Week of September 14
We’re all about attention. Here are a few stories from the week that captured ours.
Readers will finish long stories — especially if they come from a trusted source
Michelle Levine, Anna Hiatt, and Michael Shapiro | CJR | September 10 (10 min read)
“Long reads take time to produce—to report, write and edit—and time to read, and they demand something of a reader, with the promise of delivering something more lasting in return.”
How ProPublica thinks about web design
Karen McGrane and Ethan Marcotte | Responsive Web Design Podcast | September 14 (30 minute podcast)
“As far as the pieces and layouts themselves, we think less about changing the content for the context than we do about changing the tools.”
Two-thirds of Wired’s revenue is digital, and brand content is why
Ricardo Bilton | Digiday | September 15 (2 minute read)
“Digital growth comes as the magazine has dissolved the traditional lines between its print and digital teams.”
Advertising’s Existential Moment
Kevin McKean | Folio | September 15 (11 minute read)
“Magazine publishers have long sold ‘advertorials’ and custom publishing, but today’s market demands more.”
Popping the Publishing Bubble
Ben Thompson | Stratechery | September 16 (7 minute read)
“Publishers need to start with a sustainable business model and focus on journalism that works hand-in-hand with the business model they have chosen.”
Mobile is eating the world — Benedict Evans at #DMSUSA15
Benedict Evans | theMediaBriefing | September 17 (30 minute read)
“Mobile is the first universal tech product.”
Facebook just made 2 big changes to appease advertisers on Viewability
Christopher Heine | AdWeek | September 17 (1 minute read)
“Facebook is reversing its stance against using an independent verifier for ad viewability.”
What we break when we fix for Ad Blocking
Tony Haile | tonyhaile.com | September 18 (5 minute read)
“Users’ actions to unilaterally create a better web experience will have an equal and opposite effect.”
How Engagement Editors Rise Above the Social Scrum
Mark Glaser | Mediatwits | September 18 (26 minute podcast)
“Half of an engagement editor’s job is being a content creator”