Newsonomics: McCormick Media’s back in the Tronc game, as eyes turn to the TRNC ticker: The latest from Nieman Lab

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Monday, June 18, 2018 [Newsonomics: McCormick Media’s back in the Tronc game, as eyes turn to the TRNC ticker]( What will happen to the price of Tronc shares as investors, a good number of speculators among them, assess the post-L.A. Times value of a major daily newspaper chain effectively halved in the deal? By Ken Doctor. [A look at how foundations are helping the journalism industry stand up straight]( What We’re Reading Columbia Journalism Review / Marie C. Baca [Facebook’s local push is becoming a shove with its public relation efforts →]( “During the two weeks he was writing his article, Daniel Kolitz estimates he received an average of three calls, texts, or emails a day from a Facebook spokesman asking if he ‘needed anything.’ At the launch event, he was followed by up to five Facebook employees at all times.” Pew Research Center / Amy Mitchell, Jeffrey Gottfried, Michael Barthel, and Nami Sumida [How are Americans doing at distinguishing between factual and opinion statements in the news? →]( “The politically aware, digitally savvy and those more trusting of the news media fare better; Republicans and Democrats both influenced by political appeal of statements.” Wall Street Journal / Keach Hagey [Katie Couric is joining forces with The Skimm for a video series as its first guest correspondent →]( “The inaugural project of the expanded Katie Couric Media will be a short-form online video series for digital-media outfit theSkimm that will be sponsored by consumer products giant Procter & Gamble, according to the companies. The series, titled ‘Getting There,’ will feature profiles of accomplished women.” The Guardian / Jim Waterson [Fears mount over WhatsApp’s role in spreading misinformation →]( “In Brazil, WhatsApp has been blamed for a yellow fever outbreak after being used to spread anti-vaccine videos and audio messages. In Kenya, WhatsApp group admins have been described as a major source of politically motivated fake news during recent elections. And there are signs that the messaging service is being used as a conduit for misinformation in the UK.” New York Times / Jaclyn Peiser [Goodbye, Denver Post — hello, blockchain? →]( Editors from the Denver Post are teaming up with Civil to create The Colorado Sun, another newsroom on the blockchain platform. Los Angeles Times / Meg James [The L.A. Times is officially in Patrick Soon-Shiong’s hands (and it has its next executive editor) →]( “‘The last three months has been an amazing experience for me to really learn — I mean on a steep learning curve — about all the elements that are affecting this industry,’ Soon-Shiong said Friday in an interview at the soon-to-be headquarters in El Segundo, just after signing paperwork to finalize the purchase. On Monday, he will wire the money — and then the historic sale will be complete.” [Former Time Inc. executive Norman Pearlstine has been named as the executive editor.]( Recode / Kara Swisher [Michael Barbaro explains why The Daily podcast doesn’t cover Donald Trump’s tweets →]( And why “the show does not get made without Google Docs.” Columbia Journalism Review / Mathew Ingram [Advocates are becoming journalists. Is that a good thing? →]( “I came to work at Human Rights Watch because I was interested in figuring out what it looked like to have a different financial model and a different trust model for achieving the good that accountability journalism achieves,” says communications director Nic Dawes, the former editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian, who joined HRW in 2016. [Nieman Lab]( / [Fuego]( / [Encyclo]( [Twitter]( / [Facebook]( [View email in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org. Nieman Journalism Lab Harvard University 1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138 [Add us to your address book](//niemanlab.us1.list-manage.com/vcard?u=dc756b20ebb9521ec3ad95e4a&id=d68264fd5e)