The Latest: Judge voids VOA layoffs; ICE arrests reporter; CBS News justice correspondent exits; Covering polls

March 9, 2026

■ Judge says Kari Lake’s tenure atop US media agency was improper , voids actions as ‘acting CEO’ (POLITICO) / As Kari Lake sought to shutter Voice of America, parent agency rebuffed auditors (New York Times) / VOA Persian journalist says he was fired over coverage of Reza Pahlavi (The Hill)

■ A reporter in Nashville has been covering ICE arrests in her community. Then she was detained herself. (CNN) / Trump administration says Nashville reporter arrested by ICE will get due process (Reuters) / Court orders ICE to justify arrest of Nashville journalist (Tennessee Lookout)

■ Inside the legal defense of Georgia Fort and Don Lemon (Columbia Journalism Review)

■ Trump is still going after the press in court . Here’s where his lawsuits stand. (POLITICO)

■ Judge weighs New York Times bid to block policy limiting journalists' access to Pentagon (Associated Press) / Federal judge appears skeptical of recent Pentagon policy restricting journalists' activities (CBS News)

■ ‘Under Bari Weiss’ leadership, CBS News staffers are increasingly worried the network’s editorial priorities are mirroring The Free Press, particularly in coverage of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’ (Status) / Scott MacFarlane to exit CBS News as justice correspondent (The Wrap) / CBS justice correspondent leaving network: ‘I look forward to some independence ’ (The Hill)

■ With Washington Post Local diminished, other news sites step up their D.C. coverage (Nieman Journalism Lab) / ESPN beefs up sports coverage with six Washington Post journalists (Variety)

■ POLITICO founder plots new Washington newspaper war (Semafor)

■ Axel Springer purchases The Telegraph for $770 million (The Wrap)

■ Pacific Palisades' newspaper, shut down after the fire, stages comeback (Los Angeles Times)

■ Former MSNBC President Rashida Jones named CEO of Piers Morgan’s Uncensored (The Wrap) / PBS North Carolina names Jonathan Kappler as its chief operating officer (PBS North Carolina) / POLITICO announces key 2026 audio and video hires (POLITICO) / Josh Laurito named SVP, data at The New York Times (New York Times) / The Atlantic announces Sarah A. Topol and Jenisha Watts as staff writers (The Atlantic)

■ ‘The cover-up is brazen’: One journalist’s tenacious, traumatic fight to expose Ghislaine Maxwell (Guardian)

■ Meet the female journalist risking her life to report on women in Afghanistan (Forbes)

■ HuffPost launches ‘Voices of Disabled People’ as the first national news section devoted entirely to disability coverage (HuffPost) / Trib Total Media launches Pittsburgh community advisory panel to shape the future of local journalism (Trib Total Media) / Nexstar launches 'Investing In America ' reporting initiative (TV News Check)

Midterm Elections: Using polls to boost audience engagement

“People often love to know where they fit with the rest of their community. If you’re going to do a poll, or write about one, think about whether there are ways to use the data to engage your community. This helps build audience engagement and gives people a sense that you are listening to them as well as informing them. Ask appropriate people — probably the politics, audience, and graphics teams working together — to think about using polling data to engage your audience. Consider a feature that asks people some of the same questions the poll respondents were asked . Is there an interactive feature that people could use to show how their views align with or depart from the poll results?”

-- Susan Benkelman , former director of accountability journalism at API, excerpt from "How will we cover public opinion polls?" (American Press Institute)

Career Day Session Spotlight: How do I break into PR from journalism?

SESSION SPOTLIGHT: How do I break into PR from journalism? Speakers Stephanie Dukes, Tomás Harmon, Maria Rodriguez

Career Day at the National Press Club returns Friday, March 20, offering a full day of training and other opportunities designed to help journalists and communicators sharpen their skills, expand their networks, and navigate career change with confidence.

Join us for a highly-anticipated panel discussion featuring seasoned PR and communications leaders — including some who’ve made the jump from journalism themselves — to gain perspective on whether this shift could be the right move for you.

The speakers will focus on the reality of what journalists face when trying to break into PR and marketing careers, and will answer important questions like:

Is the move into communications as seamless as it seems?
Which newsroom skills translate directly?
Where do journalists tend to encounter skill gaps — and what does it take to thrive in a fast-paced communications role?

Speakers:

Stephanie Dukes, communications officer, W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Tomás Harmon, director of communications, Fairfax County Public Schools
Maria Rodriguez, president and CEO, Vanguard Communications

Whether you attend for the full program or drop in for this focused session, you’ll leave with tangible skills, actionable next steps, and renewed momentum. (Click here to see more of the schedule.)

🎟️ Tickets start at $15. This is more than a job fair. It's an interactive learning experience focused on helping attendees compete and thrive in today's market.

GET TICKETS

Career Office Hour: Finding opportunities within business journalism and B2B publications

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute on April 7 at noon ET for its second virtual Career Office Hour of 2026 — focused on how journalists can build careers and thrive in business and industry-focused newsrooms.

Maya Earls, deputy team lead for the Environment and Energy team at Bloomberg Law, and Thai Phi Le, senior managing editor at Informa TechTarget, overseeing several healthcare publications, will share insights on how their teams operate and what they look for in job applicants and potential colleagues.

The virtual panel discussion will be moderated by Paul F. Albergo, a journalism educator at American University and former executive editor at Bloomberg Industry Group.

Resources

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

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

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.