Nieman Lab
@niemanlab.org
We are the Nieman Journalism Lab, part of the Nieman Foundation at Harvard. We're trying to figure out the future of news.
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🔗 https://www.niemanlab.org/
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Nieman Lab
@niemanlab.org
· May 10
How to subscribe to our work
The Daily Digest
Nearly 70,000 people get our newsletter, The Daily Digest, which goes out at 3 p.m. ET Mondays through Thursdays. It includes both our own stories and our curated rundown of the most...
www.niemanlab.org
What’s the best way to follow how the news is changing?
📨 Our daily email, with all the freshest future-of-journalism news. We also have a weekly version. www.niemanlab.org/subscribe/
📨 Our daily email, with all the freshest future-of-journalism news. We also have a weekly version. www.niemanlab.org/subscribe/
Reposted by Nieman Lab
Hear, hear!
“I ultimately think it’s healthier for a publication to owe their financial health to their readers instead of their donors,” Woolley said. “And from a journalistic standpoint, I like the idea of our primary duty being to readers.”
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/l-a-...
“I ultimately think it’s healthier for a publication to owe their financial health to their readers instead of their donors,” Woolley said. “And from a journalistic standpoint, I like the idea of our primary duty being to readers.”
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/l-a-...
L.A. Reported prepares for launch as a weekly Substack that “won’t waste readers’ time”
“I ultimately think it's healthier for a publication to owe their financial health to their readers instead of their donors.”
www.niemanlab.org
January 15, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Hear, hear!
“I ultimately think it’s healthier for a publication to owe their financial health to their readers instead of their donors,” Woolley said. “And from a journalistic standpoint, I like the idea of our primary duty being to readers.”
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/l-a-...
“I ultimately think it’s healthier for a publication to owe their financial health to their readers instead of their donors,” Woolley said. “And from a journalistic standpoint, I like the idea of our primary duty being to readers.”
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/l-a-...
It’s not a news site. But there’s a lot to learn from how Wikipedia constructs shared knowledge about what’s happening in the world. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/afte...
After 25 years, Wikipedia has proved that news doesn’t need to look like news
It's not a news site. But there's a lot to learn from how Wikipedia constructs shared knowledge about what’s happening in the world.
www.niemanlab.org
January 15, 2026 at 10:04 PM
It’s not a news site. But there’s a lot to learn from how Wikipedia constructs shared knowledge about what’s happening in the world. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/afte...
A new nonprofit newsroom will launch as a weekly Substack and “focus on what makes Los Angeles livable, or not." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/l-a-...
L.A. Reported prepares for launch as a weekly Substack that “won’t waste readers’ time”
“I ultimately think it's healthier for a publication to owe their financial health to their readers instead of their donors.”
www.niemanlab.org
January 15, 2026 at 9:02 PM
A new nonprofit newsroom will launch as a weekly Substack and “focus on what makes Los Angeles livable, or not." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/l-a-...
"[In Our Time] has built a devoted audience by doing something faintly perverse: convening a small panel of academics on a single subject — often esoteric like The Iliad or the historical concept of the Rapture or fungi — and simply letting these nerds cook." www.vulture.com/article/in-o...
Life After Melvyn Bragg
After 28 years and 1,083 episodes, Bragg is leaving his popular BBC podcast, In Our Time. His replacement is hoping you’ll stay for the next 1,000.
www.vulture.com
January 15, 2026 at 8:25 PM
"[In Our Time] has built a devoted audience by doing something faintly perverse: convening a small panel of academics on a single subject — often esoteric like The Iliad or the historical concept of the Rapture or fungi — and simply letting these nerds cook." www.vulture.com/article/in-o...
After years of chasing social media engagement and being burned in the process, publishers have realized that commenting has a tangible value — to the broader public, yes, but also in terms of advertising and subscription revenue.
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news...
Newsrooms are taking comments seriously again
Three lessons from running comments at The Times of London.
www.niemanlab.org
January 14, 2026 at 9:25 PM
After years of chasing social media engagement and being burned in the process, publishers have realized that commenting has a tangible value — to the broader public, yes, but also in terms of advertising and subscription revenue.
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/news...
Project 2025 laid the groundwork for Wednesday’s raid on a Washington Post reporter’s home www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/proj...
