A rare eye in Apple News reveals that a large team of curators is fighting against algorithms

The best Apple News articles are selected by a team of about 30 people, consisting of former journalists based in Sydney, London, New York and Silicon Valley. Each day, the team selects the five main stories of the application, as well as a section of reports. The list changes at least five times a day, depending on the news.

Led by the old New York Magazine editor-in-chief Lauren Kern, the New York Times reports that the team is trying to mix programming with the most important items, lighter features and longer surveys. The list of candidates is reduced by smaller groups of writers, spread around the world, before the final order is decided by the most experienced members of the team.

"We have put a lot of attention and thought into our conservation," Kern advises. "This has been seen by many people and we take this responsibility very seriously."

As an example of the curation process, a summary of the decisions made one morning in late August, indicates the team's decision to engage in a positive action suit against Harvard University, along with other publications. , with the selection of the The Washington Post report due to provide the most content and explanations on why the story counted.

To cover racial tensions in the race of Florida governors, Kern and his deputy opted for a Miami Herald because of its nuance and explanation of the comments, context and debate surrounding it. The other selections of the day included a CBS News John McCain memorial service video, a US Open match between Serena and Venus Williams of SB Nationand one of Bloomberg about 20 hours of flight.

"There is a deep understanding that a successful free press is essential for an informed public, and that an informed public is essential for a functioning democracy," said Kern, continuing "and that Apple News can contribute to it ".

The choice of using human preservatives instead of algorithms was made to try to better control the constant flow of information that a computer. Although the selection of algorithmic news by FaceBook, Google and others allow to analyze quickly and cheaply the stories, their consumption can also be played, as for example the stories supposedly promoted by the Russian trolls during the 2016 presidential election.

"We are responsible for what's in it," said Ross Rosner, Apple's application manager. "We will not let this become a crazy country."

This cautious approach allowed Apple News to avoid big reporting errors. One example given is the killing of two people at a gambling competition in Jacksonville, Florida, where headlines claimed that the shooter hated President Donald Trump's hatred. Kern warned his staff to be wary of statements, such as those in which assailants are associated with terrorist groups but which later turned out to be incorrect, which led to reports that did not include the false claim to be selected.

While Apple News has a considerable reach, with the application regularly read by about 90 million people, Apple is also treated with circumspection by publishers who have drawn little profit from advertising on the service, and have lost 30 % of the cost of service subscriptions. business.

"What Apple gives, Apple can take away," advises Bill Grueskin, professor of journalism at Columbia University. When readers are trained to get their news from Apple, Grueskin suggests to publishers to then realize "You are at the mercy of Apple".

Earlier in October, editors congratulated Apple News for its approach to content creation, calling it "attentive and having" the feeling of being a human being seeking to nurture any relationship ".

At the same time, monetization options were considered lagging behind competing services, with one publisher believing his outlet was "hundreds" of revenue, while he was addressing an audience of " million ". While a publication is expected to bring "a few hundred thousand dollars" to Apple News this year, the New York Post estimates that he reported only $ 600 in six months.

This may change, however, as Apple is more likely to sell subscriptions after the acquisition of Texture in April.