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New York Mag's Lauren Kern Named First Editor-in-Chief of Apple News

Thursday May 25, 2017 8:12 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Lauren Kern, Executive Editor at New York Magazine, has been named as the first editor-in-chief of Apple News, according to Politico. The hiring has since been confirmed by an Apple spokesperson.


It's unclear what exactly the role will entail, but it suggests Apple has bigger ambitions of some kind for its News app on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Apple News is not a firsthand source of news, so Kern's role could be at least partially related to curation of other news sources. In February, Apple executive Eddy Cue said the company wants to "vet and make sure that the news providers" in Apple News are "legitimate," in an effort to cut down on "clickbait."

Apple News gathers stories from several leading news sources and displays them all in one place. The app launched on iOS 9 in the United States, and it has since expanded to Australia and the United Kingdom. The app was redesigned for iOS 10 with a bolder, simpler interface that puts content front and center.

Tag: Apple News
[ 68 comments ]


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melendezest
19 months ago
In the era of Fake News, this could be just one more source of disinformation.

Finding real news is hard today, so hopefully this won't happen here.
Rating: 11 Votes
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citysnaps
19 months ago

In the era of Fake News, this could be just one more source of disinformation.

Finding real news is hard today, so hopefully this won't happen here.


That's only true to the extent you choose to include fake news sources in your news stream.
Rating: 10 Votes
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ChrisCW11
19 months ago
Makes sense that Apple wants to expand their warped reality field to cherry pick "news" and content shown on their devices.
Rating: 9 Votes
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unobtainium
19 months ago

That's only true to the extent you choose to include fake news sources

Facebook is a great source of fake news. Having an actual editor is likely to decrease the amount of fake news in Apple's app.
Rating: 7 Votes
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Kaibelf
19 months ago

Makes sense that Apple wants to expand their warped reality field to cherry pick "news" and content shown on their devices.


Next you'll complain that they don't sell Galaxy phones in their stores, as if you don't have a choice to shop elsewhere.
Rating: 6 Votes
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OneBagTravel
19 months ago
Curated news. What could go wrong? :rolleyes:

I'm not saying my way is the best way but I bounce around between all news sites from CNN, Independent, Fox News, and such. I also cut out all editorials and try to stick to just factual news articles. Lastly I try not to form an opinion on something until at least 3 days after a story breaks. This also allows the truth to surface over knee jerk emotional articles.

Makes processing news in a digital age much safer.

Edit: forgot my last tip which is to avoid articles that ask questions in the headlines. Look up Betteridge's law of Headlines ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines')
Rating: 4 Votes
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citysnaps
19 months ago

Then why does Apple need an 'Editor-in-Chief'?????

Hell. Just opened up the News app on my iPhone and The Washington Post (fake news) and CNN (very fake news) popup right at the top of my feed. Subscribed to neither of them. Have some of my subscriptions sprinkled in there but have to scroll several pages/screens down to have my feed be 100% of my subscriptions.

Hell, I have both The Washington Post and CNN disliked ('http://i.imgur.com/zgPU3aR.png') and they show up in my feed ('http://i.imgur.com/yWRsTmd.png'). Right at the top

Going back to my question, I can answer it for you. Apple wants to curate 'news' to push their agenda. They are a public company and a companies sole existence is to make money so I don't blame them.

Just sucks. Would rather have Apple release a macOS/web version of the News app (or hell all of their integrated iOS apps) so I can sync/view on a larger screen/computer. But hey, that would be delivering news products and it seems like Apple is more interested in positioning itself to/pushing content and services.



It seems you are looking for editorual rather than actual journalist-based news reporting.

I think Apple News may be able to accommodate your tastes by just selecting specific "news" sources that only talk about what you want to hear.
Rating: 3 Votes
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HiVolt
19 months ago
Still not available in Canada, even though the widget displays the news, and news relevant to Canada and to my location.

It obviously works in the background, but Apple refuses to make it available to Canadians.

Not sure what the big deal is. But It's been like this for years, we never got iTunes Radio, it took 1.5 years for Apple Pay, and a few other things over the years that I don't recall now.
Rating: 3 Votes
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Rogifan
19 months ago
I don't use Apple News but how can it be biased one way or the other when users decide what content shows in their feed?
Rating: 3 Votes
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unobtainium
19 months ago

I use Apple News and like it for the most part but find that I get constant feeds from sources I haven't chosen to follow, including Fox News and a lot of odd news sites I've never heard of. Also, they frequently don't seem to base my feed on subjects I've indicated interest in or clicked on (Technology, world events) and feed way too many celebrity stories. I suspect feeding frequency and content must be based on funding from these unwanted news sites? I am hoping that this means Apple plans on moving toward more carefully curated sources and giving readers more control over their news feeds.

Instead of choosing interests (like technology or world events), choose the sources you like to read (e.g. MacRumors, The Verge, Ars Technica, Wired, NYT, The Atlantic, etc.) Apple News will populate your feed with mostly stories from those sources. Next step is to click the little heart on stories you enjoy, and save interesting ones for later reading. Apple News will begin to learn what you like to read. The final step is to "mute" the sources you don't want to see in your feed.
Rating: 3 Votes

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