“The Internet had the great characteristic of allowing everybody to be a publisher, but that was also the worst thing; everybody could become a publisher. From the point of view of news consumers, that meant it had become virtually impossible for people to tell the difference between a generally reliable … and generally trustworthy site, versus an untrustworthy site.”

– Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard

Guest: Gordon Crovitz, NewsGuard

What are the dangers of an open Web where anyone can be a publisher? How do misinformation sites harm reputable news publishers? How are current economic and geopolitical conditions impacting the online information ecosystem? What is a News Nutrition Label and, if consumers can’t tell the difference, how are publishers of quality journalism distinguished from misinformation, hoax and pink slime news sites? How has programmatic advertising contributed to the misinformation crisis and how can advertisers ensure site integrity when buying ad space? 

In the Season 2 premiere of News Take, News/Media Alliance VP, Research & Insights, Rebecca Frank sits down with Gordon Crovitz, co-founder and co-CEO of NewsGuard, about how his company is working to mitigate threats from online misinformation sites, which are often indistinguishable from real news sites. Gordon explains how the online environment has enabled the rampant spread of fake news and mis- and disinformation via hoax, pink slime and other sites that publish false and potentially harmful misinformation. He then shares how publishers, consumers, advertisers and other businesses, and government agencies can improve their awareness and identification of these sites to minimize their impact. In addition, he describes how news publishers can use NewsGuard’s Nutrition Labels to promote their credibility, both with readers as sources of accurate and trustworthy information, as well as with marketers as brand safe environments for their advertising.

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Speaker bios

Gordon Crovitz is co-founder and Co-CEO of NewsGuard, which counters misinformation online on behalf of news consumers, brands and democracies. NewsGuard analysts rate and create Nutrition Labels for news and information websites, using basic, apolitical criteria of journalistic practice. Its ratings and labels are used by news-literacy partners including technology companies such as Microsoft and libraries, schools and misinformation researchers.

Gordon was publisher of The Wall Street Journal, where he was also the Rule of Law and Information Age columnist, and spent nearly 30 years at Dow Jones and the Journal, based in New York, Hong Kong and Brussels. He was CEO of learning company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. He was co-founder of Press+ (sold to RR Donnelley), a technology company that enables publishers to generate digital subscription revenues. Crovitz graduated from the University of Chicago and received law degrees from Oxford University and Yale Law School.

Related Links:

Get NewsGuard for Microsoft Edge 

Watch the next episode: How the American Press Institute is Inspiring Cultural Transformation in News Media

Watch the previous episode: Lessons in Practicality from The Daily Memphian: “A Lot of People Don’t Know We’re a Nonprofit”

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News Take Production Team:

Host and Executive Producer: Rebecca Frank, VP, Research & Insights, News/Media Alliance

Production Support, Editing & Distribution:

Georgi-Ann Clarke, Social Media & Content Manager, News/Media Alliance
Rachel Fox, Manager, Membership & Events, News/Media Alliance
Lindsey Loving, Director, Communications, News/Media Alliance

Audio & Video Engineer: Current Media Group

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The post News Take Episode 201: News Nutrition Labels: How NewsGuard is Helping Fight Misinformation Online appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

“Two thousand counties in this country have no daily newspaper. That should have everyone extremely concerned,” said News/Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern. “We rely on providers of quality journalism for important news and information about our communities, as well as to hold government officials and those in power to account. In news deserts, you’re more likely to experience increased misinformation and government corruption. We cannot afford to lose critical sources of local news at a time when we need them more than ever – now is the time to act.”

We need to enact legislation to help support and sustain these invaluable providers of local news. Specifically, the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA) would allow news publishers to come together to collectively negotiate with the Big Tech platforms for compensation for use of their original content. This legislation would offer particular promise for small and local publishers who desperately need a collective voice.

The JCPA, which has been introduced in the House (H.R. 1735) by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) and Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), and in the Senate (S. 673) by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), will ensure reinvestment in journalism to provide local news coverage in communities across America. For more information, visit www.JCPABill.com.

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The post Statement: News Deserts Are Getting Worse. Legislation is Needed Now to Ensure Local Publishers are Compensated for Their Work. appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

“If Meta is indeed moving away from its commitment to news, then they are not only hurting news publishers, but they are hurting themselves and their millions of users who want and need sources of reliable, trustworthy information,” stated Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern. “Quality journalism is an antidote to the mis- and disinformation that flourishes on their platform. Without it, their current problems will only get worse.”

Meta is also showing its unilateral market power. Recent legislation introduced around the world, including the News Media Bargaining Code that was signed into law last year in Australia and the Online News Act introduced in Canada in April prompted Facebook to threaten to remove news from its platform and to make other retaliatory moves such as suspending productive partnerships with news publishers. These actions only demonstrate even more why such legislation is needed, as left to their own devices, the dominant tech platforms will continue to refuse fair compensation to news publishers.

