Claes Holtzmann
@claeshs.bsky.social
I've been working with journalism, business models, tech, and data since 2015. Here to find and share knowledge about that.
Data- and analysis editor @ jfm.dk
Data- and analysis editor @ jfm.dk
Pinned
Claes Holtzmann
@claeshs.bsky.social
· Jan 9
Okay, let's go: Day 1 of my advent calendar
Always remember that user data is about real human beings and not just numbers in a spreadsheet. Why? Just ask Charles Goodhart, who expressed the core idea behind Goodhart's Law:
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
Always remember that user data is about real human beings and not just numbers in a spreadsheet. Why? Just ask Charles Goodhart, who expressed the core idea behind Goodhart's Law:
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
ICYMI: I made an advent calendar on how to leverage user data. The thread is stupendously long, so here's an index that lets you jump right to the parts that interest you:
1 Beware of Goodhart's Law
2 Look for Patterns
3 Identify the user’s needs
4 Never take data personally 🧵
1 Beware of Goodhart's Law
2 Look for Patterns
3 Identify the user’s needs
4 Never take data personally 🧵
A historic day in Danish media history: JFM and Berlingske Media have entered a new partnership with Amedia. Amedia acquires 30% of JFM, while JFM, in turn, becomes co-owner of Berlingske Media. Together, we’ll launch a joint premium subscription giving readers access to a wide range of titles.
Norske muskler til danske medier: JFM og Berlingske går i meget tæt alliance
JFM, Berlingske og Berlingskes norske ejer går tæt sammen. Målet er at sælge mere indhold og flere annoncer og at blive førende på teknologi.
avisendanmark.dk
October 15, 2025 at 7:00 AM
A historic day in Danish media history: JFM and Berlingske Media have entered a new partnership with Amedia. Amedia acquires 30% of JFM, while JFM, in turn, becomes co-owner of Berlingske Media. Together, we’ll launch a joint premium subscription giving readers access to a wide range of titles.
Reposted by Claes Holtzmann
🇩🇰✨ Clement Bischoff (19) vs Danish Superliga Players
🥇 Key passes — 1st
🥇 Progressive carries — 1st
🥉 Successful dribbles — 3rd
🏅 Deep completions — 4th
📊 datamb.football
🥇 Key passes — 1st
🥇 Progressive carries — 1st
🥉 Successful dribbles — 3rd
🏅 Deep completions — 4th
📊 datamb.football
June 23, 2025 at 1:50 PM
🇩🇰✨ Clement Bischoff (19) vs Danish Superliga Players
🥇 Key passes — 1st
🥇 Progressive carries — 1st
🥉 Successful dribbles — 3rd
🏅 Deep completions — 4th
📊 datamb.football
🥇 Key passes — 1st
🥇 Progressive carries — 1st
🥉 Successful dribbles — 3rd
🏅 Deep completions — 4th
📊 datamb.football
Five years ago we faced new direct competition in five major cities. It made us better.
"You’d think that competition between newspapers would be a cutthroat affair. But in an era of decline... Your town’s paper actually has better odds when nearby communities keep theirs."
"You’d think that competition between newspapers would be a cutthroat affair. But in an era of decline... Your town’s paper actually has better odds when nearby communities keep theirs."
The USA has lost around a third of its local newspapers since 2005 creating huge "news deserts". New research has found that "wealthy white suburbs keep their watchdogs, while low-income and diverse communities lose theirs" www.niemanlab.org/2025/06/why-...
Why some towns lose local news — and others don’t
Research identifies five key drivers — ranging from racial disparity to market forces — that determine which towns lose their papers and which ones beat the odds.
www.niemanlab.org
June 9, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Five years ago we faced new direct competition in five major cities. It made us better.
"You’d think that competition between newspapers would be a cutthroat affair. But in an era of decline... Your town’s paper actually has better odds when nearby communities keep theirs."
"You’d think that competition between newspapers would be a cutthroat affair. But in an era of decline... Your town’s paper actually has better odds when nearby communities keep theirs."
While the Musk-Trump meltdown is entertaining, it doesn’t solve anything.
"Trump and Musk deserve whatever is coming, good and hard. But don’t let the schadenfreude of this psychodrama distract you from the fundamental point — America has fallen into a deep pit of corruption"
"Trump and Musk deserve whatever is coming, good and hard. But don’t let the schadenfreude of this psychodrama distract you from the fundamental point — America has fallen into a deep pit of corruption"
Wake Up and Smell the Corruption
How far we've fallen, how fast
open.substack.com
June 6, 2025 at 8:26 PM
While the Musk-Trump meltdown is entertaining, it doesn’t solve anything.
