| Facebook is removing news from the news feed. What's next?
"Facebook is making big, immediate changes to News Feed. The company will now prioritize content from friends, family, and groups over 'public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media,' CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post Thursday night. News publishers that have relied on Facebook for traffic will suffer: 'Some news helps start conversations on important issues,' Zuckerberg wrote. 'But too often today, watching video, reading news or getting a page update is just a passive experience.'"
Here's a brief translation of the news from Facebook speak to English.
From Jeff Jarvis: "I’m worried that now that Facebook has become a primary distributor of news and information in society, it cannot abrogate its responsibility — no matter how accidentally that role was acquired — to help inform our citizenry."
And Simon Galperin's prescient post from 10 days ago: "How to prepare for the removal of publisher posts from Facebook’s news feed.
Related: One year in, Facebook Journalism Project gets mixed reviews from publishers. ‘We’re marching in the same direction’: Facebook is emphasizing Groups, and publishers are following suit. Facebook is testing a new section of the app specifically for local news and events. Aftenposten stopped chasing Facebook reach, brought in $500,000 extra annually.
LION launches local advertising sales mentor program
LION is launching a major, year-long local advertising mentorship program called "RAMP" - Revenue from Advertising Mentorship Program. Applications are due Jan. 26.
Any LION member (and here's how you can join) who needs to establish local advertising as a revenue stream, or needs to significantly grow advertising revenue and has struggled to understand best practices, is eligible.
Mentors will work with 10 participants over the course of the year. Participants will also receive a $7,500 stipend to help free up their time to put the work into building a program. And RAMP will also cover some travel, materials and software costs.
The program was made possible through a grant from the Democracy Fund.
Related: MinnPost is making some extra money and helping out local nonprofits at the same time.
A deep look at the future of local news and indie sites' role
The Ringer has a much deeper and more nuanced look at "The Fight for the Future of Local News" than has been typical of national digital news sites. And it features LION members including Liena Zagare of Bklyner and Jiquanda Johnson of Flint Beat.
“People want to know what their school board is doing, what their city council is doing, if the local high school team won last Friday. The old business models obviously don’t work anymore, and we shouldn’t cling to the ideal that the print-based models are going to survive.”
LION member spotlight: East Cobb News
A Q&A with LION member Wendy Parker about launching East Cobb News in a vibrant Georgia community with no local daily news source.
"My goal is to provide the news for how people here live today, every day, and not wait for tomorrow’s paper or being the subject of Atlanta media headlines only when there’s a crime, accident, fire or controversy. It’s the everyday coverage of community life that I am emphasizing, and there’s a lot to cover that others aren’t."
LION webinar: Covering Your Local Hospital
Rose Hoban and Mark Toscak of North Carolina Health News will talk about the many stories to be found in delving into the finances, policies, practices and performance of your local hospital in a LION webinar at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22. It's free for LION members, and only $15 for non-members.
They will discuss how to find key records and experts and suggest practical story ideas.
News About Local Independent Online News
BKLYNER: Near closing, Bklyner asked people to pay for their news. And they did.
CITY BUREAU: It’s not “citizen journalism” at City Bureau, but it is “citizens taking notes at public meetings with no reporters around.”
EAST LANSING INFO: A familiar problem for small local news organizations: More stories than you could possibly cover. How the women behind East Lansing Info in Michigan find a balance.
GOOGLE NEWS: Google is fixing an error that led to smaller sites disappearing from Google News.
NONPROFITS: Why most nonprofit boards resemble whiteboards and how to fix that.
RADIO: As Low-Power Local Radio Rises, Tiny Voices Become a Collective Shout.
Tools and Tips: Advertising and Revenue
AD FRAUD: News UK finds high levels of domain spoofing to the tune of $1 million a month in lost revenue. Confessions of a media auditor: ‘Agencies often manipulate the numbers.’
AD TECH: Digital media companies are headed for a crash, Hearst Magazines president David Carey says. No tracking, no revenue: Apple's privacy feature costs ad companies millions.
AMP: How Google AMP beat Facebook Instant Articles.
DATA: How customer data is guiding Conde Nast’s marketing strategies.
MOBILE: 5 steps to a successful mobile marketing strategy framework.
NEWSLETTERS: With its new newsletter director, The New Yorker wants to experiment with standalone and international-focused products. How the Boston Globe uses newsletters to drive engagement.
SECURITY: Journalism schools still behind on cybersecurity training, new survey finds.
SEARCH: Search Advertising Enters 2018 On The Cusp Of A Renaissance.
