Laura Hazard Owen
@laurahazardowen.bsky.social
Editor of @niemanlab.org / a fun mom in Cambridge, MA
https://illberightback.substack.com/
Ebikes | Mysteries | Baking | Parent gossip | Public schools
https://illberightback.substack.com/
Ebikes | Mysteries | Baking | Parent gossip | Public schools
he says other journalism funders should ask themselves 2 questions:
1. Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?
2. Do they understand how to defend themselves and their work from bad actors?
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/crai...
1. Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?
2. Do they understand how to defend themselves and their work from bad actors?
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/crai...
Craig Newmark explains why he’s pulling back on funding journalism
One question he says other funders should ask: "Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?"
www.niemanlab.org
January 20, 2026 at 9:26 PM
he says other journalism funders should ask themselves 2 questions:
1. Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?
2. Do they understand how to defend themselves and their work from bad actors?
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/crai...
1. Do the organizations have real plans to grow their audiences outside of their most faithful followers?
2. Do they understand how to defend themselves and their work from bad actors?
www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/crai...
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
"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," writes @laurahazardowen.bsky.social for @niemanlab.org.
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 10:45 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," writes @laurahazardowen.bsky.social for @niemanlab.org.
ok these gifts will not save journalism. BUT they will caffeinate, entertain, feed, and snuggle journalists
www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/the-...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/the-...
The 2025 gift guide for journalists
Coffee (faster!), #tradwife murder mysteries, heated mattress pads, Prohibition-era video games, and much more.
www.niemanlab.org
December 10, 2025 at 9:38 PM
ok these gifts will not save journalism. BUT they will caffeinate, entertain, feed, and snuggle journalists
www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/the-...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/12/the-...
so many news sites are making you log in with an email + a 6-digit code sent to your email and this is not less annoying?
November 24, 2025 at 8:42 PM
so many news sites are making you log in with an email + a 6-digit code sent to your email and this is not less annoying?
"A lot of people have been hurt over this strike financially [and] emotionally. I want to make sure that has its due. But we’re going to have to work through that very quickly and get back to work."
by @sarahscire.com
by @sarahscire.com
What newsroom organizers learned from the years-long strike at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The importance of coordination, how digital news consumption patterns limit the effectiveness of public shame, and more.
www.niemanlab.org
November 24, 2025 at 8:16 PM
"A lot of people have been hurt over this strike financially [and] emotionally. I want to make sure that has its due. But we’re going to have to work through that very quickly and get back to work."
by @sarahscire.com
by @sarahscire.com
3 unusual things about this story:
*it's a nonprofit investigative news site we're talking about
*high-profile media execs/journalists on the board
*1 of the journalists who reported was fired less than a day after letter sent to board
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
*it's a nonprofit investigative news site we're talking about
*high-profile media execs/journalists on the board
*1 of the journalists who reported was fired less than a day after letter sent to board
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
www.niemanlab.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:07 PM
3 unusual things about this story:
*it's a nonprofit investigative news site we're talking about
*high-profile media execs/journalists on the board
*1 of the journalists who reported was fired less than a day after letter sent to board
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
*it's a nonprofit investigative news site we're talking about
*high-profile media execs/journalists on the board
*1 of the journalists who reported was fired less than a day after letter sent to board
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
An editor at Suncoast Searchlight, an investigative outlet, inserted AI hallucinated quotes into stories and after reporters sent a letter to the publication’s board, the editor fired one of the reporters.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
www.niemanlab.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:44 AM
An editor at Suncoast Searchlight, an investigative outlet, inserted AI hallucinated quotes into stories and after reporters sent a letter to the publication’s board, the editor fired one of the reporters.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
"This was not the first hallucinated quote [the EIC] introduced into a reporter’s story draft." www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
www.niemanlab.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:16 PM
"This was not the first hallucinated quote [the EIC] introduced into a reporter’s story draft." www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/flor...
Suncoast Searchlight's four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
www.niemanlab.org
November 19, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Suncoast Searchlight's four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
by @andrewdeck.bsky.social
you're welcome! www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/the-...
The cute yellow Old Farmer’s Almanac isn’t the one shutting down
"There are TWO. This is not The OLD Farmer's Almanac that has been around since 1792. Everything is fine. Just chill guys"
www.niemanlab.org
November 7, 2025 at 4:32 PM
you're welcome! www.niemanlab.org/2025/11/the-...
WAIT I WAS WRONG
The *Old* Farmer's Almanac, the yellow one (that hung on a nail in my grandparents' bathroom) is NOT shutting down.
The Farmer's Almanac, which um...I have no feelings about really...is the one shutting down
phew
www.almanac.com/old-farmers-...
The *Old* Farmer's Almanac, the yellow one (that hung on a nail in my grandparents' bathroom) is NOT shutting down.
The Farmer's Almanac, which um...I have no feelings about really...is the one shutting down
phew
www.almanac.com/old-farmers-...
