March 25, 2024

• Chuck Todd and ‘Morning Joe’ hosts object to NBC’s hiring of former RNC chair  (New York Times) / NBC's McDaniel mess threatens to explode (POLITICO) / ‘NBC News Guild also taking issue with the Ronna McDaniel hiring, especially after it follows recent layoffs at the network’ (Justin Baragona) / The U.S. corporate media, led by NBC, quietly rebuilds its ties to Donald Trump (Semafor) 

• The U.S. has splintered into 12 news bubbles based on ideology, wealth, jobs, age, and location (Axios) / Avoiding the news isn't the same as not consuming it (Nieman Journalism Review)

• New chapter for Hawaii's largest newspaper: Honolulu Star-Advertiser purchased by Carpenter Media Group (KOHN) 

• Long Beach Post staffers laid off after moving to unionize and going on strike (Los Angeles Times) 

• Gannett is closing a New Jersey production facility, 140 staffers to be affected (Publisher’s Daily)  

• AP, Texas Tribune to share select news content in new collaboration (Associated Press)   

• Palestinian journalist at Detroit news station sues, alleges retaliation, racial discrimination (The Detroit News)

• LSU coach Mulkey threatens legal action against Washington Post (The Athletic) / Everything you need to know about the ongoing 'Sports Illustrated' saga (Front Office Sports)

• Emma Brown named deputy editor of the rapid-response investigations team (Washington Post) / Veteran media reporter Hadas Gold returns to covering media for CNN (Semafor) / Matt Holt, previously at The Messenger, is ‘joining the CNN political unit through the rest of 2024 election’ (Matt Holt) / The Economist names Isobel Owen has head of social media (Talking Biz News)

• Here’s how Google’s generative AI for newsrooms product will work (Big Technology) / Financial Times tests an AI chatbot trained on decades of its own articles (The Verge) 

• The Reddit pages that investigate influencers (Columbia Journalism Review) 

• For once, the British tabloids held back. It didn't make a difference (New York Times) / Apologies for Kategate – but will the spirit of restraint on social media last? (The Guardian)

• Why media companies are still hybrid, four years since the pandemic started (Digiday) 

• An AP photographer snags an unexpected image of the head of the Catholic Church (Associated Press)

Press Freedom

• The long struggle to free Evan Gershkovich from a Moscow prison (CBS News) / Journalist Gershkovich well despite year in Russian jail, US Embassy says (Voice of America) / Parents of reporter Evan Gershkovich speak out 1 year into his Russian detainment (ABC News)

• The heartbreaking ordeal of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva (CBS News) / U.S. urged to sanction countries for wrongfully detaining journalists (Wall Street Journal) 

• After a U.S. journalist is killed in South Sudan, a quest for answers (Columbia Journalism Review) / South Sudan probe says U.S. journalist died in 'crossfire’ (Agence France-Presse via Voice of America)

How reading can improve your writing

“I try to read like a writer, taking note not just of the information or the story — but of the technique that makes information clear or a story compelling. What makes a character stand out, a scene pull me in, a voice lure me along, a metaphor surprise me, an analogy help me understand?”

-- Jacqui Banaszynski, reporter & editor, excerpt from "So many newsletters: Reading to learn to write to be read" (Nieman Storyboard)

Mindful movement class for journalists: Join us in person, Wednesday

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s Bara Vaida for a mindful movement class aimed at teaching you ways to prevent tension in the neck and back from a long day of sitting at your desk or chasing down stories. The class also will provide different breathing methods to help with focus and manage energy throughout the day.

Vaida is a 500-hour, Yoga Alliance-certified yoga instructor, with specialized training in meditation, stress-reduction, and therapeutics.

This one-hour class will take place in person at 5:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, March 27, at the National Press Club. Registration is open and free to National Press Club members and the public.

Resources

• How Colorado Community Media relaunched 24 sites in six months...and lessons learned on how to leave an ‘antiquated infrastructure’ behind (Better News)
• What publishers of color taught me about building equitable collaborations (Center for Public Integrity) 
• How moral injury is impacting the news industry (American Press Institute)

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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