☀️ Happy Thursday! The Briefing updates you on what’s happened and what’s coming in the news and information world – and what our data tells us about it. Not a subscriber yet? Sign up here!
In today’s email:
- Top story: Former Fox executive urges FCC not to renew license of Fox’s Philadelphia station
- Under the radar: How a public library-newsroom partnership aims to improve access to news
- Looking ahead: An emerging journalist-run business model
- Chart of the week: How U.S. adults view local media and journalists
🔥 Top story
Preston Padden, a former Fox executive, has joined with the nonprofit group Media and Democracy Project to urge the Federal Communications Commission to deny Fox’s license renewal for one of its largest affiliate stations, arguing that the corporation should be held accountable for Fox News spreading misinformation about the 2020 election.
According to a 2022 Pew Research Center study, half of U.S. adults think made-up news and information is a very big problem in the U.S. today. An additional 34% think it is a moderately big problem, while just 16% think it is a small problem or not a problem at all.
🕵️ Under the radar
- How a public library-newsroom partnership aims to improve access to news media
- The New York Times fires Baghdad bureau chief for overpaying non-U.S. journalists
- A look at the role of TikTok in Kenya’s anti-government protests
- How a pop-up community newsroom in Colorado shed light on wildfire health impacts
- Norwegian newspaper creates “transparency portal” to anticipate and answer readers’ questions
📅 Looking ahead
This week, media startup Puck raised $10 million in Series B funding. Puck is owned and operated by the individual journalists who contribute to the site, an example of an emerging business model that centers journalists in their organization.
Last year, a Center survey of U.S. journalists found that journalists recognize the instability and turmoil in the news industry. When asked to provide the one word they would use to describe the current state of their industry, journalists largely point to challenges. The concept mentioned most often is that of chaos and struggle: 42% mentioned words such as “chaotic,” “dying,” “declining” or “struggling.”
📊 Chart of the week
Multiple stories this week look at local news initiatives across the United States, so we’ve chosen to highlight a chart from a 2018 Center survey about how U.S. adults view local news organizations and journalists.
👋 That’s all for this week.
The Briefing is edited by Katerina Eva Matsa, Michael Lipka and Mark Jurkowitz, copy edited by Rebecca Leppert and compiled by Pew Research Center staff, including Naomi Forman-Katz, Jacob Liedke, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin and Emily Tomasik.
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