May 13, 2024

Editor’s note: Today kicks off a weeklong campaign to raise $5,000 to support production of this newsletter. Do you find the daily headlines, tips, and resources in The Latest helpful? If so, please consider making a donation of $10, $15, or $25 using this link. 

Thank you to our Latest donors since Friday: Kirk Bado, Peter Bhatia, Richard Cohen, Richard Eisenberg, Joyce Frieden, Ed Kelley, Sharon Kotok, Denise McCourt, Harriet McGuire, Roy Morris, Sitara Nieves, Eileen O’Reilly, Matt Schudel, Michael Scwartzberg, and Kyle Woodley

• Associated Press updates its guidance on the use of generative AI in the news report to allow ‘for some experimentation' (Associated Press) / Web publishers brace for carnage as Google adds AI answers (Washington Post) / This journalism professor made a NYC chatbot in minutes. It actually worked (The Markup) 

• Frustrated by Gaza coverage, student protesters turn to Al Jazeera (New York Times) / An Israeli newspaper presents truths readers may prefer to avoid (New Yorker)

• Courtroom photo ban adds to hurdles for Trump trial journalists (Washington Post) / The historic Trump court cases that we cannot see (New Yorker) / The courtroom sketch wiz turning Trump's trial into a high art (Daily Beast)

• Layoffs reveal challenges of sustaining public media’s journalism expansion (Current) 

• Facebook news site referrals have fallen 50 percent in one year (MediaPost)

• Family is embroiled in suit over control of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade (MediaPost)

• Short-selling news startup didn’t disclose investment in anti-hangover drink (Semafor) 

• Writers Guild of America East backs The Dodo, Thrillist in fight to merge unions with Vox Media employees: 'one union, one contract' (Variety) 

• How NPR and Floodlight teamed up to uncover fossil fuel 'news mirages' across the country (Nieman Journalism Lab) 

• Studies show negative bias in coverage of economy and gas prices (Talking Biz News) 

• NBCUniversal news chief stresses need for 'trustworthy information' in wake of Ronna McDaniel hiring reversal (The Wrap) 

• ‘Deadspin’ to launch for third time under mysterious owners (Front Office Sports) 

• The Assembly launches new bureau in Greensboro (North Carolina), announcing the team that will help make it a new journalistic force in the region (The Assembly) 

• Public officially launches Public Media Network and hired Axios’ senior business reporter Hope King to host a new show, ‘The Leading Indicator’ (FX News Group) 

• Katy Burnell Evans named local criminal justice editor at the Washington Post (Washington Post) / Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey named national political reporter at the Boston Globe (POLITICO) / The Financial Times has hires The Messenger’s Christian Berthelsen as its U.S. editor for markets and companies coverage (Talking Biz News) / Jessica Dimson named photo director, New York Times (New York Times)

• Gabe Fleisher, the 22-year-old who has been writing the ‘Wake Up To Politics’ newsletter since 2011, plans to expand his business after college graduation (Georgetown University)

Press Freedom

• Al-Araby journalists said detained at Tel Aviv protest on suspicion of working for Al Jazeera (The Times of Israel) / Criticizing Israel? Nonprofit media could lose tax-exempt status without due process (The Intercept)

• Status of Chinese citizen journalist who reported on COVID unknown on day of expected prison release (Associated Press)  / Zhang Zhan: Chinese journalist imprisoned for her COVID reporting due to be released after four years (CNN) 

Learn how to access & customize the LexisNexis database: Friday

Research is the basic starting point for developing story ideas, gathering information, and fact-checking. Among the places to start is using LexisNexis — a database of legal, business, government, high-tech, and news articles. Many of these articles are not available through a basic Internet search because they are behind a paywall.

With millions of articles within the LexisNexis database, it can be easy to get lost in the database. Knowing how to customize it for your reporting purposes is key.

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute for a webinar at 11:30 am ET on Friday, May 17. Participants will learn how to use and customize LexisNexis.

Award-winning investigative reporter and editor Brad Hamilton will walk participants through how to customize LexisNexis to source stories, find unexpected story angles, and to identify and reach potential sources through LexisNexis’ Contact References database.

While LexisNexis is a fee-based database service, some newsrooms provide access to staff. Most public libraries provide access to their communities, and National Press Club members have free access to the LexisNexis database as part of their annual membership.

Resources

• Media & The Law: What journalists need to know about copyright & defamation suits (June 7, 11:30 am ET)
• A tool for connecting journalists and PR pros (Muck Rack Blog) 
• Understanding our communities to better shape our coverage of them (Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute)

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

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