Who's behind the news?
Who's behind the news?
1.5.2
Newsjunkie.net is a resource guide for journalists. We show who's behind the news, and provide tools to help navigate the modern business of information.
Use of Data
Dear Reader:
Some years ago, before social media captured everyone's attention and The Los Angeles Times shed 65% of its readers in a single decade, I was talking with journalist friends about news and the internet. We tossed all kinds of predictions back and forth about how direct and relevant the news would be once everyone was wired. We expected things to turn out better than they have. Now we are in crisis, yet the answer still stands in front of us: the unbounded sharing potential of the internet.
The internet is where we work, where we socialize, where we game and watch video. It's all that and more, yet in some ways it is grossly unreliable. Keyword searches give tilted or vague results, surveillance opt-outs don't work, and noise of every kind obscures the information we're after. Frustration mounts as we hunt through galaxies for data, and there is nagging doubt about the integrity of it all. AI has not helped.
At Newsjunkie we've set out to provide resources for journalists in a quiet and forthright way. We validate the information we publish and give you tools to find the right things, fast. The better our data gets, the better our search gets, and the faster you can get on with your work. Providing reliable search results covering the breadth and depth of the news ecosystem—that's our goal.
This is a work in progress! Your engagement is essential. We will be stronger as a community. We’re working to make your Newsjunkie experience useful and enjoyable, and look forward to sharing the journey together.
Gordon Whiting, co-founder and publisher
Introduction
Welcome to the first issue of our newsletter, The Fix! We deeply appreciate your support as we begin our journey of growth. Today we'll dive into the Newsjunkie philosophy, what we offer, and introduce the team. We are incredibly grateful to have you here. Thank you for being with us from the start.
Our mission is to support journalists. We're starting by providing a directory of searchable resources and contacts. As we go forward, more tools will appear designed to help produce trustworthy content. By combining resources, data, and tools under one roof, we aim to shorten the time between a story's inception and publication. The intangible of stumbling upon the unexpected is also a benefit. The founders believe that here, at Newsjunkie, you will find excellent resources for creating and publishing good journalism.
How We See It
Chief Technology Officer, Aaren Stade: “We have exciting new tools for journalists. We’re providing an information center for finding editing tools, funding, legal help, conferences, policy data, and much more. We are an external resource that gives you support to get the job done.”
Publisher, Gordon Whiting: "We made the decision to provide something more meaningful than just an app with market data. By taking a holistic view of the news space and actively investigating the places with the most energy, we can shine a light on the best services available for journalists."
Last July, we…
… hired our first student intern: me, Talla Khattat. My first assignments were one-page profiles on the leading newspapers of the world. I think I can speak for the rest of the crew that joined in the early months in saying it was fascinating to learn about newspapers in Britain, Pakistan, Japan, Australia, and India, not to mention all the newspapers in North America. By researching the world's newspapers and publishers, a vivid picture emerged about the true state of the news business.
Not all bad news, all the time
We hear a lot about the demise of the news sector, but we don't hear about the rise of the new sector. There's a lot going on, in fact, a revolution is happening. We sensed it but had to dig in to find who was dying and who was thriving. We were surprised at the vitality of independent reporting and publishing. Beyond the newsroom, we found energy and excitement in the support services that feed independent journalism. Funding sources, legal services, data banks, travel services, policy centers, software tools, trade and advocacy groups, distribution platforms, and more are emerging at rapid rate, yet most are not well known.
We posted a slogan: “Who’s behind the news?” and we invested effort to trace the layers of ownership behind the largest media empires. We learned much (in spite of high castle walls) and captured the details of private ownership into our database. This was a fascinating path to pursue, but month after month we became aware that very few of these legacy players are part of the emerging, vital news space. So we made a course correction. A deeper study was needed to find where quality journalism will come from in the future.
We instituted eight categories of coverage, assembled under the acronym JRMAPSOX: Journals, Resources, Media owners, Agencies, People, Schools, Other, X=pressroom (for database reasons we couldn’t use P twice). These can be found in the left panel when you fire up our website. We feel that this group of categories covers most activities of journalism and news publishing.
A friend asks, "What does it do?"
Our CTO Aaren Stade was talking with his neighbor, a reporter for a Bay Area news organization. After hearing Aaren describe the main features of Newsjunkie, the neighbor politely asked, “Okay, but what does it do?” Aaren replied, “You can search and find and get resources to help you do your job. The neighbor listened and again politely asked, “Cool, but what does it do?”
What Does It Do? It is a responsive provider of information about journals, media owners, people, journalism schools, press rooms, and more. It is a one-stop site that reveals the background, details, focus, and intent of players in the news space, and how to contact them.
It’s not just about information, it's about patterns of information. You will see what isn’t obvious. Topics can be searched and researched using the tools we’re providing. Macro and micro, broad and/or specific, answers and results, fresh angles.
Please understand this system is still in development. Data on the internet isn’t reliable, so we are reworking, revising, and validating from the ground up. Allow us space to improve the data and expand our offerings. In the meantime—start searching! There's much to see. Let us know what excites you, and where we should go next. Week by week, you'll see improvements in the data and tools. If a menu choice is grayed out, check back later; we’re pushing as many features to the front as fast as we can.
Upcoming
As the system grows more robust, features now on the drawing board will be released. These include filtered lists, visualizations, relationships, and projections. Our goal is to concentrate useful resources and make them easy to access.
Meet the Team
Talla Khattat
Senior Reporter, Newsletter Editor
Benjamin Whiting
System Engineer
Damon Gitelman
Staff Writer
Curtis Whiting
Staff Editor
Simon Landau
Software Engineer
Ramona Kreisel
Contributing Writer
Angie Coiro
Contributing Writer
Andrew Blaisdell
Co-founder
Aaren Stade
Chief Technology Officer
Gordon Whiting
Publisher
Talk to Us
Whether you have feedback, questions, requests for tools or operations, we want to hear from you. Here’s how to connect with us:
In closing
As a new venture finding its footing, we're still evolving. We will change, tweak, and clarify features based on the reactions we get from you. While strategies and tactics may shift, our core values remain steady. Newsjunkie is designed with newsjunkies in mind, and our commitment is to provide you with valuable tools and insights to help you get your job done.
Thank you for joining us for the very first issue of our newsletter. We’re so happy to meet you.
Warm regards,
Talla Khattat, editor, and the Team