March 25, 2021

Top stories ■ Meteorologist tells viewers his house was damaged by Alabama tornado, texts wife and returns to air (AL.com) / ‘Tornado Emergency in effect just south of Birmingham, Alabama. A human moment from @Spann just now: He paused anchoring to check on his wife. "Ok. She's okay. She's in the storm shelter.” ’ (Brian Stelter) / 'One of my fears is happening right now to James Spann... He's covering tornadoes in Alabama and his house just got hit. He checked on his family and is still going forward to help inform viewers,' says meteorologist Ryan Vaughn / 'Can’t imagine being on the air and having your house get hit,' says meteorologist Tom Wachs ■ Biden excels at his first news conference. The media embarrass themselves. (Washington Post) / 'There’s a reason to express concern about a president not doing press conferences, but no question on COVID or specifics on gun control is hard to fathom.' (Maggie Haberman) / Biden took no questions from FOX (Oliver Darcy) / Earlier: Big test for Biden is also a test for the media (CNN) / How Biden’s press conferences compare to his predecessors (AP) / Does anyone care if Biden holds a formal press conference? (The Daily Beast) / 4 reasons no president should want to give a press conference (The Conversation)   ■ After being asked to wear mask, Sen. Ted Cruz tells reporter, ‘You’re welcome to step away’ (KXAN) ■ CNN’s Chris Cuomo somehow managed to get priority COVID testing (Vanity Fair) / ’We generally do not get involved in the medical decisions of our employees. However, it is not surprising that in the earliest days of a once-in-a-century global pandemic, when Chris was showing symptoms and was concerned about possible spread, he turned to anyone he could for advice and assistance, as any human being would,' said CNN spokesperson (ABC) / Journalists should be vaccinated, too (LI Herald) / Few facts, millions of clicks: Fearmongering vaccine stories go viral online (NPR)  ■ Former Hearst photo director was among Boulder shooting victims (WWD) / Former Glamour magazine photographer killed in Boulder mass shooting will be honored at vigil planned by high school classmates (Cleveland.com) ■ Gannett is selling photos of children they photograph. Parents don't like it (New Jersey Globe)   ■ The New York Times just sold an NFT for more than half a million dollars (The Verge)  ■ Mystery bidder offers $30 million to $40 million to buy The Morning Call (Morning Call)  ■ A man demanded his final paycheck. The auto shop delivered 91,500 greasy pennies. (New York Times)  ■ Internet to gigantic cargo ship stuck sideways in the Suez Canal: You are a mood (Washington Post)

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.

Manager's Minute: How managers can cope with burnout Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership, offers guidance for what to do when managers say they are burned out.

Read more from Jill How leaders can reduce stress for employees instead of adding to it How do you help when someone tells you they’re stressed? 10 tips for preventing staff burnout in spite of more work, fewer resources Email us a question you'd like Jill to answer. Click here to read Jill’s previous posts.

Resources Crime, mugshots and takedown requests: Addressing the long tail of digital crime reporting (April 9, 11:30 a.m. ET) Google News audience development workshops (through April 12)  Tips for staying safe: Verbal de-escalation (RTDNA)

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.

National Press Club news Virtual Book Event: Dana Perino, ‘Everything Will Be Okay’ (March 30, 12 p.m. ET) Virtual Newsmaker: NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson (March 31, 2 p.m. ET) Watch: Mercy Corps chief executive plans to highlight countries in crisis In memoriam: Chuck Lewis, former AP and Hearst bureau chief, dies at 80 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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