The Latest: Layoffs at Hearst; ‘MSNBC mayhem’; AI reporter terminated

Nov. 21, 2024

Editor’s note: The Latest will be taking a short break during the week of Thanksgiving. We will return to your inboxes on Monday, Dec. 2.

■ How Trump's FCC chief pick could make life more difficult for media companies (Los Angeles Times) / FCC chairwoman announces departure , paving way for Republican majority (Ars Technica)

■ Hearst Magazines hit by layoffs (Hollywood Reporter)

■ ‘Elisabeth Bumiller, the NYT's Washington bureau chief since 2015, is leaving the role and will return to reporting . A new DC chief will be named soon’ (Katie Robertson) / Emma Moody joins Bloomberg as Americas news director (Talking Biz News) / POLITICO names Noah Bierman White House editor (POLITICO) / Megan Howard joining Bloomberg's financial regulation team (Talking Biz News) / StateImpact Oklahoma welcomes environment and science reporter Chloe Bennett-Steele (KOSU) / L.A. Times names Amy Nicholson as film critic (Los Angeles Times)

■ Union for WNET’s promotional workers secures two-year agreement (Current)

■ The AI reporter that took my old job just got fired (WIRED)

■ The DOJ's proposal would require Google to divest from AI partnerships , like with Anthropic, and ban Google from offering exclusive deals to content providers (Bloomberg)

■ Dow Jones launches in South Korea its first ever newswires language service powered by AI (Dow Jones)

■ Poynter and Google News Initiative expand fact-checking efforts in Canada (Poynter)

■ The FT is expanding its food and drinks coverage (Talking Biz News)

■ The Dallas Morning News launches new brand campaign : ‘This is Home’ (Dallas Morning News)

■ CNN renews comedy series ‘Have I Got News For You’ for second season (Hollywood Reporter)

Press freedom

■ Trump demands Republicans ‘kill’ bill that would protect journalists from government spying (CNN)

■ Al Jazeera journalist injured while reporting on Israeli attack (Al Jazeera)

■ Journalist seized in Turkmenistan ahead of Swiss award ceremony, say rights groups (Reuters)

How to avoid the spread of misinformation when covering trans rights

“Resist amplifying the most extreme and outrageous voices simply because they make for good copy. As a look at historical coverage of vaccines, climate change, and extremism shows, it has long been best practice to apply a critical eye to the voices we directly quote , especially when they spread misinformation. Don’t credulously repeat talking points from the coordinated, documented networks of targeted misinformation. Cover their statements—sparingly—when they’re newsworthy, and paraphrase wherever possible if you want to show their positions. But focus less on what they say and more on why they say it—and on what happens to people because of that rhetoric.”

-- Kae Petrin , interim executive director of the Trans Journalists Association, excerpt from “Covering the actual story of trans lives ” (Columbia Journalism Review)

How local entertainment reporting can bring joy to your staff

“Coverage focused on restaurants, local celebrities, and local concerts have been victims of cuts in cash-strapped newsrooms. But our communities are vibrant places exactly because of those topics and readers crave opportunities to discover new experiences or reasons to feel local pride. This is what my Kansas City Star colleagues and I have explored over the last two years. We’ve doubled down on local accountability journalism, but we’ve also designed experiments to explore these areas of coverage that entertain and delight our readers. We’ve done so without hiring new staff, but instead shared with our whole staff the opportunity to participate in these experiments . … Stories from these experiments see more local readership and often higher numbers of direct conversions than average for our newsroom. And our staff is having fun getting outside of their normal beats and covering more lighthearted subjects.”

-- Hannah Wise , assistant managing editor for engagement & experimentation at The Kansas City Star, excerpt from “Local newsrooms should have more fun. Your readers and your staff will thank you.” (Better News)

Resources

Livestream the NPC Fourth Estate Award Gala starting at 7 p.m. ET

Tonight we’re celebrating excellence in journalism at the 2024 Fourth Estate Award Gala. Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei — co-founders of two digital news outlets that have revolutionized how audiences consume their news — will accept the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award, which recognizes journalists who have made significant contributions to the field and is the Club’s most esteemed prize.

We'll also honor Yvette Cabrera, senior reporter at the Center for Public Integrity and a dedicated environmental justice journalist, with the 2024 Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism.

And we'll recognize multiple courageous journalists with the National Press Club's John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards: Wael Al-Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, and staff of Mississippi Today, a nonprofit, non-partisan newsroom. Learn more about the program and our incredible honorees in this visual guide .

The gala is a fundraiser supporting the Institute, which powers journalism in the public interest; donate now to support our work.

GIVE NOW

While tonight's event is sold out, join us on our livestream at 7 p.m. ET to help us celebrate:

Thank you to our generous gala sponsors:

Diamond

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Spirit

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Eileen & Cary O’Reilly

Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Arizona State University)

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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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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.