February 8, 2024

• News Corp - publisher of the Wall Street Journal and more - says a deal with AI companies is 'imminent' (Press Gazette) / Dow Jones CEO: ‘Not going to be a lifestyle company.’ Focus will be business news and services (Axios) 

• Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center says … Iran could target the 2024 U.S. elections, including creating AI-generated fake news (The Register) / U.S. commerce secretary concerned about AI being used to disrupt elections (Semafor) / Google joins effort to help spot content made with AI (New York Times) / Confessions of an AI clickbait kingpin (Wired) 

• An internet media company launches a plan to cover the election for Gen Z (The Washington Post) / ‘The main character is the voter’: How one small newsroom is covering the election (WBUR) 

• How a Russian disinformation campaign is using bots, lifestyle influencers, and state-run media to boost calls for U.S. 'civil war' over the Texas border crisis (Wired) / Chinese websites posing as local news outlets target global audiences with pro-Beijing content (The Citizen Lab) 

• Thomas Reuters reporters Reuters News Q4 revenue rose ... driven mainly by generative AI licensing (Reuters)

• The falling TV news star salary (The Ankler)

• CBS News Digital unionizes with Writers Guild of America East (The Wrap) / Austin American Statesman journalists picketing outside newsroom office (Austin NewsGuild) / ‘Gannett needs to come to the table with a fair wage package and protect local news.’ (Austin NewsGuild) 

• Many small news nonprofits feel overlooked by funders. A new coalition is giving them a voice (Nieman Journalism Lab)

• Amid ratings challenges at GBH, external investigation probes workplace culture (Boston Globe) 

• Nelson Media Company buys the Anamosa Journal - Eureka averting the local paper’s shutdown (KCRG)

• Will Lester, longtime AP journalist and desk editor, dies at age 71 (Chronicle Online) 

• Former Gawker editor and writer, now ‘American Fiction’ Oscar nominee Cord Jefferson says he still feels like a journalist at heart (The Wrap)

Press Freedom

• A global rise in government-led fact-checking initiatives cause concern, worries of misuse (Poynter) 

• Journalist Evan Lambert obtains $80K judgment against Ohio city, county stemming from his unlawful arrest while covering train derailment (Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press) 

• Charges dropped against Northwestern students over parody newspaper protesting war in Gaza (NBC Chicago)

Advice for covering extremism

“As always, careful reporting drives good journalism. Be precise. Don’t assume. And if you’re trying to assess if a viewpoint is extreme, here’s my rule of thumb: Rely on the three guiding principles at the end of the pledge of allegiance: ‘with liberty and justice for all.’ Each idea matters. Freedom and fairness for everybody. Hitting the balance point across all three has long been this nation’s challenge, but somewhere in that mix, America finds its center line. The further a position lies from that center line, the more extreme it is.”

-- Jon Greenberg, senior correspondent at PolitiFact, excerpt from “Reporting on people with extreme views? Ditch the shortcuts.” (Poynter)

TOMORROW: Webinar on reframing firearm violence news coverage

Firearm violence is largely covered in the media as a crime issue focused on individual shooting events. But experts assert that reframing firearm violence as a broader public health issue is crucial to finding policy and community solutions aimed at preventing deaths and injury from guns. 

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute, with support from the Association of Health Care Journalists, for a free webinar with experts and journalists on where to find the best data and research on firearm and gun deaths for your reporting.

Our panel will explore the gaps, go-to resources, and facts and myths about firearms and firearm ownership, with tips from:

• Dr. Jessica Beard, director of research at The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting
• Abené Clayton, reporter on The Guardian's Guns and Lies in America project
• Jennifer Mascia, senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace
• Moderator: Kaitlin Washburn, health beat leader for firearm violence and trauma at Association of Health Care Journalists; reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times

• Legal guide for journalists covering the election (RCFP) 
• Make design more inclusive: Defeat unconscious bias in visuals (Poynter)
• Tipsheet for pitching science editors (CASW Connector)

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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