Brian Timpone
Brian Timpone is an American conservative businessman and former journalist who operates a network of nearly 1,300 conservative local news websites.[1][2][3] The articles on Timpone's websites are written by non-American freelancers who use "Anglo-sounding" pen names,[4][5] although Timpone claims that the writing is "domestic".[6] According to The New York Times, Timpone's "operation is rooted in deception, eschewing hallmarks of news reporting like fairness and transparency."[2] His sites publish articles for pay from outside groups, and do not disclose it.[2][7]
Education and early career[edit]
Timpone graduated from Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights. He received a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia; while attending, he covered sports and news for the University-owned KOMU-TV. After school, he took a job at KDLH in Duluth, Minnesota, which he worked for less than a year before taking another TV job in Champaign, Illinois.[8]
Timpone was hired as the personal spokesman to Illinois House Minority Leader Lee A. Daniels in 1997.[8]
News publishing[edit]
Timpone is involved with a number of interconnected media companies that post press releases and lightly copied content as news articles, often under false bylines. The process has been described as "pay for play", compared to the content farming of Demand Media, and called the "pink slime of journalism".[9][10][11] The companies include Local Government Information Services (LGIS), Metric Media, Franklin Archer, Locality Labs (formerly known as Journatic and LocalLabs), DirecTech LLC, Interactive Content Services, Newsinator, Blockshopper, and The Record Inc.[18] The companies have received funding from Liberty Principles PAC (substantially funded by Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein) and have provided services to the Illinois Opportunity Project, politician Jeanne Ives and hotelier Monty Bennett as customers.[9][19]
The Record was started by Timpone in September 2004 with The Madison County Record, a legal journal for Madison County, Illinois. It was silently funded by the United States Chamber of Commerce to oppose lawsuits against businesses and to support tort reform. The Chamber later funded a site run by The Record called Legal Newsline.[20][21]
—Ryan Smith, Journatic employee[5]
Journatic (a portmanteau of "journalism" and "automatic")[5] was founded by Timpone in 2006.[22] According to Timpone, Journatic used news data processed by workers in the Philippines, but he states that the writing is "domestic".[6] Journatic's job listings in the Philippines advertised a $0.35–0.40 pay rate per article for "writers to work on events stories" who are "able to commit to 250 pieces/week minimum".[6] Journatic managed TribLocal, a hyperlocal news branch of the Chicago Tribune that targeted suburban neighborhoods around Chicago, in the spring of 2012.[5]
In a June 2012 episode of This American Life, Timpone disclosed that Journatic was outsourcing its writing to over 300 freelancers using fake "Anglo-sounding"[4] bylines in several geographic areas outside of the United States, including the Philippines, Eastern Europe, Brazil, and Africa.[5] Following the release of the episode and the discovery of plagiarism in Journatic's articles, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Houston Chronicle, and Gatehouse Media suspended their relationships with the company.[23][24][14] While Hearst's Houston Chronicle ended its partnership, Hearst's San Francisco Chronicle reviewed its use of the service and continued using it.[25]
Journatic rebranded as "Locality Labs" in 2013.[3]
In 2019, Locality Labs delivered the Hinsdale School News, using the logo of the local school district to residents of Hinsdale, Illinois. The paper had a heavy focus on articles opposing the upcoming referendum, which would have raised the school's budget. Officials from the district sent cease and desist letters to several companies in the Timpone network, stating that the use of its logos were deceptive and an instance of trademark infringement.[1][26]
Building up to the 2020 elections, the network increased from 450 sites to over 1200 sites.[27] Out of 50,000 articles, 15,000 of them were unique stories, with only about 100 with human bylines. Many automated sources included federal programs (Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Census Bureau) and the fuel price site Gas Buddy. Articles with heavy conservative and Republican biases would also appear in targeted areas.[12][2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gabbatt, Adam (19 November 2019). "How local 'fake news' websites spread 'conservative propaganda' in the US". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Alba, Davey; Nicas, Jack (2020-10-18). "As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bengani, Priyanjana. "Hundreds of 'pink slime' local news outlets are distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dan Kennedy (6 July 2012). "Following up on Journatic and GateHouse". Media Nation. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Switcheroo". This American Life. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Miner, Michael (April 27, 2017). "The burbs' first look at Journatic". Chicago Reader. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ↑ Rath, Arun (October 23, 2020). "'Pink Slime' News Websites In Massachusetts". WGBH. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Ross, Diane (April 6, 1997). "Marian grad aide to House leader". Southtown Star. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Davey Alba; Jack Nicas (18 October 2020). "As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Anna Tarkov (30 June 2012). "Journatic worker takes 'This American Life' inside outsourced journalism - Poynter". Poynter. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Dan Kennedy (5 July 2012). "Exposing the "'pink slime' journalism" of Journatic". Media Nation. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Priyanjana Bengani (18 December 2019). "Hundreds of 'pink slime' local news outlets are distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
Today, the Franklin Archer organizational website lives on the same server as Dan Proft’s super PAC: Liberty Principles. A Franklin Archer worker, who asked not to be named, said the company’s writers are paid by Newsinator. According to the Iowa corporate registry, Newsinator and Franklin Archer are both alternative business entity names for DirecTech, LLC.
- ↑ JESSICA MAHONE; PHILIP NAPOLI J (13 July 2020). "Hundreds of hyperpartisan sites are masquerading as local news. This map shows if there's one near you". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 CHRONICLE, HOUSTON (2 July 2012). "A note to our readers". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ GJR, Compiled for (28 November 2017). "Reporting local news from thousands of miles away". Gateway Journalism Review. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Sourine, Katherina; Sokotoff, Dominick (November 1, 2019). "Pseudo local news sites in Michigan reveal nationally expanding network". The Michigan Daily.
- ↑ "Forgive us our Press Passes: Updates about Journatic". This American Life. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ [12][13][14][15][16][17][3]
- ↑ Fitch, Stephane (26 August 2010). "Blockshopper.com Outs Rich Homeowners, Sparking Glee and Anger". Forbes. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Laura McGann (22 October 2010). "Using the power of publishing to influence: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's entry into the news biz". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Jeffrey H. Birnbaum (6 December 2004). "Advocacy Groups Blur Media Lines (washingtonpost.com)". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Farnham, Brian (May 29, 2012). "On Journatic, and making it in Hyperlocalville". Columbia Journalism Review. Columbia University. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ↑ Sheffield, Hazel (July 16, 2017). "Plagiarism and a resignation at Journatic". Columbia Journalism Review. Columbia University. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ↑ Jeff Sonderman (23 July 2012). "The hard truths of hyperlocal journalism reveal themselves in Journatic trouble - Poynter". Poynter. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Albert Samaha (18 July 2012). "Chronicle Maintains News Pipeline With Journatic, Company That Used Fake Bylines - SF Weekly". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ↑ Lannom, Pamela (March 28, 2019). "'Hinsdale School News' is no such thing". The Hinsdalean. Retrieved December 18, 2019 – via Newz Group.
- ↑ Priyanjana Bengani (4 August 2020). "As election looms, a network of mysterious 'pink slime' local news outlets nearly triples in size". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
External links[edit]
- Coppins, McKay. "The Billion-Dollar Disinformation Campaign to Reelect the President". The Atlantic. ISSN 1072-7825. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
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