Meaningful engagement is in.
Attention is today’s magic word. Audiences have finite consideration spans, and their ability to assess whether they think your viewpoint or piece of work is worth consuming is lightning fast. The line of content waiting to fill the spot left behind by your inability to engage is a thumb scroll away.
Forget the good ol' days when Facebook and Twitter were the only dominant players you had to worry about. Today’s landscape is fragmented with platforms like YouTube, WhatsApp, SnapChat, BlueSky, and TikTok vying for attention. And now Telegram is providing a space for creators to monetize content. Our challenge isn’t to become a jack of all trades on all platforms at all times, but to identify where our stories resonate most. Navigating this new terrain requires both caution and courage and social media, AI, and new platforms are all part of this journey. The better we adapt, the stronger our connections with our audience will become. Forget the obituaries for social aggregators; as long as people are glued to these platforms, news needs to be there too. We’re not just chasing clicks anymore. That's yesterday's war. Today and tomorrow we have to build relationships. Vanity metrics are out; meaningful engagement is in.
#mediatea - What's hot, what's not, and what's stirring the pot. The state of publishing is like a rollercoaster ride, but the news industry? More like a slow-motion car crash. The days of Facebook showering media companies with cash were like an Oprah episode—“You get a car, you get a car!”—but the joyride ended when that revenue well ran dry. Companies grew fat on easy money, and now, as they struggle to adjust, they’re laying off core teams.
- In the last 30 days, Axios had layoffs, WNYC is planning layoffs as is The Hollywood Reporter?
- The decision-makers behind some of the most short-sighted strategies are rarely, if ever, the ones to endure a layoff.?
- Professional actors can now freelance their voices for AI-generated work. Morgan Freeman is bout to be on every remixed rendition of ‘Not Like Us’
- Apple is getting dragged for wanting practically a third of everything Patreon brings in for creators. Can Patreon just say no??
- Telegram is diving deeper into the creator economy with a new monthly subscription offering that can be paid for using Telegram’s in-app currency, Stars.?
- Meta has officially shut down CrowdTangle — a favorite tool for researchers, journalists, and other civic organizations to follow how information spreads on Meta’s apps.?
- Daily Kos, the OG netroots blog that helped boost Obama, is spinning off its down-ballot race tracker into a subscription pub—content’s free for now, but they’re aiming for 5,000 subscribers at $60 a pop (Daily Kos)
- Wirecutter’s jumping into the podcast pool, because apparently, people just can’t get enough of listening to product reviews during their commute. (Axios)?
- Social media has morphed from a space for connecting with friends into a content treadmill. (Posting Nexus)
- Steve Bannon’s in the slammer, but his show must go on—because, apparently, Congress is now doubling as a podcast guest list. (CJR)
#goodpoints - Independent Journalism Gems
- A new platform by Slow Factory is born (Everything is Political)
- Check out?@blackfarmersindex to support Black farmers in your area. (Blavity)
- Why some Indigenous aren’t celebrating a Harris-Walz ticket just yet (Possibilities.news)
- Advocates for abortion access say compounding crises of abortion bans, rising economic costs and systemic health care issues are beginning to cause significant funding challenges and potential disruptions to reproductive care of all kinds. (Maine Morning Star)
- Jameelah Jones makes a few points about racism and anti-Blackness (TikTok @SunnyDaeJones)
- Apple TV+ ‘Lady in the Lake’ shines a light on deaths in Baltimore. (The Afro)?
- The rising trend of fertility tourism (Hardcopy.online)
- Lousiana’s most vulnerable communities are increasingly impacted by extreme weather, highlighting the intersection of environmental and social inequities. (Scalawag)
- A Texas utility has been wooing lawmakers with fishing trips for decades, and 70 officials took the bait. (Houston Chronicle)
- A contractor cashed in big by billing New York City over $833,000 for empty hotel rooms, pocketing a sweet six-figure commission during the migrant housing debacle. (The Journal News)
- On “Turning Black” (TikTok @abaetol)
- Florida’s version of justice: skip the judge and toss kids into the adult system, where they end up with harsher sentences than actual adults. (Miami Herald)?
- For Black women, AI could be the game-changer in health care they’ve been waiting for. (Enhance Black Women’s Health)?
- Time’s 2024 Kid of the Year 15-year-old Herman Berkeley Creates a Skin Cancer Treating Soap. (Something Black Made)?
- South Asian Women see an ally in Harris, but are divided on Gaza (The 19th)
- The $16 Taco by Pascale Joassart-Marcelli. A dive into how gentrification is exacerbated when white middle-class folks begin venturing into neighborhoods they used to avoid to feed an obsession with foods they couldn’t pronounce a year ago— barbacoa, bibimbap, bánh mi, sambusas, and pupusas.? (University of Washington Press)
- Inside the Newsroom is a database of dozens of jobs updated monthly, and if you have been laid off, the publisher is gifting subscriptions.?
- Freelance Opportunities shares opportunities for all kinds of independent workers, not just journalists?
- Mandy Hofmockel updates her newsletter with journalism jobs and photos of her very adorable dog.?
- Study Hall shares some?
- Grants for Creators spotlights funding opportunities
At Press One, we’re reshaping the future of journalism by empowering independent creators to amplify their voices. We unite diverse storytellers with cutting-edge platforms, ensuring high-impact stories reach the audiences they deserve. If you’re navigating the freelancer world, new to creating on multiple platforms, or just feeling stuck with all the extra steps involved, we’re here to help. Reach out, and let’s get you moving forward. And if you’re a supporter of independent journalism, we’d love to connect too. Press One is your partner in building a media landscape that values creativity, diversity, and meaningful connections.
