April 30, 2025

■ Trump targets the media in his first 100 days (Axios) / A testy Donald Trump tussles with Terry Moran during contentious ABC News interview marking POTUS’ first 100 days (Deadline) / Trump Jump: Fox News hits record viewership for president's first 100 days (The Wrap) / How foreign journalists see Trump’s first 100 days with the press (Columbia Journalism Review) 

■ Paramount board clears possible path for settling Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ lawsuit (New York Times) / Trump falsely claims ‘60 Minutes’ admitted to ‘crime’ of editing Harris interview in a way that ‘cheated and defrauded the American people’ (Variety) / ‘Trump suggests he will sue the New York Times for saying that his suit against 60 Minutes is baseless…’ (Sam Stein) / New York Times fires back after Trump threat (The Hill) 

■ Corporation for Public Broadcasting sues White House to block board firings (New York Times) 

■ US judge hands Radio Free Europe key court win, defends courts from attack (Washington Post) 

■ PBS CEO ‘hopeful’ more Republicans will support funding (Axios) / GOP push for cuts to NPR, PBS gains steam but some are skeptical (The Hill) 

■ Inside the WHCA Dinner: With no Trump and no comic, correspondents finally get the spotlight at their own event (Deadline) / Axios reporter calls out DC press corps at Correspondents' Dinner for blowing coverage of Biden's decline (Mediaite)  

■ She tried to expose Russia’s brutal detention system — and ended up dead (Washington Post) / Viktoriia Project: A story of captivity and torture endured by journalist Roshchyna and thousands of Ukrainians imprisoned by Russia (Ukrainska Pravda)

■ The Los Angeles Times said to have lost $50 million in 2024, as subscription and ad losses mount (Adweek)

■ NBCUniversal starts new round of layoffs as SpinCo begins to take shape / Comments from CEO anger Marketplace staffers after layoffs (Semafor)

■ After a year of turmoil, The Washington Post is taking note of its journalism again (Associated Press) / The Washington Post is pivoting its events strategy (Adweek) 

■ CNN’s Christiane Amanpour joins UK audio giant global to launch original podcasts (Deadline) 

■ Lyndsey Layton is the next Times climate editor (New York Times) / Wirecutter’s new creative director (New York Times) / Joe Van Acker joins Times Opinion (New York Times) / Geeta Anand named editor-in-chief of VTDigger (VTDigger) / Chattanooga station names Perry Pace news director (Adweek) / Sinclair names Jeff Blackburn chairman and CEO of Tennis Channel (Sinclair) / Nate Wolf joins Barron's (Barron’s) / Davis joins Bloomberg Industry’s newsletter group (Talking Biz News)

■ Bill Belichick issues statement defending Jordon Hudson's actions during CBS interview (Awful Announcing) / Report: Jordon Hudson played 'instrumental' role in UNC football’s fallout with 'Hard Knocks' (Sports Illustrated)

FRIDAY: Strengthening stories workshop on ledes, nut grafs, self editing

Facing a blank screen with a full notebook and the clock ticking toward deadline can be, well, daunting.

No matter your story topic or how much reporting material you have to work with, finding the hook to engage your reader within the first few lines or paragraphs is essential. Ledes and nut grafs that get to the core of your story take energy and focus — often lacking when time is short.

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute on Friday, May 2, at noon ET for a writing-focused workshop that will help you craft ledes that grab the reader’s attention and identify your nut graf before getting too far into your writing process.

Whether you’re a seasoned writer looking for some inspiration or an early career journalist looking to jump start your storytelling, get back to the basics in this session led by Institute staff and journalists.

Tickets on sale now: $25 for the public; $20 for NPC members.

Participants will learn:

• Practical tips to punch up languid ledes
• Ways to quickly identify and focus nut grafs
• Approaches to story structure to rethink — or reshape — the narrative
• A new framework for self-editing that will improve or tighten your copy, guaranteed
• Additional tips for effective storytelling

Speakers

• Beth Francesco, Executive Director at NPCJI
• Elliot C. Williams, Training Manager at NPCJI

Resources

• Apply to join the 2025 API Local News Summit on civic discourse across generations (Deadline: May 7)
• Immigration reporting legal guide (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press)
• Guidance for journalists looking to beat their fear of public speaking (International Center for Journalists)

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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