Apple’s App Store policies are getting weirdly aggressive, but publishers should be okay

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Tuesday, January 23, 2024 [Apple’s App Store policies are getting weirdly aggressive, but publishers should be okay]( The tech giant wants to let some app developers make money on the web — but take 27% of the revenue they generate along the way. But publishers should still have access to a better deal. By Joshua Benton. What We’re Reading The Ringer / Derek Thompson [Why the U.S. media industry is in meltdown →]( “You don’t get into a mess like this if the economics work in the first place.” the Guardian / Mark Sweney [U.K. publisher says disappearing newspapers and pop-up ads are “inconvenient truths” →]( “[The chief executive of Reach] said the often-criticised overloading of webpages with ads and pop-ups is a fact of life as the business drives digital advertising to balance the decline in print. ‘The user experience is really straightforward, we are ad funded. I am as disappointed as anyone else that people don’t really want to pay for our content online. Not enough of them, nowhere near enough of them.'” Columbia Journalism Review / Jon Allsop [Is Ukraine’s information war turning on its own journalists? →]( “With foreign aid for the war effort at risk of stalling—not least from the US—investigative journalists, in particular, face a choice: hold their government to account and risk triggering adverse headlines in donor countries, or withhold information and risk eroding the democracy that the Western world has so far rallied to defend.” Digiday / Sara Guaglione [How podcast networks are testing AI tools for translating shows, production assistance, and ad sales →]( “We’re cautious about saying that AI can do things that unique, incredible human talent can do today. But as a sort of a personal assistant if you will, to every single producer or executive producer we have – that’s the vein we’re interested in exploring,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of the iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. Los Angeles Times / Meg James [The Los Angeles Times is laying off at least 115 people in the newsroom →]( “Soon-Shiong expressed disappointment that the newsroom guild did not work with management to come up with a plan that he said would have saved jobs. Instead, the guild focused its energy on a one-day strike last Friday, which, he said during an interview, ‘did not help.’” Columbia Journalism Review / Jon Allsop [What Ron DeSantis got wrong about the media, what and the media got wrong about DeSantis →]( “This whole time, DeSantis has been serving as governor of America’s third-most-populous state, which he has turned into a shop window for his own presidential aspirations, with very human consequences. At first, his aspirations focused national media scrutiny on these consequences, but over time, those have increasingly been overshadowed.” The Media and Democracy Project / Carolyn Barclift [The Media and Democracy Project wants The New York Times to reinstate the public editor position →]( “The New York Times has over 10 million subscribers. By bringing back an independent Public Editor position they can uplift proper journalism ethics, reinvigorate meaningful, responsive communications with subscribers, and reset the news industry standard.” Press Gazette / Charlotte Tobitt [Government research plays down the BBC’s impact in the local news sector →]( “Although the BBC and other local news publishers do duplicate content, the new report found the BBC ‘rarely’ covers local events not also covered by its commercial rivals.” A Media Operator / Jacob Cohen Donnelly [Is the Sports Illustrated fiasco a weird game of chicken? →]( “The Arena Group is willing to pay more for restructuring than it would cost to continue licensing. And simultaneously, Authentic Brands is willing to let the asset that it owns get gutted, even in the short-term, in order to sever its relationship with Arena Group.” Middle East Eye [Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza has evacuated Gaza to Qatar →]( “Azaiza has been one of a handful of key individuals on the ground in the besieged enclave bringing live updates to his more than 18 million followers on Instagram and over a million on X.” Axios / Sara Fischer [Condé Nast union workers walk out following layoff announcement →]( “Roughly 400 members of the unionized staff at several Condé Nast brands, including Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair, are walking off the job Tuesday in New York City, the NewsGuild of New York said. Why it matters: The strike comes months after Condé Nast said it would lay off approximately 5% of its staff, or roughly 300 people.” AP News / Jake Coyle [Oscar nomination for “20 Days in Mariupol” is a first for the 178-year-old Associated Press →]( “The film, a co-production between the AP and PBS’ Frontline, was shot during the first three weeks of the war in Ukraine, in early 2022.” USC [USC Annenberg launches an open-source investigative journalism program →]( With an investment of up to $300,000 from the Scripps Howard Fund, the USC Annenberg School of Journalism will build “America’s premier open-source investigative reporting education program” to train journalists to use publicly available information like satellite imagery, social media, and online databases. [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. 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