The Latest: Reuters safety adviser killed; DNC final ratings; WCBS 880 signs off; How to send a pitch

Aug. 26, 2024

Top stories

Ryan Evans, Reuters safety adviser in Ukraine , killed in missile strike at 38 (The Wrap)

Trump suggests he might skip ABC debate with Harris (Washington Post) / Kamala Harris and Donald Trump tussle over muted microphones at ABC News debate (The Wrap) / The secret debate about the Trump-Harris debate (POLITICO)

Democratic National Convention audience grows to 26.2M viewers on final night as Kamala Harris accepts nomination (Deadline) / Media reaction to Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech (Poynter) / How media outlets on the right and left covered Kennedy's Trump endorsement (New York Times)

‘Washington Post CEO Will Lewis says in memo to staff that The Post has shown "a sustained period of positive net subscriber growth for the first time since February 2021" over the last seven weeks. He highlighted The Post's coverage of the DNC in particular.’ (Ben Mullin)

Paramount explores sale of 12 local TV stations (Bloomberg) / The other billionaire heir who wants Paramount (Wall Street Journal)

ESPN reveals sweeping content reorganization under Burke Magnus (Hollywood Reporter)

Shane Harris joining The Atlantic as staff writer (The Atlantic) / Antonio Olivo named The Post’s local politics editor (Washington Post) / Review-Journal hires Emerson Drewes as business reporter (Talking Biz News) / Vijay Singh to lead Vermont Public (Current)

Philanthropy steps in to rescue local journalism , for now (Crain's Chicago Business) / Nonprofit looks to fill niche audience in competitive world of journalism in Palm Beach County (WPTV)

Gannett is shuttering site accused of publishing AI product reviews (The Verge) / This startup wants to be the iTunes of AI content licensing (Engadget)

Progressive news site Barbed Wire launches in Texas (Semafor)

Legendary USA TODAY editor Bob Dubill dies: 'He made every newsroom better ' (USA TODAY) / John Lansing, who guided NPR through tumultuous times , dies at 67 (New York Times) / Phil Jones, former CBS News correspondent , dies at age 87 (CBS News)

‘Here are what the final moments of WCBS 880 sounded like as ESPN NewYork takes over the signal’ (Garrett Searight)

Student journalists are reinventing , supporting the future of their field (The Post) / For one high school journalist, covering the DNC was ‘the biggest day ’ of her life (Chicago Sun-Times)

Press freedom

Closings set in trial of ex-politician accused of killing Las Vegas investigative reporter (Associated Press) / A veteran reporter was murdered outside his home. Now his newspaper is tasked with covering the alleged killer’s trial (CNN)

Hong Kong denies work visa to Bloomberg reporter Haze Fan (Committee to Protect Journalists)

Taking story structure inspiration from Taylor Swift

“Often the hardest job of storytelling is organizing the narrative in a coherent way. For 'The Eras Tour,' Taylor [Swift] drew on her 18 years of music as a frame and took us on a chronological journey: from teen-love days, to pick-your-adult-self-up moments, to modern midnights of existential questions. It works because good structure does this: It’s sufficiently predictable so you know where it’s going, and simultaneously mysterious enough to make you feel smart if you see something coming.”

-- Cristian Lupsa, editor, excerpt from Substack newsletter article “Draft Four: 9 storytelling moves I learned from Taylor Swift”

Email or social media: Where to send your pitch

“I use social media a lot to put out last-minute requests when I need sources in a pinch, or feel inundated and am looking for some sources to come to me. From there, I am happy to chat over social to coordinate call times and things like that. However, if someone pitches me for the first time over X or LinkedIn, it’s not my favorite. My email is my home base and where everything is . I use it as a search tool. So if we connected on social and that’s it, then it’s hard for me to quickly find this person again. I talk to so many people every week so ideally I want an intro email so everything is there. So happy to connect initially on social, but let’s move it to email ASAP.”

-- Journalist Cloey Callahan, excerpt from “Do reporters like pitches by social media?” (Talking Biz News)

Resources

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

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The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. 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.