The Splice Slugs: Week 64
Facebook is in trouble again for censoring a news article. This time it’s about the French government’s initiative to overhaul mammogram screening. The piece, published in a site run by Le Monde, showed a woman undergoing a mammogram test with one of her nipples exposed. The algo picked up on it and took down the post. Facebook — which claims that it isn’t a media company and thus doesn’t have the same responsibilities as one — later restored the post. “Our team processes millions of reports each week, and we sometimes get things wrong. We’re very sorry about this mistake.”
The New York Times came under fire for printing some of Trump’s most vile words as part of the leaked 2005 audio tape where he described groping women. “We decided that the words themselves were newsworthy, and that omitting them or merely describing them or slyly hinting at them would not have been forthright with our readers.”
…The NYT rolled out an adaptive ad unit called Flex Frame. Ads will automatically adjust according to screen type and page environment. The goal is to create a more native ad experience for users. But can it be sold programmatically?
…And NYT also rebranded its International New York Times newspaper to just… New York Times. Subtle yes, but this has a big impact on its digital operations. Now, the NYTimes.com page will geo-target its stories. If you’re in Asia, you’ll see more Asia stories. Big difference.
The Wall Street Journal is trying to trim its stories for the digital age. “We write too many long stories and aren’t nearly creative enough about how to tell stories in ways that engage our readers.” To get there, they’re doing a re-org, creating two desks — one digital and one print.
Singapore’s newspaper monopoly SPH reportedly plans to merge two of its tabloids — The New Paper and My Paper. It will cut up to 10 percent of its staff as a result.
The Philippines Daily Inquirer got a facelift recently — in print and on the website. And it got a new logo too. Mario Garcia, CEO of Garcia Media, is the godfather of newspaper design. This is how he approached the redesign of the Inquirer.
Here’s the big problem with the economics of the news business: The market doesn’t reward exclusivity. An ad unit sells for the same amount of money whether the story was exclusive or not. Journalistic and economic values aren’t correlated. Here’s the rant of the week.
Vox Media launched a standalone travel site for Chase Sapphire Reserve. Vox runs the site and creates the content behind it. “More and more clients are realizing that a one-off content strategy doesn’t get them too far, if anywhere.” Branded content already accounts for two-thirds of Vox’s revenue.
BuzzFeed launched a store where you can pick up swag created by the company’s illustrators and designers. You never know when you’ll need a cat-on-skateboard towel. It’s part of a plan to grow an e-commerce business.
Jack Dorsey has been back at Twitter for almost a year. But he’s still unable to move the company forward. His staff say that’s because his leadership style is Socratic, not prescriptive. This is what they mean.
Could micro-payments in publishing be as simple as dropping a tip into a jar? That’s exactly what Tibit wants to do. Here’s a look at the company and how it’s framing the psychology of paying for content… It’s part of Splice’s series on media entrepreneurs.
Lots of good advice here on how reporters can (and should!) build a personal brand online. “I always ask my students, ‘if you saw you on Facebook, would you give you a job?’ — that’s what they really have to think about.”
Indonesia’s tax authorities are starting to go after Instagram stars and other social media endorsers. “Online marketplaces, daily deals, direct sales and endorsers are all subject to taxation if they have income to report.”
Baidu started a $3 billion investment fund to pick up stakes in late-stage startups. Baidu is trying to pick up the pace since it lagsbehind its bigger Chinese rivals.
Samsung is sending out fireproof boxes and protective gloves for people to return their potentially explosive Note 7 phones. But shippers say they still won’t carry it by air. Royal Mail in the UK has also ruled out shipping the Note 7 anywhere on its network.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak launched his own app on iOS and Android. It’s “specifically designed for the convenience of users and to enable interaction with the Prime Minister of Malaysia”. Reflecting his global appeal, the app is available in English, Catalan, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
Quote of the week:
“Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.” — Bob Dylan, who this week won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Have a great weekend everyone!
a.
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(Updated with a correction to Tibit. The initial post said “Titbit”.)
