Tuesday, February 18, 2025 |
| “We, as a field, need to be able to make coherent, persuasive, rigorous, and empirical arguments for why local news and information is critical to the health and safety of our communities.” By Sophie Culpepper. |
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| “Generative AI can assist our journalists in uncovering the truth and helping more people understand the world.” By Joshua Benton. |
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| A digital media landscape that shapes news habits similarly across borders may be erasing some country-specific patterns. By Sarah Scire. |
What We’re ReadingCNBC / Jordan Novet
In 2024, Trump Media brought in $3.6 million in revenue — and had a net loss of $400 million →So naturally, it’s worth $6.59 billion. “Unlike Meta and other social media companies, Trump Media management said in the filing they do not believe in using traditional metrics such as the number of active users or average revenue per user. Doing so ‘could potentially divert its focus from strategic evaluation with respect to the progress and growth of its business,’ according to the filing.”The Atlantic / McKay Coppins
A look inside the war within the Murdoch family over who will control Fox News →“Rupert believed that he had no choice but to take aggressive action. He was 92 years old, and was certain that James was plotting with his sisters to seize control of the family’s companies as soon as he died, after which they would defang his conservative media empire and destroy his life’s work…James had come to see Fox News as a blight on his family’s name and a menace to American democracy.”Twitter / Axios Comms
Axios is going along with Trump’s “Gulf of America” rebranding →“Our top priority at Axios is to provide readers with clinical, fact-based reporting. Our standard is to use ‘Gulf of America (renamed by U.S. from Gulf of Mexico)’ in our reporting because our audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other publishers with international audiences. At the same time, the government should never dictate how any news organization makes editorial decisions.”Deutsche Welle / Tommy Walker
Cambodia’s government is making reporting more dangerous →“In one of the most recent incidents, U.K. journalist Gerald Flynn was denied reentry into Cambodia at Siem Reap International Airport last month…Flynn, a staff writer at Mongabay, a U.S.-based conservation news website, had recently contributed to a documentary from a French media outlet about Cambodia’s environmental challenges — findings that the Cambodian government labeled as ‘fake news.'”BleepingComputer / Sergiu Gatlan
Lee newspapers confirm a ransomware attack is behind their recent publishing struggles →“In a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the media giant said the attack triggered a systems outage on February 3. ‘Preliminary investigations indicate that threat actors unlawfully accessed the Company’s network, encrypted critical applications, and exfiltrated certain files,’ Lee said.”The Wall Street Journal / Josh Beckerman
BuzzFeed is cutting staff by 5%, especially at HuffPost →“The company said Wednesday that it anticipates restructuring charges between $1.8 million and $2 million. It expects annual pretax savings of about $4 million.”Associated Press
Mexico may sue Google to get it to switch back from using “Gulf of America” →“Mexico has argued that the mapping policy violates Mexican sovereignty because the U.S. only has jurisdiction over around 46% of the Gulf. The rest is controlled by Mexico, which controls 49% and Cuba, which controls around 5%. The name Gulf of Mexico dates back to 1607 and is recognized by the United Nations.”The Verge / Jess Weatherbed
That “free speech” social platform is now blocking links to Signal →“Signal is notably used by journalists to receive confidential information from sources, reassured by the knowledge that messages are end-to-end encrypted and stored on-device. The messaging service has become especially relevant in recent weeks as a tool for federal whistleblowers to report DOGE activity to the press.”Press Gazette / Dominic Ponsford
A new London newspaper launches with a promise to revitalize Fleet Street →Though London Daily Digital is only barely a newspaper — daily online but monthly in print.The Wall Street Journal / Joshua Chaffin and Meridith McGraw
The 27-year-old press secretary who “speaks Trump fluently” →“Her first two weeks behind the lectern have showcased both her precocious skills and a tendency to amplify her boss’s exaggerations. Trump is said to adore [Karoline] Leavitt, proclaiming a “star is born” at a recent White House event. But there is no guarantee it will last with a president who cycled through four press secretaries in his first administration.”New York / John Herrman
Is Google eating Reddit? →“The web outside of Reddit is increasingly full of stuff created to game Google while skimming a few ad dollars off the top; it’s been overharvested to all hell and its soil is depleting. Within Reddit, users for the most part publish things for other Reddit users: answers to questions, but also jokes, arguments, and straightforward descriptions of various things.”The New York Times / Jim Zarroli
Local news isn’t the only business being bought out by community nonprofits. So are movie theaters. →“Certainly not all nonprofit theaters are doing well, but the model has worked, at least so far, in places like the Berkshires, where a devoted and well-heeled clientele is willing and able to support the arts.” (Also like local news!)The Hill / Alexander Bolton
The Washington Post backs out of running a $115,000 “Fire Elon Musk” print ad →Common Cause “The group said it signed a $115,000 agreement with the Post to run the ad that would have covered the front and back page of the Tuesday paper, as well as a full-page ad with the same theme inside the paper…She said the Post did not provide an explanation for why it decided not to run the wrap ad.”The New York Times / Katie Robertson
These are the winners of this year’s Polk Awards →Among the winners: The New York Times (with 3), The New Yorker (with 2), the Baltimore Banner, the San Antonio Express-News, Stat, ProPublica, the San Francisco Chronicle, Bloomberg Businessweek, NBC News, PBS NewsHour, and Audible.The Washington Post / Will Oremus and Drew Harwell
Elon Musk accused Reuters of “social deception.” The deception was his. →“However endemic federal misspending is, Musk has repeatedly misrepresented facts on X to bolster unfounded claims of wrongdoing. Like the U.S. Agency for International Development, Politico and others before it, Reuters has been cast as a villain in a narrative spun by Musk in which nefarious left-wing schemes lurk behind programs he targets for cuts — and those who stand in the way.”Press Gazette / Dominic Ponsford
The Guardian has signed a licensing deal with OpenAI →“The deal will ensure The Guardian receives compensation for the use of its journalism on ChatGPT and gets properly credited on the platform. Under the deal The Guardian will also be able to use OpenAI technology in-house.”Ars Technica / Scharon Harding
Reddit will soon put some subreddits behind a paywall, according to its CEO →“A critical aspect of any potential plan to make Reddit users pay to access subreddit content is determining how related Reddit users will be compensated. Reddit may have a harder time getting volunteer moderators to wrangle discussions on paid-for subreddits — if it uses volunteer mods at all. Balancing paid and free content would also be necessary to avoid polarizing much of Reddit’s current user base.”The Globe and Mail / Joe Castaldo
The Toronto Star’s owner is suing Meta for breach of contract →“Torstar Corp. claims…that Meta agreed in September, 2021, to pay US$6.75 million over three years to distribute the publisher’s digital-news content on its platforms, which include Facebook and Instagram. In June, 2023, Meta allegedly told the company that it would be terminating the agreement, just days after the Online News Act received royal assent in Canada.”Press Gazette / Bron Maher
A record 124 journalists were killed in 2024, mostly by Israeli military →“The Israeli military accounted for 85 of the deaths compared with 78 killings in 2023. The [Committee to Protect Journalists] believes that in ten cases there is evidence journalists were deliberately targeted by Israeli fighters.”
Nieman Lab / Fuego
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