Can you trust columnists and contributors to be fair to the companies they write about, and to be free from biases and conflicts of interest? In the age of the “indie influencer,” we can hope for these things. We also can put in the work. Here’s the SWMS guide for where to look and what to look for, to avoid engaging with compromised publications or individuals.YOUR ACCOUNT
FRIDGE NOTES
Press Gazette has a great story about Google reintroducing AI summaries into search results — less so in queries about breaking news, but definitely when someone searches for trend or how-to info. Convenient for users, maybe… but publishers stand to lose a ton of long-tail traffic because of this. No wonder the vast majority of publisher “innovation” is about commerce or consulting and no longer builds upon journalism.
CNBC Make It had a popular video franchise called My Biggest Lessons, in which CEOs shared something valuable that they learned along the way. No new segments have appeared since May 31. We’ll monitor this for you.
Great reporting from Mark Stenberg at Adweek. Two departures on the sales side seem to have hurt. The story also suggests that former Fortune CEO Alan Murray — who said he was retiring — may turn up at WSJ. Fortune is said to have released Murray from his noncompete, taking his word that he was ending his career.
Adweek subscription required.
Ten months ago SWMS spotlighted five up-and-coming Fortune reporters, suggesting that PR get to know these rookies. Where are they now? Jane Thier continues to excel in the Success section. Ruth Umoh now edits Next To Lead. Kylie Robison split for The Verge. Rachyl Jones is a fellow at Semafor. Alexandra Sternlicht this summer won a Knight-Bagehot fellowship at Columbia. Competition for this is brutal — congrats Alexandra!
You get fresh contact info for Fortune 500 executives too. This is an example of a journalism product. To the extent they have development resources, publishers overwhelmingly prefer to build products than invest in wider and deeper beat coverage, which is so much harder to monetize.
