March 24, 2021

Top stories ■ Maryland businessman bids $650 million for all of Tribune, including the Baltimore Sun (Baltimore Sun) / Tribune Publishing has a potential rescuer offering more for the company than Alden, but it’s recommending shareholders approve the hedge fund instead. Here’s why. (Poynter)  ■ LA Times receives $10-million PPP loan (LA Times) / For local newsrooms, philanthropy isn't charity — it's revenue (Inside Philanthropy)   ■ HuffPost taps The Root’s Danielle Belton as new editor in chief after yearlong vacancy (Daily Beast) / ‘We are reviewing options for her replacement, which we hope to have news on soon, who can take The Root's incredible brand and readership to even higher heights…’ (CNN) ■ ‘The Post is looking for a journalistic unicorn’: Inside the confounding search for Marty Baron’s successor (Vanity Fair)  ■ Anna Wintour to cast wide net for Alexi McCammond replacement as Teen Vogue’s top editor (New York Post) ■ ‘How do you explain the inexplicable?’ Denver reporter reflects on 20+ years of mass shootings (Kare 11) / 'It was crushing': Denver Post editor talks about difficult process of covering another Colorado mass shooting (CNN) / What questions should be asked about gun violence? (Dan Rather / Steady) ■ How mainstream media failed the Atlanta shooting victims (Nieman Lab)  ■ A food critic loses her sense of smell from COVID (New York Times) / U.S. media is offering a different picture of COVID-19 from science journals or the international media, study finds (New York Times) / Why I photograph the quiet moments of grief and loss (Caroline Catlin / TEDxSeattle)  ■ Photographer sues police after being seriously hurt covering Phoenix protests; reporter pleaded on live TV for medical help for him (KNXV-TV) ■ I’ve been called unprintable names online. Now there’s help for cyber-harassment (LA Times) / Online harassment is ugly and routine for women in journalism (The Hill) / Top Saudi official issued death threat against UN's Khashoggi investigator (Guardian)  ■ Live from the West Wing: The new faces of the White House press corps. How Kaitlan Collins, Nancy Cordes, Cecilia Vega, & Kristen Welker succeeded in DC (Bustle)  ■ Senior White House officials to visit border facility, allow one news camera inside (Washington Post) / SPJ urges DHS to reverse position on blocking media’s border access (Society of Professional Journalists)  ■ AP journalist Thein Zaw released from detention in Myanmar (Associated Press) / Hong Kong journalist stands trial over use of online license plate search (Radio Free Asia)  ■ Prince Harry joins the Aspen Institute's new Commission on Information Disorder (CNN)  ■ Yes, the Cinnamon Toast Crunch guy is married to Topanga from 'Boy Meets World' (The Wrap) / Writer didn’t plan for the shrimp tails in his Cinnamon Toast Crunch to go viral (LA Times)

Will the use of artificial intelligence save journalism, be the end of news as we know it, or live somewhere in between? Francesco Marconi, who has led the development of the Associated Press and Wall Street Journal’s use of AI in journalism, offers a practical perspective on the potential of these technologies.  Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute and the National Press Club’s communicators team for a program featuring Marconi, who will explain how journalists and communication professionals can avoid pitfalls while taking advantage of the possibilities AI provides to develop new ways of telling stories and connecting with audiences. Registration is now open for this program, which will take place online from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 26, 2021. The program is free to attend; donations will support the Institute’s programs.

Planning prevents the ‘suck of today’ from winning Planning and long-term thinking don’t come naturally to everyone. There are people who love lists and others who thrive on serendipity. Newsrooms are often influenced by the preferences of their leaders, for better or worse.  Here’s a warning: If you’re a manager who likes to make decisions on the fly and feels constricted by calendars, you’re putting your newsroom, your people, and your product at a disadvantage.  I’ve worked with enough newsrooms (including my own) to know the impact planning can have on quality and morale. Today, planning can help newsrooms work more safely and sanely amidst an avalanche of news, distributed teams and unpredictable budgets. Here are 10 truths about planning and how to make it work for your team. Advice from Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity, Loyola University Chicago, Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership Click here to read Jill’s previous posts.

Resources Muck Rack State of Journalism 2021 (March 30, 12 p.m. ET) / Muck Rack survey results  Covering the COVID-19 vaccine: What journalists need to know (March 29 - April 25) How to decide when to 'rescue' your darlings and other writing tips (Poynter)

Today’s journalists need to check more than their facts. In this cut-and-paste digital world, journalists also need to check their rights. Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute for an overview of copyright perils and solutions, presented by three lawyers with the Media & Entertainment Law Group from the Washington, D.C. office of Ballard Spahr LLP: Chuck Tobin, Alia Smith and Mara Gassmann. Participants will leave the program with:  Best practices for the “fair use” of unlicensed work Tips to calibrate how much is too much when quoting or using someone else’s work  Ways to quickly determine rights to an image and how to license it, even via social media Registration is now open for this program, which will take place online from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. The program is free to attend; donations will support the Institute’s programs.

This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco, Holly Butcher Grant and Julie Moos. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover. Get this from a friend? Subscribe, and view the archives.

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