Mark Spoonauer

For today's Wide Shot newsletter, we return to the question of whether streaming is a good business and, more precisely, for whom? We address cable giant John Malone's recent assessment (categorically "no") and take a look at the state of Netflix, Disney, Paramount and others who participated in the streaming war. Who's winning? Who's still losing money? What's the next stage of the streaming business? (Oh, we also get into JOKER 2's box office travesty). #entertainmentbusiness #hollywood #streaming

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When recent grads doing the requisite networking rounds ask me my best advice for breaking into journalism, I always have two words: TRADE PUBS. Many of them have never heard the term, and they’re seriously limiting their job search as a result. Trade publications -- or niche industry news sources for a group of dedicated, well-informed, sector-specific readers -- are a fantastic place to cut your teeth. You’re never just getting coffee or making copies there as a new hire. In my experience, from day one, you’ll be reporting and writing and learning everything you can about whatever the paper covers, be it nonferrous metals (hello, me in 2008!) or telecom or annuities or what have you. Every industry has a trade pub of record, and there’s no better way to learn the ropes fast. And the travel! While I was covering the global metal markets in my early 20s, I traveled to Bahrain, Chile, Germany, Mexico, the UK and throughout the continental US to attend conferences, tour smelters and meet sources. Sure, sometimes, I’d wonder if understanding the world’s alumina trade or China’s flat-rolled steel demand was too niche a skillset. But now, from my perch of senior editor for energy and commodities at Bloomberg News, I realize it was truly the best foundation. On that note, my friend Cliff White, executive editor at SeafoodSource, tells me he’s hiring an associate editor. Employees can be based anywhere in the US (though why WOULDN’T you want to be located in Portland, Maine??) This would be a fantastic way for an early-stage journalist to refine those editing chops and master the skills you’ll need throughout the rest of your career. #jobs #journalism #journalismjobs #editor #maine #seafood #hiring #jobopening #tradepubs https://lnkd.in/dmVwjqJ3

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It's easy to think about AI within the context of a CMS. Of using AI to optimize writing, editing, and SEO workflows. The more exciting choice is putting AI in the hands of reporters early on in the process. Over the weekend we published a deep look at how immigration is being portrayed in political ads this election cycle. It's an absorbing read--with editing and reporting from multiple desks across the newsroom. It's also the debut of one of our AI-powered reporting tools: Haystacker. We carved out a lane in our roadmap for "Ambitious Journalism"--this is what it looks like. https://lnkd.in/eTteMFxY

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"I’ve spent the past few years reading tweets about articles, not full articles; reading screenshots of the bad part (highlighted); reading only the most outraging detail from a story." The world is a lot right now, which makes it a good time to reconsider your news habits. This blog from Nieman Lab has some good suggestions on where to start [like reconnecting with print!].

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DOS Won't Hunt -- Recording Schedule through December   Interested panelists, please contact me directly via email, not just with comments on this post: [email protected]   Note to public relations teams: please only pitch panelists you have CONFIRMED will be available on those dates. This is a video podcast recording. Only the panelists will be in the session. Here are the topics I plan to cover on the podcast in the weeks ahead. All recordings will be on video, panel discussions, at 12 pm ET on the recording dates below.   December 6 – What Enterprise IT Predictions Actually Mattered in 2024? Every year sees prognostications about what tech will take off, evolve, and transform the enterprise world. What expectations did your organization start 2024 with and how has that played out? Did anything hold water? Did surprises in tech emerge during the year eclipse the predictions? Is it better for organizations to not chase predictive trends or does that mean giving up a competitive edge? December 13 – The Cloud You Want vs the Cloud You Need: Are enterprises able to tailor their cloud resources to fit their operational needs? How does that compare with ambitions? Cost? Usage? Are more organizations cloud-first? Are we ever going to see an all, cloud-first world where EVERYTHING exists in the cloud? Does that dream no longer seem real?   December 20 – Cyber Threats and the Holidays: Do retailers still face high levels of cyber risk in a world fraught with ransomware attacks year-round? Do bad actors focus their attention more on targets they strike when an opportunity arises, which might not have anything to do with the holiday shopping season? Or are there still Cyber Grinches out there who are making a concerted effort to strike as transactions fly faster than reindeer? December 27 – Infrastructure Resilience: Y2K 25 Years Later. What have we learned about maintaining our infrastructure, a generation after putting in the work to correct the Y2K bug? How has computer infrastructure been rethought? What “rules” and “norms” that were part of legacy tech no longer apply in the time of cloud, edge, and all else beyond we are exploring?

