Return to the Polls:
America's largest union of journalists announced that it will hold an election for national president following several irregularities in its May contest. The NewsGuild referendum will place incumbent Bernie Lunzer against Jon Schleuss, a Los Angeles Times data journalist. Lunzer narrowly defeated Schleuss in the disputed election.
Blogging Revival?
CJR's Mathew Ingram wrote Thursday that the $3 million acquisition of Tumblr by Automatic (the parent company of WordPress) ultimately might offer a suite that can "go head-to-head with Facebook and Twitter," potentially spurring a resurgence of 2000s blogging culture. However, he added: "[W]hether independent journalists would take to such a thing as an alternative to social networks [...] remains to be seen."
Axios Develops Newsletter Platform:
The Information's Jessica Toonkel reported Thursday that Axios "is planning to enter a new business that includes selling software for helping companies create newsletters for their employees." The move coincides with the increasing prevalence of media-owned content management ventures, including The Washington Post's Arc Publishing suite and Vox Media's Chorus platform.
UNC, Ida B. Wells Society Announce Partnership:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Media and Journalism has announced that the Ida B. Wells Society will be housed in the division's Reese News Lab. Founded in 2016, the Society is "dedicated to increasing and retaining reporters and editors of color in the field; and to educating news organizations and journalists on how the inclusion of diverse voices can raise the caliber, impact and visibility of investigative journalism."
Grisham Speaks:
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Wednesday that the administration would consider reinstituting press briefings. "We're going to talk about it," she said to Sinclair's Eric Bolling. "That'll be ultimately up to the president. The president also — he’s so accessible, so right now I think that’s good enough." The last briefing was held on March 11 by Grisham's predecessor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Grisham holds a joint appointment as White House communications director.
ProPublica Releases Data Journalism Guide, Software:
ProPublica has launched the Collaborative Data Journalism Guide with funding from the Google News Initiative. According to Partner Manager Rachel Glickhouse, the collaborative guidebook "represents the lessons we've learned over the years," including data collaboration workflows. The nonprofit digital news organization will also release an open-source version of its data management software in the fall.
Latest Pew Findings on Local News:
According to a Pew Research Center analysis, "older Americans, black adults and those with a high school education or less show considerably more interest in local news than their counterparts." These demographics also prefer local television news as opposed to digital outlets. However, an earlier Pew analysis revealed that most Americans believe erroneously that the local news business is financially sound.
Digital Best Practices Emerge:
According to a report on digital best practices for newspapers by the Shorenstein Center and the Lenfest Institute, "publishers that reported more than 6% of unique visitors reaching their stop threshold" — corresponding to the last free article on a paywall — "had 'thriving' digital subscription businesses." The report noted that the Star Tribune of Minneapolis and the Boston Globe have retained the most robust market penetration rates (defined as "the number of unique visitors relative to the the total digital desktop audience in that market") among metropolitan dailies.
Portnoy's Complaint:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the New York State Department of Labor drew attention to a tweet by Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy in which the publisher threatened to fire any employee who direct-messaged an article related to the Monday unionization of rival sports news site The Ringer. "If you're a boss tweeting firing threats to employees trying to unionize, you are likely breaking the law & can be sued, in your words, 'on the spot,'" Ocasio-Cortez said.
Karem Releases Revocation Account:
Playboy Chief White House Correspondent Brian Karem has made public his account of the July 11 incident that led to the preliminary revocation of his "hard pass" press credentials. "It’s essential that I hold on to my hard pass so that I can continue to carry out my responsibility," said Karem. "After all, that's what the First Amendment is all about." Although he submitted the statement on August 9, Karem's legal team has not received a response from the Trump administration.
