Pew Research

Pew Research on the Growth of Digital News

About four-in-ten Americans now often get news online.

Digital is currently second only to TV news as the most prominent news platform. Nearly twice as many adults (38%) often get news online than get news in print (20%).

Younger adults are especially likely to turn to the web for their news, while older Americans rely heavily on TV for their news.

Print newspapers are still relatively popular among older Americans, but very few younger Americans say they read them often.

Talk Radio

New Boss at WPRO 

NTS Media reports that the cluster of Cumulus stations which has been in chaos and rating free fall have a new boss - long-time sales boss Holly Paras.

Cumulus Media has promoted Holly Paras to Vice President/Market Manager for the company’s Providence, Rhode Island stations. Paras has spent the past decade as Director of Sales for the five-station cluster that includes News/Talker WPRO and Business/Talk WPRV. Prior to that she served as National Sales Manager for crosstown stations WHJY, WSNE and WWBB. Paras’ resume also includes a stint as an Account Executive for Katz Radio Group inNew York City. 

“Holly’s fingerprints are on many of the successes that our cluster in Providence has enjoyed over the years,” said Jeff Brown, Senior Vice President/Cumulus Media. “She’s the first to tell you that those wins are due to our very talented, market-leading team. She’s the leader and the team is fired up to follow her. Off we go!” Paras will replace John Sutherland, who exited the stations in June just a year after replacing Barbara Haynes as VP/Market Manager. “I am excited and humbled to be asked to lead such a talented team of people and the tremendous radio brands at Cumulus/Providence,” said Paras about her latest step up the company ladder.

FOIA WIN

Federal Judge Rules for Journalist

U.S. District Court John McConnell, Jr. today ordered the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to release thousands of pages of documents in support of the ACLU of Rhode Island’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on behalf of Philip Eil, the former editor of the now defunct Providence Phoenix

“Eil had been stymied for years in his effort to obtain from the DEA evidence disclosed at a major prescription drug-dealing trial. In ordering release of the records, while allowing redactions of certain personal information,” wrote the ACLU in a press release on Friday

Judge McConnell wrote in his decision: “Public scrutiny of the workings of government – including the judiciary – is vitally important to the proper functioning of our democracy.” The case was handled by ACLU volunteer attorneys Neal McNamara and Jessica Jewell from the law firm of Nixon Peabody.

New ABC6

Matter of Fact Launches on ABC6

“I’m excited to partner with Hearst and the team at ‘Matter of Fact’ to expand the conversation around the issues that truly matter with those who are most directly able to impact our everyday lives,” Soledad O’Brien said in an announcement about the show. 

The show airs at 7:30 am on Sunday mornings after "In the Arena" the political talk show hosted by former Providence Mayor Joe Paolino.

 “Matter of Fact” is produced at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.  Rita Hagen Aleman serves as Executive Producer, working with Senior Producer Sheila Jaskot.  Aleman, a member of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle, has earned multiple Emmy awards and a USC Walter Cronkite Award for her work producing programming including a highly rated primetime newsmagazine show.

About Soledad O’Brien 

Soledad O’Brien is an award-winning producer, journalist, documentarian, and news anchor. She is CEO of Starfish Media Group, a multi-platform media production and distribution company. O’Brien has produced non-scripted programming, several documentaries and presented live events, concert specials, and award shows on numerous platforms, including CNN, Nat Geo, HBO, NBC, MSNBC, A&E networks, and Lifetime. She reports for “HBO RealSports with Bryant Gumbel,” the PBS NewsHour, and WebMD. She is the author of two critically acclaimed books and winner of multiple Emmy awards, the George Foster Peabody Award and the Alfred I. DuPont Award. Follow her on Twitter: @soledadobrien

MediaPost

Digital' Poised To Overtake TV Ad Spending Earlier Than Expected

MediaPost's Joe Mandese unveiled this week that the growth of digital is out pacing all predictions and will pass TV soon:

The shift in ad industry market share from so-called “analogue” media to “digital” media is accelerating, and the latter is now expected to surpass television’s historically dominant share of U.S. ad spending by the end of 2016 -- months sooner than expected, according to the statsmasters at eMarketer.

Putting aside that television is a digital medium too, eMarketer's estimates categorize it separately from things like online and mobile digital media and based on its calculations, the sum of those categories will reach $72.09 billion by year end -- a smidgen higher than the U.S. TV ad marketplace’s projected $71.29 billion.

Black Journalists

Southern New England Association of Black Journalists Fundraiser

PAINTING FOR OUR FUTURE Fundraiser

A raffle featuring gift baskets by SAKONNET VINEYARDS, NARRAGANSETT BREWING COMPANY, CUPCAKE CONTESSA and a $500 gift card from CARDI’S FURNITURE is among the program highlights. 

WJAR NBC 10 Weekend Anchor and SNEABJ president, Barbara Morse Silva will conduct an auction featuring original artwork created on-site by Rhode Island artists

Nixon Leger, William Gallagher, Hannah Hebert and Rebecca Flores. 

Tickets are $25. Proceeds from “Painting For Our Future” will provide scholarships for journalism students in Rhode Island and Southern New England. 

Southern New England Association of Black Journalists is a sounding board and support group for local minority journalists representing print, broadcast, online and student journalists in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 2015 SNEABJ was named the 2015 chapter of the year at the National Association of Black Journalists conference. SNEABJ is an affiliate of the National Association of Black Journalists. The advocacy group is also the sponsor of the Forum on Race and Media in partnership with Brown University Department of Africana Studies.