How misinformation hacks your brain

Media statistic of the week

Here’s a stat that’s representative of our ever-evolving media landscape (and our device addiction): According to a Pew Research Center survey, nearly six-in-ten (57%) of Americans in 2019 say they're most likely to get news through mobile devices rather desktop/laptop computers.

This week in media history

On November 23, 1936, the first issue of Life magazine was published, featuring a cover photo by Margaret Bourke-White of the Fort Peck Dam’s spillway. Publisher Henry Luce bought the name after Life’s previous iteration (as a weekly humor publication) folded, and he re-launched the magazine as a picture-based periodical.

This week in the media industry

The future of local news

The findings of a new Gallup/Knight Foundation study on Americans’ Perceptions of the Value and Financial Future of Local News were released last week, and as Len LaCara summarizes it, “The biggest problem is that most people: --Think local journalism is important yet are unwilling to pay for it. --Have no idea how dire the financial situation is for most local news operations.” “Maybe we went overboard with that whole ‘free press’ thing,” tweets Peter Callaghan.

The report also finds that Americans are divided on how to pay for local news. Six in 10 are opposed to federal (66%) or local (60%) government subsidies, and those views vary greatly by political affiliation. The report is worth reading in full. It looks at not just the challenges but also the opportunities and a few potential solutions to the local journalism crisis.

On that same note, be sure to check out Julie Bosman’s piece at The New York Times about the new report by PEN America, “Losing the News: The Decimation of Local Journalism and the Search for Solutions,” and how the loss of local news coverage in much of the United States has frayed communities and left many Americans woefully uninformed.

Bosman quotes PEN America chief executive Suzanne Nossel, who warns, “That first draft of history is not being written — it has completely disappeared.” But like the Gallup/Knight report, this one offers some possible solutions, citing as examples digitally-focused outlets like Chalkbeat, Outlier and Block Club Chicago.

Engagement, trust and money

Over at the Columbia Journalism Review, Mathew Ingram poses this question: Is engaging with readers the key to both trust and revenue? He talked with a group of experts during a weeklong series of interviews (on CJR’s cool Galley discussion platform) to explore how journalists can respond effectively to the challenge of engaging with audiences and fostering the trust of their readers. 

One of those experts, Vox’s Senior Engagement Manager Lauren Katz, notes, “I had the pleasure of being interviewed in the best format possible for introverts: a real-time, online chat!” She also shares, “My not-so-secret secret is that ~30% of the moderation skills I have I learned from a Facebook group for superfans of a Hallmark TV show. True story.” 

Another expert Ingram spoke with is Trusting News Director Joy Mayer, who pointed out, “if journalists believe in their own work, they need to take the time to explain why.”  

Mayer also has a new piece for Trusting News describing an A/B testing experiment they ran with PolitiFact this summer. That article reveals what PolitiFact learned about making money and earning trust. As Laura Davis highlights, “It seems certain that people are more likely to pay for journalism if they trust it, and they’re more likely to recommend journalism if they trust it.”

Julia Haslanger urges, “For engagement folks trying to make the case for doing things differently (cough #HearkenSummit cough), check out this report from @TrustingNews following a test they did w/ @Politifact around newsletter language.” 

This project sounds very cool

As we mentioned in the Muck Rack Daily last week, this one’s a bright spot for journalism but a bittersweet development for the folks at The Texas Tribune. Editor-in-chief Emily Ramshaw and senior engagement editor Amanda Zamora are leaving the Tribune to launch a national news organization for women, CEO Evan Smith announced.

Ramshaw explains, “As many of you know, the only thing I care about as much as informing and engaging with Texans on politics and policy is informing and engaging with women on politics and policy. And that’s what I’m devoting my next chapter to.” Melissa Block thinks, “This project sounds very cool. Also, we should all be so lucky as to have @evanasmith pen our farewell.”

On Twitter, Smith calls it a “Sad and happy day at @texastribune — @eramshaw @amzam will leave us soon to start a national nonprofit news org for women. A loss, but a great + hopeful development for the journalism ecosystem.”

