Civil Weekly Newsletter: 1/25/2019
Fact-checking in India; elections in Thailand; shaping policies in the U.S.: What Civil newsrooms covered this week.
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Here’s what Civil Newsrooms did this week:
- In Global Ground’s latest investigative piece, we are told how the military junta in Thailand has been working to control and dissent the public since 2014. But elections are coming up in 2019, and other politicians and their supporters are trying to introduce something new — and potentially revolutionary.
- Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. have been told that they can get a special visa if they have lived in the country for ten or more years. This visa does not exist — but some law firms have told their clients it does, and instead have applied for asylum petitions on their behalf. Documented follows this situation in the case of Francisco Guzman, an undocumented man and father of two living in New York since 1991 — and explores what it could mean for his future in the country.
- In December 2018, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence was scheduled to released its findings on cannabis and its derivatives — including CBD. But it seems that report may not materialize this year. Cannabis Wire explains what this could mean for the CBD industry in the eyes of the United Nations.
- Six-term Kentucky Congressman Brett Guthrie is part of Congress’ Aluminum Caucus, and also sits on the board of his family’s for-profit aluminum-based automotive part business. Sludge reports that if he wanted to, he could influence policies that would benefit the company.
- Speaking German. Poetry. Cross-stitching. This week, The Small Bow published its first Inverse Pitching Assignment, in which readers and contributors submitted a unique or quirky part of their rehab program.
- “The Kenya Twitter timeline that was awash with pictures of ridiculous fashion choices from 10 years ago is now holding its breath in fright.” In this important Popula piece, one Kenyan author dealt with and processed the recent terror attack in a Nairobi shopping mall by watching it play out on Twitter.
- Last November, Democrats in New York State’s Senate captured eight seats previously held by Republicans, setting the stage for a dramatic shift in legislative priorities. The River explains what this could mean for the Hudson Valley region.
- Chicago is dealing with record-breaking cold temperatures. And Block Club Chicago reports that next week’s temperatures may be worse — and even dangerous.
- Due to the migratory policies of the Trump administration, many immigrants have decided to leave the U.S. GroundTruth Project speaks to one man who moved his family from Baltimore to Canada to avoid deportation and the possibility of being separated from his young children.
- According to one government estimate, there is a shortage of 7.2 million rental homes that low income renters can afford in the U.S. In Hmm Daily, one journalist recounts her own journey in her quest to find affordable housing, and how this reality is so common among her friends and peers.
- Fact-checking is becoming increasingly important ahead of India’s general election. Splice uncovers how some techniques used for social media are being used to check what politicians are saying.
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A major milestone: The Civil Constitution lives on the blockchain!
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Never before has a randomized string of numbers and letters been so exciting for journalism. What you see above is the transaction hash from publishing the Civil Constitution to the Ethereum blockchain this week.
Vivian Schiller, CEO of the Civil Foundation, summarized the publishing experience. “This was my first official ‘blockchain transaction’ — and it was actually a really straightforward process! It’s also a hugely symbolic moment for Civil; the Constitution is the result of a year’s worth of hard work and soliciting endless feedback from journalism and free speech experts from around the world. Publishing it to the blockchain is the first step in officially launching Civil’s community-owned and operated network. It’s an exciting milestone.”
This is a major achievement ahead of Civil’s official launch next month. The Civil Constitution is the document that will drive all activity across the Civil network, and which will be collectively overseen by Civil’s community, in close coordination with the Civil Council.
The Power of Voice Memos at ZigZag
ZigZag, a podcast born out of the #MeToo movement, explores themes around capitalism, women’s lives and journalism. And if you’re reading this newsletter, odds are you’re well familiar with Jen Poyant and Manoush Zomorodi already (but absolutely check out seasons one and two if you haven’t yet done so)! This week, we sat down with Jen to dig in on their unique — and uniquely effective — approach to engaging their listeners.
“It’s important for people to hear that they are heard, and they’re part of this community, and they’re part of [it]. They’re part of the family,” said Jen Poyant, producer at ZigZag, of the decision.
See the full interview with Jen here, including how her team has quickly built and engaged a large community of fans from around the world. Plus, get a sneak peek into what we can expect from season three.
European Journalism Centre announces first cohort of grantees from Civil- and News Integrity Initiative-backed program.
Last spring, we announced that Civil would be part of the European Journalism Centre’s (EJC) Engaged Journalism Accelerator program, which would provide grants to a number of worthy local news initiatives.
This week, the EJC announced the first eight recipients of the program, featuring outlets from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Spain and the UK. Congratulations to all recipients, and here’s to a brighter future for journalism (more on our current reality appears in the Random Musing, below).
Learn more about each outlet here, and be sure to follow the EJC on Medium for information about the next grant cohort, and future grant opportunities in general.
The Random Musing Section
And now, for something completely different.
Even by “the tough media realities of 2019” standards, this week was a brutal one for the journalism industry. More than 1,000 journalists lost their jobs this week, largely driven by a series of major layoffs across BuzzFeed, HuffPo and Gannett.
The severity of these cuts cannot be overstated. They’re the latest in a seemingly endless string of layoffs. They’re not happening because there’s suddenly no money in the digital media industry, and they’re certainly not happening due to a lack of quality journalism or journalists willing to produce it.
The issue is where the money that once went directly to news organizations is now going, and how it’s being allocated (hint: not for journalism). Consider that in Q3 2018 alone, Facebook, one of the most popular mediums for distributing and discovering news, reported a staggering $13 billion in advertising revenue.
We need to shift our focus to directly supporting journalists, not relying on a third party-controlled market which controls the lion’s share of the attention and calls the shots about what kind of content gets seen. As a result, many publications have felt the need to constantly shift strategy to be make themselves visible in platform newsfeeds, rather than focusing on direct reader engagement.
Journalists are — and have been — ringing the alarm bells for this crisis for years now, but the urgency of this crisis simply cannot be overstated. Consider this to a plea if you’re reading this: support your local news organization. If you can swing it, support multiple publications. And even more important, TALK about this with others you know. Ask them if they’re aware that more than 1,000 journalists lost their jobs this week, or if they’re aware that the largest newspaper chain in the U.S. is facing a hostile takeover bid from a hedge fund with a brutal reputation for gutting one newspaper after another.
This may sound overly dramatic, but it’s not. This crisis is very real. Consider that the majority of the tens of thousands of journalism jobs that have been lost in the past decade have occurred during a decidedly bull market. If we enter into a recession, as many expect, there’s no telling the further damage we could face. Without a free and thriving press, corruption and overreach can exist unchecked.
We need to tell this story to the larger public before it’s too late. We need to come together as a concerned community to do something about it. We hope that Civil can be a meaningful part of the solution — it’s why we’re here, and it’s why we can’t wait to officially launch next month.
We need to tell this story to the larger public before it’s too late.
— Matt Coolidge
