I spent much of 2014 at a digital media startup that sought to experiment with new forms and delivery systems for investigative and public service journalism. The team I was working with planned to use humor and attention-grabbing stunts to create journalism that people actually wanted to read. That experiment… did…
First thing French people noticed, all Anglos missed it. So, just fyi: the Charlie cover has a dick on it. pic.twitter.com/FV64AwZ2ys
— PEG ن (@pegobry) January 13, 2015
"Joan Didion requires very little explanation to a very large group of people, representing a class of consumers who tend to be young, female, upper middle class, white, and somewhat inwardly tortured." A nice essay on Joananism, via The Awl.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--6aVRFEe0--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/vgxmkutcoqfrzqs98oye.png, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--FnQ3Ynbi--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/vgxmkutcoqfrzqs98oye.png, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--7nyZYfBx--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/vgxmkutcoqfrzqs98oye.png, (large)])
Since August 2011, a pseudonymous Twitter account named "@NYTFridge" has been effortfully but effectively taking part in the cozy conversations of media Twitter. In its three-plus years of existence, the account has piled up more than 30,000 tweets and has accumulated more than 8,600 followers in the process, making…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1fTtVW6r--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/ux6ciuexjplxpcstwjey.png, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Q0nMJtib--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/ux6ciuexjplxpcstwjey.png, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--12uyXw1n--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/ux6ciuexjplxpcstwjey.png, (large)])
This is the cover of the Charlie Hebdo issue set to be released on Wednesday. Libération, which is helping to publish the issue, says more than three million copies of the magazine will be printed.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--QkoaJtWl--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/kkfwafjdb4y5l8koa0kp.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--TclwGL6q--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/kkfwafjdb4y5l8koa0kp.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--u2WALYRz--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/kkfwafjdb4y5l8koa0kp.jpg, (large)])
Sasha Frere-Jones, who is not a black French woman, has accepted a job with annotation start-up and ephemeral website Genius (formerly known as Rap Genius), leaving his comfortable perch as pop music critic at analog paper magazine the New Yorker. Presumably, Genius offered Frere-Jones the promise of an intellectually…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--WNwx7Q29--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/jaq3jqfxepsbwer8a0nm.png, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--YbwuWqCl--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/jaq3jqfxepsbwer8a0nm.png, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--LnUbWiw---/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/jaq3jqfxepsbwer8a0nm.png, (large)])
Last week, a U.S.C. journalism professor named Marc Cooper wrote on Facebook that New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet had demonstrated “absolute cowardice” by refusing to publish any Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting Mohammad in his paper. In response, Baquet called Cooper an “asshole.” We can disagree on…
First Look Media, the lavishly-funded media company founded by eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar, has yet to generate any meaningful revenue—which is a problem if First Look hopes to remain independent in the long term. Today First Look star hire Glenn Greenwald floated an unconventional solution: Online advertising.…
"Perhaps the surest sign of Vice's impact is its influence on culture: It is perceived by many (including marketers at top agencies and brands) as the arbiter of cool."
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--frBUpE7L--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/hbhogofgmtmgp0cyg7of.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--euTjMDFi--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/hbhogofgmtmgp0cyg7of.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BY90jA2D--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/hbhogofgmtmgp0cyg7of.jpg, (large)])
According to reports, long-time New Yorker music critic Sasha Frere-Jones is leaving the magazine to join Genius, an annotation website with generous VC funding and a vast database of rap lyrics.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Sv6fzFQT--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/vjoedsalqvkkaahulak0.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Y3_QBPaH--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/vjoedsalqvkkaahulak0.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Vvzv6DvS--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/vjoedsalqvkkaahulak0.jpg, (large)])
For the bulk of his tenure, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has been dogged by rumors that he and his wife consume marijuana with some frequency. Yesterday, at a press conference in Brooklyn, he told a Daily Caller reporter that “I haven’t smoked marijuana since I was at NYU” and denied he ever smoked weed at…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--y81GwY9Q--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/wewcqzeqhgwwxsnadji9.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--XMlMigPf--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/wewcqzeqhgwwxsnadji9.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IehRMXdB--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/wewcqzeqhgwwxsnadji9.jpg, (large)])
Dean Baquet, the executive editor of The New York Times, is defending his decision not to reprint any Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting Mohammad with an argument that might confuse Times readers. Today he told Politico: “We don’t run things that are designed to gratuitously offend.”
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--9v3begTS--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/bwxglygca3bojtfrveh4.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IZHcFEYg--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/bwxglygca3bojtfrveh4.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4T6LeDYf--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/bwxglygca3bojtfrveh4.jpg, (large)])
Facebook multi-millionaire Chris Hughes is the 31-year-old patron of The New Republic. Recent turmoil at that magazine have inspired heated speculation about what kind of media owner Hughes really is, or intends to be. Visionary? Fraud? A new report by former New York Observer editor Elizabeth Spiers suggests a new…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--JWTcjgLe--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/osvgtxemjewbksxjx2b9.png, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ZQPoLsxL--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/osvgtxemjewbksxjx2b9.png, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--oTh8TxE1--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/osvgtxemjewbksxjx2b9.png, (large)])
Hey, a new print magazine is on the way! How quaint, artisanal, and authentic.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Cv7HXLnt--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/gocqronqj6ynnfwxip9e.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--nt_lNJuF--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/gocqronqj6ynnfwxip9e.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Rcu-uBep--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/gocqronqj6ynnfwxip9e.jpg, (large)])
If you work in the media, you're going to get things wrong. Accuracy and timeliness are in conflict, and when you're dealing with vast amounts of information, accuracy will sometimes suffer. No one is happy about this, but it's how it is, and this is the tradeoff you implicitly accept when reading news. If you are…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4U-WBV_n--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/vxoa1fj46q3qlmizpjvk.png, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--D9SJY7dU--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/vxoa1fj46q3qlmizpjvk.png, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IGGbA5O7--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/vxoa1fj46q3qlmizpjvk.png, (large)])
Vice Media, now valued at two and a half billion dollars, made a ton of money this year. How much do its employees make? Here is Vice's most detailed information yet.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4O_pqUtN--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/gx6bky5a2dzqkuzo32gu.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KlWm9l9_--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/gx6bky5a2dzqkuzo32gu.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--0mGYsU_G--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/gx6bky5a2dzqkuzo32gu.jpg, (large)])
Noted media thinker Jay Rosen offers this advice to to working journalists: if you don't thoroughly understand your company's business model, then "you should quit." Allow us to offer this counterpoint: whatever you do, do not listen to this man.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--nU9SuWgC--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/ipsjcja7r3vigeingoix.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--0VChSmUJ--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/ipsjcja7r3vigeingoix.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--m3bXiR_O--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/ipsjcja7r3vigeingoix.jpg, (large)])
Binjamin Wilkomirski's story was very sad and quite remarkable. In 1995, the Swiss clarinetist published a memoir titled Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood, detailing his youth during the Holocaust, including time spent in two concentration camps. The book was met with awe and acclaim. It was called "morally…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--CqpF8IQz--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/feblcyrtw9mjcm7a8m3g.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--lrebOmOz--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/feblcyrtw9mjcm7a8m3g.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--v7ZLaXop--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/feblcyrtw9mjcm7a8m3g.jpg, (large)])
