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NPR's coverage of Trump's return gives me hope — www.npr.org

Buckle up buttercup, Trump's back.

But here's the good news, the press coverage this time round might not be a straight rerun of the 2016 and 2020 Presidential races. Instead of simply reporting his falsehoods and dog whistles verbatim, some American media is contextualising the craziness.

NPR's Twitter announcement of Trump's 2024 run was a masterclass in shade.

The polarisation of US politics already has the hashtag #defundNPR trending (although Emily Bell questions if that's organic). But by framing Trump's bellicose BS rhetoric with his record, NPR is avoiding amplifying his message.

Ads work better when they're near relevant content — www.mediapost.com

Speaking of context, MediaPost says digital publishers are being reminded of a truth that was common knowledge in the old print world: ads should appear near related content when possible. A study by DoubleVerify says 67% of online shoppers polled are more likely to pay attention to an ad if it is relevant to the content they are viewing. Am I allowed to say 'No Shit Sherlock'?

Social media isn’t dead — it’s regenerating — onemanandhisblog.com

Chris led on this story yesterday and, with a classic Dr Who reference, Adam Tinworth joins him in challenging the rumours around social media's imminent demise. Adam's point is that, despite the chaos that is enveloping the leading social platforms, some social media utilities are growing, particularly those that support 'smaller discussions between more limited groups of like-minded people'. It's evolution baby.

First-party cookies: 'Get legal help to avoid fines' — www.journalism.co.uk

New interpretations of privacy within the cookie law and GDPR will bring stricter supervision regarding how newsrooms analyse editorial data, according to a report in Journalism.co.uk. The advice is to collaborate with lawyers to craft a contract that asks premium members for permission to use tracking information to improve your products. Doesn't sound scary at all.

New podcast:

Beyond the Twitter chaos, platforms and publishers re-evaluate their relationship — voices.media

Our eighth episode looks at the major social media platforms, and how their relationship with publishers has fared after yet another tumultuous year. We're joined by social media consultant and industry analyst Matt Navarra to explore the chaos at Twitter, Meta's bad year and what it takes for publishers to succeed at TikTok.

Want to be a judge for the inaugural Publisher Newsletter Awards? — voices.media

We're recruiting judges for the first year of our Publisher Newsletter Awards. If you'd like to be a part of the judging panel highlighting the best in publisher newsletters, drop us a line on [email protected] to let us know you're interested.