"Trump and Musk deserve whatever is coming, good and hard. But don’t let the schadenfreude of this psychodrama distract you from the fundamental point — America has fallen into a deep pit of corruption"
"Trump and Musk deserve whatever is coming, good and hard. But don’t let the schadenfreude of this psychodrama distract you from the fundamental point — America has fallen into a deep pit of corruption"
"For us Europeans, this is particularly significant... Just two days ago, [Trump] was boasting about how his threats had encouraged accelerated EU trade negotiations. Well, that leverage has just evaporated."
New blog post:
Court Strikes Down Trump’s “Liberation Day” Tariffs: A Victory for Constitutional Order and Economic Sanity
marketmonetarist.com/2025/05/29/c...
Court Strikes Down Trump’s “Liberation Day” Tariffs: A Victory for Constitutional Order and Economic Sanity
marketmonetarist.com/2025/05/29/c...
Court Strikes Down Trump’s “Liberation Day” Tariffs: A Victory for Constitutional Order and Economic Sanity
While Europe slept last night, a legal bombshell exploded over Trump’s trade policy. The U.S. Court of International Trade—America’s specialist federal court with exclusive jurisdiction…
marketmonetarist.com
May 29, 2025 at 6:13 AM
"For us Europeans, this is particularly significant... Just two days ago, [Trump] was boasting about how his threats had encouraged accelerated EU trade negotiations. Well, that leverage has just evaporated."
Al begyndelse er svær.
May 18, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Al begyndelse er svær.
Reposted by Claes Holtzmann
Amazing. Ann Telnaes just won a Pulitzer Prize for her work at The Washington Post --- which she resigned from after they refused to run this cartoon.
May 5, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Amazing. Ann Telnaes just won a Pulitzer Prize for her work at The Washington Post --- which she resigned from after they refused to run this cartoon.
Reposted by Claes Holtzmann
NEW: Dow plummets almost 1000 points, wiping $1.4 trillion off stocks.
Dollar falls again; now at a 3 year low. Bond yields rise. Capital is fleeing.
The US stock market is heading for its worst April since the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs & the Great Depression.
Dollar falls again; now at a 3 year low. Bond yields rise. Capital is fleeing.
The US stock market is heading for its worst April since the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs & the Great Depression.
April 21, 2025 at 8:17 PM
NEW: Dow plummets almost 1000 points, wiping $1.4 trillion off stocks.
Dollar falls again; now at a 3 year low. Bond yields rise. Capital is fleeing.
The US stock market is heading for its worst April since the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs & the Great Depression.
Dollar falls again; now at a 3 year low. Bond yields rise. Capital is fleeing.
The US stock market is heading for its worst April since the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs & the Great Depression.
Sounds weirdly familiar 🤔
"From almost the moment Adolf Hitler took office as chancellor of Germany, tariffs were at the top of his government’s economic agenda."
"From almost the moment Adolf Hitler took office as chancellor of Germany, tariffs were at the top of his government’s economic agenda."
Hitler’s Terrible Tariffs
By seeking to “liberate” Germans from a globalized world order, the Nazi government sent the national economy careening backwards—and drove up the price of eggs 600 percent.
www.theatlantic.com
April 20, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Sounds weirdly familiar 🤔
"From almost the moment Adolf Hitler took office as chancellor of Germany, tariffs were at the top of his government’s economic agenda."
"From almost the moment Adolf Hitler took office as chancellor of Germany, tariffs were at the top of his government’s economic agenda."
Probably not, but you can certainly make a concerted effort
This un-American life: can you really divest yourself of everything from the US?
iPhones and Google Maps are out – and you can keep your existing friends from across the pond, but don’t go making any new ones
www.theguardian.com
April 19, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Probably not, but you can certainly make a concerted effort
Advertising revenue will likely be the first casualty of the tariff madness. (It’s not like we’re in a great spot, as it is.)
"If I were a media company that relies on advertising, I'd be making sure my contingency plans are ready to go and preparing my cutbacks and layoffs right now"
"If I were a media company that relies on advertising, I'd be making sure my contingency plans are ready to go and preparing my cutbacks and layoffs right now"
Tariff Tremors Rattle Media
Netflix is putting on a brave face—for now—but across the media landscape, Donald Trump’s tariffs are fueling recession fears, advertising cutbacks, and deep anxiety about just how bad things could ge...
www.status.news
April 19, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Advertising revenue will likely be the first casualty of the tariff madness. (It’s not like we’re in a great spot, as it is.)
"If I were a media company that relies on advertising, I'd be making sure my contingency plans are ready to go and preparing my cutbacks and layoffs right now"
"If I were a media company that relies on advertising, I'd be making sure my contingency plans are ready to go and preparing my cutbacks and layoffs right now"
Don't worry, protectionism will fix this. Obviously, the tariffs just aren’t high enough.
