Media Insider: 10 Must-Know Writers on LinkedIn, “Simpsons” Writers Create Starbucks Animated Webseries, Essence and Snapchat Launch Pop-Up Discover Channel

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

Photo by kaboompics.com used under CC0 License.

LinkedIn Top Voices 2016: The 10 Must-Know Writers In Marketing And Social Media (LinkedIn)

Writers published more than 160,000 articles on LinkedIn in 2016. The question is, of those writers, who really stood out? LinkedIn analyzed data — like comments and shares — to deliver its list of the top writers to follow on the networking site. The list details the topics the writers cover, their favorite posts from the year, and a fun fact that gives readers a little more insight into the individuals behind the computer screen. The writers hold titles in the marketing and social media industries — from freelancer and entrepreneur to corporate executive, content marketer, and more.

Three “Simpsons” Writers Can Thank LinkedIn And Their Love For Coffee For Their Latest Animated Endeavor (CNN Money)

A West Los Angeles Starbucks visit prompted the latest animated endeavor for “Simpsons” writers Joel Cohen, John Frink and Rob LaZebnik. The trio visited the coffee shop to brainstorm, and while there, came up with the idea to create an animated series for Starbucks about life at Starbucks, reports CNN Money.  A simple chat over coffee, paired with the power of professional networking via LinkedIn — which LaZebnik used to reach out to Starbucks executives — and the webseries was born. The show, “1st and Main,” will feature animals portraying characters that are typical for your local Starbucks, and is the coffee retailer’s first foray into animated storytelling.

Appealing To Diverse Audiences, Essence And Snapchat Launch Third Pop-Up Discover Channel (AdAge)

Essence and Snapchat launched a third pop-up Discover channel on Monday to appeal to millennial black women. The deal is one of the latest partnerships that could help Snapchat appeal to more diverse audiences, AdAge reports. The channel featured less celebrity gossip and focused on substantive content that black women can feel proud of. One of the posts was a list of the “12 most lit black girl moments of 2016.” Essence is hopeful that providing this type of content will help them to reach Snapchat’s 150 million daily users.

Twitter Tests Breaking News Push Notifications (BuzzFeed)

You may have heard that Twitter moved from the social media category to the news category in the App Store. Now, like many top-tier news apps, the company is sending breaking news push notifications to some app users, reports BuzzFeed. Twitter notifies users about content on its site using an algorithm that determines who gets notified and about what topics. While the company is testing major news alerts, like the truck crash at the Berlin Christmas market, it also sends notifications about less serious things like The Bachelorette.

The Teen’s Guide To The Trump Presidency (New York Times)

Teen Vogue’s coverage of more serious topics — such as this recent op-ed “Donald Trump is Gaslighting America” — came as a surprise to some. However, the teen magazine didn’t recently debut this type of controversial content, reports New York Times. The magazine has consistently been vocal about tough issues, such as sexuality and activism, tailoring to young audiences who show an interest in these topics on the internet. Although the decision to cover politics may be a financial one, the magazine plans to stay its course and cover Trump’s policies aggressively.

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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!). Tune into her insights as a social curator at @PRNmedia, or follow @TabreshaL