Jan. 14, 2025

■ News outlets take unusual steps to prepare for onslaught from Trump (New York Times) / ‘We’re not hyperventilating’: Behind Axios’s clinical approach to covering Donald Trump’s second term (Vanity Fair) / Trump’s reelection prompts record reader donations to The Guardian in new ‘Trump bump’ (CNN) / Historic election drove news engagement bump in 2024 (Axios)

■ MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell snags Joe Biden’s likely final sit-down TV interview as president (Deadline)

■ MSNBC President Rashida Jones departing as cable network prepares for Comcast spinoff (Wall Street Journal) / ‘Mark Lazarus has appointed Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president of content strategy, to lead the network.’ (Oliver Darcy) / ‘...new MSNBC boss Rebecca Kutler will be hiring a head of newsgathering and a head of talent as she builds out a leadership team.’ (Brian Stelter) / MSNBC will retain its name after Comcast spinoff (Deadline) 

■ Susan Zirinsky returns to leadership at CBS News in response to 'perceived bias' (The Wrap)

■ Vox Media hit by third round of layoffs in 2 months (The Wrap) 

■ Meta is cutting 5% of its workforce, or more than 3,600 employees (CBS News) 

■ The hits just keep on coming for The Washington Post (Poynter) / ‘Investigative reporter and editor Rosalind Helderman is leaving the Washington Post and joining the New York Times, I’m told. Helderman is a Polk award winner and was part of several Pulitzer-winning teams at the Post…’ (Max Tani)

■ Rosa Heyman is named editor-in-chief of Yahoo News (Yahoo) / The New York Times names new story editor in graphics (New York Times) / Heather Timmons named live pages editor, Americas at Reuters (Talking Biz News) / Award-winning journalist AJ Willingham joins The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) / CNBC hires Hayley Cuccinello to cover wealth (Talking Biz News) / News 4 San Antonio, FOX SA welcomes new TV reporter Karina Hollingsworth (MySA)

■ CNN correspondent takes stand in defamation trial, defends report that security consultant exploited Afghan evacuation (Deadline) 

■ The New York Times takes OpenAI to court. ChatGPT's future could be on the line (NPR)

■ A second lawsuit against the Des Moines Register may be frivolous — but it raises media trust issues that aren’t going away any time soon (Nieman Journalism Lab) 

■ The Lively-Baldoni battle fits into a broader PR trend that can be costly for media (Business Insider) 

■ How Watch Duty became an essential resource for Angelenos during Wildfires: ‘We get love letters’ (Hollywood Reporter) / Behind the dramatic moment when NBC News’ Gadi Schwartz helped to rescue a horse from the Eaton fire (Poynter)

How to make political coverage less divisive

“The general sense people tend to have about politics is that no one can agree, it’s all a big battle and not much is getting done. If that’s true, our coverage should reflect it. But is it also true that plenty of bills are getting passed — some unanimously? And that people are working across the political divide? Legislative coverage does and should address partisan differences. But what if more stories emphasized areas of agreement? For instance, instead of framing a story around a divisive debate, focus on shared values or goals. … This approach doesn’t mean ignoring conflict but reframing the narrative to show cooperation and shared interests, which can resonate with audiences tired of partisan politics.”

-- Lynn Walsh, assistant director at Trusting News, excerpt from “Make legislative coverage less polarizing and more accessible” (Trusting News)

Resources

• Climate Solutions Journalism: A community-informed & equity-focused approach (Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas / Solutions Journalism Network) 
• Six novel angles for covering telehealth (Association of Health Care Journalists) 
• Weaving Indigenous science into reported stories (The Open Notebook)

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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