Meeting up with the web versions of the leading news services on a daily basis is like stopping by your local coffee shop or pub every day — you eventually get to know the regulars.
But the neighborhood has seen better times, you know, so you try to choose e. table with only one chair. Otherwise, some of the down-on-the-luckers will find you, like Time, Newsweek and US News & Report.
Or a guy from a network. And “Glory Days” will start playing on the jukebox.
But most of the customers are fine.
The New York Times, for example, which must have a character count for its headlines, because most of them are of a very specific length. The Times considers itself the leading U.S. (paper) newspaper, of course, but for a long time now it has been emphasizing its digital subscriptions.
And in that category, subscription revenue, the growth has been impressive but when it comes to online advertising, where the real money is, the Times is a tiny thing — three-tenths of a percent or so of industry-leading Google.
Nearby, the Washington Post has worked hard to avoid any appearance of being a kept woman since Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, bought it and I have to say the Post has done a very good job on that score. Furthermore, they issue at least three digital updates a day, whereas the Times has only one main newsletter.
The Wall Street Journal remains schizophrenic. The news pages are excellent while the editorial page is almost childish in tone. Now the Times and Post have deep editorial biases too but the voice in their editorials resemble that of an adult compared to the Journal’s.
Then there is the good old Associated Press. As a former wire service stringer myself, I have a special fondness for the wire services and AP is as good and reliable as ever, plus in recent years it has added in an impressive investigative component from time to time.
There are tons of other useful American players in the news business, including weekly or monthly magazines that are adapting to the 24/7 digital news cycle, like The New Yorker and the Atlantic.
Of these, the Atlantic is by far the most impressive, with strong new content almost every day of the week but the New Yorker is catching up.
The British sites I check include BBC, the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Independent and Reuters. There’s a lot more attitude to the first two, of course, AND Reuters has been one of my favorite news services since we partnered with them when I was an exec at Wired Digital in the 1990s.
NHK, the Japanese’s news service is quite modest but good.
NPR, PBS, and public media in general were slow to embrace digital journalism but they’ve come along in recent years. NPR in particular has strengthened its web version substantially.
The previously mentioned television networks, including cable, are generally speaking pretty terrible sources of news online, but I check CNN, Fox, CNBC, NBC, ABC, and CBS anyway for the occasional find. There is rarely much there.
Digital-only sources like Politico and The Hill are quite good at what they do, which is inside-the-Beltway stuff.
Everybody else shows up now and then but probably the biggest surprise-regular for me is Google News. I don’t know how they do it, but this algorithm-driven aggregator is usually very much on top of the breaking news, plus it includes many random news stories I don’t see anywhere else.
So much for tradition! In the virtual world, the biggest media company of them all has gotten pretty darn good at mastering the news cycle. As have the startups. Everyone else is playing catch up.
TODAY’s NEWS (37):
Tone of Ukraine Crisis Shifts as Russia Signals Openness to Talk More — Diplomacy is “far from exhausted,” Russia’s foreign minister said, while President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the prospect of his country joining NATO might be just a “dream.” (NYT)
Putin says he does not want war in Europe (BBC)
Russia Offers Mixed Messages on Ukraine Troop Pullback (WSJ)
Russia says some troops withdrawing from border, even as other major military exercises continue (WP)
The Kremlin signaled it is ready to keep talking with the West about security grievances that led to the current Ukraine crisis, offering hope that Russia might not invade its beleaguered neighbor within days as the U.S. and Europe increasingly fear. Moscow, which denies it has any plans to invade Ukraine, wants Western guarantees that NATO won’t allow Ukraine and other former Soviet countries to join as members. [AP]
Energy Markets Are Jittery as Russia-Ukraine Tensions Drag On — Oil prices are well over $90 a barrel, and an invasion would most likely push them above $100. Reflecting the uncertainty, stock markets were sliding lower. (NYT)
Russia said some of its military units were returning to their basesafter exercises near Ukraine, following days of U.S. and British warnings that Moscow might invade its neighbor at any time. The news drew a cautious response from Ukraine and Britain but prompted a sharp rally on financial markets, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz flew to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters)
Inside the White House response to a potential Ukraine invasion (WP)
US accuses financial website of spreading Russian propaganda (AP)
Ukrainian Ministry of Defense websites hit by cyberattack (Politico)
Russia-Ukraine conflict could cause inflation to hit 10%, new analysis finds (CNN)
Accounting Firm Cuts Ties With Trump and Retracts Financial Statements
— The firm, Mazars USA, said in a letter that it could no longer stand behind the annual statements, which are central to an investigation by the New York attorney general. (NYT)
Trump vs. McConnell: Latest round between GOP heavyweights has the highest stakes yet (NPR)
Ocasio-Cortez: ‘Very real risk’ US democracy won’t exist in 10 years (Guardian)
French far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour had a phone call with former U.S. President Donald Trumpwho told him not to give in to pressure, a senior official of Zemmour's campaign said. Trump's 2016 presidential run is often cited as a blueprint for the current campaign of former French talk show commentator Zemmour, who has been convicted several times for inciting racial hatred. (Reuters)
Report: Conspiracy theorists fuel bump in extremist killings (AP)
Protesters, police face off near U.S.-Canada border crossings as Trudeau invokes Emergencies Act (WP)
School board members across the United States have endured a rash of terroristic threats and hostile messages ignited by roiling controversies over policies on curtailing the coronavirus, bathroom access for transgender students and the teaching of America’s racial history. In a special report, we document the intimidation. (Reuters)
Six months of Taliban: Afghans safer, poorer, less hopeful (AP)
Afghans say they feel safer but less hopeful under Taliban rule (NPR)
Afghanistan in crisis 6 months after Taliban takeover (NHK)
How Bad Is the Western Drought? Worst in 12 Centuries, Study Finds. — Fueled by climate change, the drought that started in 2000 is now the driest two decades since 800 A.D. (NYT)
A lawsuit against Google points out a big privacy problem (Edit Bd/WP)
Bristling tensions and looming laws in Europe could offer clues to two questions: Can bitcoin be a safe-haven asset? And can Russia emerge as a crypto superpower? The answer to the first, for now at least, is no.
(Reuters)On Mars, a NASA Rover and Helicopter’s Year of Surprise and Discovery
— The past 12 months on Mars have been both “exciting” and “exhausting” for scientists and engineers minding Perseverance and Ingenuity. And the mission is only really getting started. (NYT)
EU takes on SpaceX and Amazon with its own satellite internet system (Financial Times)
Sandy Hook families reach $73 million settlement with gun manufacturer Remington (CNN)
“I never wanted 'Maus' to be for children,” says its creator, Art Spiegelman, in this fascinating profile. (New York)
The Oscar-Nominated Film That Offers a Master Class in Journalism — The stars of the documentary Writing With Fire are a group of newspaper reporters working to create a revolution in Indian media. (Atlantic)
Is Wordle getting harder? Viral game tests players after New York Times takeover (Guardian)
The 5,000-year-old human bone found in the River Thames (BBC)
Prince Andrew settles with U.S. woman who says she was trafficked to him by Jeffrey Epstein (WP)
Family Photo With Ex-Boyfriend Still Prominently Displayed On Grandma’s Mantle (The Onion)
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