The New York Times is Pulling out of Apple News →

Kellen Browning and Jack Nicas:

The Times is one of the first media organizations to pull out of Apple News. The Times, which has made adding new subscribers a key business goal, said that Apple had given it little in the way of direct relationships with readers and little control over the business. It said it hoped to instead drive readers directly to its own website and mobile app so that it could “fund quality journalism.”

“Core to a healthy model between The Times and the platforms is a direct path for sending those readers back into our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers, and the nature of our business rules,” Meredith Kopit Levien, chief operating officer, wrote in a memo to employees. “Our relationship with Apple News does not fit within these parameters.”

The NYT never took part in Apple News+, but even that seems to have resulted in disappointing revenue for publishers. I know some in the Apple world would prefer the company to be between them and publishers to obscure their personal information, but clearly that doesn’t work with existing business models. I don’t blame the NYT for making this call.

TidBITS Turns 30 →

Adam Engst:

One of the most insightful comments I’ve seen about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic points out that we’re in a state of narrative collapse. Our societal stories, the tales we tell ourselves to make sense of the world and even how to navigate it, have failed us. We’re all reaching out to family and friends like never before to learn how they’re holding up, how they’ve chosen or been forced to deal, if they’re going to be OK. Events are changing too fast for anyone to gain a firm footing, and while the uncertainty horizon is slowly increasing, we can still really only forecast that next week will probably be like this week. Next month—who knows?

But there is one thing I can predict with near certainty, which is that we’ll publish an issue of TidBITS for you today. We’ll do it again next Monday, and the Monday after that, and every Monday for the foreseeable future. That’s what we’ve done for 30 years now, as of this Thursday, 16 April 2020.

This is, quite simply, an amazing accomplishment. Many of you reading this weren’t born yet when TidBITS published its first edition. Wild.

Rene Ritchie Going Indie →

Rene Ritchie is joining the indie ranks:

He’s launching a new channel (as the old one is part of the iMore brand) and I’ve already subscribed.

Tim Cook, on Bloomberg Server Hacking Story →

John Paczkowski and Joseph Bernstein at BuzzFeed News:

“There is no truth in their story about Apple,” Cook told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview. “They need to do that right thing and retract it.”

This is an extraordinary statement from Cook and Apple. The company has never previously publicly (though it may have done so privately) called for the retraction of a news story — even in cases where the stories have had major errors or were demonstratively false, such as a This American Life episode that was shown to be fabricated.

Reached for comment, Bloomberg reiterated its previous defense of the story. “Bloomberg Businessweek’s investigation is the result of more than a year of reporting, during which we conducted more than 100 interviews,” a spokesperson told BuzzFeed News in response to a series of questions. “Seventeen individual sources, including government officials and insiders at the companies, confirmed the manipulation of hardware and other elements of the attacks. We also published three companies’ full statements, as well as a statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We stand by our story and are confident in our reporting and sources.”

Apple News Launching 2018 Midterms Section →

Apple PR:

The 2018 Midterm Elections section helps readers follow the latest on the elections with breaking news, exclusive highlights and analysis from reliable sources selected by Apple News’ team of experienced editors. Readers can quickly get up to speed on the most relevant topics and candidates by accessing the new section in the Apple News app from a banner across the top of the For You tab, as well as through Top Stories and the Spotlight tab.

Apple is getting into Election coverage after the companies like Facebook and Twitter totally botched things in 2016. Both social networks were overrun with fake news stories, often backed and spread by foreign agents.

Facebook in particular tried to influence the stories spread on its platform with human curation, but that endedpoorly.

I have hope that Apple will do better under the leadership of Apple News Editor in Chief Lauren Kern, whom Apple hired from New York Magazine. Kern is quoted in the press release:

Today more than ever people want information from reliable sources, especially when it comes to making voting decisions.

An election is not just a contest; it should raise conversations and spark national discourse. By presenting quality news from trustworthy sources and curating a diverse range of opinions, Apple News aims to be a responsible steward of those conversations and help readers understand the candidates and the issues.

Apple News will pull stories from Fox News, Vox, The Washington Post, Axios and Politico among “other publishers.” While I have a whole heap of problems with Fox News, I think this collection of publishers is pretty even-handed when it comes to political persuasion.

The New York Times is an interesting omission, but I love that Vox and Axios, two digital media startups are going to be featured sources within Apple News.

Currently, I don’t use Apple News all that much, but this may change that.

