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Laura Hazard Owen

@laurahazardowen.bsky.social
14K followers 2.4K following 280 posts

Editor of @niemanlab.org / a fun mom in Cambridge, MA illberightback.substack.com Ebikes | Mysteries | Baking | Parent gossip | Public schools

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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard @niemanfoundation.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
We’re pleased to announce that veteran journalist Henry Chu has been named curator of Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. A longtime foreign correspondent and editor who has reported from more than 30 countries, Chu will be Nieman’s ninth curator. hvd.gs/431352
hvd.gs
Henry Chu named curator of Nieman Foundation for Journalism — Harvard Gazette
Prize-winning veteran foreign correspondent, editor aims to focus on challenges facing industry, including AI, press freedom, polarization.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Joshua Benton @joshuabenton.com · 01/07/2026
New by me —> Now we're getting AI fake news complaining about how AI fake news is the death of real news! How a fake news site splits its energy between (a) the imagined closure of real US newspapers and (b) Chinese-friendly takes on Taiwan www.niemanlab.org/2026/07/now-...
niemanlab.org
Now we’re getting AI fake news complaining about how AI fake news is the death of real news
Did 47 Alabama newspapers die on a single day and no one noticed? (Hint: No, they didn't.)
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Andrew Deck @andrewdeck.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
NEW: More than 340 U.S. local news outlets are restricting Internet Archive access. @hanaatameez.bsky.social and I mapped out the full list, showing just how dire this trend is for the future of local news archives. www.niemanlab.org/2026/05/more...
niemanlab.org
More than 340 local news outlets are limiting the Internet Archive’s access to their journalism
McClatchy, Advance Local, Tribune Publishing and other major newspaper chains are restricting the nonprofit's archiving bots.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
"'What kinds of editorial businesses can only be built around a human being' feels like it is going to become a more and more important question." I spoke with @caseynewton.bsky.social about how he's revamping his newsletter to compete with AI:
niemanlab.org
More scoops, less aggregation and analysis: How Casey Newton is revamping his newsletter to compete with AI
"'What kinds of editorial businesses can only be built around a human being?' feels like it is going to become a more and more important question."
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Scoop: Mediaite has suspended its founding editor Colby Hall after a series of instances we raised about significant errors and outright fabrications in his work. Full story in @status.news tonight.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Do links hurt publishers on Twitter? Our new analysis says yes. (+ some data coming for Bluesky!)
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
so excited that 2 @niemanlab.org stories are Mirror Award finalists: @hanaatameez.bsky.social's "From reckoning to retreat: Journalism’s DEI efforts are in decline, and @neeldhanesha.com's "How tribal radio stations are preparing for a future without the Corporation for Public Broadcasting"
newhouse.syracuse.edu
Mirror Award Finalists
The Newhouse School has recognized the best in media industry reporting since 2007.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
the Atlantic moved the disclaimer to the top.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
update www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/the-...
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
I was stunned by Elizabeth Bruenig's @theatlantic.com essay, "This Is How a Child Dies of Measles." Then I was struck by the disclaimer at the bottom: "This story is based on extensive reporting and interviews with physicians, including those who have cared directly for patients with measles."
theatlantic.com
This Is How a Child Dies of Measles
When your family becomes a data point in an outbreak
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
so @theonion.com actually predicted this in its print issue last month
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
"Built in-house and known internally as the 'Manosphere Report,' the tool uses large language models to transcribe and summarize new episodes of dozens of podcasts." www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/how-... by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
niemanlab.org
How The New York Times uses a custom AI tool to track the “manosphere”
The daily podcast round-up is just one way the Times is adopting in-house AI transcription and summarization tools.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
"I don’t pay to go to church, to get a spiritual message, you know? And if you’re true, and your mission is to relay facts that are fundamentally important for people’s well-being, do I need to pay you for that?"
niemanlab.org
Most Americans don’t pay for news and don’t think they need to
For a new report released Wednesday, the Pew Research Center surveyed 3,560 U.S. adults in December 2025 about their relationship to the news and how they perceive its value in everyday life. Pew aThe...
