March 9, 2021

Top stories ■ BuzzFeed lays off 70 HuffPost staffers in massive 'restructure' less than a month after acquisition (CNN) / 'We are devastated and infuriated': Executive editor is departing, along with 46 others in the newsroom (HuffPost) / ‘HuffPost's losses exceeded $20 million last year and would be similar this year without action, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti said in a meeting announcing the layoffs’ (Steven Perlberg) / HuffPost Canada's website was shut down without notice (Samantha Beattie) / ‘HuffPo laid off several international employees who depend on the company for their visa — during a pandemic, with no warning. (Anna Silman)  ■ Piers Morgan to leave Good Morning Britain after storming off-set during discussion of Meghan Markle (Guardian) / Piers Morgan's Meghan Markle comments under investigation after 41,000 complaints (Variety) / Seven media lessons from Oprah’s interview with Harry and Meghan (CNN) / The rigorous empathy of “Oprah with Meghan and Harry” (New Yorker) / Many of TV's most iconic interviews conducted by women (Sara Fischer) ■ 'I'm just doing my job': Jurors hear witness testimony, view bodycam footage in trial of Iowa journalist (USA Today) / Arrested journalist pleaded with officer: 'This is my job' / Officer says he arrested reporter after pepper spray blasts (Associated Press) / Live updates: Des Moines Register executive editor and reporter testify; trial expected to last through Wednesday (Des Moines Register) ■ White House hires aide who once forced a reporter to delete photos of Biden (Washingtonian)  ■ Maggie Haberman reflects on her years covering Trump and the one question she wished she’d asked (The Forward) ■ Teen Vogue’s new editor apologizes for past racist tweets after staff complaints: ‘There’s no excuse’ (Washington Post) / Teen Vogue staff rail against new editor-in-chief's past tweets mocking Asians (Daily Beast)  ■ Dallas Morning News parent company seeks name change to 'embrace social justice movement' (Dallas Morning News) / Digiday's updated breakdown of diversity statistics from the New York Times, LA Times, BuzzFeed, USA Today, Gannett, Hearst, Conde Nast (Digiday) / Tegna board nominee withdraws, citing CEO's 'cultural insensitivity' (WSJ)  ■ ‘Your road is your road’: ‘I didn’t go to Harvard. I didn’t go to Columbia J School. I went to Brooklyn College which is a great city school but maybe not what many think it takes to get into the building on 620 8th Avenue. The New York Times building.’ (Claudio Eduardo Cabrera) ■ The Los Angeles Times' search for a new executive editor is in its very early stages, owner Patrick Soon-Shiong says (Poynter) ■ Being owned by a billionaire is a struggling newsroom's dream. But it can turn into a nightmare (CNN) ■ Probing TV journalist and network news anchor Roger Mudd dies at 93 (Washington Post)

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.

Manager's Minute: How can I be known as a genuine ally? Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership, on ways leaders can be better allies and not just someone performing the part.

Read more from Jill on allyship: Do you qualify as an ally? 10 (of many) ways to earn that distinction To be an ally, you can’t just hold others to account Allies know they need to learn; here’s help Email us a question you'd like Jill to answer. Click here to read Jill’s previous posts.

Resources FOI survey Network mapping is a concrete method to include more voices in your reporting  Transformative transparency exchange: Support & space for women news leaders (March 25, 12 p.m. ET)

March 15 kicks off Sunshine Week, a time when journalists and news organizations promote open government and “sunshine” laws that require government business to be publicly accessible.  As part of Sunshine Week, the National Press Club Journalism Institute and the National Press Club’s press freedom team will host a discussion on public access to information and the role that investigative journalism plays in restoring public trust, with practical advice from Associated Press global investigations editor Ron Nixon and The Markup president Nabiha Syed, moderated by CQ Roll Call senior writer John Donnelly.  Registration is now open for this program, which will take place online from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET on Monday, March 15, 2021. The program is free to attend; donations will support the Institute’s press freedom work.

National Press Club news Parnes, Allen to discuss 'Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency' (March 10, 2 p.m. ET) NPC Virtual Newsmaker: Mercy Corps CEO Tjada D’Oyen McKenna (March 25, 1 p.m. ET) Watch: Rep. Jamie Raskin on the nation's polarized politics Interested in becoming a Club member? Learn more.

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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