Media on the Move: Week of October 28th

By Georgina Rupp

Finding a Balance to News on Social Networks

Amidst the expected news of continued staff slashing in media and funding cuts for print publications, Facebook has really made a splash in the news cycles over the past month.

The social network announced a new initiative around news and journalism, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has stated. Plans include paid and unpaid partnerships with major news organizations and hand-picked articles curated not by bots but by a human team. According to a recent tweet, Facebook News is beginning its roll out on the mobile app.

More than half — 52 percent — of U.S. adults in a survey from the Pew Research Center earlier this year reported already getting their news from Facebook, making it the most popular social platform for news sourcing. However, the majority of respondents claimed the news shared was inaccurate or one-sided.

With social networks and alternative news sources becoming the norm, we, as PR professionals, need to have a keen eye for what’s news and what’s just sensationalism. More than most, we know the value of a grabby headline, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of reliable information.

Between the 2020 elections and anticipated 2020 trends, it’s easy for news stories this time of year to be grounded in expectation or prediction. PR professionals– think twice about the weight, facts, and balance of perspective behind your note before hitting send to a journalist.

 

Meredith Corp.

Meredith announced it will be shutting down Family Circle after the December issue. About 70 employees out of Meredith’s 6,000 employees were laid off in mid-October, including about 25 staffers from Family Circle.

The Washington Post

The Washington Post just released a new video game and esports section, Launcher, which provides analysis about “the people, companies and trends of the video gaming industry” and is led by Mike Hume.

Xconomy

Brian Downling recently joined Xconomy as senior editor focusing on Boston-area tech.

Fortune

Maria Aspan has moved on from Inc. to soon begin a new position at Fortune covering finance and the intersection of business and policy.

Business Insider

Paayal Zaveri has joined Business Insider out of their San Francisco bureau as a senior tech reporter covering enterprise tech with a focus on the cloud.

Information Week

All contributed content and bylines for InformationWeek are now being managed by Cathleen Gagne, who has taken over these responsibilities from her colleague, Jim Connolly.

 

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