April 26, 2021
Top stories
A bipartisan letter was sent today to President Joe Biden, signed by 44 Senators (nearly half of the Senate) and 36 Representatives, asking him to work urgently toward the safe return of veteran U.S. Marine Corps captain and award-winning journalist Austin Tice, who has been held in Syria since August 14, 2012. 

Austin, a Georgetown graduate and law student, was detained near Damascus three days after his 31st birthday while covering escalating conflict in the region. The U.S. government believes he is alive and being held by an affiliate of the Syrian government.

The letter was part of a new #FreeAustinTice campaign, led by the National Press Club Journalism Institute in partnership with McClatchy and other organizations. The grassroots initiative saw 1,601 members of the public and 592 members of the Georgetown community contact their elected representatives, asking them to sign the letter urging the president to make Austin’s safe return a priority.  

In September 2019, the Institute coordinated dozens of volunteers who canvassed the offices of every sitting member of Congress, asking them to sign a letter to the president and raising awareness of Austin’s situation. Later that month, 173 of those lawmakers signed a letter to President Trump on Austin’s behalf

Austin will be featured on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, at a National Press Club event. Austin’s niece Maia, who just turned 11, will share memories of her uncle and update eventgoers on how she’s advocated for him in her neighborhood and school. Maia will be interviewed by National Press Club President Lisa Matthews.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute is starting a reading group for people who love journalism and books and want to discuss them both. Please RSVP here if you’re interested in joining.

Our first virtual meeting will be Thursday, May 13 at 6 p.m. ET. We’ll discuss Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR (prologue through Chapter 5).

The gatherings will last one hour and take place over Zoom, and you can drop in just once or join every time. The group is open to all. We hope to bring together a group with different perspectives on the books we read and diverse lived experiences that teach us all about reading through together.

Be sure to register for an event on Thursday, April 29 with author Lisa Napoli and NPR journalists Susan Stamberg, Nina Totenberg and Linda Wertheimer. You can buy the book at the same time; NPC members get a discount.

Correction: The date in Friday's newsletter was incorrect for the NPC event.
Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership, on ways that leaders can improve their newsroom's journalism.
Resources
Get a head start on designing graphics and other visuals on deadline — even when you aren’t a graphic designer.

In our scroll and skim culture, dynamic visuals can make the difference in whether a reader engages with a story. But not every story can attract a graphic design professional’s time in the newsroom, especially in the continuing pandemic news cycle. If you’re a reporter, editor, social media manager now handling (or who wants to handle) quick-turn graphics, get a head start with our hacks for designing visuals when it’s not usually part of your job.

Beth Francesco, National Press Club Journalism Institute senior director, will share best practices, tools you have at your disposal from home, and exercises for creating visuals regardless of your hands-on design experience.

Registration is open for this program, which will take place from 1 to 3:30 p.m. ET Friday, April 30. Tickets are $15 for National Press Club members and $25 for the general public.
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.

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