And in case you missed it, he adds, “As they move on + move forward in next two months, so do we. Look for job postings soon as @texastribune begins own next chapter. **These will be two of best gigs in all of journalism**”

Meanwhile, Nieman Lab’s Laura Hazard Owen is antsy for more details about the new organization, as is clear from the headline of her piece, Emily Ramshaw and Amanda Zamora are launching a national news nonprofit aimed at women and we’re dying to know more. In it, she’s compiled a sampling of the conversation that’s been happening on Twitter in response to the announcement. 

While we’re all anxious to learn more about the project, one thing’s for sure: It’s “One of the most exciting and ambitious new news projects in memory,” as Ben Smith tweets.

‘We must not underestimate our own collective strength’

Last Thursday at the annual fundraising dinner of the Committee to Protect Journalists, dinner co-chair Laurene Powell Jobs delivered a powerful speech on journalism and journalists, calling them The World’s Most Valuable Troublemakers. The Atlantic has published the speech, in which she urges, “We cannot afford to underestimate the ruthlessness and treachery of those who would undermine our free press. But we also must not underestimate our own collective strength.”

Also delivering a speech at the black-tie event, former Fox News anchor Shepard Smith, in his first appearance since leaving the network. In a surprise announcement, Smith said he would personally donate $500,000 to CPJ. Michael M. Grynbaum has those details at The New York Times.

Powell Jobs is the founder and president of Emerson Collective, which is the majority owner of The Atlantic, and Politico’s Michael Calderone had the scoop last week that the billionaire philanthropist is assuming greater control of the magazine as it seeks a new president/CEO. Longtime Atlantic Media chairman David Bradley is also preparing to step away from management duties. Tweets Garrett Graff, “The whole journalism world owes David Bradley a debt of gratitude of how he saved and reshaped @TheAtlantic and allowed it to grow and thrive”

A few more

• At The Conversation, Rachel Barr gives us a fascinating look at the neuroscience of how fake news grabs our attention, produces false memories and appeals to our emotions. Laura Davis dubs it, “How misinformation hacks your brain.” That piece is also published over at Nieman Lab, and about that version, Daniel Funke says, “Brb stealing this incredible art for my cover photo.”
• Well here’s a topic that’s near and dear to us at Muck Rack. For the Local News Initiative of Northwestern’s Medill School, Mark Jacob offers some data and a few tips on How News Outlets Can Make Email Newsletters More Effective. Phillip Smith calls it your “??Morning espresso read,” and Ken Sands tweets, “I’m all about email newsletters. [Same, Ken.] Here’s a good best-practices article from @LocalNewsIni.”  
• As Alexandria Neason writes at CJR, “The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, frustrated by lackluster coverage of the Latinx community in mainstream outlets, is taking matters into its own hands.” She has the details on the organization’s recently launched news site palabra.
• At Variety, Todd Spangler reports that Verizon is not selling HuffPost, according to Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan. A Financial Times report last month indicated that Verizon wanted to offload HuffPost, “so it could be that the company failed to find a buyer for HuffPost willing to pay the right price,” Spangler speculates.

From the Muck Rack Team

• Muck Rack recently had the opportunity to chat with Matt Rosoff, editorial director for CNBC Digital. Head over to the Muck Rack Blog for 6 questions with Matt Rosoff from CNBC Digital.
• This month, we’re putting the “beat spotlight” on fashion journalism. Lauren Alexis Fisher, market and fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar, shares some insights into her career in fashion journalism, what’s unique about covering fashion and the busiest time of the year for pitches in her inbox.
• The Muck Rack team regularly compiles roundups of the top daily newspapers, TV stations/programs, radio stations/programs and more. Our latest: Check out the top 25 magazines in NYC based on UVMs. 
• Webinar alert: I hope you’ll join me on Wednesday, December 11 at 1 pm EST for a conversation with Spin Sucks Founder and CEO Gini Dietrich about Essential Tips for End of Year PR Reporting.

Question of the week

Both the Gallup/Knight study and the PEN American report underscore the stark reality of local news in crisis. But they also point to some possible solutions. What are your thoughts on what it will take to revitalize local watchdog journalism?