The Latest: Press Forward grants; Harris on FOX News, Trump town hall coverage; Audience engagement + election reporting

Oct. 16, 2024

Top stories

■ Press Forward awards $20 million to 205 small local newsrooms (Nieman Journalism Lab) / ‘The list includes at least one newsroom in every state ’ (Poynter) / Nine pubcasters receive $100,000 Press Forward grants (Current)

■ Americans' trust in media remains at trend low (Gallup)

■ Kamala Harris is set for her first Fox News interview . What to know. (Washington Post) / Fox anchor tasked with interviewing Harris has a history of appeasing network’s pro-Trump audience (CNN)

■ How media outlets covered Trump’s musical town hall (New York Times) / Trump backs out of CNBC interview , his second about-face with mainstream press this month (CNN) / Trump's interview with Bloomberg's John Micklethwait had little if anything to do with reality (Esquire)

■ AP readies record level of staffing for 2024 election (Axios)

■ The Atlantic is expanding its print magazine as it surpasses 1 million subscribers (CNN)

■ Washington Post CEO elevates deal-making to a top priority (New York Times)

■ CBS News chief tested by internal crises and an agitated owner (Wall Street Journal)

■ Inside Condé Nast's Gaza war (Semafor)

■ New York Times stands by report of child gunshot wounds in Gaza: 'Rigorously edited' and vetted (The Wrap)

■ St. Louis Post-Dispatch to stop printing locally, lay off 72 press employees (St. Louis Public Radio) / Midwestern news nonprofit The Beacon shuts down its Wichita newsroom (Nieman Journalism Lab) / Two more Oregon newspapers go dark . This time in Columbia County (The Oregonian/OregonLive) / A Panhandle town says goodbye to its newspaper (Texas Tribune) / Small town fights to keep only newspaper from folding (KING5)

■ Hearst Magazines names Brad Greenawalt vice president of subscriptions (Hearst) / Ben Hunte joins CNN as international anchor & correspondent (CNN) / Michael Silver joins The Athletic (New York Times) / Missouri Press Association appoints executive director (Springfield Business Journal)

■ CNN star salary 'beheadings': 'Take it or leave it' is the new message (The Ankler) / TV news’ big squeeze: Suddenly, local and national anchors all play for same team, stream, and screen (Variety)

■ Eater, finally, launches an app (Adweek) / Pitchfork alumni launch new music publication , Hearing Things (New York Times)

■ The FTC puts an end to ‘click to subscribe, call to cancel’ (Nieman Journalism Lab)

■ In D.C. court, the Olivia Nuzzi and Ryan Lizza disputes continue (Washington Post) / Claims over reporter Olivia Nuzzi’s relationship with RFK Jr. surface in legal feud with ex (Wall Street Journal)

■ Has a celebrity interview made you cringe ? It was probably hers. (New York Times)

Press freedom

■ Robert Telles sentenced to at least 28 years in murder of Las Vegas journalist (Axios)

■ Supreme Court opens door to Texas online journalist's lawsuit over her 2017 arrest (Associated Press)

■ Journalist says FBI visited after he published hacked Vance document (The Hill)

Improve your election coverage by listening to your audience

"Too often, journalists think like journalists. We get stuck in the rut of what we think is important and we assign stories based on that. We also get a lot of communication from candidates and campaigns and that allows them to drive coverage. To really do audience-focused elections work, you have to listen to your audience . For years, we’ve used Hearken to drive conversation with our audience. We’ve been able to tell our audience that their questions and their opinions drive coverage by using their questions and even their interviews in our stories. This time, we used a tool through the audience engagement platform SecondStreet. We have an embed link where people can share their questions with us and we’re using that to guide story coverage and interview questions."

-- Melissa Luck, 4 News Now/KXLY, excerpt from "Mission statement and dedicated team guide KXLY's improved election coverage" (Better News)

Try this in your next freelance pitch

"One of my favorite questions to ask editors whom I would like to pitch is: What part of your section or publication do you have trouble filling? When you address editors’ pain points, you are more likely to get a yes, and begin building a relationship that can lead to repeat assignments. I think of my job as solving editors’ problems . The more I can understand what they are, the better I can be at addressing them."

-- Katherine Reynolds Lewis, award-winning independent journalist, author, and speaker, excerpt from "5 reasons your freelance pitches are falling flat" (Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute)

Resources

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

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

DONATE TO THE INSTITUTE

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.