Friday 17th September: GB News vs. talkTV - whoever wins, we lose

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Much as we wish it were otherwise, this is the media news story of the day. Based on the relative success of News UK's talkRadio, the Murdoch empire has decided to launch a rolling TV station. Like erstwhile, flailing rival GB News, the channel will exist across linear broadcasts, and will be the mooted British answer to Fox News. Unlike GB News, this one actually has half a chance of success.

For one thing, it'll actually be halfway-decently produced. For another, it'll be backed up by the sheer weight of the News UK engine, with synergy with its talkRadio and print titles. And while on the face of it it appears that talkTV is going to be another extension of Murdoch's paranoid, cynical approach to creating societal division... well that's exactly what it's going to be. Only with a chance of survival.

Per Jim Waterson for the Guardian: "The station focuses on culture war topics and last month announced a programme counting 'the biggest, daftest and most worrying examples of cancel culture in the UK and beyond, proving that just about anyone or anything can face the threat of being cancelled'." We're doomed.

P.S. you're welcome for not having either Piers Morgan or Murdoch as the header image.

I'd assumed that Clubhouse was winding down, given that it was a flash in the pan success during the early days of the pandemic. But no, it's decided to get into the lucrative (?) news game by hiring Nina Gregory, senior editor for NPR's arts desk. We expect to hear almost nothing more from Clubhouse from here on out.

I have a few days off my day job, and went on a huge walk earlier. In spite of my best efforts I ended up thinking about the media, and Circa in particular. That was one idea that seemed to make sense at the time but ultimately ended up in flames. Anyway, here's an unrelated write-up about Genius.

Listen, we're going to talk about Facebook again. We're going to talk about the pivot to video again. But for now, in lieu of a big discussion about one of the more notable cul-de-sacs the media industry went down in recent years, here's a look at how the impetus to create video ended up burning Facebook too. Nobody wins!

This week's podcast:

Our interview with Terri is making real waves this week, with hundreds of listeners praising her honesty and openness around the struggles women still face in the media industry after becoming mothers. She also talks about the changes she made during her time at the magazine, from opening up the brand to cultivating the passionate community.

In this episode Cecilia Campbell of United Robots helps myth-bust some of the common fallacies about what robot journalism can – and can’t – do. To help illustrate what is possible we’re also joined by Ard Boer, Product Manager for Sport at NDC Mediagroep, who tells us how their sports team is making the most of robot journalism.