. He looks at sensors used to chronicle cicadas, but offers his own idea to explore how certain city districts have higher noise levels than others. Waite views sensor journalism as a new form that capitalizes on simple devices to make sense of complex information.

media notes 13.02.13

2/13/2013

Some media stories of note for Wednesday, Feb. 13:

Cory Bergman, the general manager of Breaking News, has a five-point brief at Poynter today to accompany a live chat in which he asserts mobile will disrupt journalism in the same way the Internet did. He argues a mobile-first, not a mobile-too approach is necessary. In short, his points: responsive design is not a strategy; mobile will surpass, even erode, the desktop; desktop declines will hurt news revenues; news needs to solve problems; technology companies are getting the mobile-first idea.

Matthew Ingram, writing in GigaOm, reports on the social network and hyperlocal site Nextdoor and its efforts to build an exclusive, verified service for specific neighbourhoods. He identifies the differences between Nextdoor and some other, more open hyperlocal services, and cites the closed nature of Nextdoor as one of the keys to its possible success.

Time Warner appears to be ready to sell portions of Time Inc., according to Fortune. A meeting today will pursue the matter. It is possible that such titles as People, Real Simple and InStyle would be rolled into a new firm and sold, leaving Time Warner with Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune. The publishing division is substantial, with $3.4 billion in revenue.

Jonah Lehrer, the author and literary journalist who was caught up in a plagiarism scandal last year, resurfaced publicly Tuesday to speak to the Knight Foundation (his speaking fee was $20,000). He apologized, but Andrew Beaujon of the Poynter Institute suggests Lehrer mainly stirred up more negative than positive response in a craft not quite ready to forgive and forget.

Los Angeles Times and Daily Beast on the ethics of tech blogging and investing

2/23/2012

Two articles in recent days highlight the ethical challenges of Silicon Valley tech bloggers.

Many bloggers and their organizations separate their editorial efforts from any economic pressures involving advertisers or those they cover.

But in some instances bloggers are accepting investments in their operations and writing about those benefactors without much identifying or avoiding the conflicts involved.

In some instances bloggers are soliciting investments to create their own venture funds and writing for presumably large audiences about the companies they feature --- likely positively, and almost assuredly not before they parlay their insider knowledge into greater wealth.

The articles in the Los Angeles Times and on The Daily Beast acknowledge that blogging isn't necessarily journalism and that many bloggers are now the 21st century equivalent of the public relations firm. But both are clear that there are conflicts galore in this new trend.

David Carr of the New York Times on TechCrunch's Michael Arrington over the line

9/5/2011

In recent days a debate has surfaced on the ethics of TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington and his new fund for start-up companies. The specific issue: How can Arrington continue to write for TechCrunch (now owned by AOL) when he has venture capital (some of it AOL's) in the mix.

As it turns out, he has gone to the sidelines.

But the handling of his case and its implications have stirred a healthy discussion in the craft about conflicts of interest, preferential treatment, and whether there are new boundaries emerging of acceptable practice. In the midst of this, the head of AOL has suggested TechCrunch might have had different standards than its journalistic outlets.

The latest to weigh in is the media columnist for the New York Times, David Carr, whose writing today is withering on most everyone involved. Carr mainly registers disbelief the situation got this far, but he identifies the central problems for journalism as it deals with new challenges in reporting on technology.

<<Previous