✅ Media Briefing #26: New UK media group, unpublishing, ad fraud, trend porn, People Also Ask, censoring Trump, automating local news, age positive image library and more…
Media, industry, agencies, data and insights, social media and platforms and tools
Good morning. My name is Stephen Waddington. This is a weekly summary of news from my blog and topics discussed in a community of practice that I run on Facebook.
I started the community during the first lockdown. It’s become a thought provoking, insightful and supportive space. You’d be welcome to join us.
Thanks to Prezly for sponsoring the newsletter this week. It’s hosting a live session with Gini Dietrich and Laura Sutherland at 3pm GMT (4pm CEST) on Tuesday on PR planning 2021. Follow this link to sign up.
Media
NEW UK MEDIA GROUP: GB News has confirmed two new backers for its 24-hour TV and online service set to launch in the UK later this year. It is set to create 140 journalism jobs and is chaired by former BBC presenter Andrew Neil. Spotted Alan Morrison.
JPI MEDIA VISION: National World boss David Montgomery has set out plans to 'decentralise' JPI Media and shun 'irrelevant or clickbait stories’. Montgomery recently bought the regional media group that owns 200+ regional titles including The Scotsman and The Yorkshire Post. Spotted Alan Morrison.
UNPUBLISHING: Newsrooms are ill equipped to make ethical and moral judgements on requests to delete stories under right to be forgotten rulings and other requests. Improved collaboration between newsrooms and legal bodies is proposed as a solution by Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow Deborah Dwyer. Spotted Hayley James.
Industry
AD FRAUD: The ad industry continues to dismiss ad fraud. Ad Contrarian Bob Hoffman says that the undetected Russian hacking of 250 US Government agencies should be a wake-up call for the marketing business to reevaluate its thinking and take action. Spotted Andrew Smith.
FAKE NEWS: The natural instinct of a professional communicator is to correct and rebuke fake news. Nieman Labs suggests that doing nothing might be the best option to avoid triggering a Streisand effect and drawing attention to disinformation. Spotted Andrew Smith.
Agencies
START-UP AND SCALING: The Brexit EU deal and COVID-19 vaccine provide business certainty despite a UK-wide lockdown. The question is not whether we’ll see a recovery and growth, but when. I’ve written about why it is a great time to think about starting or scaling an agency. Let me know if I can help you. Source Stephen Waddington.
JOB HUNTING: PRMoment has launched a free PR Jobs list for agency and in-house communication roles. Four of my clients are hiring: Don’t Cry Wolf, Lynn PR and Story Comms in the UK; and SourceCode in the US. Source Stephen Waddington.
Data and insights
TREND PORN: I’ve reviewed more than 15 trends decks to save you the job. Key themes for 2021 include: Britain’s place in the world; COVID-19 recovery; the climate crisis; reorganisation of organisations; societal fractures; media change and disinformation. Source Stephen Waddington.
PEOPLE ALSO ASK: The link between Google search engine results (SERPs) and brand reputation is well known. People also Ask is a lesser known piece of real estate that a new study reported by locomotive suggests is an important signal for brand preference and sentiment. Spotted Andrew Smith.
PR CLIMATE MISINFORMATION: Polluted PR calls agencies to account for contributing to climate change misinformation through work with oil and gas companies. The report by Fossil Free media urges agency employees and clients to put pressure on firms that work in the interests of the fossil fuel industry. Spotted Grant Thoms.
Social media and platforms
FACEBOOK PAGE OVERHAUL: Facebook has revamped Pages by overhauling the layout and making it easier for people to switch between a personal and a public page. It is also tightening up metrics, ditching likes for followers. Spotted Andrew Smith.
CENSORING TRUMP: Twitter has suspended the @realDonaldTrump account citing the risk of further incitement of violence. Facebook and Instagram have done the same. Apple and Google have also removed the Parler app from app stores. The microblogging and social networking service had attracted a significant community of Donald Trump supporters. Spotted Mark Dye.
Tools
AUTOMATING LOCAL NEWS: The Bloomfield Information Project has automated many elements of newsroom workflow to provide a local new service. It uses Mailparser to parse press releases and Zapier to create digests for manual review and editing. Source Andrew Smith.
IMAGE LIBRARY: Aging Better has launched an age-positive image library in a bid to tackle negative stereotypes of later life. The images, which depict older people in non-stereotypical ways, are available for download and free to use. Spotted Chloe Watson.
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