"The economic uncertainty induced by Trump tariffs could become the single largest barrier to American AI supremacy"
"The economic uncertainty induced by Trump tariffs could become the single largest barrier to American AI supremacy"
Tech industry fears Donald Trump’s trade war will hamper US AI ‘dominance’
Tariffs and threat of new duties on chips and computing infrastructure could frustrate American ambitions to lead artificial intelligence race
www.ft.com
April 18, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Don't worry, protectionism will fix this. Obviously, the tariffs just aren’t high enough.
"The economic uncertainty induced by Trump tariffs could become the single largest barrier to American AI supremacy"
"The economic uncertainty induced by Trump tariffs could become the single largest barrier to American AI supremacy"
Not exactly surprising given the current political environment, but important nonetheless.
"it’s not the personalities of politicians we hate that fuel polarization—it’s the dark personality traits of the politicians we actually support that widen the political divide"
"it’s not the personalities of politicians we hate that fuel polarization—it’s the dark personality traits of the politicians we actually support that widen the political divide"
Political Leaders' Dark Personalities Drive Division, Polarization
Your favorite political fighter might be making you more polarized than you realize—but not for the reasons you think.
studyfinds.org
April 17, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Not exactly surprising given the current political environment, but important nonetheless.
"it’s not the personalities of politicians we hate that fuel polarization—it’s the dark personality traits of the politicians we actually support that widen the political divide"
"it’s not the personalities of politicians we hate that fuel polarization—it’s the dark personality traits of the politicians we actually support that widen the political divide"
Reposted by Claes Holtzmann
Jon Stewart admits folks here were right & he wasn't: "I did not think he would get this authoritarian this fast. I really didn't. I'm sorry. Who could have known? Maybe if someone out there had yelled at me on Bluesky about this, I would have known. But no one did. Except every day. In all caps."
Jon Stewart has a message for his Bluesky critics: 'My bad'
April 15, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Jon Stewart admits folks here were right & he wasn't: "I did not think he would get this authoritarian this fast. I really didn't. I'm sorry. Who could have known? Maybe if someone out there had yelled at me on Bluesky about this, I would have known. But no one did. Except every day. In all caps."
Reposted by Claes Holtzmann
🚨TARIFF UPDATE:
Tariffs are non-negotiable, negotiable, but not a negotiating tactic. They are permanent until they are paused but they will never be paused, until they are paused which means they increase. Permanent exemptions already announced are temporary, but nothing has been announced.
🤡🎪
Tariffs are non-negotiable, negotiable, but not a negotiating tactic. They are permanent until they are paused but they will never be paused, until they are paused which means they increase. Permanent exemptions already announced are temporary, but nothing has been announced.
🤡🎪
April 13, 2025 at 8:24 PM
🚨TARIFF UPDATE:
Tariffs are non-negotiable, negotiable, but not a negotiating tactic. They are permanent until they are paused but they will never be paused, until they are paused which means they increase. Permanent exemptions already announced are temporary, but nothing has been announced.
🤡🎪
Tariffs are non-negotiable, negotiable, but not a negotiating tactic. They are permanent until they are paused but they will never be paused, until they are paused which means they increase. Permanent exemptions already announced are temporary, but nothing has been announced.
🤡🎪
Just visited X for the first time in ages. Everything seemed very on brand 👍
April 13, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Just visited X for the first time in ages. Everything seemed very on brand 👍
Can’t believe I’m saying this - but Trump might’ve actually caught China off guard this round.
April 11, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Can’t believe I’m saying this - but Trump might’ve actually caught China off guard this round.
It’s becoming increasingly essential for journalists to be able to do more than just report what’s happening.
"We saw interesting stuff in the data that sometimes community members didn’t care that the newsletters were AI-generated, said Wilson"
"We saw interesting stuff in the data that sometimes community members didn’t care that the newsletters were AI-generated, said Wilson"
Last month, Patch announced it was publishing AI-generated local newsletters in 30,000 communities across the U.S.
I spoke to former Patch workers about the precursor to its AI program and the decision to leave human newsletter writers across the country behind.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/the-...
I spoke to former Patch workers about the precursor to its AI program and the decision to leave human newsletter writers across the country behind.
www.niemanlab.org/2025/04/the-...
The origins of Patch’s big AI newsletter experiment
Local news aggregation was primed for automation. In the transition Patch left human curators behind.
www.niemanlab.org
April 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM
It’s becoming increasingly essential for journalists to be able to do more than just report what’s happening.
"We saw interesting stuff in the data that sometimes community members didn’t care that the newsletters were AI-generated, said Wilson"
"We saw interesting stuff in the data that sometimes community members didn’t care that the newsletters were AI-generated, said Wilson"
AI scrapers and crawlers led to a significant increase in invalid traffic in the second half of 2024.