The Alliance encourages Congress to pass the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA) in the United States, which would establish fair terms of engagement between news publishers and platforms such as Facebook and Google.

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The post Statement: Availability of Quality News and Information at Risk as Meta Reconsiders Commitment to News appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Guest: Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

“For journalists outside of Ukraine, regardless of where they are from, they still play a critical role because the world needs to pay attention to that, and they’re explaining that to their audiences in way that is easier for them to understand the nuances and the problems of the conflict. They’re bearing witness, and we need as many witnesses as possible for something like this. For today, and for the record, for generations to come.”
– Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Committee to Protect Journalists

Typically, News Take is where we talk about the latest innovation and get into the weeds about trends taking place in the news media industry. But in this episode, we turned to a more serious topic, which is how journalists are covering the war Russia is waging against the Ukraine.

Since Russia’s first attacks on Ukraine in late February, dozens of journalists have been injured or killed while reporting on the war. Journalists are literally risking their lives to bring the latest news and information about the war to people around the world. So while we could talk about the latest news products, the dire situation in the Ukraine is really the biggest thing happening in the world right now, and what we do as news publishers literally impacts what people know and how people perceive the war, so we felt it needed and deserved our attention here.

On this special edition of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), who shares details about the situation on the ground in the Ukraine, including the environment for journalists; the threats to press freedom in the Ukraine and Russia (as well as around the world); the role of journalists from other countries reporting on the war; how journalists are navigating and combating misinformation and propaganda about the war; how they are staying safe; and what we can do to help.

This episode was recorded on April 21, 2022.

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Speaker bio

Carlos Martinez de la Serna has been with CPJ since 2018. Prior to CPJ, he worked as a reporter and digital journalist in the U.S., Spain, and Japan, covering issues including current affairs, biomedical research, and North Korea’s nuclear program. He is a founding member of the mapping startup Carto, co-founder of the nonprofit organization porCausa, and a former director of digital innovation at Univision News. Martinez de la Serna is a research fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University and a former John S. Knight fellow at Stanford University.

Watch the next episode: Tapping Into the Potential of Blockchain for News Publishers 

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The post News Take Episode 105: Protecting Journalists Reporting on Russia’s War in Ukraine appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The free flow of information is vital, and Chairwoman Maloney prioritized the heroic efforts by journalists around the globe who are risking their lives to ensure the continued dissemination of accurate information. The Alliance supports the journalism exemption in H.R. 7185 and looks forward to working with Congress and the Administration to protect the free and independent press.

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The post Statement: News Media Alliance Applauds Inclusion of Support for Journalists’ Continued Operations in Russia in Federal Contracting for Peace and Security Act appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced a Resolution thanking the journalists who are risking their lives to report on the war and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, and memorializing the dozens of journalists who have been injured or killed while reporting on the war since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Resolution reiterates the United States’ support of a free press and condemns attempts by the Russian government to use propaganda and lies to mislead the public about its invasion of Ukraine, recognizing the important role of journalists reporting on the ground in Ukraine to combat false propaganda and bring the truth to Americans and the global public.

The Resolution states, “the Senate— (1) declares its gratitude on behalf of the people of the United States to the journalists and news staff who continue to put themselves in harm’s way to report on the humanitarian crisis and ongoing war on the ground in Ukraine following the Russian Federation’s invasion; (2) remembers the journalists and news staff who have lost their lives or have been severely injured reporting from Ukraine and conveys the sympathies and appreciation of the people of the United
States to their families for their sacrifice; (3) condemns President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksander Lukashenko, and their officials for authorizing and executing attacks on innocent Ukrainian civilians, residential areas, and humanitarian corridors, resulting in the loss of life of civilians, including journalists and news staff; and (4) honors the contributions of journalists and news staff reporting from the war in Ukraine as essential in the ongoing struggle for the rights of a free press and free speech internationally, pivotal in pushing back against false propaganda by tyrants, and crucial to informing the people of the United States and the world of the horrors being wrought against the Ukrainian people.”

The post Senator Amy Klobuchar Introduces Resolution Thanking Journalists Reporting in Ukraine appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

Guest: Kim Bui, Director of Product & Audience Innovation, Arizona Republic

“The product side is a personal interest of mine in that it really is the ‘how’ – I love looking at how we can tell better stories, how we can integrate better with our audience’s lives, listen to them, become more useful, and really get away from the pedestal style journalism that has ended up with us not being trusted by a majority of people.” – Kim Bui, Arizona Republic

What comes first, the product or the user? How do we close the gap between the addressable market and market penetration? What are ways to use newsletters and text notifications to get personal with readers? How can we position ourselves now with younger readers and Gen Z readers as a useful news source? What are the “winners” in the news product space doing that we are not?

