A little respect (just a local bit)

Don't diss local journos

There's a worrying tone developing in local politics in the UK. Back in the summer, Bristol Council started banning local democracy reporters from its meetings. And now we have this:

Councillors rebuked for insulting messages about hyperlocal news website editor

A councillor has been told to apologise and another is facing formal censure after calling a journalist ‘pea-brained’ and ‘grubby.’

Behind Local News UKBehind Local News

This growing feeling that politicians can openly disdain and dismiss those whose job it is to hold them to account is not a great sign for British democracy.

Something to keep an eye on…

Will iOS16 make your iPhone a better journalistic tool?

Marc's now annual review of the journalism-relevant features in the new iPhone operating system is well worth your time. One to brew yourself a tea and kick back with.

#53 What’s new and useful in iOS 16? (by Marc Blank-Settle)

Preface Last year, I hosted for the first time an article on this blog that wasn’t written by myself but by BBC Academy mobile journalism (“MoJo”) trainer Marc Blank-Settle whom I…

smartfilmingFR

A rough September for SEO

Here's a good round-up of news SEO developments from Barry Adams. The visibility hits taken by news publishers is one to watch, in particular. It looks consequential, and it's something I'm hoping to come back to later in the week:

The Latest Developments in News SEO

Instead of the usual single-topic exploration, this SfGN edition is a roundup of recent developments and interesting content.

SEO for Google NewsBarry Adams

I'm glad I'm not running SEO at Mail Online, though:

😱

Quickies

• 💃🏻 What publishers can learn from the creator economy — it's a huge, free R&D lab, basically.
• 🎤 Getting attention for a new podcast is hard. The attention economy is everywhere, folks.
• 🔎 More SEO: here's a good explanation of the “Core Web Vitals” thing your SEO team or audience editor might be getting worked up about…
• ✉️ Five things you should include inna newsletter — all pretty straightforward, but amazing how many people forget the basics.
• 🏎 Axios has a “30 seconds to win the reader's attention” axiom. Personally, I think more about the first 10 seconds. Maybe “10 seconds to win it, and 20 seconds to keep it”? However you slice it, we need to pay more attention to the reader experience as soon as people land on a page, or open an email.

Job Alert

And Finally…

Now, this is how you write an announcement that your print newspaper now has a page-turner digital edition:

A newspaper – without the ink | From the editor

Get the Advance, The Times Book Review and Washington Post Weekly

siliveBrian J. Laline | lalinesiadvance.com