Jan. 22, 2025

■ CNN to lay off hundreds of employees as post-inauguration transformation begins, sources say (CNBC) / ‘Ahead of Inauguration Day, CNN chief Mark Thompson convened his top journalists for a meeting in which he provided guidance about how he wanted the affair covered.’ (Oliver Darcy) 

■ ‘Nielsen says 24,589,000 tuned in to Trump 2 inauguration, down 27% from Biden's ceremony in 2021 (33,760,000) and down 19.7% from Trump 1 in 2017 (30,635,000)’ (Brian Steinberg) / What it takes to cover the White House on Inauguration Day (Associated Press) 

■ FCC chair Brendan Carr restores bias complaints by Trump against ABC, NBC, CBS over campaign coverage (New York Post) 

■ Wall Street Journal pans Trump Jan. 6 pardons: ‘Law and order?’ (The Hill) / Disinformation experts blast Trump’s executive order on government censorship as ‘direct assault on reality’ (CNN) 

■ Publication covering Musk to launch (Talking Biz News)

■ L.A. wildfire coverage shows why local TV news matters in a crisis (Los Angeles Times) 

■ Recently launched NEWSWELL supports local news outlets to empower communities, transform local news industry (ASU News)

■ For some newspaper workers, the new year began with four weeks of unpaid leave (Poynter)

■ Sinclair announces a range of company promotions (TV News Check) / Griff Witte joining The Atlantic as a managing editor (The Atlantic) / Nate Monroe to join The Tributary as executive editor (The Tributary) / ‘Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Greg Jaffe is leaving The Washington Post to join The New York Times.’ (Ben Mullin) / Colby Smith joins The New York Times as Federal Reserve correspondent (New York Times) /  ‘CBS News has hired Anna Coren as a foreign correspondent based in Hong Kong.’ (Justin Baragona) / Portland reporter leaves local TV to work in state government (Adweek)  / Mike Tirico will lead NBC's new NBA coverage (Variety)

■ Nashville Public Radio CEO Steve Swenson to retire (Current)

■ Boston Globe Media is acquiring Boston Magazine (Boston Globe)

■ Lawmakers press for streaming services to carry C-SPAN (TV News Check) 

■ Prince Harry hails 'monumental' legal win over Murdoch newspapers (Reuters) / In full: News Group Newspapers' apology to Prince Harry over phone hacking and intrusion (Associated Press)

How to think deeper about your audience through social media

“It’s incumbent upon us to go where our audiences are and be on Instagram. I don’t mean, post your latest story with a little picture. That is not being on Instagram. That does not drive engagement. Your audiences are not going to build affinity for you. They’re not going to become loyal supporters that then follow you off-platform, which is what you need to get them to do … It’s really thinking about audiences, and therefore, thinking about people.”

-- Cierra Hinton, former executive director of Scalawag and co-founder of the Lorde Society, said during a discussion on listening to and engaging Black women. This panel was part of "Covering A Divided Nation: Lessons from Black and Brown Media," a summit presented by URL Media and the National Press Club Journalism Institute.

Watch the panel and stay tuned for more highlights from the sessions.

Resources

• Growing Indigenous Storytellers Fellowship presents journalist Trina Roache on writing to pictures (Jan. 30, 2 pm ET)
• 30 Minute Skills: Business reporting 101 (Jan. 31, noon ET)
• Watch: Press briefing on how the L.A. wildfires are fueled by climate change (Covering Climate Now)

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

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