Under-represented Voices Are Mission Critical

Hi all. Welcome to Public Media Innovators Weekly. This week we look at the preponderance of male news influencers, registration opens for our December AI webinar, and we delight in The Onion’s newest acquisition.

But First…

I’ll start with a quick note that there will not be an issue of this newsletter next week. The next issue will come out around December 4.

And next, a plug for our December webinar, 12/12 at 1:30pET/10:30aPT. This will be our first collaboration with the Executive Content Managers group, and we’re happy to bring you a conversation with Talia Rosen, of PBS Standards & Practices. The idea for this webinar arose out of our NETA presentation in Pittsburgh. When the PBS Newshour’s Leah Clapman asked for guidance on what might be in-bounds or out-of-bounds for the use of AI with PBS we realized we didn’t have a good answer. But we knew who to ask.

Talia has been a huge help to me in figuring out what about our draft AI policies has and hasn’t worked and has been the last set of eyes on both our 2023 and 2024 versions of our AI policy prior to publishing. If you are a producer, you’ll want to hear what she has to say about what does or doesn’t pass muster with PBS. And if you are an editorial decision maker, you’ll want to hear what things she considers when evaluating content the includes generative media. You can register for the webinar here.

Under-represented Voices Are Mission Critical

Prior to the 2024 election, Pew Research was in the field collecting data from thousands of Americans on news content creators. The resulting report, released Monday, hit my inbox courtesy of Taylor Lorenz’s User Mag newsletter (see also, Focus, below). This week her title was “The majority of news influencers are conservative men, study finds.” Here's one of the more important paragraphs her very important overview: “Social media platforms have also long boosted men's voices over women’s. The refusal to tamp down on misogynistic hate and harassment, or provide users with tools to protect themselves, has resulted in the silencing of women's voices across the internet. This dynamic is especially pronounced on platforms like YouTube and Twitter....Male news influencers often push narratives that exclude or marginalize female or nonbinary voices. The result is a media environment that caters disproportionately to male audiences and viewpoints."

Here’s another: “In a media environment where about 4 in 10 adults under 30 regularly get news from news content creators, this imbalance isn’t just inequitable—it’s a systemic distortion of public discourse that ultimately undermines democratic values, entrenches conservative messaging, and accelerates polarization.”

The media landscape has changed, and changed in a way that makes public media more necessary than ever…if we are brave enough to adapt to meet the moment. I am not arguing that public media should be a part of a left-leaning rebalance of online social spaces. Quite the contrary actually, we should stand solidly, stoically in the center, doing what we’ve always done: championing under-represented voices, and Pew’s study shows us clearly whose voices are underrepresented.

Okay, on to the links….

Focus…

The majority of news influencers are conservative men, study finds (Taylor Lorenz - User Mag) - I mentioned this in my column above, but one tidbit that Lorenz highlights that also deserves mention here is the fact that TikTok is the one social platform that has not (yet) be co-opted by partisan influencers. —Extra credit: Sarah Scire’s piece from Nieman Lab on the Pew report: Two-thirds of news influencers are men — and most have never worked for a news organization

Learn…

Unleashing Creativity and Applying Standards to Generative AI (Talia Rosen - PBS Standards & Practices) - Join us, Thursday, December 12, 1:30 p.m. ET for a lively presentation and discussion surrounding the application of standards while using generative AI. We will explore specific use cases and share best practices. Bring your station’s insights, dilemmas, experiences, and questions to make the most of our 90-minutes together. This is our first co-presentation with Executive Content Managers group. All are welcome, and you can register for the webinar here.

The JournalismAI Festival (JournalismAI) - This virtual conference runs December 3 and 4. From their website: "A celebration of the most exciting developments at the intersection of journalism and artificial intelligence. The JournalismAI Festival features conversations and case studies that explore the intersection of journalism and artificial intelligence. It is all about using AI to make journalism better. Together." Register here.

Think…

Building an 'AI-First' Newsroom (Pete Pachal - The Media Copilot) - Here's a key quote: "[F]or anyone waiting for AI to flame out or fade out, a reality check: AI is here, it's growing, and it's not going anywhere. It's clear that large language models will be a significant if not integral part of how people get information going forward. Even if a newsroom decided not to use AI, its effects on the media ecosystem would necessitate altering content strategy. AI is accelerating some harsh realities (such as the drop-off of search and social referrals) and altering consumer expectations (with AI-powered summarization engines) that no media company can avoid. In other words, embracing AI may seem optional, but acknowledging that AI will inevitably embrace you isn't."

I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon (Lawrence Wilkinson - (Roughly) Daily) - You've probably heard the aphorism that history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Here's a good example of that, in the meter of mass media. (The title of the piece is a quote from Tom Stoppard, btw.) H/t to Todd Hoskins at Canopy Gap for sending this one my way.

Why Traditional Media Can’t Have Its Own Joe Rogan (Josh Hersh & Nick Quah - CJR) - Another great take this week from Nick Quah. Good food for thought as the inevitable reflections kick in on how do create or support influencers in public media.

Trump 2.0: The likely impact of a second Trump presidency on the media and entertainment industry (Andy Stout - RedShark News) - I think anyone who says they know what's going to happen in the next four years missed 2017-2020, but I also think speculation is good fuel for reflection. So, take what Stout says as food for thought.

