The Latest: New Washington Post drama; Americans tune out news; Why journalists write books

July 12, 2022

■ Twitter employee tells Jan. 6 Committee they knew ‘people were going to die ’ without intervention at the Capitol (The Wrap) / Twitter sues Musk after he tries backing out of $44 billion deal (New York Times)

■ The Washington Post has a new internal drama - and it's boiling over (Daily Beast)

■ Opinion: New York Times won’t correct its errant essay on ectopic pregnancy (Washington Post)

■ Hispanic journalist group scolds Jill Biden for 'breakfast tacos' remark: 'Do not reduce us to stereotypes ' (Fox News) / Jill Biden apologizes after comparing diversity of Latinos to breakfast tacos (ABC News)

■ TV reporter charged with making fake stalking claims (WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com)

■ 'Bad City' alleges bad behavior — by a medical school dean, USC and within the L.A. Times (Los Angeles Times) / ‘The story appeared in print and online on July 17, 2017, one year and three and a half months after I got the tip about the overdose, and nine months after I filed an initial story, which had been killed by the Times’s top editors . … The Times fired Maharaj and Duvoisin, after a wide-ranging HR investigation that grew out of my complaints and those of my colleagues about the editing of the USC story.’ (Los Angeles Magazine)

■ The power and peril of being Adam Schefter, the ultimate NFL insider at ESPN (Washington Post) / ' In almost all newsrooms, this would be a huge scandal . Giving gifts to people you cover and writing it off? Advising coaches?' (Sopan Deb)

■ Nearly a third of new subscribers to news publications cancel in the first 24 hours (Nieman Journalism Lab) / News engagement plummets as Americans tune out (Axios) / Many Americans are fleeing the bad news cycle (Vanity Fair)

■ The ultimate long-form: Why and how journalists write books (Poynter)

Press freedom

■ ‘Debra Tice and Marc Tice, parents of freelance journalist Austin Tice who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2012, join @PostLive to discuss their efforts to secure his freedom and why they remain certain their son is still alive .’ (Washington Post)

■ Inside the Amazon journey that left a journalist and activist dead (New York Times)

■ Killing of Palestinian-American journalist threatens to overshadow Biden's Israel trip (France 24) / ‘Biden’s meeting also sends a dangerous message about the value the United States attaches to a free press . A grip-and-grin photograph with MBS signals to autocrats everywhere that you can quite literally get away with murdering a journalist as long as you possess a natural resource the United States wants badly enough.’ (Washington Post) / Dear President Biden: Please don't break your promise to shun Saudi Arabia (Washington Post)

“Generally, use a hyphen in modifiers of three or more words: a know-it-all attitude, black-and-white photography, a sink-or-swim moment, a win-at-all-costs approach. Consider carefully , though, before deciding to use more than three modifiers.”

-- AP Stylebook via Twitter

Manager's Minute: People get upset when I hold them accountable for mistakes, what am I doing wrong?

Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership, with advice for leaders on providing negative feedback.

Watch next: How do I give feedback to someone who may not take it well?

Get more career advice: Read Jill's columns | Watch Manager's Minute videos

Resources

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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