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Melanie Sill, I think you're right to hold up nonprofit news outlets such as LAist — hi Adolfo Guzman-Lopez — and Spotlight PA as better serving the public when it comes to election coverage. Still, I suggest you and those who criticize the coverage of The New York Times look at the structural issues underlying news media. Like any for-profit business, the Times caters to its customers to sell more product. Who are its readers? Educated, bourgeois liberals. Nonprofits may do it better because their consumers are younger, poorer and further to the left politically. Since the Times knows its readers vote Democratic, its coverage falls into three categories: 1. Trump bad (his policies suck, his campaign sucks, etc.; viz., the article you cite). These pieces make people feel good about voting against him. 2. Harris good. 'Nuff said. 3. The race is too close to call. Interestingly, the paper's own polls of battleground states are typically more dire in their predictions for Harris than other pollsters; I suggest this is an effort on the part of the Times to combat complacency among its readership and get out the vote. In short, as a for-profit company, The New York Times operates no differently than any other for-profit news outlet anywhere else on the political spectrum. It's a mistake to hold them to a higher journalistic standard. #jouralismmatters

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You're probably already taking in a lot of information on how to cover this year's elections. These guides are aimed at helping you talk through that information with your news organization, and strategize or decide on how you'll navigate different scenarios long before they arise and leave you thinking, "I wish we'd talked about how we'd actually handle this." Our first two guides help you consider your coverage of misinformation and polling, and we've got more in the works! Let us know if there are other topics you'd like to see addressed.

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I'm very excited, relieved, and nervous to announce my new YouTube show (and Patreon), "Introduce Your Shelf," where I interview musicians (and other interesting folks) about the allure of physical media. What do they collect (records, CDs, cassettes)? How long have they been collecting? And why, in a time when almost every song is a click away, do they continue to do it? For me, it's not just about fidelity or being able to hold the physical object. It's not even just the mystery and thrill of flipping at record stores. There's something beautiful about buying an album and living with it over time. For the first episode, I talk to Ant, the producer of Minneapolis hip-hop duo Atmosphere. I think it's a pretty great chat, though apologies in advance for my slouching. (I'm working on it.) PLEASE like, subscribe, comment, and spread the word. I have some incredible guests coming up—one is a legit dream interview, and I still can't believe it happened. 🤯 My Patreon account, which I'll link in the comments below, will be my hub for exclusive interview clips and bonus segments where I talk about collecting (favorite stores/obscure albums/dollar-bin steals/rare things I spent too much on, etc.). For the first installment, I talk about The Most Serene Republic's '...And the Ever Expanding Universe.' Depending on which tier you choose, you'll get other perks—and if you go all the way to the top, you'll get a signed copy of my Fleetwood Mac book. I realize not everyone can pay for something like this, but any support would go a long way toward making this project sustainable. Thanks! Please flip responsibly.

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I've seen quite a few debates on this platform about journalists vs. PR professionals. Recently, I had the chance to chat with some PR colleagues, and we discussed our pain points, common goals, and ways we can collaborate better. Here are a few key takeaways: 🤝💬 1. **Realistic Deadlines** ⏳: PR pros often go through multiple approval cycles before they can send quotes or align calls with the right spokesperson. Giving them at least a week can help.      **Journo pain point**: Not all stories can wait. Some are breaking news or trending, requiring immediate attention.      **Solution**: PRs should stay updated with the news cycle and prepare their clients for potential queries. Phone calls with spokespersons against email interactions could save everyone time! 2. **Irrelevant Queries** 📞📧: Both PRs and journalists face this issue. Journalists get overwhelmed with calls and emails, while PRs sometimes don't keep us updated on their client movements.   **Solution**: PRs should send updated client lists regularly. Journalists can maintain updated profiles on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) to help PRs find them easily. This ensures better, more relevant communication. 3. **Challenging Clients** 🏢: Many spokespeople find talking to the media daunting due to the risk of misinterpretation.   **Journo pain point**: Building sources and getting timely inputs can be tough without direct corporate connections.   **Solution**: PRs should train their clients well and build trust with journalists. Remember, we are trained professionals who value your insights. Trust us to represent you accurately without needing to review drafts or telling other players who are participating in a story. By setting realistic expectations, maintaining clear communication, and building mutual trust, journalists and PR professionals can create a more effective and collaborative working environment. Let’s work together to achieve our common goals! 🌟✨ If you have more suggestions or are seeking solutions to certain queries, do let me know in comments :) #PR #Journalism #Collaboration #MediaRelations #CommunicationTips

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With the potential for a widening conflict in the Middle East mounting, learn more about Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran from Matthew Levitt, the featured guest on the latest episode of the Anti-Defamation League’s extremely podcast.

