Guest: Julien Genestoux, founder and CEO, Unlock

“I think right now the web is ‘sick’ of its business model, from the fact that we monetize everything for attention. … What blockchain brings us is actually the ability to think about alternative business models, the ability to think about things in other ways, to say OK, who owns what piece of content, how it is owned, who gets access to what, and do that in a transparent protocol way rather than a platform-owned way.”    

– Julien Genestoux, Unlock

What is blockchain and how do NFTs work? How can news publishers use blockchain to grow revenue? What would a membership model based on NFTs look like, and what benefits could it offer over the traditional advertising revenue model? What is Web3 and why do we need it?

On this edition of News Take, News Media Alliance President & CEO David Chavern talks with founder and CEO of Unlock, Julien Genestoux, about the potential opportunities and uses of blockchain technology by news publishers. In this candid discussion that takes a critical look at the current state of the Web, Julien reviews the basics of blockchain and why it could offer a more secure and more exciting alternative to the attention-based, platform-driven experiences found on today’s Web. He then provides a look at what lies beyond the initial applications, to the potential of blockchain specifically for news publishers, for purposes such as monetizing content and using NFTs in membership models.

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Speaker bio

Julien Genestoux is founder and CEO of Unlock, an access control protocol built on a blockchain that enables creators to monetize their content or software without relying on a middleman. He describes himself as an entrepreneur, unconditional web advocate, and a hacker. He has built two profitable start-ups, one of which was Superfeedr, which became one of the leading real-time web APIs and was later acquired by Medium. At Medium, he led the company’s SEO effort and quadrupled the share of traffic it receives from search. He co-authored the W3C WebSub protocol and spoke at numerous international conferences and events. He talks about NFTs, Web3, crypto and the Open Web.

For more information about Unlock:

Contact Julien: @Julien51 on Twitter and Julien Genestoux on Facebook and LinkedIn

Visit the Unlock website

Watch the next episode: Committing to Product Thinking in the News Industry: Putting Readers First 

Watch the previous episode: Protecting Journalists Reporting on Russia’s War in Ukraine

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Send your suggestions for future News Take guests to Alliance VP, Research & Insights Rebecca Frank at rebecca@newsmediaalliance.org.

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The post News Take Episode 106: Tapping Into the Potential of Blockchain for News Publishers with Julien Genestoux appeared first on News/Media Alliance.

On May 18, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that the Russian legislature is considering a law that would allow Russian law enforcement to revoke the registration and accreditation of media outlets, with no judicial order. CPJ urged the Russian legislature to “withdraw a draft law that would facilitate the arbitrary shutdown of media outlets and increase the number of journalists prosecuted for sharing information.” This law comes after a March enactment by President Vladimir Putin that created prison terms for spreading “fake” information about Russian military operations. Russia continues to shut down any independent press.

The post Russia Introduces Legislation to Shut Down Independent Press 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.

Listen or download the audio file to listen offline:

Don’t forget to subscribe to the News Take podcast by clicking “Follow” and selecting your preferred podcasting platform, or click on your preferred platform: Spotify, Apple, Google.

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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 

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

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Send your suggestions for future News Take guests to Alliance VP, Research & Insights Rebecca Frank at rebecca@newsmediaalliance.org.

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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.

Four staples in the head and a concussion.

This was the cost for one CBS 6 photojournalist covering an anti-fascist march in Richmond, Virginia, where he was struck in the back of the head with a blunt object.

He is the 15^th journalist to be attacked in the line of duty in the U.S. this year. This number is sure to rise, but finally someone is keeping track.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a new platform counting violations of press freedom. Peter Sterne, Managing Editor of the Press Freedom Tracker, says the standards tracked by CPJ and Reporters Without Borders do a good job tracking press freedom violations around the world — but the standard is relatively high, counting journalists’ murders and imprisonment.

“In the U.S., those standards don’t really work,” Sterne says. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t press issues.”

He says the site is not a reaction specifically to President Trump’s beef with the media. “I think the site itself was in some sense a reaction not the presidency but the election of Trump and Trump campaign and constant demonization of journalists and ‘fake news,’” he explained. “That woke a lot of people up… Press freedom issues did not start with Donald Trump.”

The tracker, for instance, does not count every Twitter attack by the president.

“It’s important to emphasize the threats Trump poses to journalists, but there this issue roots in previous administrations,” Sterne says.

None of the transgressions being seen today are new. The Obama administration had the largest number of leak prosecutions. Journalists have been arrested at protests for Occupy and Black Lives Matter, but they were never documented comprehensively.

At the time of publication, 20 journalists had been arrested, there were 12 equipment searches and seizures, 15 physical attacks and four border stops in 2017. And that’s just what’s been reported.

So what qualifies as a violation?

Whenever a journalist is arrested in the course of doing their job; when a journalist is physically attacked by law enforcement, politicians or private individuals as a result of doing their job; whenever a journalist is stopped at the border and interrogated about their work or they have their devices seized and searched; whenever a journalist is subpoenaed to testify in a criminal case; chilling statements from public figures designed to discourage journalists; whenever journalists are prevented from attending something that should be open to the public or is traditionally open to journalists; and retaliatory denial of access.

The response to the tracker has been almost entirely positive.

“Obviously people realize reporters have been arrested at protests, but the general public did not realize the extent of the issue and the fact that there are press freedom issues and violations in the U.S.,” Sterne says.

The tracker relies on people, especially journalists, to send in tips whenever they are involved in an incident or hear about one. If you know of a press freedom violation in 2017 that is not yet on the site, you can email tips@pressfreedomtracker.us.

The post Press Freedom Tracker Counts U.S. Violations appeared first on News/Media Alliance.