The Old Farmer’s Almanac—234 Years and Still Going Strong
Wondering if The Old Farmer’s Almanac is discontinued? It’s still publishing and growing, with trusted forecasts, tools, and seasonal guidance since 1792. Learn more and see what's new.
www.almanac.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:26 PM
WAIT I WAS WRONG
The *Old* Farmer's Almanac, the yellow one (that hung on a nail in my grandparents' bathroom) is NOT shutting down.
The Farmer's Almanac, which um...I have no feelings about really...is the one shutting down
phew
www.almanac.com/old-farmers-...
The *Old* Farmer's Almanac, the yellow one (that hung on a nail in my grandparents' bathroom) is NOT shutting down.
The Farmer's Almanac, which um...I have no feelings about really...is the one shutting down
phew
www.almanac.com/old-farmers-...
a little story about tony's chocolonely illberightback.substack.com/p/104-two-ti...
#104, Two times I didn't argue with the guy
Two tales for ya.
illberightback.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:41 PM
a little story about tony's chocolonely illberightback.substack.com/p/104-two-ti...
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Great article. Archiving the internet is such a difficult thing without much of a financial motive, too. But reliance on a single entity has blown up in our faces so many times in the past.
The Wayback Machine’s snapshots of news homepages have dropped off in recent months. Our analysis shows that since May 16, the number of captures available for 100 top news sites declined by 87%.
@hanaatameez.bsky.social and I report for @niemanlab.org.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
@hanaatameez.bsky.social and I report for @niemanlab.org.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
The Wayback Machine’s snapshots of news homepages plummet after a “breakdown” in archiving projects
Between May and October 2025, homepage snapshots fell by 87% across 100 news publications.
www.niemanlab.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Great article. Archiving the internet is such a difficult thing without much of a financial motive, too. But reliance on a single entity has blown up in our faces so many times in the past.
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
NEW: @andrewdeck.bsky.social and I found the @waybackmachine.bsky.social has been archiving news homepages less frequently for the past 5 months.
The result: an 87% drop in homepage snapshots across 100 news outlets during a very newsy year. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
The result: an 87% drop in homepage snapshots across 100 news outlets during a very newsy year. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
The Wayback Machine’s snapshots of news homepages plummet after a “breakdown” in archiving projects
Between May and October 2025, homepage snapshots fell by 87% across 100 news publications.
www.niemanlab.org
October 22, 2025 at 3:05 PM
NEW: @andrewdeck.bsky.social and I found the @waybackmachine.bsky.social has been archiving news homepages less frequently for the past 5 months.
The result: an 87% drop in homepage snapshots across 100 news outlets during a very newsy year. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
The result: an 87% drop in homepage snapshots across 100 news outlets during a very newsy year. www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
For the past few months, the Wayback Machine has been showing many fewer snapshots of news publishers' homepages than it used to. Something happened on May 16, but what?
@hanaatameez.bsky.social and @andrewdeck.bsky.social investigate
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
@hanaatameez.bsky.social and @andrewdeck.bsky.social investigate
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
The Wayback Machine’s snapshots of news homepages plummet after a “breakdown” in archiving projects
Between May and October 2025, homepage snapshots fell by 87% across 100 news publications.
www.niemanlab.org
October 21, 2025 at 6:51 PM
For the past few months, the Wayback Machine has been showing many fewer snapshots of news publishers' homepages than it used to. Something happened on May 16, but what?
@hanaatameez.bsky.social and @andrewdeck.bsky.social investigate
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
@hanaatameez.bsky.social and @andrewdeck.bsky.social investigate
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/the-...
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
Me and my "forgotten URL" for my old Google Glass website are mentioned in this article.
I sold the domain a year or two ago. Made the mistake of not taking down the content first. New owners have turned it into an AI slop-fest.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
I sold the domain a year or two ago. Made the mistake of not taking down the content first. New owners have turned it into an AI slop-fest.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
AI-generated news sites spout viral slop from forgotten URLs
A new generation of content farms are harnessing AI to spin out clickbait — and they’re getting help from Google.
www.niemanlab.org
October 17, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Me and my "forgotten URL" for my old Google Glass website are mentioned in this article.
I sold the domain a year or two ago. Made the mistake of not taking down the content first. New owners have turned it into an AI slop-fest.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
I sold the domain a year or two ago. Made the mistake of not taking down the content first. New owners have turned it into an AI slop-fest.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
...and boy do they love the icelandic 36-hour workweek + chinese weapons www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
AI-generated news sites spout viral slop from forgotten URLs
A new generation of content farms are harnessing AI to spin out clickbait — and they’re getting help from Google.
www.niemanlab.org
October 16, 2025 at 8:12 PM
...and boy do they love the icelandic 36-hour workweek + chinese weapons www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/ai-g...
bari weiss's cbs: "america"/"american," focus is "journalism" not the journalists themselves, doesn't dwell on standards, speed-focused, "uses all of the tools of the digital era"
newly independent msnbc: focus on journalists themselves, ethics, freedom of speech/1st Amendment, "the world," AI-wary
newly independent msnbc: focus on journalists themselves, ethics, freedom of speech/1st Amendment, "the world," AI-wary
Bari Weiss’s CBS News and MSNBC both just laid out their new journalistic principles — and they’re fascinatingly different
Lot of news coming out of the networks this morning: Bari Weiss, founder of the pro-Israel, anti-woke Free Press, has sold the four-year-old news site to CBS parent company Paramount for a reported $1...