The Science of Having a Great Conversation (David Robson - Wired) - In my column last week, I asserted that innovation was about more than just tech. In that vein, I'm going to start including more 'soft skills' piece to help all of us be better innovators. This piece looks at conversation as a way of creating a shared reality between two people. There are many good points here, but if you are looking for something quick to take into your next meeting 1) Ask good questions of the other person, be intentionally and demonstrative with your attention, and put away your phone.

Know…

Milestone PBS-Amazon Deal Will Bring 150 Local Stations, Two New FAST Channels To Prime Video (Dade Hayes - Deadline) - I don't know that I'd consider FAST channels on Amazon Prime innovative (Variety estimates there are upwards of 2,000 FAST channels in the US, a 5x increase since 2020), but it is adaptive. You do have to go where the audiences are and the 'recently viewed' tray in Prime is quickly becoming the next gen cable tv guide. —See PBS’s press release on the announcement: PBS local station channels, including the PBS KIDS Channel, will be available to stream free for all Prime Video viewers in the U.S. —And for primer on FAST channels, check out Josh Terry’s piece in Matchpoint: The History of FAST Channels – Their Rise and Where They’re Headed

Writers Threaten Strike at ‘Frontline,’ ‘NOVA’ and Other PBS Shows (Gene Maddaus - Variety) - FYI, ICYMI elsewhere.

NPM Launches Civics Scribble Game and Generative AI Policy (Jane Hagan - PBS Standards) - Thanks to Jane for covering Nebraska's new video game and generative AI policy. You all are used to hearing from me about the game, but this piece gives you the perspective of the game's producer Lauren Paatela.

Telegraph is launching an AI-driven newsroom tool every month (Charlotte Tobitt - PressGazette) - From the piece: "The tools include newsroom workflow aides, consumer-facing AI services and internal data discovery tools. They are packaged together in an internal tool called Pulse AI so staff have a one-stop shop for the new services." I like the approach the Telegraph is taking by creating products for its staff and then organizing them in an easy to find place. This is an example we in public media could do worse than mimic. —Related: Reporting from the summer of '23 by Aisha Majid: Swedish daily Aftonbladet finds people spend longer on articles with AI-generated summaries

ESPN Testing Generative AI Avatar FACTS to Break Down Complex Analytics for Fans (Lucas Manfredi - TheWrap) - I know a lot of public media stations don't do sports, but it's a staple for us in Nebraska, so when I see innovation with emerging media (h/t to Mark Leonard for tipping me to this), I like to flag it. The larger example here though, is the idea of creating a generative personality that can interact with the audience for you and add value to your broadcast product.

Gartner predicts AI agents will transform work, but disillusionment is growing (Taryn Plumb - VentureBeat) - The kicker for this piece resonated with me: "Ultimately, “most of our clients are still throwing things to see if they stick to the wall,” he said. “Now they know which wall to throw it at. Before they had four walls and maybe a ceiling to throw it at, now they have a marketing wall, an IT wall, a security wall.” Last week, I included a piece from Slack about how the bloom was coming off the AI rose for workers. Gartner is now similarly saying that generative AI (gAI) is entering the "Trough of Disillusionment". This is to be expected. But remember that AI isn't monolithic, and even while gAI is heading into the trough, Agentic AI is riding up the hype cycle. So, don't expect to see a universal hype collapse for AI.

AI Oral Assessment Tool Uses Socratic Method to Test Students' Knowledge (Nathan Deen - Georgia Tech) - Interesting to see how AI could be used, not for plagiarism, but for assessment.

AI doesn’t stand a chance against actors, or Shakespeare (Ben Affleck - CNBC) - One actor/director's take on the state of AI relative to Hollywood. Good quote, regardless of whether we’re talking AI or other aspects of our field: "Craft is knowing how to work. Art is knowing when to stop.”

Batman: Arkham Shadow review: an almost flawless VR experience (Hamish Hector - TechRadar) - The Batman VR game has been getting rave reviews, and I'm including one because - when you get a piece of art that potentially could drive adoption - it's another sign that the VR winter is thawing.

Meta Quest 3S review: the way to go for mainstream MR (Tony Vitillo - The Ghost Howls) - As with Batman, above, I'm sharing this as a marker for the slowly rising temperature around mixed reality and VR. Plus, maybe you’re looking for a cool gift for someone this holiday season.

Meta For Education Beta Brings VR & Mixed Reality To Colleges & Universities (David Heaney - UploadVR) - Worth noting, especially for you are a university licensees.

Adobe MAX Sneaks 2024: The full rundown (David Winter - RedShark News) - At Adobe Max each year there is a showcase of passion projects from Adobe staff. Some of these become products or make their way into products. Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of generative AI on display in this rundown. But even if you never see them again, knowing what creatives are coming up with to help other creatives always offers a good overview of where the industry is going.

And finally…

The Onion adds a new layer, buying Alex Jones’ Infowars and turning it into a parody of itself (Joshua Benton - Nieman Lab) - And finally, I love it when the universe brings things back into balance.

Have a creative, productive week!