"In addition to the scrapers that were easily identified, there were 'more evasive scrapers operated by individuals/organizations who intentionally disguised them as human visitors'"
"In addition to the scrapers that were easily identified, there were 'more evasive scrapers operated by individuals/organizations who intentionally disguised them as human visitors'"
Publishers, Beware: General Invalid Traffic Jumped By 86% In 2024
AI scrapers and crawlers contributed to the problem, DoubleVerify's Fraud Lab reports.
www.mediapost.com
January 10, 2025 at 4:11 PM
AI scrapers and crawlers led to a significant increase in invalid traffic in the second half of 2024.
"In addition to the scrapers that were easily identified, there were 'more evasive scrapers operated by individuals/organizations who intentionally disguised them as human visitors'"
"In addition to the scrapers that were easily identified, there were 'more evasive scrapers operated by individuals/organizations who intentionally disguised them as human visitors'"
It's such a dystopian nightmare that the world's most powerful men are spreading misinformation at a time when reliable information is critical for local citizens.
"Elon Musk suggested that the fires were spreading due to the city fire chief’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion"
"Elon Musk suggested that the fires were spreading due to the city fire chief’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion"
Elon Musk and Donald Trump spread disinformation as wildfires rage in the LA area
“DEI means people die,” Musk wrote.
www.theverge.com
January 9, 2025 at 9:52 PM
It's such a dystopian nightmare that the world's most powerful men are spreading misinformation at a time when reliable information is critical for local citizens.
"Elon Musk suggested that the fires were spreading due to the city fire chief’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion"
"Elon Musk suggested that the fires were spreading due to the city fire chief’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion"
Rookie mistake. Never get high on your own supply.
"Musk has seemingly become the first tech leader to fall down the rabbit hole of radicalisation by his own product"
"Musk has seemingly become the first tech leader to fall down the rabbit hole of radicalisation by his own product"
How a handful of X accounts took Elon Musk ‘down the rabbit hole’ on UK politics
Tech billionaire’s posts about grooming gangs scandal have elevated issue
www.ft.com
January 9, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Rookie mistake. Never get high on your own supply.
"Musk has seemingly become the first tech leader to fall down the rabbit hole of radicalisation by his own product"
"Musk has seemingly become the first tech leader to fall down the rabbit hole of radicalisation by his own product"
ICYMI: I made an advent calendar on how to leverage user data. The thread is stupendously long, so here's an index that lets you jump right to the parts that interest you:
1 Beware of Goodhart's Law
2 Look for Patterns
3 Identify the user’s needs
4 Never take data personally 🧵
1 Beware of Goodhart's Law
2 Look for Patterns
3 Identify the user’s needs
4 Never take data personally 🧵
Okay, let's go: Day 1 of my advent calendar
Always remember that user data is about real human beings and not just numbers in a spreadsheet. Why? Just ask Charles Goodhart, who expressed the core idea behind Goodhart's Law:
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
Always remember that user data is about real human beings and not just numbers in a spreadsheet. Why? Just ask Charles Goodhart, who expressed the core idea behind Goodhart's Law:
"When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure."
January 9, 2025 at 2:04 PM
ICYMI: I made an advent calendar on how to leverage user data. The thread is stupendously long, so here's an index that lets you jump right to the parts that interest you:
1 Beware of Goodhart's Law
2 Look for Patterns
3 Identify the user’s needs
4 Never take data personally 🧵
1 Beware of Goodhart's Law
2 Look for Patterns
3 Identify the user’s needs
4 Never take data personally 🧵
This is a good opportunity to ask readers to support your work, e.g., by buying a subscription, even if they don’t need one to access content. We did this during COVID and saw some of the best months for subscription sales in that period, even with the paywall lifted.
Shoutout to the Los Angeles Times reporters who are doing essential journalism under very difficult circumstances.
They’ve dropped their paywall, but their ongoing coverage is a good reminder of why local newsrooms need support — and what we lose when those outlets are hollowed out.
They’ve dropped their paywall, but their ongoing coverage is a good reminder of why local newsrooms need support — and what we lose when those outlets are hollowed out.
5 dead, more than 2,000 structures burned as new fire hits Hollywood Hills
More than 2,000 structures have burned and at least five people are dead in wildfires burning across L.A. County. Red flag warnings remained in effect for Los Angeles County and much of Ventura County...
www.latimes.com
January 9, 2025 at 11:54 AM
This is a good opportunity to ask readers to support your work, e.g., by buying a subscription, even if they don’t need one to access content. We did this during COVID and saw some of the best months for subscription sales in that period, even with the paywall lifted.