Journalism agenda: “Twitter and Google are reportedly allying (against Facebook “Instant Articles”

Google and Twitter are joining the growing group of tech companies looking to optimize publishers’ content for mobile devices. This fall, the two companies are planning an launching an open-source product that’s similar to Facebook’s Instant Articles, Recode’s Peter Kafka and Mark Bergen reported Friday:

The idea, according to multiple sources, is that Twitter users or Google search users who click on a link while using their phones will see full articles pop up on their screens almost immediately, instead of having to wait several seconds.

Report: Google and Twitter teaming up for their own ‘Instant Articles’

42-63934936

Facebook isn’t the only tech company that wants to deliver #content to its users instantly.

Turkey: media crackdown amid escalating violence

At the very moment that critical independent media are needed most in Turkey, we are witnessing a renewed crackdown on media freedom.

Cizre. Image credit: Emma Sinclair-Webb. All rights reserved.

A new tool from The Times of London lets you easily detect and capture quotes from a video

Surfacing the latest Donald Trump gem from a long, rambling video to share it in a story can be a chore. A new tool from The Times of Londoncalled quickQuote, recently open sourced, allows users to upload a video, search for and select words and sentences from an automatically generated transcription of that video, and then embed the chosen quote with the accompanying video excerpt into any article.

The hyperlocal news landscape may be bad in the U.S., but the U.K. faces even bigger challenges

It’s tough times for local news in the U.S. But things are worse in the U.K., according to a report released Wednesday. U.K. hyperlocal sites have received much less funding than U.S. hyperlocal sites, while facing all the same problems — newspaper closures, the growth of Facebook and Google as news sources — that local news does this side of the Atlantic.

When I think Twitter, I think “work”; when I think Facebook, I think “home,” or “work distraction.” I’m not alone in this: Journalists love Twitter. A quarter of Twitter’s verified users are journalists or media outlets, and a 2014 survey found that more than half of U.S. journalists use Twitter as their main social media reporting tool.

When Beacon launched in 2013, its founders saw a lot of promise in subscriptions and paywalls. Readers would pay $5 a month for access to about a dozen stories each week, with about 60 percent of that amount going to one “favorite” writer and the rest split among a network of 28 writers.

The journalist’s guide to drones over (or crashing into) stadiums

In the past week, two drones have crashed into two separate stadiums in the U.S.— the first at the U.S. Open in New York, the second at a University of Kentucky football game. They’re unlikely to be the last, given that more and more drones are sold every day to people who don’t understand the rules and that sporting events attract all kinds of attention.

It’s likely that reporters are going to have to cover these events again in the future. So here’s what you need to know.

Assange would publish drone attack info
SBS
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says the whistleblowing group hasn’t published anything to assist the Islamic State group (IS) but he would “absolutely” publish leaked information on drone attacks into Syria if offered it. The 44-year-old Australian
Julian Assange: I would publish information about RAF drone strikes in SyriaHerald Scotland
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange: I would publish information about RAF drone Glasgow Evening Times

The New York Times, troubled (but possibly reforming?) megastar Justin Bieber, electronic music producer Skrillex, and DJ/impresario Diplo recently became unlikely collaborators in a recent video feature about the making of the hit song“Where Are Ü Now.” The eight-minute video, which accompanies a 1,600-word piece by Jon Pareles, features interviews with the three artists explaining how the various sounds in the song were created and later pieced together. As the song itself plays in the background, visualizations in the form of colorful geometric shapes and lines run down the left and right sides of the screen, pulsing to the beat of the song.

After major budget cuts, a revenue model under threat of disruption, and a questioning of its place in a digital world, the BBC is planning an ambitious reorganization that will send staffers and content to local newspapers around the U.K. The proposal creates what BBC director general Tony Hall calls an “open BBC” that will see the broadcaster hire 100 new reporters to work with local newspapers and develop a centralized hub for sharing content and data.


Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.