MediaShift Podcast: Recent Episodes
MediaShift
In the news this week, a mass shooting at YouTube was motivated by filtering and demonetizing videos about veganism and workouts. The video service was already dealing with disgruntled creators over filtering and now a shooting makes the situation even more fraught. Facebook tries to stem the tide of negative news by providing more context to news stories shared on the platform including Wikipedia entries, and Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress next week. And three-quarters of Americans believe the mainstream media runs “fake news” either with inaccurate or biased reporting.
This week YouTube announced it would add text blurbs from Wikipedia to counter conspiracy theory videos. The only problem is they forgot to tell Wikipedia about their plan. The big South by Southwest conference is known for launching hot new apps, but this year it’s been about politics, ideas and a big backlash against the tech giants. Apple announced it was buying Texture, a “Netflix for digital magazines” in an attempt to boost subscriptions within Apple News. Our Metric of the Week is Google’s Subscriber Boost, and we're joined by Matthew Iles of the blockchain journalism startup Civil to find out about the hype and reality about initial coin offerings.
In the news this week, the U.S. Congress doesn’t seem to be making much headway in regulating tech giants, so many states are stepping in and taking action. Facebook announces it will work with the Associated Press to debunk misinformation ahead of the mid-term elections, but will they be ready for the storm that’s coming? The Boston Globe plans to raise print subscriptions 80% to a whopping $1350 a year. Talk about sticker shock. Our Metric of the Week is Conversational Health, and we speak with Report for America co-founder Steve Waldman to discuss the first round of reporters sent to cover local news – and do community service – across the country.
In the news this week, many publishers are pivoting to subscriptions as online advertising dries up. And Facebook is starting a Local News Subscription Accelerator to help metro daily newspapers. But can everyone succeed with subscriptions? Independent publisher LittleThings is closing, citing the Facebook algorithm change as the culprit. And publishers are kicking the tires on yet another slate of micropayment startups. Will the audience buy in this time?
In the news this week, Twitter bots and conspiracy theories abound after the school shooting in Florida, as one survivor is wrongly called out as a “crisis actor.” What can the social platforms do to stop misinformation? Vox Media says it will lay off 50 staffers, especially in social video, while The Atlantic plans to hire 100 people over the next year. Facebook advertising executive Rob Goldman is in hot water over his misleading tweets about Russian interference in the U.S. election.
In the news this week, the Winter Olympics have seen lower TV ratings as expected, but NBC has made a big push into live-streaming and digital platforms to keep young people involved. Facebook said it would support publishers’ paywalls in its mobile app for the first time, and let them keep 100% of revenues. Will it turn around Facebook’s bad rap after its algorithm change? Apple News is bringing huge traffic to some publishers but is still struggling to drive ad revenues for them.
In the news this week, there’s another billionaire owner of a major metro newspaper, this time Patrick Soon-Shiong buying the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune in a fire sale from Tronc. The #releasethememo hashtag had a big groundswell of support on Twitter, but a researcher found that Russian bots were helping it go viral. And Facebook’s Instant Articles feature has lost nearly half of its original partner publishers, but has gained 29 publishers who are pushing fake news, and making money from – and for – Facebook. Our Metric of the Week is the Invisible Audience, and we're joined by Doug Mitchell, founder of NPR’s Next Generation Radio, who’s launching a mentoring program for newsrooms to increase diversity.
In the news this week, fake followers on social media are under the microscope after an investigation by the New York Times found minor celebrities, media figures and even a Twitter board member had bought followers to boost their influence. Google started testing a new app called Bulletin that allows people to post photos and stories about their community that come up in Google Search and Google News. Will it help coverage or lead to more fake news? And streaming video companies made a big push to grab sports TV rights, but had a win and a loss this past week. Our Metric of the Week is Podcast Metrics, and our special guests are Izzie Lerer & YuJung Kim of The Dodo, a viral video site featuring animals that wants to make an impact with animal rights, too.
In the news this week, the good, bad and ugly of those dominating tech giants. On the bad side, Google, Facebook, and Twitter were overrun by misinformation during the Las Vegas shooting, with alt-right sites and manipulators naming the wrong shooter. On the good side, Google announced it was ending its First Click Free rule for publishers with paywalls, allowing them to set the number of articles people can see for free via Google search and news. And on the ugly side, we learned more about how Russian-linked actors manipulated Americans in battleground states leading up to the election with targeted ads, fake accounts, and Facebook Groups. Our Metric of the Week is on hiatus this week due to the ONA conference, and we speak with angel investor and entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, to talk about the death of blogs, his new book “Angel” and diversity in tech.
In the news this week, the good, bad and ugly of those dominating tech giants. On the bad side, Google, Facebook, and Twitter were overrun by misinformation during the Las Vegas shooting, with alt-right sites and manipulators naming the wrong shooter. On the good side, Google announced it was ending its First Click Free rule for publishers with paywalls, allowing them to set the number of articles people can see for free via Google search and news. And on the ugly side, we learned more about how Russian-linked actors manipulated Americans in battleground states leading up to the election with targeted ads, fake accounts, and Facebook Groups.
In the news this week, many publishers have been pivoting to video, but they’ve also lost a lot of traffic to their websites. Did they go too far? And Twitter is testing out doubling the size of tweets to 280 characters, and users are upset that Trump might get a super-sized megaphone. The Knight Foundation puts $4.5 million into seven projects aiming to restore trust in media, and convenes an all-star Commission in Trust, Media and Democracy. Can they make a difference? Our Metric of the Week is Audience Shrinkage, and Mark speaks with Deb Roy, co-founder of social venture Cortico and Chief Scientist at Twitter, to talk about his efforts to use AI and analytics to create healthier public discourse.
In the news this week, many publishers have been pivoting to video, but they’ve also lost a lot of traffic to their websites. Did they go too far? And Twitter is testing out doubling the size of tweets to 280 characters, and users are upset that Trump might get a super-sized megaphone. The Knight Foundation puts $4.5 million into seven projects aiming to restore trust in media, and convenes an all-star Commission in Trust, Media and Democracy.
In the news this week, journalists found that Facebook, Google and Twitter all allowed them to target ads toward racist groups like “Jew haters” and “black people ruin neighborhoods.” The social platforms quickly removed those terms. A new initiative called Report for America aims to place 1,000 public service journalists into newsrooms over the next five years. Can a Peace Corps idea help boost local journalism? And the creator of the Pepe the Frog cartoon is taking legal action against alt-right groups for selling merchandise with his image. Our Metric of the Week is ARPU, and we go one-on-one with Justin Hendrix, executive director of the NYC Media Lab, to discuss his upcoming Summit next week and a new center focused on virtual and augmented reality.
In the news this week, journalists found that Facebook, Google and Twitter all allowed them to target ads toward racist groups like “Jew haters” and “black people ruin neighborhoods.” The social platforms quickly removed those terms. A new initiative called Report for America aims to place 1,000 public service journalists into newsrooms over the next five years. Can a Peace Corps idea help boost local journalism? And the creator of the Pepe the Frog cartoon is taking legal action against alt-right groups for selling merchandise with his image.