Let’s treat this like the hair-on-fire moment that it is.
Monica is a terrific editor and reporter and makes great points here, especially the underlying question of journalists sleepwalking into the death of democracy without seeing it right in front of them. These are not normal times and it is appropriate to have a change of approach.
The Guardian has surpassed 1 million digital subscriptions*, with digital subscriptions* in the US and Australia rising by 13% vs prior year. The company has grown its total digital recurring support by 87% in just three years.
Great work by The Guardian and proof -- to some extent -- that a combination of support and subscriptions can work without turning its back on the open internet promise. I suspect we are about to hit subscription fatigue as people realise how much they spend and The Guardian stands to do well out of that discovery.
TVNZ has started a global search but, as Stephen Parker writes, finding a top candidate might be hard while the broadcaster’s future is still to be determined.
Interesting piece. It is going to be an editorially and politically complex job if, as I expect it will, the New Zealand government pushes ahead with plans to force some kind of merger between public radio and TV.
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Great commitment from TR to this and a recognition of Harry's life.
Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Brian Kilmeade expressed alarm, concern, according to messages shared during House select committee meeting.
Fox stars exposed as handmaidens not journalists.
The cable news giant spent lavishly on its primetime star until it emerged he had helped his brother respond to a billowing scandal
Cuomo bores me rigid but it is an interesting story about the star factory at CNN that Jeff Zucker developed adroitly.
Both sides are lawyering up and issuing dueling statements, as the former host’s past comes under renewed scrutiny. CNN also needs to fill a gaping prime-time hole (don’t count on Jake Tapper), and one talent agent suggests a path for Cuomo: “He could start a YouTube channel like Megyn Kelly.”
Prediction: CNN will win. Cuomo's reputation will be trashed, more.
In a radicalizing network, another reasonable voice heads for the exits.
I find Wallace unwatchable and pompous but he is more or less a real journalist and therefore finds himself out of place in the fantasy world of Fox.
The right-wing network won’t miss a beat without his brand of news. Jack Shafer is Politico’s senior media writer.
Alyssa Farah, former White House communications director for former President Donald Trump, will join CNN as a political commentator, POLITICO reported.
Veteran journalist and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa received the Nobel Peace Prize along with Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov on Friday, December 10, in Oslo, Norway. Ressa, who has become an international icon for press freedom and democracy, is the first Filipino to win the award.
It's not often a friend wins the Nobel Peace Prize. She is brave and a great journalist and is a one woman beacon of light to the rest of us.
This month, Substack is welcoming a crop of writers for a two-month, immersive fellowship experience. These fellows are alumni of Substack Grow, a program to help emerging writers grow their readerships and paid subscriptions that took place over six sessions this past summer.
Great to see my friend and occasional collaborator Bernard Hickey in this list and also doing brilliantly as a Substack blogger.
“Drinks, nibbles, games”: three words delivered in a studiously measured tone that have added to serious stress headaches at the heart of government and sparked nagging rumours of the prime minister’s exit.
I have long advocated that the format Ros uses should be stolen and copied by others, including in New Zealand. It is succinct and unbiased but also devastating when he exposes the mendacious nature of subjects.
To ensure this great work continues, we are investing an additional $8M/£5.9M in the Community News Project for a further 2 years, and will expand the number of trainee places from 83 to 100.
Meta/Facebook does good shock
It’s been a hell of a year for media – especially when it comes to its relationship with the tech platforms that control its destiny, writes Hal Crawford. For the biggest big picture thinking on the state of tech, it’s hard to go past Benedict Evans.
Not sure of the thrust of this. The collusion between the government and media that made the platforms pay in Australia isn't going to happen in NZ.
Foreign correspondent respected for his work in west Africa and the Middle East who went on to write books and poems
Lovely obituary of a pro who saw things that were horrible and did his best to "bear witness".
A look back at a tumultuous year across the globe.
A small bonus, I hope; a wrap of the news of the year I did for an outfit in New Zealand.