The Latest: Veep or West Wing?; Washington Post lawsuit response; Resilient leaders

September 29, 2021

Top stories

■ Sun-Times, WBEZ officials confirm merger talks (Robert Feder)

■ Kevin Merida’s biggest challenge? Getting L.A. Times staff to ‘feel great’ about their work (The Wrap)

■ ‘Washington Post has submitted its 1st and only public response so far to the disturbing lawsuit filed by my colleague Felicia Sonmez. I'm not going to try to analyze their legal arguments here. But as a WaPo employee I am profoundly disappointed .’ (Neena Satija)

■ Ozy COO Samir Rao takes leave of absence after impersonating Google exec (The Wrap) / Katty Kay resigns from Ozy Media following New York Times report (New York Times) / ‘Ozy CEO & Co-founder Carlos Watson sits on NPR's board. NPR says its governance committee monitoring developments . Full NPR statement below. I'll be covering Ozy, Goldman Sachs, NPR and more later today on All Things Considered.’ (David Folkenflik ) / Ozy Media board announces investigation of business practices (WSJ) / OZY Media loses early investor SV Angel in wake of controversy (Axios)

■ YouTube to block all anti-vax content and ban prominent skeptics like Robert Kennedy Jr. (The Wrap) / On-air talent airs frustration with ESPN’s ‘sick’ COVID vaccine mandate (New York Post)

■ A New Yorker staffer questions racial equality at the magazine — and becomes the talk of the town (Washington Post)

■ As more oppressive voting rules emerge, Black women journalists lead the headlines (Forbes)

■ ‘White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says that “the current dynamic in the White House and Hill negotiations feels like an episode of a TV show , saying the show could be The West Wing ‘if something good happens’ or Veep if not.” ’ (Annie Linskey)

■ ‘Woody Harrelson, currently filming "The White House Plumbers" for HBO about the Watergate scandal, met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today.’ (Alex Weprin) / Justin Theroux spotted on the set of White House Plumbers (Daily Mail)

■ Monica Lewinsky on pivoting to producing, Hollywood mentors and her copious notes on ‘American Crime Story: Impeachment’ (Variety)

■ CNN tops 2021 news Emmys tally , while PBS’ ‘Frontline’ leads all programs (Variety)

■ Poet Amanda Gorman on power of writing in social change (Variety)

■ Virginia 9-year-old wins TIME student journalism award (WUSA)

Press Freedom

■ At police lines, not all journalists are created equal (Poynter)

■ Amal Clooney, Ted Boutrous discuss protecting journalists from modern threats (Hollywood Reporter)

■ A journalist's tortuous escape from the Taliban 'Kill List’ (Daily Beast)

■ ‘Many have declared the death of #HongKong's press freedom. But in my latest article for @CJR, I look at three independent outlets in the city, which have adopted different strategies to stay afloat .’ (Rachel Cheung / CJR)

■ International: Journalist faces possible arrest for defamation following threats from the Malaysian government (Article 19)

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute and a distinguished panel to learn how to:

Choose voices to feature in ways that differentiate your op-eds from the noisy crowd
Clarify each op-ed’s purpose, and use persuasive strategies that are most effective
Identify specific audiences for op-eds and ways to know whether you’ve reached them

Registration is open for this program, which will now take place on October 22 at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Panelists include:

Deborah Douglas, The Emancipator co-editor-in-chief
Terry Tang, L.A. Times op-ed editor
Kate Woodsome, Washington Post senior producer of op-ed video
Moderated by: Nancy Ancrum, Miami Herald editorial page editor

The Institute is offering this program at no cost thanks to a generous grant from the Gannett Foundation.

How can leaders help us stay resilient?

"Resilience isn’t a quality, it’s a journey. It’s measured by the time, effort, and energy it takes to move from anxiety to calm, sadness to smiling, self-doubt to confidence, and from hurting to healing. It’s important for newsroom leaders to know that this journey varies for each of us – and that can be a challenge for tough-as-nails bosses."

-- Jill Geisler, Bill Plante Chair in Leadership & Media Integrity at Loyola University Chicago and Freedom Forum Fellow in Women’s Leadership

Get more career advice: Read Jill's columns | Watch Manager's Minute videos

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

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