#14 - Journalism Under Digital Siege

This year’s World Press Freedom Day (May 3) spotlighted the theme “Journalism under digital siege”. Organized annually since 1993 by the UN, the day reflected the state of news and it’s clear there is a growing concern about the risks journalists face online. Digital surveillance & online threats and harassment stifle digital reporting according to the accompanying UNESCO Report “Trends in the Safety of Journalists”. More than ever it’s necessary to look at the digital era’s impact on freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, access to information and privacy.

This and more in this week’s Wayfinder,

NEWS & PRODUCT

While navigating the Internet, users mostly scan pages for information and only read 28% of the words. A 50-year old user will need about 11% more time than a 30-year old user to read the same text. Find more fascinating insights in this piece about online reading & fonts by Nielsen Norman.

If you want to discover how to make your social media content accessible, Accessible Social is a great place to start. The site is a new and free resource hub for digital marketers, communication professionals, content creators, and everyday social media users. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS

The entire auto industry is headed toward subscription models as they seek to turning the car into a content platform and charging vehicle owners for a monthly fee for premium features and services. Yet another big industry competing for limited budgets. It begs the question: Are customers willing to pay? The answer is: not at all, according to a new survey by Cox Automotive.

The new Vogue Club is an interesting subscription product that revolves around access. For $250 a year, members get early access to Vogue features, the ability to connect directly with Vogue editors and entrée to virtual and in-person events.

After some weeks of doom and gloom about subscriptions here is a more positive piece by David Tvrdon.

And the New York Times now has 9.1 million print and digital subscriptions. The earnings report and remarks for investors are always a great source for information and inspiration.

SOCIAL

Last month, The New York Times released new guidelines around the way its reporters use Twitter. Twitter was taking up too much of journalists’ time, the Times said. It was also driving harassment and abuse, and bad tweets harm the reputation of the paper and of its staffers. This week it was The Guardian’s turn to establish new social media guidelines.   

Facebook recently announced a big shift in the company’s philosophy on the newsfeed relying more heavily on artificial intelligence to select and promote the content. Matthew Ingram breaks down what this means for publishers.

And the Thomson Reuters Foundation have released a free web application to limit journalists' exposure to abusive content on social media allowing them to block, mute or save comments at scale. It is currently available for use on Twitter, with plans to expand to other social media platforms in the future.

INNOVATION

This photorealistic image of an astronaut riding a horse was created by DALL·E 2 one the most jaw dropping AI image generation softwares. All a user had to do is type the command, "An austronaut riding a horse in a photoreallistic style” and the A.I. did the rest. Are Photoshop skills a thing of the past?

And the NFT hype seems to be over. The number of sales of NFTs has declined by 92% this week, from 225,000 in September to 19,000. The downfall of the NFT art scams doesn’t mean there is no long term potential of a web where users turn into owners.

Want to know more? On June 17 the Journalism Creator Summit looks at “Web3 and what it means for news media”.

If you need a primer on Web3 than this report by Nexxwork is not a bad place to start.

SHORT

• Meta has a high-end VR headset in development that prioritizes workplace features
• Spotify has published a podcast advertising benhcmark report.
• Facebook is pulling out of podcasts.
• Meta is open sourcing it’s new language AI.
• Amazon is testing advanced Virtual Product Placement for TV Shows and movies.
• Spotify launches on Roblox.
• Gracenote partners with Samsung to optimize the podcast experience.

LEARN

The Lenfest News Philanthropy Network is hosting a free Introduction to Prospect Research course. This training will provide participants with practical fundraising skills needed for news organizations. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 13, 2022

On 1-2 June, WAN-IFRA holds it's Digital Media Europe conference to share key learnings on reader revenue strategy.

READ

If at some point you tried to keep up with online trends you might have noticed that nowadays trends are being coined almost daily on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Some call it the TikTokification of our tastes. What’s trending within smaller community niches can be surfaced quicker to consumers thanks to the pace of the platform’s algorithm.

Others look beyond the increasing speed of the trend cycle and talk about ‘a vibe shift’. A shift that extends beyond taste, aesthetics, politics, fashion, or policy. The breakdown in trust, the fragility of the rules-based order and the climate crisis have deepened instability and permanent sense of uncertainty. The world as we knew it is not coming back.

Uncertainty can be a source of discomfort but it also holds a lot of potential value. Here’s how innovation specialists at NATO look at using uncertainty to direct innovation initiatives.

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Wayfinder is back next week. Like it? Share it! All ideas and stories for the next edition are welcome.

Ezra Eeman, Change Director News - Mediahuis