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Medill posits that folks living in news deserts are happy enough because "residents get so used to feeling thirsty that they no longer realize there is a different way to live" www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/many...
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
You too may become a "postal guru" after reading this story www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/terr...
niemanlab.org
“Terribly frustrating”: After USPS changes, more newspapers aren’t reaching subscribers on time
Newspaper delays are just one consequence of cost cuts and changes to a fraying 250-year-old system.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Ben Welsh @palewi.re · 09/02/2026
🗞️ Nieman Lab republished the piece Scott Klein and I put together analyzing the decline of open-source news. If you haven't checked it out yet, here's another chance. www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/journalis…
niemanlab.org
Journalism lost its culture of sharing. Here’s how we rebuild it
The data are clear: The open-source culture that defined an earlier era of online journalism has collapsed.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
you guys have been posting a lot. i harvested it into nieman lab content www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/30-t...
niemanlab.org
30+ things The Washington Post did wrong and 19+ things they could do to fix it
"@mackenziescott you have the opportunity to do an extremely funny (and genuinely heroic) thing right now."
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
doing a gigantic thread of ppl's advice for the washington post and/or diagnoses of what went wrong so if you've seen good posts lmk
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Jeff Bezos used to say interesting things about the Post and showed genuine curiosity in newspaper owning! in 2013, he talked about the importance of bundles and daily habits & so on that language changed a lot over the last few years. by 2024 it's "small inventions" and "stay tuned"
niemanlab.org
“Something I will be most proud of when I’m 90”: How Jeff Bezos used to talk about The Washington Post, and what’s changed
Jeff Bezos used to talk about The Washington Post with real curiosity, and the things he said were interesting and specific. Over time, that changed.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
eliminating the books department when you have the whole amazon/goodreads thing does not make sense, to me!
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
"You have this vision of your perfect job: Finally, you’re out of the thumb of the traffic-obsessed boss, and you can do your big investigations. But the reality is that now you have all these other jobs that [other] people used to do, and now you have to do them too." by @neeldhanesha.com
niemanlab.org
Journalism coops seem utopian. What’s it like working in one?
"If I was less self-directed, I'd probably be freaking out."
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Andrew Deck @andrewdeck.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
NEW: News publishers are limiting Internet Archive access to prevent AI crawlers from using the digital library as a backdoor to their content. @hanaatameez.bsky.social and I confirmed The Guardian and The New York Times have put in place new restrictions. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news...
niemanlab.org
News publishers limit Internet Archive access due to AI scraping concerns
Outlets like The Guardian and The New York Times are scrutinizing digital archives as potential backdoors for AI crawlers.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
this Q&A by @neeldhanesha.com about what federal agents are using in MN, is alarming, but also really interesting. The pepper spray in use today is hotter & clingier than it used to be. "Less than lethal" rounds are larger & faster, and standard eye protection doesn't protect against them.
niemanlab.org
What a safety expert thinks journalists should know about “less than lethal” rounds and chemical irritants used by ICE
"The consideration that we make with all of our recommendations is, 'What is the safest thing you can use while still getting your assignment done?’"
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
"Back in the day, you’d have [riot police using] beanbag guns, or Nerf or sponge rounds that were moving at 150 to 200 feet per second. The newer 'less than lethal' rounds move 450 to 500 feet per second." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/what...
niemanlab.org
What a safety expert thinks journalists should know about “less than lethal” rounds and chemical irritants used by ICE
"The consideration that we make with all of our recommendations is, 'What is the safest thing you can use while still getting your assignment done?’"
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Taylor Kate Brown @taylorkatebrown.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
two great stories from @niemanlab.org today. One, on a storyshare run by a tiny NH news co-op " Brannon praised Bassett for listening so attentively to local newsrooms — including some of the smallest newsrooms and newspapers with clunky tech in her cohort" by @sarahscire.com
niemanlab.org
A scrappy story-sharing tool with local newsroom DNA gains traction
Plucky Wire was incubated in an unlikely place for a journalism technology: the tiny Granite State News Collaborative. Now, it's being used by hundreds of outlets countrywide.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
the work @bellingcat.com is doing in Minneapolis is essential. I spoke with @eoghanmacguire.bsky.social about the site's U.S. strategy www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/in-m...
niemanlab.org
In Minneapolis and other U.S. cities, Bellingcat supplements local news by “zooming in with a forensic lens”
Partnerships with local news outlets help "bring our stories to the audiences who need to see them most."
