Journalism

Facebook is starting to allow some English-language news pages to register to join a new internal Facebook index that the tech giant will refer to when deciding which pages to roll out global news products to.

Local meteorologists have long been tentpoles of communities across the United States, entertaining audiences in fair weather and counseling them in bad. It isn’t completely surprising that they would be in demand as storms loom. But it is notable, in the age of Twitter and smartphones, that the broadcast TV weather person — analog, local, old-school — has stayed so viable.

Susan Zirinsky, often referred to by the first letter of her last name, has been at CBS News since 1972, but it’s what she might do in 2018 and going forward that could be infinitely more interesting. Some staffers at CBS News think she is a likely internal candidate to take the top 60 Minutes  job, which has been vacant since CBS ousted former executive producer Jeff Fagerlast week

About two-thirds of Americans get news on social media at least occasionally, about the same share as in 2017. Many of these consumers are skeptical of the information they see there. Still, most social media news consumers say getting news this way has made little difference in their understanding of current events, and more say it has helped than confused them (36% compared with 15%).

Andrew Finlayson, EVP digital and social media strategies at SmithGeiger, will look at how broadcasters can attract younger audiences with technology, opening a conference gathering news, technology and digital executives.

The Trump era, overflowing with news, and the emergence of new ways to tell stories appears to be giving a jolt to journalism schools that in recent years struggled to cope with industry contractions. Students are more fired up than ever about learning the tools of newsgathering, educators say. And at some prominent schools, there’s evidence of growing demand for journalism degrees as applications and enrollment rebound and investigative reporting classes fill up.

In its half-century on the air, 60 Minutes has operated independently of the CBS News organization. Many at the show worry what will happen if the network takes more control.

Known as “immersive mixed reality technology,” videos like The Weather Channel’s Erika Navarro’s take green screen graphics and merge them with real-time, predictive data from agencies such as the National Hurricane Center. The result is a virtual scenario that unfolds around a studio anchor, engulfing the set with terrifying realism but allowing the anchor to walk viewers through potential weather with newfound urgency.

Rising water forced a North Carolina TV station to evacuate its newsroom in the middle of Hurricane Florence coverage. Hours before the storm made landfall Friday, workers at Sinclair’s ABC affiliate WCTI had to abandon their studio.

TV stations in the hurricane’s path begin preparing their infrastructure and personnel for what looks to be a monster storm.