Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest

Searching for gold: Making sense of academic research about journalism

“It’s the inherent instability in the space that makes it so fascinating to many researchers.” By Angie Drobnic Holan.

How archivists are working to capture not just tapes of old TV and radio but the experience of tuning in together

“The very idea of collectively tuning in to history as it happens has been altered, as the profusion of channels and platforms now funnels audience members into self-segregated affinity groups where messages are shaped more for confirmation than enlightenment.” By Michael J. Socolow.

Audience loyalty may not be what we think

Plus: How participatory journalism became a taken-for-granted norm, how news use can help mitigate misinformation beliefs, and the limits of live fact-checking. By Mark Coddington and Seth Lewis.
What We’re Reading
Axios / Sara Fischer
BuzzFeed will outsource more content creation →
Jonah Peretti: “It’s kind of turning our model inside out. Especially for video content, where we used to have a cult of people internally making all the videos.”
The 19th / Chabeli Carrazana
The “open secret” in most workplaces: Discrimination against moms is still rampant →
“So far four states — Alaska, Delaware, Minnesota, and New York — have caregiver discrimination laws in the books, as well as more than 195 local jurisdictions, according to Equal Rights Advocates, a nonprofit gender advocacy organization.”
Washington Post / Samantha Chery and Herb Scribner
Wall Street Journal Magazine editor Kristina O’Neill to resign →
“Only a handful of U.S. magazines attached to daily newspapers are still in circulation, including inserts at the Boston Globe and the New York Times, though those publications run weekly and are more general-interest than the Journal’s version.”
Politico / Eli Stokols
Joe Biden’s media habits →
“Biden is particularly interested in the local news people across the country are reading.”
Wall Street Journal / Keach Hagey, Joe Flint and Isabella Simonetti
Tucker Carlson’s vulgar, offensive messages about colleagues helped seal his fate at Fox News →
“Inside Fox News, there has been a growing sense that Mr. Carlson couldn’t be managed, and viewed himself as untouchable, people familiar with the company said.”
The New York Times / Michael M. Grynbaum
Newsmax sees a ratings boost after Carlson’s exit at Fox →
“Viewership of Newsmax remains far below that of Fox News. But its audience at certain hours has doubled, and in some time slots tripled, in the immediate aftermath of Mr. Carlson’s exit — an abrupt spike that has turned heads in conservative circles and the cable news industry.”
Axios / Sara Fischer
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times leaders run joint ad demanding reporter’s release →
“As editors and publishers of some of America’s largest news organizations, we are united in calling for his immediate release. Reporting is not a crime.”
The Washington Post / Isaac Stanley-Becker and Josh Dawsey
Inside a private portal from GOP campaigns to local news sites →
“The online portal offers the potential for a new level of collaboration between political operators and certain media outlets — one in which candidates can easily seek to customize news stories without the public’s knowledge.”
NPR / Kelly McBride
How an NPR journalist reported sensitively on childhood trauma in Ukraine →
“Because I was talking with child psychologists who study trauma and migration for the story, that also helped in how I approached the reporting.”
Rest of World / Russell Brandom
Twitter is complying with more government demands for censorship and surveillance under Elon Musk →
“It’s been exactly six months since Elon Musk took over Twitter, promising a new era of free speech and independence from political bias … Before Musk, Twitter’s full compliance rate hovered around 50 percent; since the takeover, it is over 80 percent.”
CNN / Oliver Darcy
Vice Media cancels flagship “Vice News Tonight” program amid layoffs and restructuring →
“In response to the current market conditions and business realities facing [Vice Media Group] and the broader news and media industry, we are moving forward on some painful but necessary reductions, primarily across our News business,” co-chief executives Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala announced in a memo to employees.
LancasterOnline / CHAD UMBLE
The second-largest daily newspaper in Pennsylvania is being donated to the local public broadcasting station →
“Steinman Communications leadership on Tuesday announced to staff their plans to give LNP Media Group, publisher of LNP and LancasterOnline, at no cost to WITF, the Harrisburg-based public broadcasting station operator. WITF will oversee the Lancaster media company, which will be converted to a public benefit corporation and become a subsidiary of WITF.”