The quest for diverse voices and diverse media models
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Hello and a big welcome to our new subscribers from European Commission, Infopoint, Thrive Media, Aktarr and many others.
“In Italy, the news is generally reported by white journalists. It is a well-known and well-understood fact that holds true for every medium of news – television, radio and digital”, Angelo Boccato and Francesco Guidotti write in a recent article for The Fix. Mainstream journalists also skew male and come from a privileged background.
It’s, of course, not a uniquely Italian problem, though Boccato and Guidotti argue that Italy is particular among Western democracies in the country’s lack of reliable data and widespread debate around the topic.
Still, there’s room for optimism. “In recent times, more and more non-white voices have come up that are trying to find a space in the Italian media or create new spaces altogether”, Boccato and Guidotti note, particularly thanks to new independent media companies that are free of decades-long biases, like DOTZ Media.
In the meanwhile, Central and Eastern Europe, while rattled by Russia’s war in Ukraine, is also a space for innovative and successful media projects – such as Outriders, a Polish publisher that grew from one newsletter to having thousands of members and a knowledge-sharing platform over the past five years.
Although local publishers like The Kyiv Independent or major Polish and Moldovan news organisations have successfully stepped in to cover the region’s most important story, the war has also been a space for emerging media projects that are not bound by the rules of journalism.
This causes some important ethical questions that need to be discussed, but might also serve as a force for good – as with Saint Javelin, a viral meme that turned into a potent charity organisation and raised over $2 million (€1.85 million) for Ukraine.
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How Outriders grew from one newsletter to having thousands of members and a knowledge-sharing platform
Hleb Liapeika
The Polish publisher offers lessons in diversifying revenue and going beyond the staid news formats
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How LinkedIn became the next best option for journalists and media leaders after Musk took over Twitter
David Tvrdon
Microsoft-owned social platform for “managing your professional identity” has been growing in popularity for some time, and now it’s enjoying its special place
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How Saint Javelin grew from a meme to raising $2 million for Ukraine
Sofiia Padalko
How it keeps on fundraising and growing despite Twitter and Meta limiting engagement for Ukrainian topics
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Italian news media is dominated by white men. What explains the lack of diversity?
Angelo Boccato, Francesco Guidotti
News debates in Italy are almost always led by white men who come from a privileged background. Obstacles abound for those who try to break this norm
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What’s your media job: Head of Paid Content
Hleb Liapeika
Interview with Nick Tjaardstra, Head of Paid Content at German financial outlets Handelsblatt and WirtschaftsWoche
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Why news media neglects the climate crisis
Charlotte Lavin
Climate crisis is underrepresented in the majority of news media outlets across geographies. We look at some possible reasons and solutions
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There are millions of podcasts out there, most of them with few if any listeners. Interestingly, though, the number of podcast launches has significantly decreased recently – “the number of new shows created dropped by nearly 80 percent between 2020 and 2022”, The Verge’s Ariel Shapiro writes for the Hot Pod newsletter. She covers the latest research into how and why new podcast creation has declined.
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Reuters will create 100 editorial jobs across the world thanks to an expansion of its partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group. According to the announcement, the new positions will be focused in four areas: financial markets, mergers and acquisitions, the energy transition, and data visualisation; the plan includes doubling down on covering the Chinese and Indian markets. The agreement will also bring forward Reuters’ plan to launch its consumer-facing paywall, though a timeline for its launch hasn’t been specified.
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Robinhood, a US-based trading platform, is launching a media arm called Sherwood, led by Joshua Topolsky, former chief editor of The Verge and Engadget. As Axios notes, “the entity will build on the success of Robinhood’s popular daily markets newsletter, Snacks, and will serve as a branding and customer acquisition tool”. As of early last year, the email newsletter had 40 million subscribers and was claimed by Robinhood to be the most popular newsletter in the United States. Sherwood will be a separate entity, supported by Robinhood but aiming to make money independently, Axios reports. Topolsky plans to hire “dozens of employees” in 2023. |
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Semafor, a US-based media startup launched last fall, is reported to have received a $10 million investment from Sam Bankman-Fried before its launch. (Later last year, Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange company FTX collapsed and he was accused of fraud by the US government). Bankman-Fried’s investment in Semafor had been revealed by the company before, but its scale – close to 40% of Semafor’s initial funding, the biggest outside investment – hadn’t been known until now.
The New York Times, which broke the news, reports that “ Semafor is planning to buy out Mr. Bankman-Fried’s ownership while it explores raising new money”. Reporting shows that Semafor is in a relatively good financial position as it struck million-dollar deals with several advertisers and plans to make at least $15 million in revenue this year, exceeding its plans for ad revenue.
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Opportunities and deadlines
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Investigation Support Scheme. The Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU) will provide financial support to cross-border teams of journalists to work on investigative stories. Teams must be based in at least two EU member states, or in at least one member state and one official EU candidate country. The grant varies between €5,000 and €50,000.
More info: http://bit.ly/3ksYERh
Deadline: February 23
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Solution Journalism Accelerator. The European Journalism Center and Solution Journalism Network are launching an accelerator for media organisations in France, Germany and the UK. Successful applicants will receive mentoring, coaching, resources and financial support up to €130,000.
More info: http://bit.ly/3Hgv76e
Deadline: February 21
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Internet for Trust – UNESCO Global Conference. The registrations for UNESCO Global Conference are open now. Join the global conference to learn more about regulations to prevent the spread of disinformation, hate speech and conspiracy theories on digital platforms.
More info: http://bit.ly/3GYgF1t
Deadline: February 17
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#AllForJan 2023 Award. Journalists or teams of journalists based in Central and Eastern European countries are invited to apply for the #AllForJan 2023 Award. You can submit print, TV, radio and internet media stories of investigative nature published between January 1 and December 31, 2022. The award will include a €10,000 prize.
More info: http://bit.ly/3Xkdrwd
Deadline: February 7
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Turkey Programme Manager. International Press Institute (IPI) is looking for a project manager to lead the #FreeTurkeyJournalists (#FTJ) programme. The duties include managing and completing the third year of IPI’s programme and managing and maintaining the project work plan among other things. The position is based in Vienna.
More info: http://bit.ly/3wib54Z
Deadline: February 3
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Sales Media Executive. Euronews is looking for a professional to work with the Regional Sales Team, focusing on the UK, US and Northern European markets. You will be responsible for various stages of account management, including creating pitches and proposals for clients. The position is based in London.
More info: https://bit.ly/3HiSGeC
Deadline: Open till filled
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Research and Design Strategist. The Guardian is looking for a Research and Design Strategist to join their hub for accelerating new reader-centred products and services. You will help support the organisation’s user research work and its application to further reader-centred design.
More info: https://bit.ly/3ZQECAf
Deadline: January 27
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