18 | December | 2017 | Nieman Journalism Lab

Archives: December 18, 2017

Shan WangDecember 18, 2017

How much news makes it into people’s Facebook feeds? Our experiment suggests not much

Half the people in our survey saw no news at all in the first 10 posts in their feeds — even using an extremely generous definition of “news” that counted everything from celebrity gossip to sports scores to history-based explainers, across all mediums.

Christine SchmidtDecember 18, 2017

David Axelrod on 200 episodes of The Axe Files, silos in podcasts, and today’s “golden age” for journalism

“I’m not there to ask the top-ten kind of news questions of the day. I’m there to find out who people are and who motivates them, and yes, we get to some of the news of the day, but with that context of who someone is.”

Making noise is not a strategy

“We may lament this and chastise Facebook for its lack of a moral compass and civic responsibility — but it’s a reality we have to come to terms with.” Lanre Akinola

Zines had it right all along

“Zines have an enormous variety. They’re experimental and diverse. This gives them a freshness and surprise. They’re anti-formalist. They’re relatable.” Kawandeep Virdee

Show a little vulnerability

“What if in 2018, instead of trying to sell our audiences something they may not want, or threatening to shut off access to news they actually need, we simply admit we need their trust, understanding, and investment to provide great journalism?” Mary Walter-Brown

The year of quiet adjustments (shhh)

“If 2017 reached peak innovation strategizing, pivoting, and iterating, then 2018 may very well be the year of pause, pare back, and hyper-focus.” Renée Kaplan

The muting of underserved voices

“Activists, independent journalists, and other content creators not connected to corporate media conglomerates will be disadvantaged in the coming year if net neutrality is done away with altogether.” Tracie Powell

Serving readers over advertisers

“For the first time in decades, several large news publishers now generate more revenues from readers than from advertisers. It’s hard to overstate this business-model pivot.” Gordon Crovitz

Going beyond mobile-first

“The opportunity lies in developing services and products that respond to the when, where, and how of news consumption.” Alfred Hermida

TV goes digital, digital goes TV

“Television reaches this critical stage with a lot of experience and lessons that have been learned by others, with heavy pockets, and two clear strengths: a very strong footprint on social networks, both from its brands and its individual talents, and a unique sensitivity for video storytelling that is higher than that of all its competitors.” Borja Echevarría

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