Good morning. Here are nine media stories.
- ‘Are slaves catching the fish you buy?’
Reporters with The Associated Press found slaves in the Indonesian town of Benjina. During a yearlong investigation, the AP was able to trace fish caught by the slaves to Thai companies, which sold the fish to the U.S. “The AP also found a locked cell with eight slaves inside, and handed a video camera to a dockworker, himself a former slave, to take close-up footage. Under the cover of darkness, the AP team used a small wooden boat to approach a trawler with slaves who yelled to them, pleading for help to go home.” (The Associated Press) | From the full story: “Here, in the Indonesian island village of Benjina and the surrounding waters, hundreds of trapped men represent one of the most desperate links criss-crossing between companies and countries in the seafood industry. This intricate web of connections separates the fish we eat from the men who catch it, and obscures a brutal truth: Your seafood may come from slaves.” (The Associated Press) | In November of last year, the Jakarta Globe reported that the country is a “Hive of Modern-Day Slavery.” A study by the Walk Free Foundation found that “as many as 714,000 people in Indonesia have fallen victim to modern slavery practices…” (Jakarta Globe) | Here’s the Global Slavery Index’s report on Indonesia. (Global Slavery Index)
- Facebook and disaggregating the news
There were a lot of takes on the news Monday night that news organizations are considering letting content live on Facebook. Luckily, “Mathew Ingram has all the takes.” (Storify) | “The era of the self-contained news package — all the news that’s fit to print, delivered neatly in a bundle on your front doorstep in the morning — is coming to an end. News has become disaggregated, and the thing that people share is not the newspaper, but the news story. Which can come from anywhere.” (Fusion) | “Yes, Facebook has built a large and powerful network. But they do not know how to run the news business better than editors, journalists and publishers. And they don’t have the same goals.” (Medium) | “With Facebook as a publisher, rather than a platform, we better trust that the company’s attempts at collaboration have journalism’s best interest at heart. Given what we know now, there’s reason to worry.” (Columbia Journalism Review) | Poynter’s Al Tompkins has six questions about the news, including “What about defamation and libel? Would Facebook be willing to expose itself to libel and defamation claims if a story proved to be untrue and defamatory? Wouldn’t litigants love to go after such a big target rather than a little website or news organization with limited capital?” (Poynter)
- Thailand’s PM said he would ‘probably just execute’ journalists who don’t report ‘the truth’
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha issued a pretty clear threat to reporters. “‘We’ll probably just execute them,’ said Prayuth, without a trace of a smile, when asked by reporters how the government would deal with those that do not adhere to the official line. ‘You don’t have to support the government, but you should report the truth,’ the former army chief said, telling reporters to write in a way that bolsters national reconciliation in the kingdom.” (Reuters)
- The New York Times’ Tehran bureau chief isn’t afraid
Thomas Erdbrink, The New York Times’ Tehran bureau chief, has lived in the country since 2002. He previously worked for The Washington Post. In 2012, now-jailed journalist Jason Rezaian replaced him at the Post. “When I tell people that I have lived in Iran for 13 years, they’re often shocked. How, they ask, can one live in a country where angry mobs roam the streets denouncing Westerners, burning flags and shouting ‘Death to America’? Are you not afraid? No. I am not.” (The New York Times)
- #Ferguson
Videographer Mary Moore, who was arrested in Ferguson, Missouri in October, will challenge those charges at a trial this summer. “Moore, whose videos have been used by The Associated Press, TV networks and other news organizations, is among the few journalists to actually go to court. She was charged with failure to comply, failure to disperse and resisting arrest. She said she was not part of the protest, but was simply documenting it on video.” (The Associated Press) | Related: In St. Louis, St. Louis Public Radio has launched a podcast to explore issues of race in the region. “It’s not the Ferguson show. Ferguson may have been the impetus, but these are issues that are being dealt with all over the St. Louis area and all over the country.” (Poynter)
- A hotel with a digital magazine
On Monday, Marriott launched “Marriott Traveler.” It is, naturally, about travel. (Digiday)
- Sometimes the headline just writes itself
“War of the roses: Former White House floral designer’s look may have clashed with first lady’s according to sources” (The Washington Post)
- Front page of the day, selected by Seth Liss
From Neue Westfalische in Bielefeld, Germany. (Courtesy the Newseum)
- Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin
Ambrosio Hernandez will be chief anchor at Univision Miami. Previously, he was a senior anchor at Telemundo 51. (Email) | Luke Kerr-Dineen will join USA Today sports. He’s currently an associate editor at Golf Digest. (@LukeKerrDineen) | William Janus has been named president and publisher of The (Salisbury, Maryland) Daily Times. Previously, he was general manager and advertising director of the (Cherry Hill, New Jersey) Courier-Post. (Gannett) | Joseph Calchi is now president and publisher of the (Cherry Hill, New Jersey) Courier-Post and the (Vineland, New Jersey) Daily Journal. Previously, he was general manager and advertising director at The Daily Journal. (Gannett) | David Yi is now a fashion reporter at Mashable. Previously, he was a contributor to GQ. (Fisbowl NY) | Noel Nash is now vice president of ESPN’s stats and information group. Previously, he was vice president of emerging businesses at the stats and information group there. Jeff Bennett is now vice president of stats and analytics at ESPN. Previously, he oversaw the stats and analysis and production analytics teams there. (Email) | Job of the day: Newsday Media Group is looking for an audience engagement editor. Get your résumés in! (Poynter) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
Corrections? Tips? See a good reason to use “The NeverEnding Story” in a headline? Please email me: khare@poynter.org. Would you like to get this roundup emailed to you every morning? Sign up here.
