A little respect (just a local bit)
Another week, another economic crisis. But in other news, local politicians are getting more overtly disdainful of journalists, and big news sites are taking a serious SEO hit. Let's dive in…
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:
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.
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:
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:
Sign up for e-mail updates
Join the newsletter to receive the latest posts in your inbox.