This feels like a parody
Media statistic of the week
Twitter is still the place where media publishers collectively have the largest audiences, followed by Facebook and Instagram, according to an Axios analysis of 82 major news, entertainment and sports publishers.
Sara Fischer and Kerry Flynn break down the data over at Axios.
The duo also took a hard look at media darling TikTok noting, “While some publishers are finding quick success on TikTok, the platform yields fewer overall followers for publishers than other social platforms.”
This data aligns with Muck Rack’s State of Journalism 2022 where journalists say Twitter is the most valued social channel.
Still, Will Flannigan poses an interesting question: “I wonder what engagement looks like across these platforms? Sure, a media outlet may have truckloads of Twitter followers, but what are they worth compared to, let's say, YouTube subs or LinkedIn followers?”
This past week in the media industry
RIP, Queen Elizabeth II
We’ve got a roundup of major news stories surrounding the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week.
As the New York Times writes on a page with several related stories, “Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died at the age of 96, leaving behind a legacy that blended the ancient and the modern with the help of mass media.”
The death of Queen Elizabeth led to the biggest traffic surge to UK news brands since the 2020 US election, according to Charlotte Tobitt for the Press Gazette. The Guardian, The Telegraph, Sky News and several other media outlets shared statistics with the Press Gazette.
“A Guardian News and Media spokesperson also revealed that website traffic on Thursday peaked at more than a quarter of a million page views per minute, with almost half that audience coming to its breaking news story about the Queen’s death,” Tobitt reports.
Gizmodo’s Jody Serrano offers a fascinating look into Wikipedia’s “deaditors” (a play on the word ‘editors’) who “sprang into action on Queen Elizabeth II’s page after her death.”
Here’s a snippet:
“According to Rauwerda, the late Queen’s page had been ‘pretty exciting’ the whole day of her death. Editors were, for example, choosing a historical picture to update the Queen’s page in the case of her passing. As explained by Rauwerda, ‘once someone dies, wikipedia generally uses a good historical pic instead of a recent elderly pic.’”
“There was so much to do. Tenses to change, pictures to choose. And what would they call Charles?” tweets Blake Montgomery.
A planned three-day strike by the National Union of Journalists has been called off in the wake of the death of the Queen, with a revised pay proposal now set to be put to union members, according to Paul Linford from HoldTheFrontPage.
Meanwhile, for The New Yorker, Clare Malone details “why you, your mom, your sisters, and your friends are all obsessed with the British royal family.”
1,300 NY Times staffers say no to office return
The New York Times expects employees to start returning to the office three days a week starting this week, according to Keith Kelly from the New York Post.
It has not gone over well.
Recommended by LinkedIn
As of Monday, 1,316 Times workers had signed a pledge not to return to the office, Kelly reports.
“It’s just the latest blow in the increasingly bitter contract dispute between the News Guild journalists union — which includes reporters and photographers, as well as some editors and business-side employees — and upper management, over wages,” Kelly writes.
“Thanks to my union colleagues for their efforts on contract negotiations. Fwiw, the executive pay raises outlined here are pretty interesting considering the way wage negotiations have been going with the union,” tweets NY Times staff editor Kathleen O'Brien.
Rolling Stone founder on not reading the magazine anymore
“Rock may be dead, but Jann Wenner is still rolling” starts the fascinating interview with the founder of Rolling Stone magazine.
The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd’s profile talks with Wenner about LSD, not reading the magazine anymore and how the Stones now look like “Lord of the Rings” characters onstage
“I’m sorry to see it go,” Mr. Wenner said about rock ’n’ roll. “It’s not coming back. It’ll end up like jazz.”
“Pretty amusing to hear Jann Wenner declare rock is dead, which sounds like something… a cranky old guy says,” tweets Mark Follman.
“This feels like a parody,” tweets Lee DeVito while Gordy Megroz adds,”The man could be [a] pain to work for but he has great stories. Will certainly be buying his book.”
“Jann Wenner has reached the DGAF stage,” writes Brian McCullough.
Condé Nast employees won union recognition
Condé Nast employees won union recognition, making workers at titles such as Vogue and GQ the latest to join a wave of unionization across the media industry, reports the Washington Post’s Elahe Izadi.
“The Condé Nast union covers more than 500 U.S.-based employees: a majority of the editorial, production and video workers at 11 publications, including Vanity Fair, Bon Appétit, Allure, Architectural Digest and Condé Nast Entertainment, the company’s in-house production studio,” Izadi writes.
“The Condé Nast Union winning recognition today is a great achievement for the 500-plus workers in that unit — and a great reminder that media unions include many more than just the journalists,” tweets Benjamin R. Freed.
“WE DID IT!!! I'm so proud of my Condé Nast colleagues! 🥰😭,” adds Ashley Wolfgang.
A few more
From the Muck Rack Team
It has been a big week at Muck Rack! Here’s a roundup of exciting news on our front:
Independent Writing and Editing Professional
2yand salesforce tv
Storyteller, Thought Follower, and International Man of Mystery
2yAs a dedicated reader of muckrack daily, and occasional trivia contest participant, I’d like a cut of the $180 million please. I’m happy to accept a check.