Media Insider: Newspapers Try Audio, VICE Protects Confidential Sources With New Tool, Facebook Reactions Coming Soon

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

Photo by Patrick Breitenbach used under CC BY 2.0

The Wall Street Journal Tests Closing the Google Paywall Loophole (Digiday)

The Wall Street Journal has long had a strict paywall, reports Digiday. Apparently, one work-around has been simply copying and pasting the headline into Google, but lately that trick hasn’t been working, Digiday reports. A WSJ spokesperson said the publisher is running a test to entice would-be subscribers to pay for access. The test remains ongoing.

All The News That’s Fit to Podcast: Newspapers Try Out Audio (Nieman Journalism Lab)

The podcasting fervor of 2015 has continued into 2016 and shows no signs of diminishing, Nieman Journalism Lab reports. A couple of examples: Gimlet, the podcast startup cofounded by Alex Blumberg of Planet Money and public radio fame, is a household name in the digital audio world, and Swedish-born podcasting platform Acast, which is now in the US, has ambitions to broaden the podcasting world. Now, newspapers also are trying their hand at more elaborate audio stories to reach new audiences.

Facebook to Launch Reactions ‘In the Next Few Weeks’ (SocialTimes)

The Reactions extension to Facebook’s like button will be officially launched “in the next few weeks,” reports SocialTimes. Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox broke the news to Bloomberg Businessweek as part of a profile of Cox and a detailed look at how Reactions came to be, according to SocialTimes. One reaction that didn’t make the cut was “yay” because it wasn’t “universally understood,” said a Facebook spokesperson.

VICE News Now Has SecureDrop for Confidential Sources (VICE News)

Some media agencies depend heavily on tips, leaks, and documents from confidential sources. VICE News is no different. To protect the identities of those sources VICE is launching the VICE Media SecureDrop. The tool allows new and existing sources to communicate with VICE and send documents discreetly. VICE says SecureDrop is straightforward to use; instructions are carefully laid out to protect anonymity.

Instagram Officially Adds Support for Multiple Accounts (SocialTimes)

Instagram says users now can switch between multiple accounts. The feature had been spotted in testing for Android in November and for iOS earlier this month, SocialTimes reports. Instagram announced the new feature in a post: “Go to your profile settings to add an additional account. From there, tap your user name at the top of your profile to switch between accounts. Once you have multiple accounts added, you’ll see your profile photo appear in places throughout the app so you can always tell which one you’re using at the moment.”

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Christine Cube is an audience relations manager with PR Newswire and freelance writer. Follow @cpcube or check out her latest on Beyond Bylines on PR Newswire for Journalists.