Simon Owens's Tech and Media - Meta's just not that into you
Meta's just not that into youWhy Facebook's pivot away from news is probably a good thing for publishersWelcome! I'm Simon Owens and this is my media industry newsletter. If you've received it, then you either subscribed or someone forwarded it to you. If you fit into the latter camp and want to subscribe, then you can click on this handy little button: Let’s jump into it… Quick hitsThe Financial Times continues to thrive in a tough media environment. "We’re at an all-time high in terms of readers and paying readers. We broke the £500 million revenue line last year for the first time." [Nieman Lab] The New York Times wrote about several media startups that seem to have sustainable business models. What do they all have in common? They keep their burn rates low and "have attracted top journalists by putting them at the heart of the enterprise, sometimes as part owners in the companies." [NYT] The Defector Media staff got out of Deadspin while the getting was good. It’s almost hard to mourn the loss of an outlet that basically died years ago. [CNN] A profile of a French billionaire who's acquired multiple media outlets in his home country. [WSJ] How James Garfield's assassination changed the field of medicine. [Momentary Experts] This is a funny meditation on the lifespan of a creator. There's this general assumption that a creator has "made it" once they've reached a million subscribers on a particular platform, but it's entirely possible for audiences to move on if the creator isn't able to evolve and adapt according to shifting consumption habits. [Danny Gonzalez] "In the middle of the day, especially in the late 1980s and 1990s, when business was booming, the media elite ditched their desks en masse, with the precision and predictability of the Flintstones’ opening sequence, got into their idling Lincoln Town Cars, and were driven three or four blocks to a few specific restaurants to power-lunch" [Air Mail] Meta's just not that into youNext month, Facebook is shutting down its dedicated news tab, but I doubt anyone reading this will actually notice. The tab never really made sense from a practical standpoint and was widely regarded as Facebook’s attempt to “bribe” publishers into being less critical of it. After all, publishers that appeared in the tab didn’t actually give Facebook any exclusive content, and there wasn’t much difference between what they posted to the tab vs their own dedicated pages. So why were they deserving of payouts that, in some cases, totaled in the seven figures? Bribes! If there’s any remaining doubt that the news tab drove very little engagement for publishers, then check out this Digiday piece where they all collectively shrug at its closing:
Of course, this isn’t Meta’s only shift away from news media. Several months ago, it started blocking news links from appearing in the feeds of its Canadian users — a protest of legislation that would force the company to pay those outlets for the mere right to link to them. It also announced it would end the licensing deals with Australian news outlets that had been negotiated under threat of similar legislation. And lest you think Facebook is the only Meta-owned platform to pivot from news, the company revealed last month that both Instagram and Threads wouldn’t recommend political news through their algorithms. And these were just the recent developments. Facebook has actually been deprioritizing news pages for years, stretching all the way back to the aftermath of the 2016 election. Most publishers will tell you that they’ve seen steady year-over-year declines in Facebook traffic for quite some time, and many now even treat it as an afterthought in their marketing strategies. Publishers certainly have themselves partly to blame. They’ve lobbied their local governments hard over the last years, forming a narrative that Meta extracts far more value from them than it provides in return, and therefore it owes them compensation to make up for this disparity. Even in the US, there are various bills snaking through both state and federal legislatures that aim to force Meta to the bargaining table... ![]() Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Simon Owens.A subscription gets you:
|
Older messages
Why newsletter signups should always be your north star
Friday, March 8, 2024
PLUS: How CJ Gustafson built Mostly Metrics, a newsletter for CFOs ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How I would handle CNN's digital transition
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
If the network is to succeed in its pivot to digital, it'll be on the back of its original reporting, not talking heads. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
How to drive paid memberships without a paywall
Thursday, February 29, 2024
PLUS: How Sam Koslowski helped build The Daily Aus, a social first media outlet in Australia ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
It wasn’t Vice’s business model that sank it
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Even years after the cash infusions had dried up, Vice's management was still struggling to get its overhead under control. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Traditional media outlets are under-monetizing their YouTube channels
Friday, February 23, 2024
PLUS: The state of newsletter advertising in 2024 ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
Why is everyone so afraid to talk about AIPAC?
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Most major news outlets treat AIPAC as a taboo subject — the organization whose name cannot be spoken. Over the past week, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have poured into the streets night after
E Ink's 'Wizard of Oz' moment: Behind the digital notepad's colorful transition
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Boeing's Starliner makes it back to Earth | Upcoming tech events in the PNW ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Join RSM US LLP, in partnership with GeekWire in San Francisco for an exclusive
Telegram’s Durov Strikes Back | SEC May Derail FTX Repayment Plan
Saturday, September 7, 2024
The executive issued his first public statement since he was detained. ADVERTISEMENT Forbes START INVESTING • Newsletters • MyForbes Nina Bambysheva Staff Writer, Forbes Money & Markets Follow me
Why Ireland isn't toasting VP Harris' ties
Saturday, September 7, 2024
+ that new football helmet accessory
Middle Two-Shot
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Today, enjoy our recent video and audio picks Middle Two-Shot By Kaamya Sharma • 7 Sept 2024 View in browser View in browser The full Browser recommends five articles, a video and a podcast daily.
The Home Stretch
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Columns and commentary on news, politics, business, and technology from the Intelligencer team. Intelligencer Weekend Reader Required Reading for Political Compulsives 1. Are Republicans Stuck With
7 pajamas we love
Saturday, September 7, 2024
We won't judge if you wear them all day View in browser The Recommendation Oh, so comfy A person wearing a navy blue pajama set on their couch, petting a black dog. Photo: Kyle Fitzgerald A
Last Chance To Join Forbes For Just $49.99!
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Subscribe for less than $1/week with this special membership offer. Subscribe for less than $1/week with this special membership offer. Ends Soon: Less Than $1/Week This is your last chance to take
☕ A long way from Barney
Saturday, September 7, 2024
How Selena Gomez became a billionaire... September 07, 2024 View Online | Sign Up | Shop Morning Brew PRESENTED BY Pendulum Good morning. An American man hasn't played in a Grand Slam final in 15
YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: A Dam Good Idea
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Plus, AI gets reined in, Mississippi thinks of the children, and electric school buses power on. YOU LOVE TO SEE IT: A Dam Good Idea By Jean Yi • 7 Sept 2024 View in browser View in browser A fly