The media startup Semafor launches with a “more honest” article format and lots of global ambition

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Tuesday, October 18, 2022 [The media startup Semafor launches with a “more honest” article format and lots of global ambition]( “At some point, you get sick of pretending that this expert you’re quoting knows more than you do. Or that you have no opinion or you have no analysis of your own.” By Sarah Scire. [Layoffs at large U.S. newspapers and digital news sites “fell considerably” in 2021, report finds]( What We’re Reading Axios / Sara Fischer [Andrew Cuomo is launching his own weekly subscription podcast on politics →]( “The show will feature radio-like call-ins, Cuomo said. A big part of what he wants to do, he says, is ‘hear from people — their questions, their issues — and have that dialogue.’ While Cuomo declined to disclose the exact terms of the deal, he said he has ‘a compensation arrangement’ with [subscription podcast platform] Quake as a part of a one-year deal.” The Atlantic / Adam Serwer [The martyrdom of Alex Jones →]( “In the most rosy possible scenario, abandoning the actual malice standard would make it easier for wealthy and powerful people of any political stripe to silence their critics. Applied neutrally, it could be far more dangerous for many conservative outlets than mainstream ones. But that is not the society these conservatives imagine when they defend their own right to defame others while insisting that the law itself should be changed to make it easier for powerful political figures to silence their critics.” Columbia Journalism Review / Jon Allsop [The BBC at one hundred →]( “…The BBC is also trying to conserve itself on the terms by which it was founded—as a universal public service for information and culture—and that effort at conservation is worthwhile; how the BBC could better serve that universal ideal, especially when it comes to its news philosophy, is intensely up for debate, as always, but the notion that it would be better served as an effectively-privatized poor cousin to Netflix strains credulity.” Greensburgh Tribune-Review / Julia Felton [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists set to strike →]( “This comes after Post-Gazette employees belonging to unions representing production, distribution and advertising workers [went on strike earlier this month]( to protest what they viewed as unfair labor practices by company management. They called for a boycott of the newspaper by subscribers and advertisers. Journalists launched a byline strike, removing their names from their articles, in solidarity.” Nieman Reports / Gilbert M. Gaul [Journalists need to change the way they cover disasters →]( “[All] too often the stories feel reflexive and waste limited time and resources that could be spent on deeper reporting that gets at the root causes of coastal disasters, especially land use choices, which rarely are covered until it’s too late.” Los Angeles Times / Matt Pearce, Dorany Penada, and Melissa Gomez [Latino media grapples with how to cover the Nury Martinez scandal →]( “In podcasts, newspaper columns and on indie sites over the past week, Latino journalists have been dissecting the audio’s Spanglish, exploring niche angles and trying to promote solidarity after L.A. Councilmembers Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León were caught candidly discussing redistricting as a zero-sum racial struggle for power.” Semafor / Ben Smith [Inside the identity crisis at The New York Times →]( “Many Times staffers I spoke to believe the cultural conflict has been displaced by the labor struggle, and that the biggest challenges for management will be demands from journalists and tech workers for a bigger share of the profits.” The Sydney Morning Herald / Zoe Samios [This Australian publication wanted to redefine journalism. Then everything went wrong →]( News.net said it would “employ 170 people within 23 weeks and launch more than 1500 local, national and international websites that could be linked to the one domain name…Six months later, the publication, which was being guided by former AAP editor-in-chief Tony Gillies, failed to launch. Current and former members of staff, including Gillies (who until recently was listed as CEO on the website), are owed thousands of dollars.” Variety / Todd Spangler [Netflix makes it easier for password freeloaders to set up their own paid accounts →]( “Netflix said it’s intended to accommodate various life events, such as people moving out of a household or relationships ending, without forcing them to rebuild a profile from scratch. But it’s also a way to encourage Netflix viewers who have been mooching off someone else’s account (and aren’t in the same household) to turn legit.” New York Times / Cecilia Kang and Tiffany Hsu [The rise of a conservative radio juggernaut →]( Salem Media Group “stands out for its blend of right-leaning politics and Christian content and its vast network of 100 radio stations and more than 3,000 affiliates, many of them reaching deep into parts of America that don’t engage with most mainstream media outlets.” Platformer / Casey Newton and Zoë Schiffer [Inside the messy fight between Meta and The Wire →]( “One reason this story has been so confusing to report is that its details seemingly cannot be reconciled without embracing a conspiracy theory: that multiple people conspired to hoax The Wire; that one or more persons within The Wire committed the hoax themselves; or that multiple people within Meta conspired to falsely accuse a publication of fabricating documents.” Jezebel / Kady Ruth Ashcraft [The New York Times incited a minor online riot by suggesting readers skip pre-rinsing their dishes →]( “We’re in prime pan-soaking season entering the holidays, and the Times is playing with fire.” Washington Post / Perry Bacon Jr. [“America should spend $10 billion to revive local news” →]( “This is not a fantasy.” [Nieman Lab]( / [Fuego]( [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](