If the U.S. wants to boost journalism, it should learn from Canada’s mistakes

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Tuesday, June 27, 2023 [If the U.S. wants to boost journalism, it should learn from Canada’s mistakes]( “There are other big questions hanging over the program, like whether it has actually helped stave off the collapse of newsrooms.” By Sarah Scire. [Canada’s Online News Act may let Meta and Google decide the winners and losers in the media industry]( “Our interviews showed that platforms were able to push for individual deals that aligned with their own business priorities.” By Diana Bossio. What We’re Reading Stitcher [Stitcher is shutting down its app and website →]( “SiriusXM, the owner of Stitcher, is focused on incorporating podcasts into its flagship SiriusXM subscription business. Subscribers can listen to podcasts within the SiriusXM app and will see an all-new listening experience later this year.” Axios / Sara Fischer [A group of media veterans are launching a venture capital firm to bring journalistic rigor to investing →]( “The new firm, called Outside the Box Investments, is finalizing a $50 million raise that will be used to back early tech startups, a source familiar with the firm’s plans told Axios. The group plans to invest in smaller pre-seed and seed investment rounds for companies that specialize in AI-enabled software as well as software companies that support specific industries, like agriculture or games.” The New York Times / Matt Flegenheimer and Jeremy W. Peters [How Fox News (yes, Fox News) managed to beat “The Tonight Show” →]( “Though far less dissected than Emmy-nominated counterparts like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel, Mr. Gutfeld reliably outrates their Trump-dinging monologues and celebrity-guest banter with scatological digressions, cameos from a low-rent presidential impersonator and a booking roster that can count Larry Kudlow as the get of the night.” The Los Angeles Times / Wendy Lee [What Ryan Murphy’s and Harry and Meghan’s deals say about the state of Hollywood →]( “The thinking behind these mega-deals was for the popular showrunners to bring in bigger audiences and help fill the platforms’ libraries with new hit series. But as subscriber growth on streaming services has slowed down, companies are analyzing whether it’s worth it to renew the deals.” The Washington Post / Petula Dvorak [They turned the Capital Gazette newsroom into a coffee shop. It’s beautiful. →]( “It’s a nice coffee shop,” said one of the German language students, who earlier thanked manager Kayla Stammer for being in the space. “It continues the feeling of the community newspaper.” Columbia Journalism Review / Jon Allsop [Yevgeny Prigozhin and the press →]( “In recent days, Prigozhin has emerged as a character almost custom-made for the glare of global media interest: a petty crook turned hot-dog vendor turned ritzy caterer who served caviar to George W. Bush, then founded a private military empire, then used it to puncture the authority of an autocrat once seen as untouchable, if only in the realm of media archetype.” A Media Operator / Jacob Cohen Donnelly [The Vice saga is over →]( “A lot of Vice’s problems were poor execution, but the strategy was predicated on trying to get bigger to justify the valuation. A clean cap table might be all the brand needs to start growing again; albeit, at a much slower pace and, likely, from a smaller base.” Platformer / Casey Newton [Meta plans a news blackout in Canada →]( “It would be one thing if we knew for certain that this law, no matter how ill conceived or harmful to the web, would actually offer sustainable funding for journalism. But neither Australia’s law nor Canada’s requires that a majority of the money given from publishers to platforms goes to support actual journalism.” Washington Post [The Washington Post releases an accessibility guide for its website →]( “Based on reader feedback, we know there are certain accessibility issues users are facing that can be addressed when they update their settings. But it’s our job to tell users that those settings exist.” (Read our interview with Holden Foreman, the Post’s first-ever accessibility engineer, [here]( Media Nation / Dan Kennedy [Two Alden papers, the Boston Herald and The Denver Post, will end commenting →]( “The Boston Herald [announced the move]( earlier today, saying that the change was being made to ‘dramatically speed up the performance of the website’ as well as on its mobile platforms. The Denver Post [took the same action]( last week, although editor Lee Ann Colacioppo cited bad behavior rather than technology, writing that the comment section has become ‘an uncivil place that drives readers away and opens those trying to engage in thoughtful conversation to hateful, personal attacks.'” Press Gazette / Bron Maher [How The Philadelphia Inquirer hopes to “bend the curve” on its print decline →]( “One area we’ve been looking at is — where are we delivering papers to people’s homes where it’s actually costing us more to do that than [the Inquirer is earning from] the subscription itself?” The New York Times / Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris [How review-bombing can tank a book before it’s published →]( “It can be incredibly hurtful, and it’s frustrating that people are allowed to review books this way if they haven’t read them. Worse, they’re allowed to review books that haven’t even been written. I have books on there being reviewed that I’m not finished with yet.” CNN / Jeremy Herb [CNN obtains the tape of Trump’s 2021 conversation about classified documents →]( “The recording, which first aired on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, includes new details from the conversation that is a critical piece of evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump over the mishandling of classified information, including a moment when Trump seems to indicate he was holding a secret Pentagon document with plans to attack Iran.” AP / David Bauder [CBS News effort shows the growth in solutions journalism to combat bad news fatigue →]( “Bornstein said solutions journalism is not ‘good news. It’s rigorous reporting that is examining how people are responding to problems.'” Wall Street Journal / Wall Street Journal Staff Writer [White House condemns harassment of Wall Street Journal reporter for questioning Modi about rights →]( “Since the press conference, Siddiqui has been subject to online attacks from officials from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, including a party spokesman who called her a ‘bigot’ on Twitter. “ The Verge / James Vincent [AI is killing the old web, and the new web struggles to be born →]( “Potentially, it would damage whole swathes of the web that most of us find useful — from product reviews to recipe blogs, hobbyist homepages, news outlets, and wikis. Sites could protect themselves by locking down entry and charging for access, but this would also be a huge reordering of the web’s economy.” Rest of World / Caiwei Chen [China’s banned online communities have found a new home on Reddit →]( “As China has tightened its grip on online speech, the platform has become an unlikely refuge for banned Chinese internet groups such as Kai Fang Qu, Japanophile community Kanagawa Chonglang Hub, and popular gossip forum Goose Group which migrated from Chinese social media platform Douban.” [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](