SUBSCRIPTIONS: The Real Cost of the ‘Free’ Internet. Does paid ad-free content really benefit anyone?
VIDEO: Facebook says people are OK with video ads that interrupt content, as long as they are short. Publishers are treating Facebook Watch like YouTube. How Investopedia shifted to subscription revenue with video courses.
Tools and Tips: Journalism and Technology
ARCHIVES: The Offshore Journalism Project would let newsrooms send a “distress signal” when their content is at risk of being lost forever.
BIAS: We can probably measure media bias. But do we want to?
CIVILITY: Can civility save journalism?
COLLABORATION: The Center for Cooperative Media launches a collaborative media database.
ENGAGEMENT: Spaceship Media is using 'dialogue journalism' to enable productive conversations between communities at odds. Helping readers slow down, ask questions, and find reasoned opposing views may foster civil discourse online.
METRICS: 20 leaders in media metrics, including LION member Rebekah Monson of Whereby.us. What to expect from media metrics in 2018. How Many People Did That Story Reach? It Depends Who’s Counting.
MOBILE: Seven lessons learned in a year teaching mobile journalism.
POLLS: Why Twitter Polls Should Have a Warning Label. (The results of voluntary online polls are influenced by who is spurred to participate in them.)
PROOFREADING: Five ways to proofread your writing.
SOCIAL MEDIA: The top social media platform changes in December. Eight ways to captivate Gen Z on social in 2018.
TRUST: Global unhappiness with the news media is high. In the U.S. (surprise!) partisanship drives what people think about the media. News Integrity Initiative "will highlight creative, inspiring examples of newsrooms listening to and engaging with their communities."
VERIFICATION: Why it's hard to verify details about the demonstrations in Iran. New guide helps journalists, researchers investigate misinformation, memes and trolling.
WRITING: How to make routine stories memorable.
Industry News
AI: How newsrooms will be adopting artificial intelligence in 2018.
ALT WEEKLIES: Inside the World of Alt Weeklies.
BOSTON: Boston Herald boss paid himself $1 million as company headed toward bankruptcy.
FACEBOOK: Keep Track Of Who Facebook Thinks You Know With This Nifty Tool.
FAKE NEWS: French government crackdown on fake news concerns publishers. What that new major study about fake news means (and doesn't mean) for fact-checkers.
FOIA: In its first year, the Trump administration has reduced public information online. "I’ve Sent Out 1,018 Open Records Requests, and This Is What I’ve Learned."
GANNETT: Gannett Focuses On Memberships, Digital Growth. Editor of Gannett's Burlington Free Press in Vermont sparks outrage with tweets and is fired.
GOOGLE: Google announces solution to longstanding AMP cache URL display problem. Congress is going to grill Alphabet, Facebook and Twitter again — this time for terrorist content on their sites.
HARASSMENT: View: The news media harbored and enabled sexual harassment instead of covering it. Women get prominent media jobs in wake of misconduct ousters. Ann Curry: The Media Won't Change Unless the Glass Ceiling is Broken.
LATINAS: ‘Latinas in Journalism’ Leverages Social Media to Create Community, Open Doors.
MAGAZINES: Sports Illustrated is now reduced to a biweekly publication.
NET NEUTRALITY: The leading lobbying group for Amazon, Facebook, Google and other tech giants is joining the legal battle to restore net neutrality.
PRESS FREEDOM: US appeals court: Idaho spying ban at farms unconstitutional. Reporter's lunchtime walk in downtown Springfield leads to 1st Amendment tug-of-war. Carter Journalism Institute Launches First Amendment Watch. ICIJ, CPJ granted $1 million each at Golden Globes ceremony. Trump pledges again to take a "strong look" at libel laws.
PRINT: Number of Daily Newspaper Deals Highest Since 2000.
REGULATIONS: Defanged regulations have big media licking their chops.
SINGAPORE: Can cross-subsidy (and nursing homes) help revive the Singapore Press?
SNAPCHAT: This is the data Snapchat doesn't want us to see.
TRUMP: How to cover Trump without getting sucked into his war on the media.
TV: New Pew study says local TV news viewing dropping fast.
TWITTER: No, Twitter shouldn’t ban Donald Trump. Twitter has quietly started verifying users again. In October, Twitter Promised An Ad Transparency Center In 'Coming Weeks.' Where Is It?
WASHINGTON POST: Washington Post hits 2nd year of profitability, plans expansion.
WP ENGINE: WP Engine, a managed WordPress platform, raises $250M from Silver Lake. |