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
he says other journalism funders should ask themselves 2 questions: 1. Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers? 2. Do they understand how to defend themselves and their work from bad actors? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/crai...
niemanlab.org
Craig Newmark explains why he’s pulling back on funding journalism
One question he says other funders should ask: "Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?"
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 08/01/2026
"In the aftermath of Good’s killing by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, it’s clear some news organizations were better equipped than others to analyze the visual evidence provided from bystander videos," writes @laurahazardowen.bsky.social for @niemanlab.org.
niemanlab.org
When just showing the video isn’t enough: Minneapolis shooting puts news organizations to the test
When everyone has seen the same videos, what service do news sites provide?
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
ok these gifts will not save journalism. BUT they will caffeinate, entertain, feed, and snuggle journalists www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/the-...
niemanlab.org
The 2025 gift guide for journalists
Coffee (faster!), #tradwife murder mysteries, heated mattress pads, Prohibition-era video games, and much more.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
so many news sites are making you log in with an email + a 6-digit code sent to your email and this is not less annoying?
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
"A lot of people have been hurt over this strike financially [and] emotionally. I want to make sure that has its due. But we’re going to have to work through that very quickly and get back to work." by @sarahscire.com
niemanlab.org
What newsroom organizers learned from the years-long strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The importance of coordination, how digital news consumption patterns limit the effectiveness of public shame, and more.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
3 unusual things about this story: *it's a nonprofit investigative news site we're talking about *high-profile media execs/journalists on the board *1 of the journalists who reported was fired less than a day after letter sent to board by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
niemanlab.org
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Josh Sternberg @joshsternberg.com · 20/11/2025
An editor at Suncoast Searchlight, an investigative outlet, inserted AI hallucinated quotes into stories and after reporters sent a letter to the publication’s board, the editor fired one of the reporters. www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
niemanlab.org
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Sarah Scott Scire @sarahscire.com · 19/11/2025
"This was not the first hallucinated quote [the EIC] introduced into a reporter’s story draft." www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
niemanlab.org
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Suncoast Searchlight's four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired. by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
niemanlab.org
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
you're welcome! www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/the-...
niemanlab.org
The cute yellow Old Farmer’s Almanac isn’t the one shutting down
"There are TWO. This is not The OLD Farmer's Almanac that has been around since 1792. Everything is fine. Just chill guys"
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
WAIT I WAS WRONG The *Old* Farmer's Almanac, the yellow one (that hung on a nail in my grandparents' bathroom) is NOT shutting down. The Farmer's Almanac, which um...I have no feelings about really...is the one shutting down phew www.almanac.com/old-farmers-...
almanac.com
The Old Farmer’s Almanac—234 Years and Still Going Strong
Wondering if The Old Farmer’s Almanac is discontinued? It’s still publishing and growing, with trusted forecasts, tools, and seasonal guidance since 1792. Learn more and see what's new.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
a little story about tony's chocolonely illberightback.substack.com/p/104-two-ti...