On this episode of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern chatted with Kim Bui, Director of Product and Audience Innovation at the Arizona Republic/AZCentral.com, about how to leverage the latest trends in digital products to connect with your audience and be useful to them, while at the same time building trust and emphasizing community-centered journalism. The conversation flows into a discussion of the evolving workplace and how Kim’s columns, “Sincerely, Leaders of Color” and “The Middles” reflect the importance of improving diversity in news media and providing education to those emerging leaders who are navigating unfamiliar management and leadership roles.

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Download transcript

Speaker bio

Kim Bui is the director of product and audience innovation at the Arizona Republic. She’s focused her career on leading real-time news initiatives and creating new storytelling forms for digital, print and broadcast companies catering to local, national and global audiences. Prior, she was editor-at-large for NowThis News, focusing on original, social reporting and breaking news. She was also deputy managing editor for reported.ly, a digital media startup specializing in social journalism. She’s been a speaker, trainer and teacher on digital and social journalism at universities, conferences and gatherings worldwide. She writes a syndicated newsletter for emerging leaders and managers, The Middles.

Related reading

Sincerely, Leaders of Color

The Middles

The Key to Gen Z: Insights and Ideas to Build Lasting Relationships

Watch the next episode: Encouraging and Sustaining Diversity in News Media

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The post News Take Episode 103: Leveraging Products to Connect with Your Audience appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

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Reacting to yesterday’s congressional hearing and testimony by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, in an opinion piece for The New York Times, former Facebook data scientist Roddy Lindsay agreed with Haugen’s proposed solution to address the problem of big tech platforms spreading harmful misinformation and fake news – make the platforms liable for content they promote via their algorithms. Lindsay and Haugen suggest that Congress reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which currently protects the tech platforms from such liability.

News Media Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern, made a similar suggestion last year in an op-ed in WIRED, stating, “Limiting Section 230 and making the platforms responsible for content they decide to promote and amplify would, at the very least, require the platforms to carefully track and filter what they promote, and introduce incentives to support known sources of quality information.”

The post Facebook Whistleblower, Former Facebook Data Scientist Support Section 230 Reform appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

The News Media Alliance is one of 18 international and national news media associations to sign a joint letter published today calling for countries to prioritize the value of journalistic content on digital platforms and ensure fair compensation from the big tech platforms to the news publishers that produce that content. The 18 trade associations – comprising more than 40,000 news publishers – span North and South America and include Canada, the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

The letter states, “Recent initiatives by companies such as Google and Facebook to pay media in some countries for content licenses are valuable. However, these programs do not constitute a proper and comprehensive response. The industry needs to be compensated for the disproportions and restore some balance to the ecosystem.”

The letter can be viewed here.

The signatory organizations are Inter American Press Association (IAPA), World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), Iberoamerican Telecommunications Organization (OTI), Grupo de Diarios América (GDA), International Association of Broadcasting (IAB), News Media Canada (NMC, Canada), News Media Alliance (NMA, USA), Media AllianceMx (Mexico), Honduran Media Association (AMC, Honduras), Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ, Jamaica), Dominican Society of Newspapers (SDD, Dominican Republic), Information Media Association (AMI, Colombia), Ecuadorian Association of Newspaper Editors (AEDEP, Ecuador), Peruvian Press Council (CPP, Peru), National Association of Newspapers (ANJ, Brazil), National Press Association (ANP, Bolivia), National Press Association (ANP, Chile), and Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA, Argentina).

The post Media Associations Urge Value for Journalism in Digital Ecosystem appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

News Media Alliance President & CEO, David Chavern, stated, “This deal shows the real power of the Australian Bargaining Code – collective bargaining for small publishers that had no ability to get compensation otherwise, backed by arbitration. Through receiving fair compensation from the platforms, news publishers can continue to reinvest in producing the high-quality journalism that the world needs now more than ever.”

In February, Australian Parliament passed the ACCC news media bargaining code, which requires the dominant tech platforms to, among other things, negotiate with and compensate news publishers in Australia for use of their content online. Baseball-style arbitration could be invoked if the companies did not agree on compensation.

Chavern continued, “The Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA) would provide news publishers here in the U.S. a similar ability to collectively negotiate with the big tech platforms for fair compensation for use of their content. The JCPA is the best solution for local publishers to be able to continue the critically important work they do of keeping the public informed on the issues and events impacting their local communities. The cost of inaction, in terms of the spread of misinformation we are all experiencing, is simply too great to ignore any longer.”

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