WAN-IFRA has received disturbing reports of an unprecedented public assault against hyper-local Egyptian news company Welad El Balad. Amongst a number of outlandish statements directed towards the organisation and broadcast over a private satellite channel in recent days, the company is accused of being “the agent of foreign powers” and of “working to undermine the Egyptian state.”
News media websites continue to be prime targets for cyber-attacks. In May, The Washington Post’s mobile site was hacked by a group claiming to be part of the Syrian Electronic Army. The attack lasted about 30 minutes, and visitors to some section fronts saw messages that said “The media is always lying” before being redirected to a Syrian Electronic Army website.
Independent media in Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela are under serious attack from soft censorship – a combination of administrative and financial practices used by government’s to favour positive coverage and punish critical reporting. That’s the view of Argentina’s DYN news agency and Vice President of the country’s Press Association (ADEPA), Daniel Dessein. He spoke to Mariona Sanz.
Reported.ly, the social-media newsroom led by Andy Carvin, launched its first dedicated website in beta last week. Part of the First Look family, Reported.ly made its debut in January, one of its peculiarities was that it didn’t have a website – it was designed to live within the social media ecosystem. But the new website won’t change the participatory nature of the journalism the network does, according to Europe anchor Malachy Browne, as Federica Cherubini reports.
As WAN-IFRA’s 67th World News Media Congress is less than a week away, we spoke to Jim Brady, the CEO of Billy Penn. His platform is a pioneering Philadelphia-based online news publication, employing a multitude of inventive strategies and hence propelling this form of news publishing. Brady will participate in a session on Sunday, 31 May called, “Punching Above Our Weight: How Small and Mid-Sized Publishers Can Lead the Digital Transformation” at our event in Washington, D.C., alongside Nancy Lane, J. Tom Shaw, and Chris Edwards.
For many journalists, going back to pre-digital basics is the new norm when dealing with confidential sources in the post-Snowden era. As traditional source protection frameworks are eroded in the digital age, the attention of investigative journalists and their editors is necessarily turning to risk-assessment, self-protection and source education. And, as Julie Posetti reports, there is a also a need to update laws globally.
French public broadcaster France 24 produces a weekly TV news program about gender equality in three languages – French, English and Arabic. The 51% offers a window into the lives, achievements and struggles experienced by women globally. Former Jerusalem correspondent Annette Young presents the show from Paris. She spoke to Julie Posetti.
Newsrooms are becoming increasingly reliant on User Generated Content (UGC) to complement their news stories. But a new study conducted by Pete Brown from Eyewitness Media Hub shows that newsrooms are making themselves vulnerable to lawsuits, exposing themselves to ethical issues as well as placing uploaders in uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous positions. Angelique Lu reports.
There’s a growing consensus amongst industry experts that branded content will be at the heart of every marketing strategy, but less agreement about what it actually is.
Marty Baron arrived at The Washington Post as Executive Editor in 2012 – after a Pulitzer-studded term at the helm of The Boston Globe. The Post acquired iconic status in the history of investigative reporting via Woodward and Bernstein’s Watergate coverage. A Pulitzer for Public Service in reporting the Snowden revelations cemented the legacy in 2014. Another followed this year, in recognition of The Post’s reporting of Secret Service deficiencies. He spoke to Julie Posetti about the challenges facing newspapers in the digital age – from source protection erosion to business model insecurity – ahead of his address to the World News Media Congress.
Innovative forms of content, the role of audience engagement, crowdfunding, verifying breaking news on social media and the role of Disney Princesses in saving journalism (stay with me, here) are just some of the topics discussed at the Journalism Innovation Summit organised by PBS MediaShift at City University in London recently. Federica Cherubini curates the top takeaways.
Building audiences through social media has been a ‘vital means of getting attention’ for ProPublica’s stories according to Amanda Zamora – Senior Engagement Editor at the US non-profit investigative outfit. She spoke to Angelique Lu about chat apps, curation of content and innovation in newsrooms.