Sydney Ember

Never Mind the News Media: Politicians Test Direct-to-Voter Messaging

From Washington to Texas to California, politicians are road-testing their political messaging strategies, searching for the best way to reach voters in ways that often bypass the traditional media gatekeepers. These media methods have obvious appeal: Politicians can appear accessible but remain insulated from the press. They are also not altogether new. President Donald Trump eschewed traditional television advertising during the 2016 campaign and can now overshadow even his own party’s message at the drop of a tweet. And many politicians have long made a practice of ducking reporters.

Tronc Sells The Los Angeles Times to Local Billionaire for $500 Million

The Los Angeles Times was sold to Patrick Soon-Shiong, a health care mogul and former surgeon, for $500 million. The deal includes The Times’s sibling paper, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and smaller publications in the California News Group. The deal, with Dr.

Media Organizations Grapple With the New Facebook

Over the next few months, with the implementation of a revised strategy, Facebook’s two billion users will see less content produced by news organizations and more from their friends, if all goes according to the company’s plan. So what does that mean for the media companies that have come to depend on the social media giant to drive readers to the articles and videos they create? As part of the shift, Facebook pages run by publishers and businesses may see a reduction in the number of people they reach and site visits, he wrote.

President Trump Escalates His Criticism of the News Media, Fueling National Debate

President Donald Trump has escalated his fiery attacks on the news media, seizing on a recent string of mistaken reports to bolster his case that he is being persecuted by a left-leaning establishment out to bring him down and fueling a national debate over truth, accountability and a free press. While every president has groused about his coverage, President Trump has proved to be the most vocal and visceral news media critic in the Oval Office in at least a generation. In recent days, news outlets have provided him ammunition with reporting errors.

Time Inc. Sells Itself to Meredith Corp., Backed by Koch Brothers

The Meredith Corporation — the owner of Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens and AllRecipes — agreed to purchase Time Inc. (the publisher of once-prestigious magazine titles including Time, Sports Illustrated and People) in an all-cash transaction valued at nearly $3 billion. The deal was made possible, in part, by an infusion of $650 million from the private equity arm of Charles G. and David H. Koch, the billionaire brothers known for using their wealth and political connections to advance conservative causes. 

Meredith Bid for Time Said to Be Backed by Koch Brothers

Time is said to be in talks to sell itself to the Meredith, in a deal backed by Charles G. and David H. Koch, the billionaire brothers known for supporting conservative causes. The new round of negotiations, motivated by the surprise entry of the Kochs, could lead to a quick deal. The Kochs have tentatively agreed to back Meredith’s offer with an equity injection of more than $500 million. The companies have been negotiating over the past several days, and Meredith is reviewing the latest Time Inc. financial information.

Disney Ban Elevated Tension at Los Angeles Times Newsroom

A dispute between The Los Angeles Times and the Walt Disney Company has ignited a battle between the paper’s employees and its new top management. On the morning of Nov. 3, the newspaper published a note to readers revealing that Disney had barred its journalists from attending advance film screenings in response to a Times investigation into the entertainment company’s business ties with Anaheim (CA). Outrage over Disney’s move was soon rocketing around social media.

Trump’s Urging That Comey Jail Reporters Denounced as an ‘Act of Intimidation’

During a private meeting in February with former-FBI Director James Comey, President Donald Trump floated a proposal that, even by the standards of a leader who routinely advertises his disdain for the news media, brought editors and reporters up short. You should consider, President Trump told Comey, jailing journalists who publish classified information. Presidents are rarely afraid to wrangle and bully reporters, and Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, was pilloried by news organizations for aggressively prosecuting leakers. But Trump’s suggestion breached new territory for political reporters who already consider their profession under siege. “Suggesting that the government should prosecute journalists for the publication of classified information is very menacing, and I think that’s exactly what they intend,” said Martin Baron, The Washington Post’s executive editor. “It’s an act of intimidation.” While Trump’s proposal to Comey could be construed as a private fit of pique, journalists and press freedom groups said that they were alarmed by the possibility that he considered, even casually, enlisting the Justice Department to quash reporting he disliked.

