The Latest: Comcast’s ballroom donation; A digital publishing giant; Climate + World Cup stories

June 18, 2026

Top stories

■ PMC acquires Vox Media brands , creating digital publishing giant (Variety) / ‘The deal will put online publications like Popsugar and Eater under the same roof as Rolling Stone and Variety .’ (New York Times)

■ ‘An NBCUniversal executive’s candid remarks justifying Comcast’s donation to Trump’s ballroom stunned reporters in the room and reignited questions about the company’s motives.’ (Status)

■ Fox News and Donald Trump's divorce (Hollywood Reporter) / Fox's Roku deal raises concerns over distribution bias (Axios)

■ ‘The Washington Star and NOTUS have "amicably resolved" this lawsuit, and NOTUS is working toward coming up with a new name , a spox said’ (Katie Robertson)

■ The Onion says it won’t wait for the courts, will launch Infowars to pay Sandy Hook families (MS NOW)

■ Yahoo Finance launches media/ad hub aimed at investors, industry pros (Yahoo Finance)

■ ‘Journalists from Robinhood's Sherwood newsroom were among the company's layoffs this week. They depart as Robinhood shifts its media focus back to newsletters, with the intention of eventually closing the Sherwood News website.’ (Katie Deighton)

■ SF Chronicle is leaving its home of 102 years; is it a tragedy? (San Francisco Chronicle)

■ Austin PBS seeks $6M to help secure future of ‘Austin City Limits’ (Current)

■ RFE/RL launches leadership transition (RFE/RL) / 'Theresa Vargas is announced as Post Local editor and April Bethea is announced as deputy Post Local editor.' (Washington Post) / CNN’s Brian Abel promoted to anchor and correspondent (CNN) / Emily Davies joins The New York Times (New York Times) / NYT tech reporter Kevin Roose, host of Hard Fork with Casey Newton, is leaving the paper to launch a new show with Newton (Kevin Roose) / The Economist hires Turner as defense editor (Talking Biz News) / Finaldi named editor of Island Packet following national search (Island Packet)

■ AI podcast experiments march on with Forbes’ new daily audio briefing (Digiday) / How should news organizations label their AI use for audiences? New studies suggest some answers (Nieman Journalism Lab) / USA Today Co is trying to beat AI Overviews on World Cup news (Digiday)

■ What's it like to cover a World Cup game as an Associated Press video journalist (Associated Press)

Pamela Tobey Award for Excellence in Visual Storytelling 1000 dollar prize Apply now

Applications are open for the 2026 Pamela Tobey Award for Excellence in Visual Storytelling , a $1,000 prize and national recognition from the National Press Club Journalism Institute. This annual design award recognizes visual journalism that pushes the boundaries of storytelling beyond text and rewards creative uses of data visualization, interactivity, photography, videography, audio, illustration, and emerging tools.

APPLY BY JULY 20

CRAFT

Making the climate connection in World Cup coverage

“A friendly request for our fellow journalists on newsrooms’ sports desks: Acquaint yourselves with the abundant science behind heat warnings. … Mention that science occasionally in your reporting and commentary. To ignore climate change would omit crucial context that fans will find useful for understanding why their favorite teams and players excelled or languished during this World Cup . There will be plenty of opportunities to make the climate connection. Commercials will occupy two minutes and 10 seconds of each hydration break, but, for our TV and radio colleagues, it will be easy enough during the remaining 50 seconds of airtime to note that these breaks are taking place because, thanks largely to global warming, players are enduring some of the highest temperatures in World Cup history.”

-- Excerpt from “The hottest World Cup in history ” (Covering Climate Now)

CAREER

Questions to consider if you want to make a career change

“If you’re looking to leave your current situation, the first thing I would recommend is to be very particular about where you want to land . What type of organization would you like to work for? Do their values align with yours? Are they in danger of consolidation, buyout or merger? Do you want to work in more prominent, larger newsrooms or can you take a risk and work for a smaller, focused nonprofit or startup? Are you able or willing to relocate to make it happen? And don’t forget, the second you start putting out feelers for your next role, word might get back to someone at your current company.”

-- Tony Elkins , faculty at Poynter, excerpt from “Should I stay or should I go? How to decide whether it’s time to leave your journalism job ” (Poyner)

COMMUNITY

Resources

This newsletter is written and edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff. Send us your questions and suggestions for topics to cover.

Get this from a friend? Subscribe and view the archives.

Bluesky

Youtube

DONATE TO THE INSTITUTE

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes First Amendment values by equipping journalists in Washington, D.C., and nationwide with the skills, knowledge, standards, resources and networks to empower and inform the public. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. The Institute's tax ID number is 52-1750908.