The Latest: WH v. Fox; Congress for Evan; Keeping local news alive; Top-ranked U.S. podcasts

June 15, 2023

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Top stories

■ Congress is staying focused on freeing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich from Russian custody: 32 senators demanded his immediate release (Politico) / Senators write letter of support to imprisoned Journal reporter (Wall Street Journal)

■ 'Fox used same flag last year!' White House ramps up fight with Fox News over 'hateful debunked lie' bashing trans pride flag (Mediaite) / Fox News cuts away from WH press briefing after ‘dictator’ chyron mentioned (Daily Beast)

■ Senate Judiciary advances journalism bargaining bill targeting Big Tech (CNN)

■ The good, the bad and the ugly in media coverage of Trump’s classified documents case (Poynter)

■ Zaz’s CNN streaming conundrum (Puck) / Help wanted at CNN: New boss must manage restless journalists , active corporate CEO (Variety)

■ ‘Insider EIC Nich Carlson addresses the newsroom post-strike, says “after a few years of drift,” the media company is returning to its core focus of business, economy, and tech coverage and becoming “the next-gen WSJ” ’ (Max Tani) / 'Insider's top editor: "We are finally going to launch our Al pilot group . We are not going to have the editorial budgets of places like the NYT, Bloomberg, or the WSJ for a very long time, if ever. We need every advantage we can grab to compete with them. Al is one of them." ' (Oliver Darcy)

■ A second look at the attacks on the New York Times’s trans coverage (Washington Post)

■ Ohio legislator uses right-wing media to target trans journalist for her reporting on his anti-LGBTQ sermon (Media Matters)

■ LAist staffers rail against 12% job cuts while former CEOs make $500,000+ packages (The Wrap)

■ Staffing cuts hit The Onion (Onion Inc Union)

■ NPR CEO John Lansing names Daphne Kwon chief financial officer (NPR)

■ Has Scripps’ Symson offered local news’ best path to reinvention ? (TV News Check)

■ How these South Dakota communities are keeping local news alive (South Dakota News Watch)

■ AI will soon be able to cover public meetings . But should it? (Nieman Journalism Lab)

■ News junkies turn to TikTok to chart new paths in media (Reuters)

■ A profile of the top-ranked podcasts in the U.S. (Pew Research Center)

Press Freedom

■ Iranian journalist says newspaper fired her after she alleged Special Forces officer misconduct (VOA)

■ Cuba's independent media under pressure but undeterred (VOA)

■ Pakistan urged to drop 'absurd' mutiny charges against journalists (VOA)

CRAFT

“Here’s [an] idea that may help illuminate the path to a good ending: Focus on the readers . We offer stories in the hopes that our readers will learn and care and question, empathize, sympathize, laugh, get angry. We write for them. And so, when contemplating how to end a story or when scrutinizing the ending we’ve written, it makes sense to ask:

-- Lauren Kessler, narrative journalist, “Endings: How to leave readers satisfied ~ and wanting more”

CAREER

“Burnout is a systemic issue in newsrooms, leaving individual journalists little opportunity to address the root causes of burnout. Newsroom managers need to understand what burnout actually is , what to do when they’re feeling it and how to recognize it in others, and how to begin to shift the culture of their organization by modeling the behaviors they want to see others take on. Here are a few ways for newsroom managers to address burnout within their teams:

Take a mindful moment as a team and practice a breathing exercise together. It is a great way to decrease stress and begin a meeting.

...Model ways in which you are managing stress and share it with your team to make it part of the culture.

… Facilitate more opportunities for transparent communication with your direct reports. As a leader, your team should feel comfortable enough with you to tell you when they’re feeling burned out.”

-- The American Press Institute, “Navigating burnout as a journalist”

Editor’s Note: The National Press Club Journalism Institute is hiring a Development Manager to support fundraising initiatives. This position is based in Washington, D.C. If you are interested in using your talents to support journalists and press freedom, review the job description today. We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis.

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This newsletter is written & edited by the National Press Club Journalism Institute staff: Beth Francesco and Holly Butcher Grant. 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.