Media Insider: Google Adds ‘Fact Check’ Tag, BuzzFeed to Live Stream Election Night, The Verge Unveils New Mission

Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s round up of journalism, blogging and freelancing stories from the week.

Photo by Esther Vargas used under (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Google News Now Has a “Fact Check” Tag (Poynter)

If you’ve ever questioned the credibility of an article you’ve seen on the web, here’s some good news: Google just rolled out a fact-checking tag that will be added to articles in its News section. According to Poynter, one factor the Google News algorithms consider in determining whether an article might contain fact checks is the ClaimReview markup in its coding. “Google will also flag fact-checking content from ‘sites that follow the commonly accepted criteria for fact checks,’ though these too will need to use the ClaimReview markup,” Poynter reports. Searches so far yield results from PolitiFact and Full Fact, among others.

BuzzFeed To Live Stream Election Night Coverage on Twitter (WSJ)

BuzzFeed is no stranger to live video streaming on social media platforms. So, it comes as no surprise that the media company is partnering with Twitter to live stream its coverage of election night. “As the vortex tightens around the election, Twitter is the heart of this giant American conversation,” Ben Smith, editor in chief at BuzzFeed, told WSJ. The BuzzFeed-Twitter deal is an opportunity for BuzzFeed to “dissect incoming results and parse the night’s biggest developments,” reports WSJ. For Twitter, it marks another big play in its effort to live stream more major events.

Refreshing The Verge: Writing A New Mission Statement (The Verge)

As The Verge approaches its fifth year anniversary, a five-year plan is underway to refresh its brand. The Verge reports that its mission has changed since it was first founded. Originally focused on offering breaking news coverage via a modern platform, the team moved to offering in-depth reporting built for web-native news. Now, the team hopes to capture the true spirit of its brand — one that aims to speak to audiences on a range of platforms from the web to television. The new mission statement helps the media company express its desire to operate more broadly, as it transitions itself into a competitor in the digital media arena.

Newspapers Consider the Pros and Cons of Rebranding as the Demand for Digital Grows (E&P)

The rebranding of Tribune Publishing to its new name, tronc, Inc. has amplified the conversation about the state of newspapers in the digital age and how they will fair moving forward. E&P reports that it’s not uncommon for media companies to rebrand, but that newspapers haven’t done any major rebranding, despite declarations of wanting to become more digital. This is mainly because rebrands are risky, says E&P, especially when it comes to the balancing act of engaging new audiences while retaining loyal readers. Evolution is critical to survival in the media industry, but discovering the right path for change is tricky.

4 Media Companies Including Thrillist, The Dodo, and NowThis Have Merged – And Discovery Just Poured $100 Million Into It (Business Insider)

Thrillist, The Dodo, NowThis and Seeker, collectively known as Group Nine Media, is set to become one of the largest digital-first media companies. Discovery Communications is making a $100 million investment in the combined entity,   continuing the trend of legacy media companies investing in digital ventures as strategic partners, reports Insider. Together the millennial-focused companies will boast a reach of more than 12 billion social impressions, 50 million monthly social engagements, 40 million Facebook followers and 30 million YouTube subscribers.

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Tabresha B. Langham is a Customer Content Specialist with PR Newswire. She also is a social media enthusiast, foodie, and lover of SEC Football (War Eagle!). Follow her at @PRNmedia and @TabreshaL.