News

The Riveter and Bustle: Two new publications targeting female audiences

As the number of women in newsrooms flatlines and female journalists continue to be overlooked for prestigious awards, two new publications aim to produce content by and for women. Yet while Bustle and The Riveter share similar goals, their founders differ both in terms of the budget at their disposal and in the presentation of their products.

It is time to enshrine press freedom as an immutable right in the UK

Illegal detention and government threats to a free press, just the latest headlines to emerge from the UK in a summer of revelations connected to NSA surveillance. Both revolve around the Guardian newspaper, and both require legal precedent to change in order to prevent Britain further lurching towards the unpleasant label of 21st Century totalitarian democracy.

Content-producing machines: friend or foe for news media outlets?

The words “automated journalism” are often greeted with expressions of trepidation or mistrust in journalism circles. And when Wired writes that “[t]he new reporter on the US media scene takes no coffee breaks, churns out articles at lightning speed, and has no pension plan” who can blame them? Nonetheless, the use of computer-generated content is becoming increasingly widespread, to the point where titles such as The Washington Post have contemplated the use of automated writing.

Why Twitter’s mix of personal and professional can be an uncomfortable blend for news outlets

‘Tweet in haste, repent at leisure’ could serve as a useful adage for Twitter-happy journalists. After posting a controversial tweet about Julian Assange over the weekend, journalist Michael Grunwald attracted widespread criticism. Condemnation flooded in from around the globe, but didn’t only focus on Grunwald himself. TIME magazine, Grunwald’s employer, was also drawn into the debate. The publication sprang into action, distancing itself from Grunwald’s tweets. In doing so the magazine demonstrated that even when transmitted in an apparently personal setting, journalists’ tweets aren’t always their own.

Why are newspapers silent in this lucrative podcasting boom?

Podcasts are booming, with podcast app Stitcher expecting to stream 20,000 by the end of the summer, up from 5,000 when it began two years ago, according to USA Today. But in the deluge of podcasts providers, newspapers are conspicuously absent. Of the top 10 most-read newspapers in the world, only The New York Times, the Guardian, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal have regular podcasts on iTunes.

New York Times’ Gmail use raises concerns over protection of sources

“In the wake of this year’s disclosures, it should be clear that unencrypted journalist-source communication is unforgivably reckless”. So said Edward Snowden, NSA whistleblower, when quizzed by Peter Maass on the issue of safe interaction between journalists and informants. Though he describes himself as “famously paranoid”, Snowden would find many of his fears over email security substantiated by tech journalist Steve Henn’s article on Google’s Gmail. Writing for NPR, Henn reports on the threat posed by Google’s email service to the privacy of journalists and, crucially, their sources.

Troc de presse: a step towards collaborative subscriptions?

When the Editors Weblog first reported on the launch of Troc de presse, the social network that allows neighbours to swap their magazines and newspapers, the usefulness of the French startup had already been called into question. Free to use, its attempts to marry print consumption with social media concepts were seen by many as a recipe for failure. Although similar objections continue to be raised, the support of some of France’s most prestigious newspapers could see the pioneering service develop new subscription models for the French press.

Sun-Times’ outsourcing of some content production raises issues

The parent company of the Sun-Times newspaper group, Wrapports LLC, is now outsourcing some reporting to Aggrego, a “Journatic-like unit.” While exactly how Aggrego operates is unclear — an interview request went unanswered at our time of publication — its association with Journatic, which has run into controversy in the past, is likely to raise some questions.

How can editors revive public trust in media?

Rebuilding trust in journalism and the media emerged as one of the most pressing industry challenges at a brainstorming session held by WAN-IFRA during the Tech Open Air festival in Berlin earlier this month.

Australia: Outrage over front page might overstate Murdoch press’s political influence

Newspapers owned by the Australian branch of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp publishing company have found themselves embroiled in a row over their coverage of the forth-coming federal elections. A series of front pages produced by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph have led members of the governing Labor party to claim that Murdoch is using his considerable media clout to sway voter opinion in favour of the opposing Liberal and National Coalition. For some Australian media analysts however, Labor’s accusations severely overestimate Murdoch’s capabilities.