The 2016 Global Report on Online Commenting: Executive Summary

As more high-profile media organizations choose to shut down comment section due to trolls, cost and legal concerns, the World Editors Forum finds that the majority of news organizations it surveyed are still trying and a few are starting to reap the benefits.

This is the executive summary of the 2016 Global Report on Online Commenting. You may access other parts of the report here.

Review of press law underway in France raises concern

On 30 September the Senate completed a project of revision of the press law in force – which dates back from 1881 – with the intention to “repair more efficiently the abuses of freedom of expression”, and their potentially exacerbated gravity when the Internet is the means of publication.

Aftenposten criticises Facebook for deleting iconic war photo

Norway’s largest newspaper published today an open letter on its front page to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, attacking the company for having deleted a post containing the famous “napalm girl” photo.

Investigative journalism in the Caribbean: accessing information (Part 1)

Investigative data-driven journalism is as important as it is challenging in this unique region, which exists of so many small communities. Accessing official documents is extremely difficult, with no enabling legislation and a culture of self-censorship prevails. In this two-part article, we speak to professionals seeking solutions to overcome these challenges.

Coral Project launches new open-source tool to interact with readers

Readers who comment – and those who read the comments – are a publication’s most loyal audience. But why do people comment? What can news organisations get out of their comments? And would readers engage even more if they knew news organisations were paying attention? These questions were put to editors at the World Media Congress in Cartagena this week by Greg Barber, Director of Digital News Projects at the Washington Post and lead on Strategy & Partnerships at the Coral Project.

WAN-IFRA Board Adopts Resolution Calling on Courts of Law Around the World to Uphold Freedom of Expression in the Face of “Right To Be Forgotten” Claims

The Board of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), meeting on 12th June in Cartagena, Colombia during the 68th World News Media Congress, 23rd World Editors Forum, and 26th World Advertising Forum, calls on national courts, to preserve the freedom of the press in all claims relating to the “right to be forgotten.”

Must-read Tinius Report: tech-platforms, content and the need for autonomy

Tech-platforms need journalistic content – but what strategies should news organisations adopt when dealing with the tech giants? The debate around third-party content distributors is one of the main threads running through the annual Tinius Trust report – a highly recommended read for those interested in the future of journalism.

Google’s Global Head of News on saving the internet from itself and fighting back against Facebook

French judge establishes prevalence of freedom of the press on Right to be Forgotten

RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN: Last week the Superior Court in France, arguably one of the most enthusiastic countries when it comes to Right to be Forgotten, rendered a decision that might have come as a surprise for some. As it turns out, the WAN-IFRA report on the topic, published earlier this year, concluded rightly that “for newspapers there should be little cause for concern”.

5 takeaways from WAN-IFRA’s new report on ad blocking

With AdBlock Plus announcing just this week that it now has 100 million active installations (double what it claimed in January 2016), ad blocking is clearly an ongoing and growing threat for news publishers. To help publishers address this topic, WAN-IFRA has just released the industry’s most comprehensive report available on ad blocking and strategies for news publishers.