The Latest: ‘There is a hole in our hearts’; Stelter to cover Fox trial; Twitter’s Wikipedia source?; Peabody honorees

April 11, 2023

Top stories

■ Biden speaks to family of jailed journalist Evan Gershkovich (Wall Street Journal) / Statement from the family of WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich: “We are encouraged that the State Department has officially designated Evan as wrongfully detained . We appreciate President Biden’s call to us today, assuring us that the U.S. government is doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible.” (Wall Street Journal) / State Department: Russia violating international law by denying WSJ reporter consular access (Reuters via VOA) / ICYMI: U.S. deems WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich ‘wrongfully detained ’ by Russia (Wall Street Journal) / National Press Club applauds State Department finding of wrongful detention in Gershkovich case (NPC/JI)

■ Brian Stelter is joining Vanity Fair as a special correspondent to cover the Fox News Trial (Reliable Sources) / ‘I'll be writing weekly columns about Dominion v. Fox and hosting a special edition of VF's "Inside the Hive" podcast, called "Fox on trial," with new episodes each Thursday until there's a verdict. …' (Brian Stelter)

■ Judge bars Dominion from mentioning Jan. 6 riot in Fox defamation trial (Washington Post)

■ Elon Musk says Twitter is using a Wikipedia list to help decide which news organizations are labeled 'government-funded media' (Insider) / Substack launches Notes in challenge to Twitter (Washington Post)

■ NY Times exec gets reamed by staff over LGBTQ Slack remark (Daily Beast)

■ CNN reportedly looking to replace John King with Dana Bash (Mediaite)

■ Jen Psaki says she considers herself a journalist (Semafor)

■ ‘Let me finish!’: White House press sec gets in testy exchange with reporters on Air Force One (Daily Beast)

■ Bonin Bough 'hopes' to make a major media acquisition this year (Semafor)

■ Sun Group dropped as lead investor in Forbes bid (Axios)

■ Local newsrooms want to stop sensationalizing crime , but it’s hard (Poynter)

■ Florida student paper calls out Sasse silence: ‘We’ve all been ghosted ’ (The Hill)

■ Why news outlets are putting their podcasts on YouTube (Nieman Journalism Lab)

■ PBS leads as Peabody announces 27 nominees for documentary and news honors (Variety)

Press Freedom

■ Bangladesh police arrests man who told media about alleged brutality in custody (VOA)

■ Serbian press marks unpunished 1999 killing of journalist (Associated Press)

■ Journalist in Nicaragua arrested for reporting on Holy Week (Catholic News Agency)

■ Bangladeshi journalist Ayub Meahzi attacked , thrown off building (Committee to Protect Journalists)

■ Russian authorities open criminal case against RusNews journalist (The Moscow Times)

■ In Belarus, Infa-Kurier newspaper stops publication following ‘extremist’ label (Committee to Protect Journalists)

CRAFT

“Finding the truth when you interview people who don’t want to say anything because they are involved with organized crime, or because they are family members of drug traffickers, is very difficult. What I do is visit my informant for several days, for around five or six hours per day, and I ask the same question several times . That way I can see the contradictions or lies they might be telling me. I used this methodology in several of my investigations. You have to be very patient. Another good tip is interviewing sources in private spaces, where they feel that they can cry or express themselves safely.”

-- Anabel Hernández, journalist and author, “Lessons learned from Mexican investigative journalist”

CAREER

4 tips to write a successful grant application from the Raleigh News & Observer

"Think about who’s reading the application . The funding organizations’ staff typically will be reading a tall stack of requests for money. Make yours stand out. Your writing should be clear, succinct and easy to follow."

"Perfect your short version . You’ll often be required to write a short description of your project, possibly 250 words or less. This 'short version' might be the most important question on the application. Reviewers may use this question to weed out the weaker requests. Get to the point, and make sure it’s aligned with the funding organization’s goals and priorities."

"Choose your words carefully . When you’re researching the grant program — either through reading the funding organization’s website and other materials or through personal conversations with funders — pay attention to the words and phrases they use to describe their priorities. Then, use some of those same words in your application. This shows you’re thinking about how your goals and theirs can intersect successfully."

"Save your work . Save it for the next grant application, that is. Because many questions are similar from application to application, it’ll save you some time if you’re able to use your previous submissions for guidance."

-- Guidebook from the Raleigh News & Observer: "Getting grants to fund your journalism"

COMMUNITY

National Press Club awards Amaya Collier the 2023 Julie Schoo Scholarship for Diversity in Journalism

The National Press Club, the world's leading professional organization for journalists, has chosen Amaya Collier of Austin, Texas, as the winner of its 2023 Julie Schoo Scholarship for Diversity in Journalism. The award for graduating high school seniors totals as much as $20,000 over four years.

Collier, a senior at McCallum High School in Austin, impressed the judges with a broad range of work samples that demonstrated an eagerness to report from the field and talk to a number of people to get the story. As an editor for her school’s paper, The Shield, she’s reported on topics ranging from the “critical race theory” bill, gender inequity, and immigrant food vendors.

Amaya Collier

She also participated in a summer program in global reporting for The School for the New York Times: “This reporting experience allowed me to amplify the voices of diverse communities in a big city, feeding my passion for equitable representation.”

“I’ve been raised in a time of intense polarization,” Collier said. “I want to be a part of a restorative movement in journalism, building back trust and credibility in the media, and combating the reinforcement of one-sided stories and social division.”

To learn more about NPC scholarship opportunities, click here.

Resources

This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco and Holly Butcher Grant. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

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