Apple Buys Texture, the Digital Magazine Service →

Apple, in a rare acquisition announcement:

Texture brings over 200 of the world’s best magazines to life, providing an easy way for users to read high-quality stories and entire issues of their favorite titles. With Texture, users enjoy the magazines they know and love, while discovering new content that fits their passions and interests.

“We’re excited Texture will join Apple, along with an impressive catalog of magazines from many of the world’s leading publishers,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users.”

I’m not a Texture subscriber, but I like the concept. A single $9.99/month subscription gives users access to their favorite publications. It’s like a mashup of Netflix and Apple’s now-defunct Newsstand.

Texture’s future is Apple News, it seems:

After the deal goes through, Apple will own all of Texture, which currently publishes not only an iOS app, but also Android, Amazon Kindle Fire and Windows. I assume at some point those apps may fade away as Apple News ingests the content currently offered by Texture.

This comes as tech companies are changing how they handle news sources. Facebook and Twitter are both continuing to make changes in the wake of the 2016 election, downplaying the role of news on their platforms. Apple is moving in the other direction, but Apple News (and now Texture) gives Apple the ability to publish news solely from trusted source, as Eddie Cue’s quote in the Apple PR article points out.

Whatever happens with Texture, it sure is an interesting acquisition. I look forward to seing what Apple does here.

Sinclair Broadcast Group →

John Oliver spent some time looking at Sinclair Broadcast Group, the company that is buying up a huge number of local TV news stations around the country. It is a fascinating — and scary — look behind the scenes of media. The views this company holds and and forces into the homes of their viewers are horrifying.

Fox’s Coverage of the Senate Health Care Bill →

This piece by Jeff Guo on how the new bill was covered on Fox shouldn’t surprise anyone:

Juan Williams, the token liberal, was the only person who brought up substantive details about the new Republican bill. “This is going to drive the premiums and costs for working people who come to the hospital,” he said. “What about the elderly, Jesse? The people we all have sympathy for?”

“They are all going to die, according to the liberals,” Gutfeld mocked.

“You forgot the children dying of cancer,” deadpanned Kimberly Guilfoyle, who was at one point rumored to be a possible replacement for Sean Spicer as the president’s press secretary.

Fuck you, Fox.

Lauren Kern Named First Editor-in-Chief of Apple News →

Politico:

And it’s a move that’s sure to raise eyebrows not just in Silicon Valley, but in Manhattan media circles as well. Morning Media has learned that Apple has given the job — a new position at the Cupertino-based company — to Lauren Kern, one of New York magazine’s most high-ranking editors and a former deputy editor at The New York Times Magazine.

It’s unclear at this point what this position will mean for Apple News, as the company and Kern declined to comment. I assume Apple is building more of editorial organization within Apple News, but how big it will be, and what it will do within the app is unknown, to me at least.

Two things do come to mind though.

First, Apple could be building a news team. I think this is pretty unlikely, but first-party reporting within Apple News could add value to the platform. This team could even generate video for Apple’s Always-Rumored-But-Never-Here TV offering. Getting into reporting can be expensive and risky. Moreover, it just doesn’t seem like a very Apple-like move to me.

What I think is more likely is the second option; this new team could be working to influence coverage seen in Apple News to a greater extent than what is happening now.

Facebook has been under pressure for influencing the top news trends seen by its users, as well as its shifting approach to fighting fake news. If Apple wades into these waters, it will have to deal with these issues at some point.

It’s very tricky business to exercise editorial control over news from outside sources. I’m very curious to see what — if anything — changes in Apple News in the future.

Mossberg Out →

Walt Mossberg, in his final weekly column:

We’ve all had a hell of a ride for last few decades, no matter when you got on the roller coaster. It’s been exciting, enriching, transformative. But it’s also been about objects and processes. Soon, after a brief slowdown, the roller coaster will be accelerating faster than ever, only this time it’ll be about actual experiences, with much less emphasis on the way those experiences get made.

This column is thought-provoking and more than a little bittersweet. Our industry is saying goodbye to an icon.

Tim Cook, on Fake News →

Allister Heath at The Telegraph:

The rise of fake news was being driven by unscrupulous firms determined to attract online readers at any cost, [Cook] said.

“We are going through this period of time right here where unfortunately some of the people that are winning are the people that spend their time trying to get the most clicks, not tell the most truth,” he said. “It’s killing people’s minds in a way.”

Products like Apple News can be used to combat this, but the biggest platform for this garbage is Facebook.