Communications professor Melissa Zimdars made fake news a trending story last week by posting a list (now unpublished) of fake news sites. Ken Doctor discusses how such sites may have influenced the election: "The stunning realization that some voters made their choices based on lies, and that the slim margin in this presidential vote may have profoundly changed the direction of the country and the globe, hit home." Also, why Facebook is to blame, a former Facebook news curator speaks, and a Q&A with Zimdars.
Journalism news
Journalists are humbled by the Trump surprise but Alexios Mantzarlis writes that fact checkers aren't at fault: "While we know that fact-checking changes readers' minds, we also know that humans are prone to the confirmation bias (looking for information that supports our views) and motivated reasoning (explaining away information that doesn't). With so many people having such strong negative feelings about these candidates, these unsavory psychological traits kick in."
As major newspaper chains announce still more big declines in print advertising, Timothy B. Lee predicts that the next recession will kill off many smaller newspapers: "Over time, advertisers will realize that they can get more bang for their buck by advertising on new media platforms. And so newspaper ad revenue is likely to decline even more rapidly than its audience does." Also, IRE leaders on investigative reporting after newspapers.
There once was a time when buying a newspaper meant walking to the corner with a quarter or two and picking up the latest edition from an "honor box" machine. Those days are gone, as publishers move single-copy sales to retail outlets in the face of rising prices and falling demand, Lynne Marek writes: "The disappearing boxes are another sign of the distressed newspaper industry's effort to evolve as advertisers and readers flee print products for digital alternatives."
A recent academic study suggests that newspapers would have been better off sticking with their print editions instead of trying to migrate to the web, Jack Shafer writes: "For years, the standard view in the newspaper industry has been that print newspapers will eventually evolve into online editions and reconvene the mass audience newspapers enjoy there. But that’s not what’s happening." Other views from Steve Buttry, Mathew Ingram, and Benjamin Mullin.
The Hulk Hogan lawsuit against Gawker, funded by a Silicon Valley billionaire, shows how the rich try to silence journalists, Damaris Colhoun writes: "An entire industry has been created, some of it underground, some of it wide open, all of it aimed at discrediting a journalist’s critical take. Companies and interest groups, often coached by aggressive PR firms, are investing in bare-knuckled strategies to give their media rebuttals more teeth and a wider audience."
The Pew Research Center has just issued its latest State of the News Media report and the news is grimmer than ever for legacy newspapers, with circulation down 7% in the past year, ad revenue down 8%, and staffing down 10%: "Though the industry has been struggling for some time, 2015 was perhaps the worst year for newspapers since the Great Recession and its immediate aftermath." Also, Rick Edmonds on the Philadelphia experiment so far.
The Panama Papers unveiled a hidden web of shell companies used to hide the fortunes of wealthy people worldwide. Andy Greenberg explains how hundreds of media outlets kept the lid on before publication. More details from Ricardo Bilton, Nicola Clark, and David Uberti. Also, Thomas Fox-Brewster with some theories on the leak's technical causes. And Jack Murtha with background on the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Naomi Lubick writes about four startup journalism web sites and talks to their leaders about the challenges they faced and overcame. Part 1 is on MATTER with founder Jim Giles; part 2 is about the New England Center for Investigative Journalism with reporter Beth Daley; part 3 features the San Francisco Public Press and founder Michael Stoll; and part 4 covers Grist and founder Chip Giller.
Paul Farhi covers news media for the Washington Post and he's learned that reporters won't talk to him on the record: "Journalists know how the news game is played, and they’re all too eager to play it to their advantage when they’re the interrogated, not the interrogators. I’ve interviewed people in the news business for years; rare is the reporter or editor who speaks his or her mind freely. Most will provide information when asked, but only with strings attached."