Project 2025 laid the groundwork for Wednesday’s raid on a Washington Post reporter’s home
On Wednesday morning, the FBI executed a search warrant on a Washington Post reporter's home as part of a probe into a government worker accused of illegally retaining classified information. The…
www.niemanlab.org
January 14, 2026 at 8:17 PM
Project 2025 laid the groundwork for Wednesday’s raid on a Washington Post reporter’s home www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/proj...
Reposted by Nieman Lab
Today @laurahazardowen.bsky.social and @sarahscire.com let me write about my favorite hobby: class action lawsuit settlements!
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/did-...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/did-...
Did you cancel your New York Times subscription? You may be able to get paid
Canceling a news subscription has long been a multipronged nightmare. But some New York-based news consumers might qualify for a bag of coffee's worth of relief.
The New York Times has reached a sett...
www.niemanlab.org
January 13, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Today @laurahazardowen.bsky.social and @sarahscire.com let me write about my favorite hobby: class action lawsuit settlements!
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/did-...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/did-...
Did you cancel your New York Times subscription? You may be able to get paid www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/did-...
Did you cancel your New York Times subscription? You may be able to get paid
Canceling a news subscription has long been a multipronged nightmare. But some New York-based news consumers might qualify for a bag of coffee's worth of relief. The New York Times has reached a…
www.niemanlab.org
January 14, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Did you cancel your New York Times subscription? You may be able to get paid www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/did-...
“It’s sort of the anti-Nextdoor and Citizen…rather than using crime and fear as a way to get people engaged, what if you used humor?”
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/high...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/high...
Highlighting the funniest moments, this startup aims to bring public meetings into the TikTok era
Hamlet, founded by Sunil Rajaraman in 2022, also extracts data from public meetings for private clients, including real estate developers.
www.niemanlab.org
January 14, 2026 at 3:49 PM
“It’s sort of the anti-Nextdoor and Citizen…rather than using crime and fear as a way to get people engaged, what if you used humor?”
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/high...
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/high...
"Some refer to them as their 'stop scrolling' bags. There are analog wicker baskets for evenings on the sofa, bags for long journeys, and even some for romantic weekends away. Suggestions include doing a joint wordsearch rather than playing Wordle individually."
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026...
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026...
The rise of the analogue bag: fashion’s answer to doomscrolling
As screen fatigue grows, a new trend is swapping smartphones for crosswords and sketchbooks – turning the humble bag into a tool for offline living
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:35 PM
"Some refer to them as their 'stop scrolling' bags. There are analog wicker baskets for evenings on the sofa, bags for long journeys, and even some for romantic weekends away. Suggestions include doing a joint wordsearch rather than playing Wordle individually."
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026...
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026...
"In one case that experts described as 'dangerous' and 'alarming,' Google provided bogus information about crucial liver function tests that could leave people with serious liver disease wrongly thinking they were healthy."
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
‘Dangerous and alarming’: Google removes some of its AI summaries after users’ health put at risk
Guardian investigation finds AI Overviews provided inaccurate and false information when queried over blood tests
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:30 AM
"In one case that experts described as 'dangerous' and 'alarming,' Google provided bogus information about crucial liver function tests that could leave people with serious liver disease wrongly thinking they were healthy."
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
"For trans journalists, risks tend to fall into two categories: those associated with being a trans employee and those associated with reporting as a trans person."
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
Trans journalists on the risks of working in the news industry—and how to ensure their safety.
A dozen journalists on the risks of working in the news industry—and how to ensure their safety.
www.cjr.org
January 13, 2026 at 12:30 AM
"For trans journalists, risks tend to fall into two categories: those associated with being a trans employee and those associated with reporting as a trans person."
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
www.cjr.org/feature/repo...
“I often get asked, ‘Well, what about our jobs and what about staying employed?’ My answer has always been: We are not in the business of keeping journalists employed.”
niemanreports.org/gina-chua-ai...
niemanreports.org/gina-chua-ai...
'How can we have the best of machines and the best of humans?' - Nieman Reports
Gina Chua discusses how AI is reshaping the news industry. She is executive director of the Tow-Knight Center and editor-at-large at Semafor.
niemanreports.org
January 12, 2026 at 11:45 PM
“I often get asked, ‘Well, what about our jobs and what about staying employed?’ My answer has always been: We are not in the business of keeping journalists employed.”
niemanreports.org/gina-chua-ai...
niemanreports.org/gina-chua-ai...
"It may be the case that some of the sour vibes among established YouTubers, and their audiences, come from a sense of looming generational change in a platform large enough, old enough, and self-contained enough to feel like a sector unto itself."
nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com/intelligence...
