The Latest: ABC News shakeup; Geraldo joins NewsNation; Moving meditation class at NPC on Feb. 28; Journalists’ love stories

February 14, 2024

Top stories

Disney folds ABC News, local stations under executive Debra OConnell (Variety)

Forget A1. The most coveted 'front pages' of the New York Times are now The Daily and its flagship newsletter The Morning (Vanity Fair) / The New York Times is hiring a full time media correspondent (New York Times) / ‘Come work with me !’ (Ben Mullin)

Amid media layoffs, journalists turn to NewsGuild and picket lines (NPR) / ‘Nobody solves media except temporarily’: Four indie media owners on money, sustainability, and 'making cooler, weirder things' (Nieman Journalism Lab)

Frustrated White House sends letter to press corps, skewering coverage of Biden’s handling of classified files (CNN)

Why NPR’s podcast strategist sees opportunity after turbulent year (Current) / NPR will expand collaborative regional newsrooms (Current)

Geraldo Rivera joins NewsNation as correspondent at large (Variety)

Joel Belz, trailblazer in Christian journalism , is dead at 82 (New York Times)

Take the cash or fight? Media moguls split on AI deals (The Hollywood Reporter)

Flipboard just brought over 1,000 of its social magazines to Mastodon and the fediverse (TechCrunch)

Moscow milks Tucker Carlson’s Putin interview with free theater screenings (Daily Beast)

We asked for your newsroom love stories . You didn't disappoint. (Poynter) / A New York Times business reporter writes about first-date etiquette (New York Times)

Inside 'The Girls on the Bus' a new series based on journalist Amy Chozick's book 'Chasing Hillary' (Axios)

Grover the Muppet says he's a reporter . Not for long, joke his beleaguered peers (NPR)

Press Freedom

The Wall Street Journal to host read-a-thon to mark 1 year of Evan Gershkovich’s wrongful detainment (Dow Jones) / U.S. Secretary of State Blinken speaks by phone with Paul Whelan held by Russia…amid continuing efforts to free him, WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich and other Americans (Wall Street Journal)

South Dakota Legislature expands definition of 'legal newspaper' (Keloland)

Four Iranian journalists detained after newsroom raid , detention of 30 employees (Committee to Protect Journalists)

Finding a sensitivity reader

“The most important qualification for any sensitivity reader is a shared identity with the identity groups covered in a piece of reporting. Getting input on the accurate framing or sourcing for reporting on a marginalized identity from someone who does not share that identity is an easy way to run aground by 'othering,' that habit of casting a group of people as different or alien from the majority. Othering is a nearly invisible habit, and one that is all too common when a majority-identifying author or newsroom takes on a minority-identity experience. Because othering can happen so easily and unintentionally, starting your work with a sensitivity professional who co-identifies with one or more marginalized identities at the center of a story is a must.”

-- Ariel Zych, 2023-24 RJI fellow, excerpt from “What to look for in a sensitivity reader " (RJI)

How a ‘Stop Doing’ list can make your team more productive

“Like most newsrooms, we’ve lost too many journalists over the last several years but we’re still trying to do the same job in the same way with fewer people. Our daily to-do lists can’t be reasonably accomplished in a day . We want to do new things, and different things, but we don’t have the time. … Thus, the genesis of the ‘Stop Doing’ list. … We aren’t just killing things to be killing things. We are replacing them or even doing fewer things better.”

-- Excerpt from a Better News Q&A with Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editors, "How the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel focused on prioritizing with a ‘Stop Doing’ list"

Moving Meditation: Exercises for journalists to reduce stress and boost wellness. A monthly in-person class at the National Press Club. Register now.

Join us: In-person Moving Meditation class to reduce stress, Feb. 28

The National Press Club Journalism Institute’s Bara Vaida is leading another gentle movement and breathing class aimed at reducing tension in the body, relaxing the mind, and encouraging connection with fellow hard-working journalists. Vaida is a 500-hour, Yoga Alliance-certified yoga instructor, with specialized training in meditation, stress-reduction, and therapeutics.

This one-hour gathering will take place in person at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 5:30 p.m. ET. Registration is open, with fees set at $5 for National Press Club members and $15 for nonmembers.

GET TICKETS

Resources

This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Bara Vaida, and Holly Butcher Grant. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. The Institute's tax ID number is 52-1750908.