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As journalists cover the news of the day, they frequently find themselves iced out of communication with key sources, who simply refuse to respond to questions. This happens with elected officials, public servants and even people running for office. While this is a definite barrier to informing the public, it's not new and it's not insurmountable. In fact, although the practice of refusing to talk to the press is on the rise, journalists have faced this challenge for time and eternity. In order to do their jobs, reporters have to develop both relationships and expertise. They have to independently be able to determine what's new that public needs to know, what public figures and doing and saying, how their positions are evolving, even when they are trying to keep it from the public. That means tapping into secondary sources, interviews from other publications and broadcasts, recorded meetings, and even anonymous sources. When well-sourced reporters have the details nailed down, they just have to explain to their audience how they know what they know. They also put more pressure on central figures to answer questions and be accountable. My colleagues Fernanda Camarena and Mel Grau have produced this wonderful report that tics off many of the best practices for getting the story when the door gets slammed in your face. It's worth a read. If you're a reporter or a producer, it's a reminder that source development is the most important part of the job. If you're an editor or a boss, it's a reminder that source development takes time, and it should be encouraged and rewarded. Here's the report: https://lnkd.in/eJTQh2wd

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Over the last few days, I’ve offered some advice on breaking into the media. So far: Read loads, write until it feels as natural as breathing, and think very hard about what editors want. All fairly generic. But not as generic as this: DON’T BE A DICK I am a dick. I must be. My behaviour has been the behaviour of a dick. I don’t believe that I am the most dickish of the dicks, but there is certainly an innate dickishness about me. Every day, I just try to be less of a dick than I was yesterday. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes… This is a small industry. Everyone knows everyone. Word gets around. When Twitter first started to get big, lots of new voices gained prominence. I was one of them and I did all right out of it. I made silly jokes during football matches, picked up retweets and ended up with online columns, podcast appearances and a smattering of TV and radio work. I think I would have done better had I been less of a dick. At some point around 2010, I started carrying on like I was a celebrity, sounding off on all sorts of issues, getting involved in spats, punching down and generally appearing to be exactly what I was; a small time operator with delusions of relevance. But it could have been worse. I know of several writers, all more talented than me, who set their own hopes ablaze by repeatedly attacking journalists online. Big name football writers would exchange horror stories at matches and discover that they had the same tormentors. And word got around. In a funny sort of way, these guys did become celebrities, albeit to a very niche group of people who hated them. And when opportunities emerged at national newspapers (this actually happened occasionally between 2008 - 2016) the doors were closed to the notorious. Some writers would sabotage themselves after they’d made the breakthrough; savaging their paymasters or their colleagues online. Some journalists were horrible to their sub-editors, failing to realise that it’s always the sub-editors who eventually become the editors. And the sub-editors remember… Journalism can be a long career. But I guarantee that it will overlap with other long careers. Conflict is inevitable. I wonder if there’s a vulnerability amongst journalists that comes with having your work picked apart online. A base state of defensiveness that causes all the nastiness. Put any three football journalists in a room and they’ll immediately slag off a fourth. I know this because I’ve frequently been one of the three. And I’ve definitely been the fourth. Everyone moans. Moaning is good. It’s therapeutic to get the negativity out, rather than letting it fester inside. But do it with a friend in the pub or write it down in a notepad and then burn it. Don’t moan in public. Don’t attack colleagues in public. You just end up looking like a dick and causing yourself problems. And if you do make it, try not to bang on about how nice the food is at football matches. God, I was a dick sometimes...

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While not as clear-cut as roads, clean water, and air, the democratic value to society of public interest journalism is, in my book and many others, a public good, writes Daily Maverick's Styli C.. "The recent tsunami of bad news about the news has raised an interesting question. Are we seeing the effects of a market failure playing out, or are we seeing the death of an industry that failed to innovate and keep up with the times?" #journalism #publicinterest #news #publishing

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As we wait to hear who won the election, one thing is already clear: election disinformation has reached alarming levels. In the latest episode of Anti-Defamation League's extremely podcast, two experts in the field of disinformation, Dr. Claire Wardle of Cornell University and Scripps News National Correspondent Elizabeth Landers join extremely hosts Oren Segal and Jessica Reaves to break it down. Among the topics they discuss: ·     How the disinformation onslaught of 2024 differs from disinformation waves of past presidential elections ·     The latest AI tools being used to create fake images, video and audio aimed at swaying voters ·     The liar’s dividend—the phenomenon whereby, because disinformation and misinformation are so widespread and more people are unsure about what is and isn’t true, a liar can simply deny that something is real ·     The role of pre-bunking in reducing the spread of election falsehoods and deterring election denialism ·     What social media platforms should be doing to curb disinformation and why they’ve pulled back from doing so Check out the episode here.

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Is air tennis a thing? It is if Zendaya and Roger Federer say it is. Whether anyone else picks up this "trend" or not, it's an entertaining hook for an ad. Timely, too, with Wimbledon finals coming up and rom-dram Challengers still in the zeitgeist. Check out the campaign for the Swiss sneaker brand On here: ADWEEK #sportsmarketing #marketingandadvertising

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The rise of artificial intelligence has sent publishers scrambling to understand the potential threats it poses to their business models and how they can best react. Toolkits spoke with David Buttle, independent consultant and former Director of Public Affairs and Platform Strategy for the Financial Times, to discuss how publishers can quantify the risks AI intermediation could pose to their business models, how to future-proof their editorial and content strategies, and how to ensure their interests are protected in licensing negotiations with AI platforms. https://lnkd.in/gdrn6Yds

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