The Times’ digital revenue, CNN weapons exclusive, and the myth of ‘fake news’
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Published in
4 min readFeb 8, 2019
edited by Marco Nurra
- CNN exposes U.S. weapons in Yemen, human rights violations. We’re not talking about a few guns and grenades. We’re talking about heavy weaponry such as MRAP — a light tactical vehicle designed to withstand improvised explosive devices and ambushes. Elbagir and her crew found the sides of highways littered with MRAP. “It was like a graveyard,’’ Elbagir said. “Roads and roads.’’
- Outcry as Rappler journalists in Philippines hit with new charges. Amnesty and Reporters Without Borders condemn prosecution of news website, editor Maria Ressa and staff.
🔔 Maria Ressa will be a #ijf19 speaker - Researchers say fears about ‘fake news’ are exaggerated. Fears about the spread and influence of fake news have been over-hyped, Nyhan says, and many of the initial conclusions about the scope of the problem and its effect on US politics were exaggerated or just plain wrong. So why has this myth of fake news swinging the election persisted despite a lack of evidence to support it? Nyhan’s theory is that it’s a little like the myth that Orson Welles’s radio play “War of the Worlds” caused widespread panic among the US population when it was aired in 1938. The play was likely only heard by a tiny number of people, and there’s no actual evidence that it caused any kind of panic, and yet the myth persists — in part because newspapers at the time played up the idea, as a way of discrediting radio (a relatively new competitor) as a source of news. In the same way, Nyhan argues, concerns about fake news being spread by Russian agents on Facebook are fueled by broader concerns about the influence of social networks on society.
- Trump doesn’t believe his own damaging rants about ‘fake news’. He merely objects to the fact that it doesn’t reflect well on him. Also, he claims — falsely — that he invented the term ‘fake news’.
- The New York Times Co. reports $709 million in digital revenue for 2018. Last year the company added 120 newsroom employees, bringing the total number of journalists at The Times to 1,600, the largest count in its history.
- The New York Times is getting close to becoming a majority-digital company. It now makes about 40 percent of its revenue from digital, and the path forward is clear and direct.
- Connecting the dots: Engaged journalism, trust, revenue, and civic engagement. “In the end, engaged journalism is just good journalism. it’s cultivating and listening to sources throughout the community, rather than in niche sectors or in the upper echelons of power. It’s producing hard-hitting, moving, and accurate stories that are relevant to community members and reflect their lived realities and meet their needs. And it’s understanding that journalism — whether it’s for profit or not — is a public service, and as such, must respect and include the public in its processes and practices.”
🔔 Lindsay Green-Barber will be a #ijf19 speaker - Vox.com tries a membership program, with a twist: It’s focused on video and entirely on YouTube. When you sign up for a Vox Video Lab membership, you can choose between two different price levels. For $4.99 per month, you get the “DVD extras” of Vox videos: behind-the-scenes content, videos explaining Vox’s process, recommendations for non-Vox videos, and a monthly live Q&A with a producer. For $9.99 a month, you get all that plus… access to a quarterly Google Hangout where you can give Vox more advice about its membership program.
- ‘I was up all night’ going through plagiarism claims, Jill Abramson says. In the statement, Abramson defended the book’s extensive citations but vowed to correct errors in attribution.
- The Atlantic’s Taylor Lorenz: Facebook is irrelevant to Gen-Z. Taylor Lorenz, staff writer at The Atlantic, has carved out a niche for herself exploring the nuances of internet culture, in particular exploring how teens use digital media in ways that are different than older generations.
- Washington Post honours Marie Colvin and Jamal Khashoggi in first Super Bowl ad. Dangers of journalism feature in newspaper’s first commercial at the major sporting event.
- Use these 4 questions to help you think through ethics issues. 1) What do I know, and what do I need to know? 2) What’s my journalistic purpose? 3) What are at least three alternatives? 4) Which alternative best serves my journalistic purpose?
Did you miss any #ijf18 sessions? No problem! Our video platform provides videos of all 2018 festival sessions. Plus an archive of all sessions from previous festivals back to 2013. Here you can find some recommendations.