COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW – 10/09/2019
Nicholas Diakopoulos
ON APRIL 23, A FEDERAL JUDGE in Oregon blocked the enforcement of a new rule banning abortion referrals at taxpayer-funded women’s health clinics. The next morning, Apple News featured coverage of the decision by The Hill, a national outlet, rather than the local newspaper, The Oregonian. The Oregonian had even published its story first—the Hill article linked back to it—just not in the proprietary format that Apple News requires.
Since its launch in 2015, Apple News has become a massive driver of news attention, reporting 85 million active users as of January 2019. The Top Stories section of the app sends a surge of traffic to the stories featured. On some days, inclusion in Apple News’ Top Stories accounts for more than half of traffic at Vox.com. Slate reported in late 2018 that Apple News was driving more readership than Facebook.
But the flood of attention and traffic unleashed by the app isn’t distributed evenly.