Jeff Jarvis"The New York Times today looks much more like Spotify or Netflix as a business than a traditional news organization." - Meredith Kopit Levien before her conversation with Evan Smith at #ISOJ24
Good for Evan Smith starting his interview of Levien asking about the WSJ story on The Times' efforts to plug leaks from the newsroom. She blames "polarization" for the turmoil.
At the conference this year, I keep hearing -- from Levien, too -- that the starting point for news today is to "make something worth paying for." Hmmm.
To "make something worth paying for" is just transactional: not mission, not service, but retail. In The Gutenberg Parenthesis, I argue that we must move past the print-era notion of "content," now commodified. That strategy will, in the long run, be outmoded.
"This is a journalism conference, so I'm supposed to ask a question: subject - verb - AI." - @evanasmith at #isoj24
A lot of talk from Levien about games. After The Times bought About.com in 2005, I was brought in to consult. It was similarly touted as game-changing: SEO. Games are helping The Times now; good. But I can imagine a new Angry Birds making this strategy outdated.
"Our news reporters are not stenographers," says Levien. Depends on who. Peter Baker is labeled as "analysis," she says. That is a thin veil. Then she says The Times tries to make people understand. Understand their worldview.
"There are plenty of people today who wish The Times to cover the world as they wish it to be, not as it is." - Levien.
"There are plenty of people today who wish The Times to cover the world as they wish it to be, not as it is." - Levien.
Next session on covering this election. @SykesCharlie says this year will be worse than 2016 and 2020. He calls out "enshittification" and says it should be the word of the year. ATTN: @doctorow
"Nothing about this election is normal," says Charlie Sykes. Yes. So, as Evan says: "Stop bringing normal to it."
Shoq 🌿@jeffjarvis Yeah, and Wisconsin’s Rush Limbaugh knows all about doing that. He’s been helping MSNBC get there are fast as he can.
David LaFontaine@shoq @jeffjarvis The gap between Sykes and the Exec Producer of CBS Morning News was wide, though
Sykes clearly identified that “horse race” coverage is going to be the death of us all, and that TV news’ insistence on Muting Teh Crazee when it comes to Trump’s public utterances in favor of finding some soundbite that is at least a little normal-sounding, is playing right into Trump’s hands
But ratings. Both sides. Can’t put your thumb on the scale.
@shoq @jeffjarvis I was going to ask if the guiding principle at CBS vis-a-vis Trump was still “I don’t know if it’s good for America, but it’s sure good for CBS News!”
@dave Yeah,I have followed him thru 3 careers. I know his latest schtick quite well. It’s just comical to hear MSNBC conservatives saying what liberals were condemned for saying for decades. Fuck him,
@shoq Indeed. I regard a lot of the Lincoln Project types as akin to thieves who have made sick bank for decades from burning down police stations to make it easier to crime, now being all aghast that there is now a depraved gangster who has taken advantage of the lawlessness they helped create
Yes, they don’t like the situation now. But we are rather justified in feeling quite salty about being ignored for the past coupla few decades #ISOJ
@dave The sane world has been telling that horserace story for 15 years. Now it matters because the house conservative mentions it with a little passion? Please. It’s the Charlie Sykes, Tim Miller and their crews who got us here. Who cares that he regurgitates what others have said on his home network for years? Not me.
Debbie Goldsmith 🏳️‍⚧️♾️🇺🇦@jeffjarvis I think the NYT itself most wishes the Times to cover the world as they wish it to be, not as it is.
Peter Zingg 
@jeffjarvis Tired: reporting on inequality, disenfranchisement, loss of rights, climate, worldwide conflicts, geopolitics, destructive effects of capitalism. Wired: clickbait lifestyle reviews for the wealthy 1% and the financially insecure next 10%. Result: record-breaking subscription numbers!
Glenn Fleishman@jeffjarvis 2027: "Popular gaming site, NYTGames, spins off news division to Breitbart/Daily Caller.”