Around the Wire: Google News Launches Publisher Center, Freelancers Use The Force, More Media News
Welcome to the latest installment of Around the Wire, PR Newswire’s round up of journalism, blogging, and freelancing news from the past week.
Image by JD Hancock/Flickr; used under CC BY 2.0 License
1. 8 Jedi Mind Tricks for Freelancers (and Star Wars Nerds) (The Freelancer)
Procrastination can spell doom for a freelancer, but it’s sometimes difficult to get into a productive mood. Think happy thoughts? That’s not always easy when you’re dealing with difficult clients and pitch rejections.
How can you convince yourself to sit down and be productive, even when you’re not in the mood? Use the Force, suggests Yael Grauer on Contently’s The Freelancer. Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan, this must-read offers eight tips to refocus and get moving.
2. 10 Takeaways from Gannett’s Blockbuster Announcements (Nieman Journalism Lab)
This week’s biggest media news was Gannett’s split of its print and broadcast businesses and acquisition of Cars.com. (If you missed the news, you can read the press release Gannett originally sent over PR Newswire.) “Gannett has long been one of the most market-savvy American newspaper chains. It showed those smarts again today,” writes industry analyst Ken Doctor in his assessment of what these two moves mean.
3. One Year In: 10 Ways The Washington Post Has Changed Under Jeff Bezos (Digiday)
It’s been one year since Jeff Bezos announced his purchase of The Washington Post. Although the paper has begun hiring again and expanding nationally and internationally, how transformative has the past year actually been? Digiday examines what has and hasn’t happened at The Washington Post since Bezos’ purchase.
4. Google News Gives Publishers More Control Over How It Indexes Their Sites (TechCrunch)
Publishers got good news from Google this week. If you’re based in the U.S. and your site is part of the Google News network, Google’s new Publisher Center will give you more control over how the search engine spiders your site.
For instance, the Publisher Center’s interface will allow you to label different sections of your site or alert Google to special occasion sections for elections and major sporting events. These tools, which Google plans to add to and expand to other countries, will make it easier to classify and correct information on Google News.
5. Native Advertising and the Importance of Marking the Grey Areas (WAN-IFRA)
During Last Week Tonight‘s most recent episode, John Oliver delivered a scathing criticism of native advertising, comparing it to a baker sneaking raisins into a chocolate chip cookie. However, with native advertising being essential to many news organizations’ revenue strategy, it’s likely not going away soon.
How do you still draw advertisers while respecting the needs of your audience? This article on the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers’ blog looks at what some editors are doing to strike a balance.
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Amanda Hicken is a media relations manager with PR Newswire for Journalists. Follow her at @ADHicken for tweets about the media, comic books, and her love of Cleveland.