The YouTube Vibecession
By the numbers, everything is going great for creators. So why are so many of them scared it’s all about to fall apart?
nymag.com
January 12, 2026 at 10:45 PM
"It may be the case that some of the sour vibes among established YouTubers, and their audiences, come from a sense of looming generational change in a platform large enough, old enough, and self-contained enough to feel like a sector unto itself."
nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com/intelligence...
Documented is training other publishers to cover local immigration news with and for immigrants: www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/docu...
January 12, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Documented is training other publishers to cover local immigration news with and for immigrants: www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/docu...
Media executives around the world are gloomy about the state of the business at large — but a little more than half are optimistic about their *own* news businesses, a new report from @reutersinstitute.bsky.social finds. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/publ...
Publishers prepare to be “squeezed” by AI and creators in 2026
Newsrooms will prioritize on-the-ground reporting, YouTube, and something called "liquid content" this year, according to a global survey of news executives.
www.niemanlab.org
January 12, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Media executives around the world are gloomy about the state of the business at large — but a little more than half are optimistic about their *own* news businesses, a new report from @reutersinstitute.bsky.social finds. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/publ...
Will Pittsburgh become America’s most important city without a newspaper? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/will...
Will Pittsburgh become America’s most important city without a newspaper?
One of the country's oldest newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, says it's shutting down in May. Not going digital-only — just disappearing. But the delayed closure could also spur some…
www.niemanlab.org
January 12, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Will Pittsburgh become America’s most important city without a newspaper? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/will...
When everyone has seen the same videos, what service do news sites provide? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/when...
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?
www.niemanlab.org
January 12, 2026 at 12:35 PM
When everyone has seen the same videos, what service do news sites provide? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/when...
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/coul...
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/coul...
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime."
www.niemanlab.org
January 12, 2026 at 11:08 AM
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/coul...
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/coul...
AI summaries are coming to (for?) your Gmail www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/ai-s...
AI summaries are coming to (for?) your Gmail
It's the week of circling back on those emails to sources you sent in December, and soon Google may determine whether you get a reply. On Thursday, Google announced that it'll start testing out a new…
www.niemanlab.org
January 12, 2026 at 11:07 AM
AI summaries are coming to (for?) your Gmail www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/ai-s...
On Thursday, Google announced that it’ll start testing out a new AI Inbox tab, which will analyze the contents of a user’s emails, summarize them, and suggest action items. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/ai-s...
AI summaries are coming to (for?) your Gmail
It's the week of circling back on those emails to sources you sent in December, and soon Google may determine whether you get a reply. On Thursday, Google announced that it'll start testing out a new…
www.niemanlab.org
January 8, 2026 at 10:04 PM
On Thursday, Google announced that it’ll start testing out a new AI Inbox tab, which will analyze the contents of a user’s emails, summarize them, and suggest action items. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/ai-s...
Reposted by Nieman Lab
A typically excellent @joshuabenton.com piece today, on the demise of Pittsburgh’s only daily newspaper. (I also learned that the Toledo Blade had a London bureau til 1983!)
Via @niemanlab.org
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/will...
Via @niemanlab.org
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/will...
Will Pittsburgh become America’s most important city without a newspaper?
One of the country's oldest newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, says it's shutting down in May. Not going digital-only — just disappearing. But the delayed closure could also spur some long-delay...
www.niemanlab.org
January 8, 2026 at 7:11 PM
A typically excellent @joshuabenton.com piece today, on the demise of Pittsburgh’s only daily newspaper. (I also learned that the Toledo Blade had a London bureau til 1983!)
Via @niemanlab.org
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/will...
Via @niemanlab.org
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/will...
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. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/when...
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?
www.niemanlab.org
January 8, 2026 at 9:30 PM
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. www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/when...
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/coul...
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime."
www.niemanlab.org
January 7, 2026 at 6:06 PM
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/coul...
"For 16 years now, we’ve asked smart people what they think will happen in the coming year in the world of journalism and digital media. And this year’s collection of predictions, published last month, is the biggest — and, I think, the best — yet." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/what...
What’s coming for news in 2026? These predictions offer a clue
The inspiration you need for the new year? It's all in here.
www.niemanlab.org
January 6, 2026 at 10:45 PM
"For 16 years now, we’ve asked smart people what they think will happen in the coming year in the world of journalism and digital media. And this year’s collection of predictions, published last month, is the biggest — and, I think, the best — yet." www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/what...