What We’ve Been Reading and Sharing, Oct. 15–31

Sourcefabric
Nov 1 · 4 min read

Each day Sourcefabric shares on social media a wide range of stories affecting the converging worlds of journalism and technology. If you haven’t had the opportunity, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@Sourcefabric), Facebook (Sourcefabric), YouTube (Sourcefabric), Instagram (@sourcefabric_org), LinkedIn (sourcefabric) and, of course, here on Medium.

With so many new developments and changes taking place in the industry, we want to help you keep track with a bi-weekly roundup of the most popular stories we are reading and sharing with the community.

Sourcefabric News:

Here’s a short interview with our managing director Sava Tatić, at last week’s Medientage München conference, discussing the joys and challenges of running an open-source technology organisation like Sourcefabric. http://bit.ly/2NlMp4X #mtm19

How does technology impact the news business, and what role will it play in the future? To some experts, that is not a simple question, as the risks of abuse pose serious ethical and moral dilemmas. But for journalists themselves, technology is a must. Our thoughts on the International Center for Journalists’ 2019 survey of the State of Technology in Global Newsrooms. http://bit.ly/33F7n57

From sporting events to election coverage, live blogs are an essential story medium for any modern newsroom. To test the newest features of our Live Blog platform, Sourcefabric took to the streets of Prague to capture the sights and sounds of the annual Signal Festival. https://buff.ly/2PiOX6c

Subscriptions, Membership, Metrics

New research from Mather Economics on price elasticity might make publishers rethink how much they charge for digital subscription renewals — and induce them to charge more. http://bit.ly/3323tmW via @inmaorg

Independent journalists and revenue-starved newsrooms are increasingly turning to newsletters to reach the widest audience for their local news coverage. http://bit.ly/35Yx8iI by @newsbyschmidt via @niemanlab

A new report out from @lenfestinst notes a significant shift from #advertising-based models to digital #subscriptions, and looks at how #publishers can use data, best practices, and test-and-learn tactics to build better #paywalls. http://bit.ly/2oQmIRJ

Open Source, Tech, Tools

De-identification for data journalists: Learn 5 investigative techniques to get important stories into the open, without revealing sources or unnecessary personal details. http://bit.ly/2MGsw9B by @vojtechsedlak via @datajournalism

The rise of dark social sharing on private messaging apps poses both threats and opportunities to news organisations. @journalismnews looks at how to make the most of it. http://bit.ly/2MyuBnG by @dre_vanloon

Journalists are increasingly turning to digital technology to help address daunting challenges such as the spread of misinformation and growing attacks on reporters, according to the @icfj’s 2019 survey of the State of Technology in Global Newsrooms. http://bit.ly/2IXn27Y

Powered by initiatives like AI and blockchain, @wnip highlights these 10 startup companies that seek to answer some of the key issues that have dogged media and publishing companies for the past decade. http://bit.ly/2MpzmQB

Who’s afraid of robots? Apparently, not journalists. According to ICFJ’s 2019 survey of the State of Technology in Global Newsrooms, “more than two-thirds of journalists and news managers believe digital tools have a positive impact on their work.” https://buff.ly/2VM1799

Local News

Young reporters at student newspapers are helping fill the local news void in the U.S. after the closure of more than 2,000 papers in communities all over the country in the last 15 years. https://nyti.ms/2W056PC

Americans trust local news sources more than their national counterparts by a wide margin, according to a new study from Knight-Gallup. https://kng.ht/324q9Sw @knightfdn

Fake News, Hate Speech, Disinformation

Newsrooms need to protect themselves from being hoaxed and passing along fake news. @firstdraftnewslatest guide surveys all of the available tools, tips and techniques for online content verification. http://bit.ly/32ILuC9 by @shaydanayurbani

Countering online disinformation is one of the biggest challenges democracies face today. Here are 10 things the EU is doing to tackle fakenews. http://bit.ly/35VFfg8 via @EU_Commission

“Data Voids: Where Missing Data Can Easily Be Exploited” shows how data voids are exploited by manipulators to expose people to problematic content including falsehoods, misinformation, and disinformation. http://bit.ly/36g7IgM by @MJGolebiewski and @zephoria via @datasociety

Online hate speech is a growing threat to democracy, and education is part of the solution. The SELMA-eu Toolkit offers 100+ free resources and activities to address the issue of online hate speech with young people. http://bit.ly/2WjggyZ

Journalists at Risk

On average, somewhere in the world, a journalist is killed every week for reporting the news. In 9 out of 10 cases the killers go unpunished. This needs to stop. Stand up for journalists and justice, on Oct. 31, at Free Press Live 2019. http://bit.ly/2Pg43JE #FPLive2019

Democracies around the world are failing to protect journalists and investigate killings and crimes against them, writes @globalfreemedia as part of the #EndImpunity campaign, marking #IDEI2019 on Nov. 2. http://bit.ly/2PzSjCg

On the second anniversary of the murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, 12 organisations, including @RSF_Europe, @article19org, @pressfreedom, @ECPMF, various PENs and @globalfreemedia, have released a joint call for justice. http://bit.ly/2qnjcyE

Read this @nytimes piece on the Philippines and the brave reporting that @mariaressa’s @rapplerdotcom is doing to investigate President Duterte’s war on drugs and extrajudicial killing campaigns. https://nyti.ms/2MG7HtC

Big Media and Super Platforms

Facebook News may be a boon for some, but a bane for many and “spells bad news for already bleeding small and medium publishers”, writes @EconomicTimes. http://bit.ly/2PvBngd

With @Facebook unveiling its News tab today, @joshconstine argues that after 10 years of being whiplashed by the behemoth, publishers have every reason not to trust Facebook News. https://tcrn.ch/2BFdZoc via @TechCrunch

Sourcefabric

News and Ideas on Open Source and Journalism

Sourcefabric

Written by

We build open source tools for journalism, including Superdesk, Live Blog and Airtime. http://www.sourcefabric.org

Sourcefabric

News and Ideas on Open Source and Journalism

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