IF YOU read ONE THING*
The polluters pay principle applied to local journalism

Emily Bell, director of Tow Center at Columbia University, discusses the perpetual challenges surrounding local journalism in this week’s Digiday Podcast. She voices concerns about how ads and subscriptions alone won’t contribute to a sustainable model for news organizations, but she’s optimistic that policy changes and regulation can help solve the crisis. Specifically, Bell hopes for policy that provides proper funding for local media, and she stands behind the polluters pay principle, wherein platforms pay for polluting the journalism environment. Digital media platforms exercise power that impacts content reach and audience engagement; they make it difficult to perform well without significant resource investments. “When you have an impact on the environment, you have to pay to put it right. Part of that is cleaning up the misinformation mess,” she explains.

* This week, it’s technically “if you listen to one thing.”

POWERSTAT
The rise of multitasking in the living room

An estimated 70.3% of the population will regularly use another digital device while watching TV this year.

Source: Axios

TREND WATCH
In-house media creators on the rise

As modern media continues to change, companies are finding themselves expanding their advertising efforts by bringing agencies closer through acquisitions. Robinhood, a financial app, recently acquired MarketSnacks, which will bring with it a podcast and newsletter. Similarly Accenture Interactive, a consultancy in itself, is acquiring ad agencies to produce content for the likes of Disney and Radisson. When asked about the reasoning behind the acquisitions, an Accenture Interactive managing director said, “It's not just advertising or marketing; it's as much about sales, services. We have quite a few clients, but we need big names … and that's also why we ventured into media, because you cannot do it without media.”

NEWS YOU CAN USE
A gender-inclusive picture

It’s challenging for brands to choose stock imagery that considers diversity and inclusivity due to limited options. What’s available doesn’t represent the world we experience comprehensively. Getty Images reported that searches for “gender fluid” photos tripled from 2017 to 2018, but the most popular photos downloaded featured body parts, not clear faces. Enter the Gender Spectrum Collection—a free stock photo library that aims to help media illustrate a more accurate picture of trans and non-binary communities. Broadly created the collection to transcend gender clichés—the pictures depict people “as human beings with careers, relationships, talents, passions, and internal lives—people you see at the office, at school, in your home.”

PERSPECTIVES
The issues and questions with Apple News+

This week Apple announced a batch of new services, one of which promises to bring more engagement and revenue to publishers. Apple News+—a product similar to the Texture app Apple acquired—allows users to browse magazines and newspapers for a flat-rate of $9.99/mo. The announcement landed with a thud rather than a boom for some, while others think of it as a playground separate from the company’s main offerings.

• “Now it’s trying to cram in traditional text-based news with minimal work to adapt the product. That means National Geographic and Sports Illustrated get featured billing with animated magazine covers and ways to browse the latest ‘issue.’ News outlets get demoted far below, with no intuitive or productive way to skim between articles beyond swiping through a chronological stack.” - Josh Costine, TechCrunch
• “One question is the degree to which most people—that is, people who aren’t news junkies like most of you reading this article—can be convinced to get more than one digital news subscription. If you’re paying for the Times, will you also pay for The Yourtown Daily? Or is like streaming video, where Netflix and Amazon and Hulu can make lots of money but smaller fry get left out?” - Joshua Benson, Nieman Lab
• “This is a grand experiment, The Apple audience is not the same as our web audience. Someone who will want to subscribe to us directly is different from someone who’s interested in the bundle.” - Daniel Hallac, New York Media

THIS WEEK IN OUR OFFICE

We are thrilled about the warmer days ahead and plotting out the best cherry blossom tree gazing path around DC.

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