Could social media support healthy online conversations? New_ Public is working on it

[Nieman Lab: The Daily Digest] Wednesday, July 17, 2024 [Now you can get news on your vape]( [With Carlos Watson’s conviction, the Ozy story reaches its poetic ending]( What We’re Reading Defector / Alex Sujong Laughlin [BuzzFeed is the reason it can’t sell “Hot Ones” →]( “With its lines of merch, games, and hot sauces, Hot Ones is playing all the BuzzFeed hits, but with one crucial difference—it’s relevant. But that relevance isn’t worth the cost of BuzzFeed’s debt, which threatens to obliterate the husk of BuzzFeed that’s leftover from the last seven years.” The New Yorker / Kyle Chayka [The Trump assassination attempt meets the internet’s brain-rot era →]( “Fittingly, for an event involving a former President notorious for spreading disinformation and inanity online, the assassination attempt on Trump suggests just how rapidly today’s social platforms can distort a deadly serious news event into misleading tidbits and gleefully empty jokes.” The Washington Post / Shibani Mahtani [Wall Street Journal fires Hong Kong reporter who headed embattled press club →]( “The termination, if linked to [Selina] Cheng’s position at HKJA, would be the latest indication of how even large, well-resourced international media organizations are wary about the risks of operating in Hong Kong, a once-freewheeling city that has increasingly come to resemble mainland China in its suppression of civil liberties, including press freedom.” Local News Blues / Emily Sachar [Pro News Coaches offers cub reporters serious mentorship for free →]( Pro News Coaches “is composed of a cadre of former Wall Street Journal editors and reporters working pro bono to help newsrooms – be they small and undercapitalized or large and financially secure – realize challenging hard news, features, and enterprise pieces they might not otherwise have had the wherewithal to produce.” Axios / Sara Fischer [Local coverage of Trump rally shooting all looked the same →]( “Axios analyzed the home pages and lead stories of the largest news website in each U.S. state from 9:30p.m. to midnight on Saturday. Many local outlets posted the same stories, photos and headlines aggregated from a central desk at their parent company, such as Gannett, Lee Enterprises or Advanced Publications.” Reuters / Inti Landauro [Spain proposes tightening rules on media to tackle fake news →]( The proposed rules “would bring Spain in line with the European Media Freedom Act approved in March. That act is [designed]( to regulate the media but also shield journalists from state spying or being forced to reveal their sources.” Poynter / Kelly McBride [How news avoiders got information about Trump’s shooting →]( “The majority of people who responded to my survey, 37%, heard about the shooting from friends and family. Most of them got a direct text message or other direct contact. Some of them heard about it in a group chat.” Press Gazette / Bron Maher [GB News Radio rolls out AI-generated sports news bulletins →]( “The broadcaster said the sports bulletins are written by generative AI using articles on gbnews.com and that they are then read out by ‘the virtual voice’ of GB News presenter Tatiana Sanchez.” The Atlantic / Charlie Warzel [This is what happens when news breaks →]( “Some may wish to see the conspiracy peddling, cynical politicking, and information warfare as a kind of gross aberration or the unintended consequences and outputs of a system that’s gone awry. This is wrong. What we are witnessing is an information system working as designed.” Axios / Sara Fischer [Taboola to sell ads for Apple →]( “As an authorized advertising reseller for Apple News and Apple Stocks, Taboola will power native advertising placements within those two apps in every market available.” Platformer / Casey Newton [The e/accs inch closer to the White House →]( “If Donald Trump retakes the White House, the United States will halt most efforts to preemptively regulate artificial intelligence, and Silicon Valley will be allowed to pursue superintelligent systems with minimal oversight.” [Nieman Lab]( / [Fuego]( [Twitter]( / [Facebook]( [View email in browser]( [Unsubscribe]( You are receiving this daily newsletter because you signed up for for it at www.niemanlab.org. Nieman Journalism Lab Harvard University 1 Francis Ave.Cambridge, MA 02138 [Add us to your address book](