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The Atlantic’s Sarah Zhang on covering the science and emotion of being human
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The Atlantic’s Sarah Zhang on covering the science and emotion of being human
“I’ve always liked to think of myself as a brain floating through space…[but] our physical condition constrains and expands the way we think about ourselves.”
By Neel Dhanesha
What will a second Trump term mean for the Freedom of Information Act?
The law itself is likely to stand, but experts expect a surge in requests, longer delays, and more court dates.
By Andrew Deck
The Green Line creates local news for the people turning away from “big-J journalism”
The Green Line combines events, explainers, and solutions to appeal to young Torontonians.
By Sophie Culpepper
Two-thirds of news influencers are men — and most have never worked for a news organization
A new Pew Research Center report also found nearly 40% of U.S. adults under 30 regularly get news from news influencers.
By Sarah Scire
The Onion adds a new layer, buying Alex Jones’ Infowars and turning it into a parody of itself
One variety of “fake news” is taking possession of a far more insidious one.
By Joshua Benton
The Guardian won’t post on X anymore — but isn’t deleting its accounts there, at least for now
Guardian reporters may still use X for newsgathering, the company said.
By Laura Hazard Owen
What should journalists do when the facts don’t matter?
“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink…Journalists need to understand how distributing true and useful information out into the world can be its own rewarding service — no matter what happens next.”
By Michael J. Socolow
I’m a journalist and I’m changing the way I read news. This is how.
Sometimes it’s healthy to do something you love less, and differently.
By Laura Hazard Owen
We need a Wirecutter for groceries
Local news outlets cannot change grocery prices. But they can help their readers deal with them.
By Laura Hazard Owen
Threads was next to useless on election night (but that’s kind of the point)
Launched as a rival to Elon Musk’s Twitter, Threads now has 275 million monthly active users. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the app is signing up more than 1 million users per day.
By Sarah Scire
The Atlantic’s Sarah Zhang on covering the science and emotion of being human
“I’ve always liked to think of myself as a brain floating through space…[but] our physical condition constrains and expands the way we think about ourselves.”
By Neel Dhanesha
What will a second Trump term mean for the Freedom of Information Act?
The law itself is likely to stand, but experts expect a surge in requests, longer delays, and more court dates.
The Green Line creates local news for the people turning away from “big-J journalism”
The Green Line combines events, explainers, and solutions to appeal to young Torontonians.
What We’re Reading
Bloomberg / Ashley Carman
The Verge / Mia Sato
Google is cracking down on sites publishing “parasite SEO” content
“An example of parasite SEO content is a news blog that publishes online shopping coupon codes in a hidden part of its website or an educational site publishing unrelated affiliate marketing content. In March, Google announced it would crack down on this kind of ‘site reputation abuse,’ and now it’s making it clear that it doesn’t matter if the publisher created the content themselves or outsourced it — it’s a search policy violation regardless.”
LAist / Julia Barajas
Business Insider / Peter Kafka
Meet the man making money for Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, and Bari Weiss
“There are a few personalities who have the ability to create news cycles rather than react to news cycles.”
The Pillar / Ed Condon
Catholic news site The Pillar on why it’s doubling down on covering a Vatican sexual abuse story
“If we started The Pillar for anything, it was to report the stories that we could see mattered, and which no one else could or would touch….Since we started reporting on the Príncipi case, our paying subscribers are down — we’ve lost revenue, noticeably. Reporting the things we know matter, giving them the attention they deserve and refusing to let them go or to be fobbed off with answers designed to distract might indeed be bad business.”
Tech Policy Press / Lisa Macpherson
Why the DOJ’s Google ad tech case matters to you
“Today, Google’s share of the key services in an advertiser’s ad tech stack, all the way through to publishers, ranges from 40-90%. And remember that 15% media commission that lasted for 100 years? The comparison is imperfect, but the DOJ reported that Google now keeps 30% — and sometimes far more—of each advertising dollar flowing from advertisers to website publishers through Google’s ad tech tools. Publishers have needed to build higher paywalls and charge consumers more for subscriptions, increasing barriers to information.”
The Financial Times / Daniel Thomas
ProRata.ai valued at $130 million after signing up UK publishers
“ProRata.ai, a US artificial intelligence start-up aiming to bring greater fairness in how media groups are paid for content, has agreed licensing deals with publishers including Daily Mail-owner DMG Media, the Guardian and Sky News. As part of the deal, DMG Media will acquire a stake in ProRata in a funding round that people familiar with the situation said would value the group, which was founded in January, at about $130 million.”
New York Times / Charlie Savage
Trump tells Republicans to “kill” a bipartisan federal shield bill for journalists
“The bill, known as the PRESS Act, would codify protections against federal investigators seizing reporters’ records. It is now less likely the legislation will clear the Senate before the current session ends.”
WIRED / Guthrie Scrimgeour
The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired
The Garden Island newspaper on the Hawaiian island of Kauai experimented with AI-generated presenters to engage and boost its readership. After two months, the bots have been shelved.
The Verge / Lauren Feiner
DOJ says Google must sell Chrome to crack open its search monopoly
“The Department of Justice says that Google must divest the Chrome web browser to restore competition to the online search market, and it left the door open to requiring the company to spin out Android, too. The initial proposed final judgement refines the DOJ’s earlier high-level outline of remedies after Judge Amit Mehta found Google maintained an illegal monopoly in search and search text advertising.”
Nieman Lab is a project to try to help figure out where the news is headed in the Internet age. Sign up for The Digest, our daily email with all the freshest future-of-journalism news.