Second edition of Media News You Need to Know
Journalistic trust and how to get it, or not; Murdoch merger pain; Ukraine tanks; Kremlin attacks independent media (again); musings on other things, including SLAPP.
Journalists should “show their work” to gain reader trust
My interview for INMA with Margaret Sullivan, formerly of the Washington Post and before that a well-regarded public editor of the New York Times.
Her views are very US-focussed which is understandable and her background is firmly in local and print. I respect her experience but it is possible that we have different views about the ways in which digital journalism may inform general understanding.
I am fond of Margaret but you might also find her commentary in The Guardian about Twitter interesting. I was not convinced.
Also from my INMA thing, here’s a 2023 forecast from Mapula Nkosi, managing editor at CityPress in South Africa. She’s thinking about reaching Gen-Z and some very fundamental questions about viability which we all need to consider.
Murdoch Backtracks on Plan to Merge His Media Empire is a good New York Times piece on why my old boss Rupert Murdoch may have temporarily decided to put to one side the idea of breaking up his News and Fox operations. It has big implications for who leads News on a daily basis, which means the Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, The Times & The Sunday Times, and the many Australian papers.
For what it is worth, this is my weekly digest of news for a New Zealand site called The Spinoff which is quite thoughtful and very good for young people. This week’s version of the World Bulletin covers Ukraine, tanks, Bill Gates, and a bit more. Expect a spring offensive in Ukraine – and tanks may prove decisive.
I warn you, it also has a truly excellent “skateboarding dog” story as its kicker.
Storm clouds brewing. Photograph by Peter Bale.
More media headlines and must-read stories:
Media layoffs loom large over 2023, Axios on cuts on staff
Newsrooms reckon with AI following CNET saga, also from Axios on the debacle at CNET. However, having been involved in AI at Reuters and elsewhere for many years, AI will come. I did a test of ChatGPT on earthquake and mass shooting stories and the answers were pretty good relative to what journalists might have done. One thing I noticed, which I have seen in modern reporting, is the use of words like “tragedy” by journalists rather than the people they interview. It grates with me.
I also learned of another AI site — which appears to include the ChatGPT in its corpus but does a great job of telling you what its sources were. That, to me, was one of the big caps in ChatGPT. We have to know where the information is sourced from. Of course, if you think about it that is also the essence of Wikipedia. It is not Wikipedia that is the source, it is that Wikipedia is a collection of source material.
Bloomberg, Axios, Politico, other business publishers rethink subscriber retention during the economic downturn, is a very timely Digiday story about how publishers need to think about their true value to the consumer. I am fearful since I will clearly do this assessment myself and when I bother to count up by subs it’s terrifying.
Russia has outlawed Meduza, is an inevitable story from one of the most trustworthy journalism sites about modern Russia. I met the editor a couple of years ago and she described Vladimir Putin as the most cynical person you could imagine. It has stuck with me. This team, which moved to the Baltics, does astounding work.
Fund UK’s local news outlets or they won’t survive, MPs warn government, we all know this story from The Guardian and there are very few good examples where local news is thriving. However, the UK also needs to change its tax laws to make philanthropic support of journalism much easier and more tax-effective. The nearly perpetual attacks on the BBC funding and independence are another story.
City University in London has always been innovative in its journalism course and does it again with this interesting programme in a fast-moving area: UK’s first dedicated MA in podcasting launched in London
When I ran a non-profit investigative journalism organisation in the United States, I learned a bit about SLAPP. It is a mouthful but the acronym works out to be Strategic lawsuit against public participation. From my experience, California has reasonably robust laws that combat SLAPP — essentially rich people doing bad things who use the legal system to combat investigations. The UK has very little protection and this story about one of the worst ratbags in the world using the UK political and legal system to attack a brilliant journalist doing great work shows how far we have to go.
Thanks for getting to the end of the second edition of this newsletter now that I have moved it over from Revue. I am grateful and slightly embarrassed by those of you who have pledged future funding. For now, I am finding my way, but I am grateful for the enthusiasm and for any feedback on what I can usefully do with this.
Brilliant!
Always a gem or two, thanks Peter loving your work!