Journalists seek to inform the public about arising contemporary issues in society. Ethical standards are supposed to guide them in achieving this objective.

TMZ has built a reputation as one of the first outlets to break celebrity news. It has scooped events such as Michael Jackson’s death and Mel Gibson’s DUI incident.

1. Vulture

Scavengers such as vultures and hyenas are often viewed with disdain—they’re dirty, ugly and unsanitary. But they play fundamentally important roles in the environment by scavenging and helping to decompose carcasses, thus reducing bacteria and diseases like anthrax, botulism and rabies. In fact, without scavengers like these, the carcasses will remain exposed in the environment for weeks, exposing wildlife and even humans to harmful bacteria and viruses, explains Dr. Joseph Onoja, director of technical programs at the Nigerian Conservation Foundation.

The good news is that vultures appear to be making a comeback in Europe, where populations have steadily increased over the past decade. In Africa, however, they face an uncertain future. Over the past two decades, the use of diclofenac—a painkiller given to moribund cattle—has wiped out over 99 percent of the continent’s vulture species.

Vultures have a dark and subdued appearance, with plumage of black, white, gray and tan. Their legs acquire a white coloration from uric acid, which helps to kill microbes and regulate feet temperature. When they gather together on a carcass, it’s known as a “venue.”

Fortunately, conservationists are doing everything they can to protect these amazing birds. They’re working to restore natural habitat, eliminate poaching and reduce harmful toxins in the environment. They’re also raising and caring for captive-bred scavengers in an effort to bolster their numbers and reintroduce them into their former habitats. They’re also fighting to preserve the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which provides our native vultures with federal protection against persecution.

2. PopSugar

Originally created by Lisa Sugar, a celebrity gossip hobbyist and her husband Brian in 2005, PopSugar started as a personal blog and quickly grew into a media company. Today, it has five offices worldwide, hundreds of employees and 20 million unique visitors a month. Its content covers everything from breaking celebrity news to hot fashion trends, great workouts, mouthwatering recipes, beauty tips, original video content and more.

Back in the day, when most bloggers had snarky tone and were making fun of traditional media, Lisa crafted her writing with a genuine voice that resonated with her audience. This approach helped her attract a huge audience right off the bat and she was able to grow her website and brand fast.

To further monetize its content, PopSugar partnered with Taboola to serve native ads on their site and app. They are also leveraging header bidding to drive more efficient CPMs and better ROI for their advertisers.

In addition to traditional ads, PopSugar rolled out Must Have It, a subscription box service that sends readers products that are curated by their editors and has been proven to drive conversion. By 2017, it had 20,000 subscribers for the service and generated 20% of their overall revenue (Src). It also launched TrendRank, an analytical tool that analyzes user intent and delivers results based on that.

3. Bandcamp

In an era where Spotify, Apple Music and their ilk have become the default method of listening to music, Bandcamp still provides the opportunity to buy CDs and vinyl records while also giving fans the option to subscribe to an artist’s newsletter. This subscription model is great for building a loyal following and providing an opportunity to keep in touch with new releases.

In addition to its digital sales platform, Bandcamp also has a community section where fans can connect with artists and other fans and discuss music and more. This is something that Aly talks about a little bit in the podcast and can be an effective strategy to add into your overall marketing plan.

One of the things that sets Bandcamp apart from its competitors is how much they care about their artists and their livelihood. For example, during the CoVid pandemic, they waived their fee share and donated all revenue to artists for 24 hours every month between March and July. This is a huge gesture that shows that they truly care about their artists and want them to be successful.

They also have an editorial arm called Bandcamp Daily that shines a light on the mind-boggling variety of music that is available on their site. From sludge metal to power ambient to Black Appalachian banjoists and modern Maori music, they investigate it all.