Standing up to the bot armies

Media statistic of the week 

Virtual events have gained in popularity in recent years, especially as the technology has improved. Now, with uncertainty and anxiety increasing around the spread of the coronavirus, event cancellations are rekindling an interest in online events. Julius Solaris of Skift’s Event Manager Blog highlights some relevant data points from recent research showing that 33% of marketers say their company has hosted a virtual event, and 70% of those respondents said they plan to host more. In light of what’s happening around the world right now, that number could continue to go up.

This week in media history 

On March 3, 1923, the first issue of Time magazine was published. It was only 32 pages long, but it included coverage of the first helicopter, a possible change in divorce laws, a critical trashing of The Waste Land and more. If you’re a Time subscriber, you can read the full issue online.

This week in the media industry

Keeping audiences engaged

Don’t fear the robots. Because here’s one way artificial intelligence can help publishers. At Mousetrap Media’s Journalism.co.uk, Marcela Kunova describes how AI can help predict subscription cancellation and keep readers engaged. As she points out, when readers hit a paywall at the right moment they are also more likely to subscribe. “Most paywall providers now offer publishers the possibility to set up bespoke access,” she writes. “But to understand and leverage reader engagement, tracking and analysing real-time data can be a game-changer.”

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers recaps a Digital Media India Conference 2020 presentation by CNN Digital Worldwide’s Brett McKeehan, who shared how CNN is using audience insights to drive newsroom change. McKeenan explained that their strategy is to use these insights to serve every market differently. For example, CNN numbers show that Australians frequenting the website crave news on US politics over local news, while the network’s audience in Singapore is interested in news about wider Asia, particularly north Korea and Malaysia, and health, military and travel.

“A beautiful thing about the digital media is that imagination is as limitless as the audience,” he said. “We understood that if we analysed data, combined it with the right sort of social media activity, our impact journalism could be extremely powerful and transformative.” 

The good...

Another defunct local news outlet is being revived as a nonprofit civic news organization. Steve Cavendish and Demetria Kalodimos announced last week that the Nashville Banner, which was bought by Gannett in 1998 and immediately shut down, is relaunching, with a goal of beginning publishing online later this year. The Banner plans to publish a free, digital, locally focused website with no paywall and will offer “uniquely Nashville newsletters, podcasts and videos.” 

Cavendish is taking on the roles of president and editor, and Kalodimos is serving as executive producer. As Claire Suddath says, “In the last 15 years, about 20% of local newspapers have shuttered. So it’s exciting when a new one launches!”

The bad...

Meanwhile, “Standing up to Duterte’s bot army and Mark Zuckerberg, Rappler editor Maria Ressa.” Rob O'Neill links to the story by Juliette Garside of The Guardian on Ressa, a former CNN bureau chief who is the founder of news website Rappler, which has found itself on the frontline of the global disinformation wars. Next month, Ressa will learn the outcome of a libel trial brought against her in the Philippines. If she loses, she could face a maximum of 12 years in prison.

“She was one of the first to expose how populist leaders are using lies on Facebook to gain power. Now ⁦@mariaressa⁩ fears fascism will replace democracy unless social networks start policing their content,” Garside shares on Twitter. Charlotte Cox notes, “This editor is risking her life to stand up to leaders’ ‘toxic mix of viral disinformation and intimidation of independent media.’” “My heroine,” adds Kate De Pury.

A scary story back in the US, federal officials arrested several alleged members of a white-supremacist group called Atomwaffen Division, including its two leaders, accusing them of plotting to intimidate journalists by calling police to their homes and offices and dropping off threatening fliers. Rachel Weiner and Matt Zapotosky of The Washington Post have the details on that story, involving ProPublica and one of its reporters.

Rebecca Aguilar urges, “Every journalist who is a member of a #journalism group should find out today how their org. of choice is protecting their membership records to protect their private info. @washingtonpost revealed a White Supremacy group targeted SPJ.” On the plus side, “FBI is on a roll taking out the trash with Atomwaffen,” tweets Adam Rawnsley.

The ugh

And now, the “ugh,” as Matt Dixon puts it. Last week, the Tampa Bay Times announced that all full-time staffers will temporarily have their pay cut by 10 percent. If it wasn’t already obvious, Craig Pittman points out, “#Journalism has never been an easy way to make a living.” 

Subscribers are important, but as Lydia Polgreen says, “People keep urging citizens to subscribe to newspapers, but the real collapse here is advertising. As I wrote last year, businesses have perhaps an even bigger responsibility to support a stable information ecosystem.”

Meanwhile, another paper is getting hit with a top-level reorganization. Weeks after a management shake-up at Tribune Publishing, the company announced a restructuring of the leadership of its flagship paper, the Chicago Tribune. 

Publisher and editor-in-chief Bruce Dold will leave the Tribune April 30, capping a 42-year career at the newspaper that included a Pulitzer Prize. Additionally, Peter Kendall, one of the paper’s two managing editors, has left as part of the restructuring. Tribune Publishing’s chief content officer, Colin McMahon, will replace Dold as editor-in-chief—while keeping his current role. Kendall’s position will not be filled.

Like Joshua Benton, you may have noticed that they just “essentially eliminated 3 of the top 4 jobs at the @chicagotribune: editor-in-chief, publisher, and managing editor/content.” 

A few more

Zack Whittaker links to some “Incredible reporting by @riptari, who found companies she’s never heard of shared data on her with Facebook. A long but absolutely worth-while read.” Take some time out for that piece by Natasha Lomas of TechCrunch, Facebook’s latest ‘transparency’ tool doesn’t offer much — so we went digging.

Greg Burton and Phil Boas of The Arizona Republic explain why The Arizona Republic will no longer endorse political candidates. John Lott thinks, “It’s about time more newspapers follow suit, IMHO.”

A new workshop is teaching older Americans how to fact-check what they see online. As Sam Gringlas reports at NPR, researchers say seniors may struggle the most with identifying fake news due to a mix of factors, including digital literacy, confirmation bias and social isolation.

From the Muck Rack Team:

SXSW is less than three weeks away, and as part of your PR plan, you’ll want to make sure you are carefully choosing the reporters you pitch. To make things easier for PR pros, and to spare journalists unnecessary pitches, we've compiled our 6th annual list of journalists who have tweeted about not going to SXSW. Head over to the blog for Muck Rack’s list of journalists not going to SXSW 2020.

Question of the week

What do you think about newspaper endorsements of political candidates? Does it compromise their analysis? Do you think more newspapers will (or should) follow The Arizona Republic’s lead?