Feb. 25, 2025

■ White House seizes control of press pool, will decide which outlets cover events with president (POLITICO) / ‘WHCA statement on the White House choosing the designated pool reporter’ (Max Tani) / ‘How the second Trump administration grants access and status to conspiracy theorists, propagandists, and far-right influencers.’ (Mother Jones) / NPC statement on White House press pool announcement (National Press Club)

■ ‘A federal judge declined to temporarily restore the Associated Press’ access to some of President Donald Trump’s events, the Oval Office and Air Force One, despite at one point calling it '“discriminatory” and “problematic.” Hearing set for March.’ (Hadas Gold) / ‘At the White House, the briefing room screens are claiming “victory” after a federal judge denied a request from the AP to restore their access to WH press pool events…’ (Hugo Lowell)

■ Trump and Paramount seek mediator for CBS News lawsuit (New York Times)

■ ‘MSNBC's union says 99 union staffers are getting laid off as part of the network's show cancellations.’ (Corbin Bolies) / ‘Joy Reid is in talks to launch a new venture on Substack following her departure from MSNBC ….’ (Ben Mullin) / Joy Reid sheds tears over MSNBC firing, says she is 'not sorry' for attacking Trump on-air (The Wrap) / Reid's exit said to be part of larger strategy (Richard Prince) / Host Rachel Maddow fights recent MSNBC programming decisions (Semafor) / All the TV news anchors exiting their roles, including Lester Holt and Joy Reid (USA TODAY)

■ The real story of the Washington Post’s editorial independence (Columbia Journalism Review) 

■ NOTUS launches new initiative to provide Washington coverage to local newsrooms (Axios)

■ Clarksdale MS withdraws defamation lawsuit over Clarksdale Press Register editorial (Mississippi Clarion Ledger)

■ Dow Jones expands AI marketplace to nearly 5,000 publishers (Axios)

■ Amazon is testing a new program that pays media companies for sending it shoppers (Business Insider) 

■ New York Public Radio to lay off about 7% of staff (New York Times)

■ Carroll Bogert steps down as president of The Marshall Project (Marshall Project) / Suzanne Klopfenstein to retire after 32 years at Cox First Media (Cox Enterprises)

■ Amanda Miller Kelley named GM of PBS Michiana (Current) / Rebecca Davis O’Brien joins Business at The New York Times (New York Times) / Bloomberg hires Chen as White House pool reporter (Talking Biz News) / Quartz hires Yildirim as staff writer (Talking Biz News) 

■ HuffPost's new editor on Trump, the Pentagon, and being owned by BuzzFeed (Business Insider)

■ He left CNN to start a newsletter. It’s now a must-read. (Wall Street Journal) 

■ These five newspapers prove journalism can thrive without billionaire owners (Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)

Tip for covering public health today

"Right now, there's a lot of folks in healthcare and public health who are unsure about what they can do in this moment because of the flurry and the chaotic and confusing amount of information that's out there. Helping healthcare and public health [professionals] understand policy threats and asking them to be able to bear witness, to talk about the harms of those things, is a major step forward."

-- Dr. Rishi Manchanda, CEO at HealthBegins, said during a public health webinar on reporting on solution-focused infrastructures. Watch the full conversation here:

This discussion was part of the Institute’s inaugural Public Health Reporting Fellowship, funded by the Common Health Coalition. Sign up for future events like this here.

Resources

• 9 worldwide opportunities with deadlines in March (International Journalists' Network)
• 15 photojournalism tips for reporters, from the founder of Down in the County (Better News) 
• The Digital Transformation Guide: Proven strategies for local media (American Press Institute)

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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