April 15, 2021

Top stories ■ J&J vaccine pause creates 'perfect storm' for misinformation (NPR) / US fact-checkers pause to explain J&J (Poynter) / The Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause and the media’s role in communicating risk (CJR) ■ Substack co-founders discuss $1 million local news plan (Vox) / ‘For the reporters young enough not to know about it, beware of Patch 2.0’ (Kelcie Pegher) / ‘Substack isn't saving local news. But that isn't their job. … You want to save local news? Support the only intellectually honest position: federal funding.’ (Ross Barkan) / Klobuchar: Fighting for our local newspapers (Perham Focus) ■ ‘SPJ, @aaja @nabj @naja and @nahj are outraged over reports on Tuesday that the Minnesota state police threatened to arrest journalists covering the protests if they did not leave. This growing nationwide trend among law enforcement agencies is unacceptable. #PressFreedom’ (SPJTweets) / ‘In my 25 years as a reporter I have NEVER heard police in America actually say “journalists will be arrested” during a protest. But that happened in #BrooklynCenter last night. We stayed. The citizens are why we stay.’ (Sara Sidner)  ■ Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon named president and co-heads of CBS News and CBS television stations (Business Wire) / Jamil Smith to join Vox as senior correspondent (Vox) / ABC News insiders react to Kim Godwin's hire as the Disney division's new president (Business Insider) / 'In searching for ABC News president, Disney/ABC leadership put a heavy emphasis on finding someone who could improve workplace culture there. See these 3 pages from 7-page doc that talent recruiters at SRI gave to candidates for the position.' (Dylan Byers) ■ How female news leaders are changing media culture for women (Digiday) / ‘Hi, some news: I’m leaving @WIRED next week. Several journalists I admire, most recently @millie and @s_m_i, have been open about leaving their jobs because of burnout. Like them, I am totally drained, and I've realized I cannot do my best work without a break.’ (Megan Greenwell) / ‘Industry, we are losing the good ones. Hold all the emergency meetings to retain the ones left. Maybe it’s deputies, admin assts, leaves, columns, podcasts, fellowships, sabbaticals, job swaps, coaching, special projects. Try.’ (S. Mitra Kalita)  ■ Would you pay $34.99 a month to get news from Reuters.com? That’s their hope (Nieman Lab)  ■ Tucker Carlson villainizes journalists on his top-rated show. Then the threats pour in. (Washington Post) ■ Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch agree: Misinformation is threat to America (ABC News)  ■ Mark Tobin, President Biden’s dog trainer, tells The Washington Post that he’s been required to sign an agreement prohibiting him from talking to the media. He confirms that he’s still working with Champ and Major but ‘can’t comment’ beyond that. (James Hohmann)  ■ What happens when 70 million people visit your joke site? (Charlie Warzel)

Urgent: Tell President Biden to bring journalist Austin Tice home “People across America and around the world are waiting to see Austin walk free,” said Debra Tice, mother of award-winning journalist and Marine Corps captain Austin Tice.  Austin has been held captive since 2012 in Syria, where he was detained while covering escalating conflict in the region. Please help to #FreeAustinTice by encouraging your Members of Congress to send a letter to President Biden pressing him to make Austin's safe return a top priority. The deadline to act is Monday, April 19. Click here now to find a pre-written letter ready to send to your Members of Congress, who will be listed for you. Doing so takes less than a minute and can help to #FreeAustinTice.   “We implore President Biden: Bring Austin home to us. We’ve come close and been heartbroken by missed opportunities,” said Debra Tice. “Please don’t make Austin and those who love him wait a minute more.”

Leaders know their way isn’t the only way Smart leaders know that skills — and trust — grow through practice. Coaching an employee through possible approaches to a task allows you to share your expertise, but not dictate from it. Give your team the space and explicit permission to add their ideas drawn from their own experiences. The best leaders know their way isn’t the only way to reach a goal.  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 Vet Your Own Story: Verification using public records databases (April 17, 2 p.m. ET) Answers to common questions and concerns about coronavirus vaccines (Poynter) Math for journalists (Society of Professional Journalists)

Making an impression on a potential employer starts long before an email or phone call. By then, your digital footprint has done the talking … don’t let it send someone walking. “Career Connection: Defining your digital footprint” is a weeklong series of hands-on workshops to help you create and maintain the journalism/writing identity you want to showcase to sources, employers, and publishers. The class will meet from noon to 1 p.m. ET daily, from Monday, May 10 to Friday, May 14. Designed to focus on accomplishing practical tasks in short bursts, each daily program will highlight parts of your digital identity — social media channels and your portfolio site/blog. You’ll receive specific instruction and follow along by building and shaping your digital profiles in real time. Tentative daily topics include: What hiring newsroom managers wish applicants knew Using LinkedIn for journalism Tapping Twitter in your job search How to Rev up your resume Building a telling digital portfolio Registration is open for this program, which includes each of the five classes. Registration is $100/$75 for National Press Club members.

National Press Club news Tomorrow: Southern Poverty Law Center CEO Margaret Huang to address growing hate crimes (April 16, 11 a.m. ET) Tomorrow: Director's Chair Discussion with Jesse Dylan, ‘Soros’ (April 16, 2 p.m. ET) Virtual Newsmaker: Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison (April 28, 2 p.m. ET) 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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