We are experimenting with replacing our "Media links" post with a feed of "Recommended reading," where we will not only suggest to you what we think are some of the most interesting articles around today, but we will highlight why we think they are worth reading. Do let us know what you think - either in the comments section below this post or send an email to emma.goodman@wan-ifra.org

How journalists can turn their stories into conversations, Poynter.org

Everyone agrees engagement with readers is important and this article offers several suggestions for increasing that engagement. Likewise, it points out some reasons that current engagement might be low and what can be done about them.

Building a better sports bar: SB Nation redesigns its blog network, NiemanLab.org 

This sports blog network has just finished a redesign and tackled a number of issues that large news publishing companies face: how to modernise the site while “also unifying the look of more than 300 distinct sites. And they had to do it in a way that balances the needs of the fan communities of each site while giving the entire network a universal consistency,” writes Justin Ellis.

Estonia Gets Highest Marks for Internet Freedom, nytimes.com

While we often write about countries for limiting freedom of expression (see our story on Vietnam bloggers here), it’s great to see Estonia recognized for its positive Internet developments. Unfortunately, as this article points out, there are still many examples of countries where freedom of expression is under attack.

How people get local news and information in different communities, pewinternet.org

Pew’s latest report offers a trove of interesting findings in the ways that residents of urban, suburban, small towns and rural areas consume news and information.

For more industry news, please see WAN-IFRA's Executive News Service.