illberightback.substack.com
#104, Two times I didn't argue with the guy
Two tales for ya.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Brandon Roberts @bxroberts.org · 22/10/2025
Great article. Archiving the internet is such a difficult thing without much of a financial motive, too. But reliance on a single entity has blown up in our faces so many times in the past.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Hanaa’ Tameez @hanaatameez.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
NEW: @andrewdeck.bsky.social and I found the @waybackmachine.bsky.social has been archiving news homepages less frequently for the past 5 months. The result: an 87% drop in homepage snapshots across 100 news outlets during a very newsy year. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
niemanlab.org
The Wayback Machine’s snapshots of news homepages plummet after a “breakdown” in archiving projects
Between May and October 2025, homepage snapshots fell by 87% across 100 news publications.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
For the past few months, the Wayback Machine has been showing many fewer snapshots of news publishers' homepages than it used to. Something happened on May 16, but what? @hanaatameez.bsky.social and @andrewdeck.bsky.social investigate www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
niemanlab.org
The Wayback Machine’s snapshots of news homepages plummet after a “breakdown” in archiving projects
Between May and October 2025, homepage snapshots fell by 87% across 100 news publications.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Matt McGee @seosavvyagent.com · 17/10/2025
Me and my "forgotten URL" for my old Google Glass website are mentioned in this article. I sold the domain a year or two ago. Made the mistake of not taking down the content first. New owners have turned it into an AI slop-fest. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
niemanlab.org
AI-generated news sites spout viral slop from forgotten URLs
A new generation of content farms are harnessing AI to spin out clickbait — and they’re getting help from Google.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
...and boy do they love the icelandic 36-hour workweek + chinese weapons www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
niemanlab.org
AI-generated news sites spout viral slop from forgotten URLs
A new generation of content farms are harnessing AI to spin out clickbait — and they’re getting help from Google.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
bari weiss's cbs: "america"/"american," focus is "journalism" not the journalists themselves, doesn't dwell on standards, speed-focused, "uses all of the tools of the digital era" newly independent msnbc: focus on journalists themselves, ethics, freedom of speech/1st Amendment, "the world," AI-wary
niemanlab.org
Bari Weiss’s CBS News and MSNBC both just laid out their new journalistic principles — and they’re fascinatingly different
Lot of news coming out of the networks this morning: Bari Weiss, founder of the pro-Israel, anti-woke Free Press, has sold the four-year-old news site to CBS parent company Paramount for a reported $1...
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
do read the fine print www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/trum...
niemanlab.org
Trump wants to knock prescription drug ads off of your TV (and billions out of news companies’ pockets)
While it has merit as a policy measure, it's the latest in a brutal series of administration actions that have hurt journalism.
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
. @hanaatameez.bsky.social puts data behind journalism's DEI vibe shift. From # of jobs posted, to products launched then shut down, to exhibiting at conferences — the racial reckoning is in retreat. www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...
niemanlab.org
From reckoning to retreat: Journalism’s DEI efforts are in decline
Diversity-related newsroom jobs haven't totally disappeared — but they also haven't stuck.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · 05/08/2025
As a former homepage and engagement editor for NPR, I found @joshuabenton.com's latest Nieman Lab piece from their rankings of media (first local newspapers, then nonprofit news sites) takes a look at the top 25 local public media sites very insightful about the challenges ahead.
niemanlab.org
These public radio stations have built online audiences that’ll help them survive federal cuts
They may have been born on the airwaves, but these public media stations compete on the web as well. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 local public media websites in the United States.
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Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Joshua Benton @joshuabenton.com · 29/07/2025
New by me —> These are the 25 largest nonprofit news sites in the U.S. by web traffic. Some you’d expect (like @propublica.org), others you might not (@ncronline.bsky.social, @sciencenews.bsky.social, @lapublicpress.bsky.social, @notusreports.bsky.social) www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/nonp...
niemanlab.org
Nonprofit news sites are built to generate impact — but these are also generating audiences
In markets large and small, these nonprofit news organizations are achieving traffic numbers that many commercial outlets would envy. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 nonprofit news site...
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
"We're planting a seed in these cities." www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/good...
niemanlab.org
6AM City acquires Good Daily’s network of more than 350 AI-generated local newsletters
6AM City will continue to operate its "core" newsletters with human editors, but will treat Good Daily’s AI-generated newsletters as "seed markets."
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Laura Hazard Owen @laurahazardowen.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
New feature alert @niemanlab.org: Traffic rankings for the top U.S. news outlets in three categories — local newspapers, nonprofit news sites, and public radio stations. First up, local newspapers by @joshuabenton.com
niemanlab.org
How did newspapers in places like Harrisburg, Birmingham, and Syracuse become some of America’s most-read online?
They share an owner that sometimes gets forgotten — but which dominates much larger peers in web traffic. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 local newspaper websites in the United States.
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