Sinclair Requires TV Stations to Air Segments That Tilt to the Right

They are called “must-runs,” and they arrive every day at television stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group — short video segments that are centrally produced by the company. Station managers around the country are directed to work them into the broadcast over a period of 24 or 48 hours. Since November 2015, Sinclair has ordered its stations to run a daily segment from a “Terrorism Alert Desk” with updates on terrorism-related news around the world. During the election campaign last year, it sent out a package that suggested in part that voters should not support Hillary Clinton because the Democratic Party was historically pro-slavery. More recently, Sinclair asked stations to run a short segment in which Scott Livingston, the company’s vice president for news, accused the national news media of publishing “fake news stories.” As Sinclair prepares to expand its stable of local TV stations with a proposed acquisition of Tribune Media — which would add 42 stations to Sinclair’s 173 — advocacy groups have shown concern about the size and reach the combined company would have. Its stations would reach more than 70 percent of the nation’s households, including many of the largest markets. Critics of the deal also cite Sinclair’s willingness to use its stations to advance a mostly right-leaning agenda. That practice has stirred wariness among some of its journalists concerned about intrusive direction from headquarters.

Us Weekly Is Sold to National Enquirer Publisher

Us Weekly, a celebrity magazine that has long been a staple at checkout counters, is changing hands. On March 15, American Media Inc., which owns entertainment publications like the National Enquirer and Radar Online, announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Us Weekly from Wenner Media, which has owned it since 1985. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but two people briefed on the deal said the price was $100 million. The acquisition of Us Weekly will give American Media a younger, more affluent audience, and a larger digital presence. It will also increase American Media’s heft in celebrity gossip — along with the National Enquirer and Radar Online, the company publishes the supermarket staples Star and OK!

Sure the Media Is Biased. But the Enemy? Not Quite.

Biased? Probably. Oppositional? Maybe. Essential? In theory. But the enemy? Not so much.

President Trump la called the news media “the enemy of the American people.” But in interviews around the country, Americans of varying political affiliations, even those with serious misgivings about the media, largely allowed that the president’s characterization had gone too far. Trump’s presidency has exacerbated already deep ideological divisions in the country, and Americans on one end of the political spectrum increasingly find themselves unable even to look their counterparts in the eye. But if there has been one instance when the rift has not seemed quite as large, perhaps it has been the response to Trump’s harsh rebuke of the media. Still, the feeling toward the news media among those interviewed was far from warm and fuzzy. Many said they believed the media was flawed in general, and certainly when it came to the coverage of President Trump and his administration.

Journalists, Battered and Groggy, Find a Renewed Sense of Mission

White House misconduct. Sensational leaks. Battling broadsheets. The swirling story around President Trump’s dealings with Russia is being compared in journalism circles to past blockbusters like Watergate and the Monica Lewinsky scandal — with a 21st-century twist. News organizations like The Washington Post, The New York Times and CNN are jousting for scoops, but instead of sending clerks to grab the early editions from newsstands, editors watch the news unfold on Twitter in real time. Anonymous sources are driving bombshell stories, and leaks are springing from encrypted iPhone messaging apps rather than from meetings in underground parking garages. The news cycle begins at sunrise, as groggy reporters hear the ping of a presidential tweet, and ends sometime in the overnight hours, as newspaper editors tear up planned front pages scrambled by the latest revelation from Washington. In consequence and velocity, the political developments of the past four weeks — has it been only four weeks? — are jogging memories of momentous journalistic times.

Divided Media on Michael Flynn: Patriotic Leaks or Political Espionage

In the hours since Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser, two narratives have emerged. One, embraced by many in the traditional legacy media, centered on what Flynn had done that led to his resignation: discussed sanctions against Russia in a conversation with the Russian ambassador, and then misled Vice President Mike Pence about it. The other, which developed among the more right-leaning news media, focused on the leaks from Washington that had put pressure on Flynn to step aside, and whether these leaks were intended to damage President Donald Trump.

One narrative holds Flynn, and others who knew about his discussions, accountable. The other portrays Flynn more as a victim. Which narrative does President Trump ascribe to? He attributed Flynn’s resignation to “illegal leaks.” It is not unusual for news media to promote different story angles. And the division between left-leaning and right-leaning news organizations is certainly not new. But the rift between the mainstream media and more partisan news organizations has grown starker in the nearly four weeks since President Trump took office, reflecting a widening political and ideological rift.

New York Times Co.’s Decline in Print Advertising Tempered by Digital Gains

Precipitous declines in print advertising rocked the newspaper industry in 2016. And while The New York Times Company recorded significant growth in subscriptions and promising increases in digital advertising, it nevertheless has not avoided the inevitable. The company said Feb 2 that its print advertising revenue in 2016 fell 16 percent, driving a 9 percent drop in total advertising revenue. For the quarter, print advertising revenue declined 20 percent.

