By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

June 13, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail.

1. This article is worthless (but its readers are not): Individual stories are worth pennies, at best. But the subscribers the story brings in — that’s something else entirely. Andrew Dunn on Medium argues reporters need to understand they are not content producers — they are building a paying audience. As Dunn puts it: “Chasing page views is a losing battle. Building a stable of committed, enthusiastic subscribers is the only way to sustain a news product in the Internet era.”

2. In defense of The Skimm & a lighter take on the news: The Skimm newsletter gets whacked by critics for its bubbly take on what’s happening in the world, as it writes about the light and heavy. It’s easy to see how its casual writing tone drives some people crazy… but also easy to see why some find it irresistible. (“Some” as in millions, actually.) Kaitlin Ugolik in Columbia Jrn Review rips critics who hold their noses. Look, she says, The Skimm reaches people the MSM would die for. Is that really a bad thing? Shut up, and learn.

3. Did the Intercept blow its NSA leaker’s identity?: A thoughtful look at possible mistakes by the leaker (understandable) and by The Intercept (not understandable, for a veteran organization that prides itself on protecting its sources), which led to the arrest of the improbably named Reality Winner. A step-by-step breakdown of the simple and sophisticated ways it all went wrong. By Jake Swearingen for select/all.

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Matt Carroll is a journalism professor at Northeastern University.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

June 6, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail.

1. Bye-bye & good riddance, NYT’s public editor: Some interesting writing about the NYT’s elimination of their public editor job. As Tom Scocca of Politico put it: “Good Riddance to the NYT’s Public Editor.” Ouch. And Erik Wemple at the WaPo said NYT doesn’t need the position — but TV news desperately does.

2. What we learned: 3 years of interviews at leading digital newsrooms: What are the three most profound changes sweeping the news industry? Increased collaboration within newsrooms, a greater willingness industry-wide to share learning, and an explosion in mobile, according to a study from the Media Innovation program at Northeastern’s School of Journalism. The study notes that it’s a “sea-change, from a news industry that was competitive and siloed to one inclined toward sharing, cooperation, and transparency.” Interesting reading. (Transparency alert: I’m a prof at NEU.)

3. Why The Ringer/Vox deal is the future of publishing: Ben Thompson argues (convincingly) in Stratechery that the recent deal between Bill Simmons’ The Ringer and Vox is the future of publishing. Vox, a big platform, is taking a sports vertical under its wing, providing tech and advertising help. That leaves the Ringer to do what it does best — sports. The theory is that both will benefit. It’s an intriguing idea. I’m betting we see more news orgs, especially smaller sites, embracing similar setups.

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Matt Carroll is a journalism professor at Northeastern University.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

May 30, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail.

1. Fake news dies hard. We need a bigger algorithm: The Seth Rich “conspiracy” story showed that stamping out even the most ridiculous memes can be incredibly difficult. Maybe it’s because the alt-right formula is so simple and effective: Mix a few tangled facts with lies and distortions and push that mess through an empty mouthpiece (that’s you, Sean Hannity). Interesting piece by the NYT’s Jim Rutenberg.

2. Jezebel changed women’s media forever. Does it still have a reason to exist?: Happy 10th birthday, Jezebel. Your numbers are good and you changed the course of women’s media. Now everyone’s caught up. What’s next? Good story By Jordan Michael Smith for The Guardian on a revolutionary site that is not so revolutionary any more.

3. People trust ‘my’ news — just not ‘the’ news: Trust in media has been declining for years. But a more nuanced examination of people’s attitudes shows some reason for optimism. When people dislike media, they don’t mean their media — they mean your media. Report by American Press Institute.

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Matt Carroll is a journalism professor at Northeastern University.

By Matt Carroll <@MattCData>

May 23, 2017: Cool stuff about journalism, once a week. Get notified via email? Subscribe: 3toread (at) gmail.

1. What toppled Bill O’Reilly?: A fascinating breakdown of the reporting work that toppled one of the most powerful TV personalities in the country. Basically it came down to the steady, friendly persistence of NYT reporter Emily Steel and the guts of Emily Walsh, who stood up and detailed how O’Reilly had propositioned her. A wonderful read by Yardena Schwartz for CJR.

2. Great investigative reporting = growing subscriptions: Marty Baron of the Washington Post talks about the importance of investigative reporting, long-term thinking, experimentation, and his relationship with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who owns the paper. Interesting insight from the guy running one of the most innovative and hard-hitting news organizations in the country. By Alexandra Steigrad at WWD.

3. How the pro-Trump media responds to a crisis in just 4 easy steps: Ever notice how a straightforward story can be twisted beyond all recognition in the alt-right media? To the point where you say, “What the hell…” Charlie Warzel of BuzzFeed breaks down how the alt-right media can take any story and flip it on its head, so that it makes a sort of sense. But only for people standing on their heads.

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Matt Carroll is a journalism professor at Northeastern University.