www.niemanlab.org
October 6, 2025 at 4:15 PM
bari weiss's cbs: "america"/"american," focus is "journalism" not the journalists themselves, doesn't dwell on standards, speed-focused, "uses all of the tools of the digital era"
newly independent msnbc: focus on journalists themselves, ethics, freedom of speech/1st Amendment, "the world," AI-wary
newly independent msnbc: focus on journalists themselves, ethics, freedom of speech/1st Amendment, "the world," AI-wary
. @hanaatameez.bsky.social puts data behind journalism's DEI vibe shift. From # of jobs posted, to products launched then shut down, to exhibiting at conferences — the racial reckoning is in retreat.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...
From reckoning to retreat: Journalism’s DEI efforts are in decline
Diversity-related newsroom jobs haven't totally disappeared — but they also haven't stuck.
www.niemanlab.org
September 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
. @hanaatameez.bsky.social puts data behind journalism's DEI vibe shift. From # of jobs posted, to products launched then shut down, to exhibiting at conferences — the racial reckoning is in retreat.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...
www.niemanlab.org/2025/09/from...
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
As a former homepage and engagement editor for NPR, I found @joshuabenton.com's latest Nieman Lab piece from their rankings of media (first local newspapers, then nonprofit news sites) takes a look at the top 25 local public media sites very insightful about the challenges ahead.
These public radio stations have built online audiences that’ll help them survive federal cuts
They may have been born on the airwaves, but these public media stations compete on the web as well. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 local public media websites in the United States.
www.niemanlab.org
August 5, 2025 at 6:19 PM
As a former homepage and engagement editor for NPR, I found @joshuabenton.com's latest Nieman Lab piece from their rankings of media (first local newspapers, then nonprofit news sites) takes a look at the top 25 local public media sites very insightful about the challenges ahead.
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
New by me —>
These are the 25 largest nonprofit news sites in the U.S. by web traffic.
Some you’d expect (like @propublica.org), others you might not (@ncronline.bsky.social, @sciencenews.bsky.social, @lapublicpress.bsky.social, @notusreports.bsky.social)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/nonp...
These are the 25 largest nonprofit news sites in the U.S. by web traffic.
Some you’d expect (like @propublica.org), others you might not (@ncronline.bsky.social, @sciencenews.bsky.social, @lapublicpress.bsky.social, @notusreports.bsky.social)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/nonp...
Nonprofit news sites are built to generate impact — but these are also generating audiences
In markets large and small, these nonprofit news organizations are achieving traffic numbers that many commercial outlets would envy. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 nonprofit news site...
www.niemanlab.org
July 29, 2025 at 8:38 PM
New by me —>
These are the 25 largest nonprofit news sites in the U.S. by web traffic.
Some you’d expect (like @propublica.org), others you might not (@ncronline.bsky.social, @sciencenews.bsky.social, @lapublicpress.bsky.social, @notusreports.bsky.social)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/nonp...
These are the 25 largest nonprofit news sites in the U.S. by web traffic.
Some you’d expect (like @propublica.org), others you might not (@ncronline.bsky.social, @sciencenews.bsky.social, @lapublicpress.bsky.social, @notusreports.bsky.social)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/nonp...
New feature alert @niemanlab.org: Traffic rankings for the top U.S. news outlets in three categories — local newspapers, nonprofit news sites, and public radio stations. First up, local newspapers
by @joshuabenton.com
by @joshuabenton.com
How did newspapers in places like Harrisburg, Birmingham, and Syracuse become some of America’s most-read online?
They share an owner that sometimes gets forgotten — but which dominates much larger peers in web traffic. Here's our first monthly ranking of the top 25 local newspaper websites in the United States.
www.niemanlab.org
July 23, 2025 at 5:32 PM
New feature alert @niemanlab.org: Traffic rankings for the top U.S. news outlets in three categories — local newspapers, nonprofit news sites, and public radio stations. First up, local newspapers
by @joshuabenton.com
by @joshuabenton.com
Reposted by Laura Hazard Owen
If you are involved in trying to make nonprofit news sustainable, I wrote and reported this story for you!
So much news that deserves our attention right now, but I hope you'll spend some time with my Houston Landing retrospective for @niemanlab.org (1/3)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...
So much news that deserves our attention right now, but I hope you'll spend some time with my Houston Landing retrospective for @niemanlab.org (1/3)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...
What went wrong at the Houston Landing?
“We tried to be too much, too fast, for too many people.”
www.niemanlab.org
July 18, 2025 at 4:39 PM
If you are involved in trying to make nonprofit news sustainable, I wrote and reported this story for you!
So much news that deserves our attention right now, but I hope you'll spend some time with my Houston Landing retrospective for @niemanlab.org (1/3)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...
So much news that deserves our attention right now, but I hope you'll spend some time with my Houston Landing retrospective for @niemanlab.org (1/3)
www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/what...