The story on the digital side was positive. Digital advertising revenue rose 6 percent last year, to $209 million. The Times added 514,000 net digital-only subscriptions for its news products during the year, bringing its total to 1.6 million. Buoyed by readers’ intense interest in the presidential election, The Times added 276,000 net digital-only subscriptions to its news products in the last three months of the year. Including print and crossword product subscriptions, The Times now has more than three million total paid subscribers.

In Trump’s Early Days, News Media Finds Competing Narratives

During his first 11 days in office, President Donald Trump has provided news outlets with plenty of material, at all hours of the morning and night. But his maelstrom of activity — the bold executive orders, the fiery Twitter posts, the brazen speeches — has also exposed, and perhaps exacerbated, ideological differences. For those devouring news about the administration, the choice of narratives has become starker, with brighter lines drawn around the content. For the readers and viewers, it’s follow the narrative of your choice, and be wary of the great chasm between. Over the weekend, as protesters descended on airports across the country in response to President Trump’s immigration ban, fissures began to emerge even among right-wing news organizations. On Jan 30, the divide only widened. And not everyone behaved predictably.

News Media, Target of Trump’s Declaration of War, Expresses Alarm

For wary Washington journalists, it seemed only a matter of time before Donald Trump’s presidency would lead to a high-tension standoff between his administration and the news media. But on Day 1?

The news media world found itself in a state of shock on Jan 22, a day after President Trump declared himself in “a running war with the media” and the president’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, used his first appearance on the White House podium to deliver a fiery jeremiad against the press. Worse, many journalists said, were the falsehoods that sprang from the lips of both President Trump and Spicer. “It was absolutely surprising and stunning,” said the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, Jeff Mason.

New York Times Study Calls for Rapid Change in Newsroom

The New York Times has deftly adapted to the demands of digital journalism, but it needs to change even more quickly, according to an internal report that recommends the company expand training for reporters and editors, hire journalists with more varied skills and deepen engagement with readers as a way to build loyalty and attract the subscriptions necessary to survive.

The report, released to The Times newsroom, culminates a year of work by a group of seven journalists who were asked by Dean Baquet, the executive editor, to conduct a review of the newsroom and determine a blueprint for its path forward. Titled “Journalism That Stands Apart,” and known internally as the 2020 report, the document provides a set of broad principles to accelerate the transformation while maintaining a commitment to high-quality journalism.

Voice of Politics in Nevada Media Starts a News Website

In the months after Sheldon Adelson, a casino magnate and prominent Republican donor, purchased The Las Vegas Review-Journal in late 2015, one local journalist was particularly relentless in criticizing the new ownership. Jon Ralston, perhaps the state’s most prominent political reporter and columnist, referred to The Review-Journal as “The Adelson News,” suggesting Adelson was unduly influencing Nevada’s largest newspaper. In “The End of Vegas Journalism, Chapter 5,091” Ralston shared his opinions about the “journalism bankruptcy” of the city’s papers.

Then PBS abruptly canceled Ralston’s television show, “Ralston Live,” saying it did not have the financial resources to continue. Ralston had a different take, saying that his pointed commentary about the state’s elite “ruffled feathers.” Whatever the reason, Ralston said he should try to figure out what happened or move forward in his career.

Ralston will set off on his own with The Nevada Independent, a nonprofit, donation-based news website that he hopes will add more journalistic heft to the coverage of state politics.

Less Defiant Trump at The Times: ‘I Hope We Can All Get Along’

In the morning, President-elect Donald Trump was the media-bashing firebrand many of his supporters adore, denouncing The New York Times as a “failing” institution that covered him inaccurately — “and with a nasty tone!” Eight hours later, after a lunchtime interview with editors and reporters for The Times — one that was briefly canceled, after President-elect Trump quarreled over the ground rules, then restored — the mood of the president-elect, it seemed, had mellowed.

“The Times is a great, great American jewel,” he declared as he prepared to leave the gathering in the newspaper’s 16th-floor boardroom, where portraits of former presidents adorn the walls. “A world jewel,” added President-elect Trump, who was seated next to Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the paper’s publisher. “And I hope we can all get along.” In an extraordinary 75-minute meeting — parrying, debating and, at times, joking with the leaders of a publication that has long been an object of Trump’s fascination and frustration — the president-elect’s chameleonlike approach to the news media was on full display. He dismissed his earlier talk of strengthening libel laws, telling the assembled journalists, “I think you’ll be OK.” He expressed interest in improving his relationship with the paper, saying, “I think it would make the job I am doing much easier.” “To me,” President-elect Trump said at one point, “it would be a great achievement if I could come back here in a year or two, and have a lot of folks here say, ‘You’ve done a great job.’”

