For the Record

Times Explores Wirecutter Subscription:

The New York Times "is in the early stages of researching a consumer subscription for its product recommendation site Wirecutter," according to a job description obtained by Sara Fischer of Axios and confirmed by Head of Standalone Products David Perpich. Since 2018, the news organization has become increasingly reliant on lifestyle and entertainment subscription services, with "more than 1/3 of The Times' net new subscriptions last quarter" coming from its Cooking and Games products. "To launch a subscription offering you need to deeply understand the audience, what the willingness to pay is, and what the execution needs to be like," said Perpich. "Having someone come in from a marketing perspective is a key part of puzzle for us."

Sports Illustrated Struggles:

Staffers at Sports Illustrated are "increasingly demoralized and dispirited" due to a "civil war" between operating brand licensee The Maven and parent company Authentic Brands Group, according to Maxwell Tani of The Daily Beast. Recently, employees were asked to "retain and preserve all documents related to Maven, SI, and ABG — revealing [...] the seriousness of ongoing legal threats between the organizations," while the hiring of a blogger who "pleaded guilty to the second-degree felony of having an improper relationship with a student while he was a high-school teacher" has exacerbated tensions. In a statement, a a Maven spokesperson said the company “began investigating as soon as we became aware of a question around him" but would not "answer follow up questions about whether he would continue to write under the Maven and SI banner."

Blethen on Local News:

In a column commemorating the 124th anniversary of The Seattle Times, Publisher Frank Blethen (a great-grandson of founder Alden Blethen) offered a "road map" for saving local media, including a "strong bipartisan 'Local Newsroom Grants' program," the restoration of "rules supporting local ownership and local competition" and Senate approval of the Employee Retention Tax Credit. "The critical question today is whether it is too late to save our free press system and begin a renaissance of civic engagement and equal opportunity," he said. "The answer is no, it is not too late. But the window is closing. We must act now to save what is left of the beleaguered system and begin the rebuild and reform process."

Thompson on 'Reorganizing' Times:

In an "exit interview" with Yael Taqqu and Raju Narisetti of McKinsey, outgoing New York Times Company CEO Mark Thompson discussed his organizational philosophy and thoughts on the future of digital media. "We were endlessly fussing with our digital structure," he recalled. "I think we didn't get digital structure close to right until late 2018. I often say [...] that I reorganized digital three times, unsuccessfully, and [successor Meredith Kopit Levien] reorganized it twice, unsuccessfully, and then we got it right." He added: "[T]he 10 million-subscriber target, which is only about 18 months old — it was announced in February 2019 — now looks too modest. We said 10 million by 2025. The company will be more than two-thirds of the way there by the end of 2020, based on current momentum. The opportunity now is to become one of the tiny handful of trusted independent sources of news in the world."

Publishers Experiment With Retail Promotions:

Following Amazon's announcement that it will postpone its annual Prime Day promotion until the fourth quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, "publishers with commerce operations are seeing an opportunity to try their hand at creating their own shopping holidays," according to Kayleigh Barber of Digiday. The Strategist and Cosmopolitan "both launched their first two-day long shopping events" this summer, while media ecommerce platform StackCommerce "is looking to create a sales event that will span across many of its publishing partners’ commerce sites."

Lai Arrested in Hong Kong:

Hong Kong publisher and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai "has been arrested on suspicion of 'colluding' with foreign forces" under the city's national security law, according to James Griffiths and Eric Cheung of CNN. Public broadcaster RTHK has reported that several other employees at Lai's Apple Day newspaper also were arrested. Under the national security law, the charge against Lai carries "a maximum penalty of life imprisonment."

Bernard Bailyn (1922–2020):

1968 and 1987 History winner Bernard Bailyn died Friday in Belmont, Mass. He was 97. A specialist in early American history throughout his career at Harvard University, Bailyn played a key role in contextualizing the British political antecedents of the Revolution before turning to quantitative research techniques as a pioneer of Atlantic history. His students included 1973 History winner Michael Kammen, 1993 History winner Gordon S. Wood and 1997 History winner Jack N. Rakove. 

Google Deletes China-Linked YouTube Channels:

Google deleted "more than 2,500 YouTube channels tied to China" between April and June "as part of its effort to weed out disinformation on the video-sharing platform," according to Lily Kuo of The Guardian. Although the channels generally posted "spammy, non-political content," several "touched on politics," the company said "in a quarterly bulletin on disinformation operations." On Wednesday, the White House characterized the Chinese-owned video app TikTok and messenger app WeChat as “significant threats” to the general election.

Gannett to Hire in Second Half of 2020:

In an interview with Rick Edmonds of Poynter, Gannett CEO Mike Reed said that the publisher plans "some staffing increases" this fall amid COVID-related "permanent expense reductions" and no additional layoffs. Reed added that the reductions "will come from a variety of sources," including "combining facilities, renegotiating leases, less travel and some elimination of business-side jobs as Gannett and the GateHouse chain continue to merge."

Discover Contemporary Classical:

A New York Times playlist of art music written in the past twenty years includes selections from 2013 winner Caroline Shaw, 2014 winner John Luther Adams, 2018 finalist Ted Hearne and 2019 finalist Andrew Norman's "Sustain," while 2017 winner Du Yun chose Okkyung Lee's “In Stardust (For Kang Kyung-ok)” as a selection. Reflecting on Shaw's winning work, "Partita for Eight Voices," choreographer Justin Peck said that the piece "feels three-dimensional, voluminous, astronomical — but also intimate, personal and incremental."