President-elect Trump Summons TV Figures for Private Meeting, and Lets Them Have It

It had all the trappings of a high-level rapprochement: President-elect Donald Trump, now the nation’s press critic in chief, inviting the leading anchors and executives of television news to join him for a private meeting of minds. On-air stars like Lester Holt, Charlie Rose, George Stephanopoulos and Wolf Blitzer headed to Trump Tower for the off-the-record gathering, typically the kind of event where journalists and politicians clear the air after a hard-fought campaign. Instead, the president-elect delivered a defiant message: You got it all wrong.

President-elect Trump, whose antagonism toward the news media was unusual even for a modern presidential candidate, described the television networks as dishonest in their reporting and shortsighted in missing the signs of his upset victory. He criticized some in the room by name, including CNN’s president, Jeffrey Zucker, according to multiple people briefed on the meeting who were granted anonymity to describe confidential discussions. It seemed the meeting was being used as a political prop, especially after Trump-friendly news outlets trumpeted the session as a take-no-prisoners move by a brave president-elect.

Can Libel Laws Be Changed Under Trump?

When Donald Trump said in February that he would “open up our libel laws” if he became president to make it easier to sue news organizations for unfavorable coverage, the declaration sent shock waves through the media world. But could he actually do it? The simple answer is yes, but it would be complicated. And assuming the established procedures to change laws hold, it would also be extremely difficult. Libel is a matter of state law limited by the principles of the First Amendment. Presidents cannot directly change state laws, so President-elect Trump would effectively have to seek to change the First Amendment principles that constrain the country’s libel laws. There are two potential ways he could do this, according to legal experts. One route is through the Supreme Court. The other is through the Constitution itself.

Gawker and Hulk Hogan Reach $31 Million Settlement

Gawker Media, which filed for bankruptcy after losing a lawsuit brought by the former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, has settled the case, bringing to a close a multiyear saga that led to the demise of the company as an independent news organization. The settlement, which court documents indicate is for $31 million, comes less than eight months after a jury awarded Hogan, whose real name is Terry G. Bollea, $140 million in damages in an invasion of privacy case lawsuit over Gawker.com’s publication of a video that showed Bollea having sex with a friend’s wife. Gawker will forgo its appeal of that judgment.

The significant financial pressure from the judgment — and the revelation that Peter Thiel, the billionaire Silicon Valley entrepreneur, was financing the lawsuit and others against the company — forced Gawker to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sell itself through an auction, which Univision won in August with a bid of $135 million.

Gannett Abandons Effort to Buy Newspaper Publisher Tronc

After six months of pursuit, the Gannett Company said that it was withdrawing its offer to acquire the owner of The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune, a deal that would have extended Gannett’s national footprint and furthered consolidation in the newspaper industry.

Gannett, the publisher of USA Today, had made several efforts to acquire the former Tribune Publishing Company, now known as Tronc. The first two were rejected during the spring. Gannett said that the acquisition was an attractive opportunity but “in the end the terms were not acceptable.” Tronc shares plunged nearly 20 percent on the morning of Nov 1 on the news. Gannett shares were up 1.3 percent in early morning trading.

Live Footage of Shootings Forces Facebook to Confront New Role

Late on July 7, when sniper fire rang out across downtown Dallas (TX), a bystander, Michael Kevin Bautista, used his smartphone to stream the events in real time on Facebook Live. Within the hour, CNN was rebroadcasting the footage. The day before, Diamond Reynolds streamed on Facebook Live after local police in Falcon Heights (MN) shot her boyfriend, Philando Castile, ratcheting up a controversy surrounding how police officers treat African-Americans. The two real-time videos catapulted Facebook, in the span of 48 hours, into a spot as the prime forum for live events and breaking news. It is a position that the company has long jockeyed to be in as it seeks to keep its 1.65 billion members ever more engaged. Yet the brutal nature of the events that appeared on Facebook Live also put the company in a tricky situation.

Facebook is confronting complexities with live videos that it may not have anticipated just a few months ago, when the streaming service was dominated by lighter fare such as a Buzzfeed video of an exploding watermelon. Now Facebook must navigate when, if at all, to draw the line if a live video is too graphic, and weigh whether pulling such content is in the company’s best interests if the video is newsworthy.