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ON THE MIDWEST FRONT
NEW PARTNERSHIP: Nexstar’s WXIN (Fox59) and Urban One’s WIBC-FM Indianapolis are joining forces in a new exclusive content partnership designed to deliver local news, weather, conversation and community information to audiences across Central Indiana. The two say the partnership “brings together two of Indianapolis’ most trusted local media brands, expanding access to Fox’s weather and news coverage on WIBC while creating new opportunities for shared content, cross-platform promotion and coordinated coverage during major breaking news and severe weather events.” As part of the agreement, WXIN will provide regular weather updates for WIBC listeners, including live reports during Tony Katz & the Morning News. Fox59 will also provide live news updates for The Hammer & Nigel Show on agreed-upon days, giving WIBC listeners direct access to WXIN reporting. In addition, WIBC will simulcast the 5 a.m. hour of Fox59’s weekday morning news.
MORE COLLABS: Cable network MS NOW announced a series of investments and collaborations with three leading nonprofit journalism organizations in support of investigative and local journalism across the country: The Pulitzer Center, States Newsroom and The Marshall Project. That means the Indiana Capital Chronicle here in Indy (part of States Newsroom). “And the work with States Newsroom will feature reporting from journalists working in U.S. state capitals — a critical topic heading into the upcoming midterm elections.”
ALSO NEW-ISH AT ICC: Mackenzi Klemann is now part of the Chronicle staff. She previously worked for The Lima (Ohio) News, where she spent more than six years covering education, business, crime and healthcare.
BYLINE SPOTTED: Greg Weaver, formerly of the IBJ/Indiana Lawyer until his recent retirement, has been spotted freelancing for The Indiana Capital Chronicle and is "open to work," according to his LinkedIn.
WANTS A MEETING: Circle City Broadcasting owner DuJuan McCoy, who abruptly dumped most of WRTV’s staff after buying the Scripps-owned station, sought a meeting with Anna Gomez, a Democrat FCC commissioner who questioned what he did here. She wrote on X: “As history has shown, local broadcaster consolidation does not lead to more local journalism. Instead, it leads to less local news through journalist layoffs. We can expect more of this if the unlawful Nexstar-TEGNA merger is allowed to move forward.” McCoy told Policyband he “vehemently disagreed with Anna Gomez’s post” and said he “sent Gomez an invitation to a meeting to discuss her posts along with pertinent information regarding” his WRTV deal.
‘NEW’ HIRES: WRTV announced a ‘new’ four person team after letting some 50 employees go from the station. They include Tara Hastings (already there reporting weather), Karen Campbell (a retread from WTHR where she was abruptly let go last year), Marlee Thomas (poached from WISH TV’s lifestyle segments) and Alan Selph (with recent stints in Memphis and Chicago). According to a post from ‘staff’ at the station: “The station’s morning newscast, which previously aired Monday through Friday from 5 to 7 a.m. as a hybrid live and recorded broadcast, will now be fully live and expand to three hours. Starting May 4, AM LIVE will air from 4 to 7 a.m.”
ALSO HIRED BACK: Marney Simon has “rejoined” WRTV in an announcement on her LinkedIn. Sounds like she is producing but her career was in print. “I started at WRTV just in January and it's no secret in Indy that there was a bit of a shakeup, but I'm happy to be back just a few blocks north and excited for what the future holds!”
ALSO ANNOUNCED: WRTV will relaunch its weekend morning newscasts this summer, restoring local news coverage on Saturday and Sunday mornings for the first time in eight years. McCoy announced the expansion in late April. WRTV will air live, local newscasts from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, leading into “Good Morning America Weekend.” The first Sunday newscast is scheduled for July 5, followed by the first Saturday broadcast on July 11.
ANOTHER NEW TV OWNER: Atlanta-based Gray Media has completed its acquisition of WTHI TV (Terre Haute) and WLFI TV (Lafayette) from Allen Media Group. The FCC and the Department of Justice gave final approval to the transaction in March, while it was announced by Gray in April. (Gray has been rumored to be a potential bidder for WTHR when Nexstar “divests” the NBC station here in Indy – as promised to the FCC.)
MEDIA WIN: The City of Carmel infringed on state law while withholding public records showing it paid half a million dollars to a city employee in a settlement, according to a judge’s ruling in a legal battle between the city and IndyStar that began nearly five years ago. Carmel was ordered to hand over the settlement agreements and disclose the complete monetary settlement amount in the agreements to IndyStar by Hamilton County Superior Court Judge Darren Murphy earlier this month. The records showed Carmel paid $500,000, as part of a confidential settlement and release of all claims agreement, to a city employee who accused former corporation counsel Doug Haney of harassment. The documents don't contain any details about the specific allegations of harassment against Haney, then the city's top attorney. Despite resigning in 2020, Haney continued on with the city as a contractor, being paid $450 an hour. Per The Star’s story, the city of Carmel will have to pay the newspaper’s attorney fees.
SCOOP: IndyStar’s Cate Charron posts a mind-blowing article about a well-heeled protest organizer that’s worth a read here.
NEW JOB: IndyStar’s Hayleigh Colombo has moved to the paper’s investigative team. The team has four people assigned and she’s filling a blank left by Tony Cook, who is now editor of the team replacing the retired Tim Evans. Her previous title was senior government accountability reporter. P.S. – She was also named Journalist of the Year at the Indy Pro Chapter’s SPJ awards (for 2025 work).
INDY MIRROR NUMBERS: On a recent plea for dollars, Chief Development Officer Peter Hanscom posted an update on what it costs to run this non-profit newsroom. “Each year, the cost to fund Mirror Indy’s editorial team – just the reporters, editors, photographers and producers responsible for bringing you stories every day — is $2.64 million. That’s a big number, which is why I like to break it down in smaller, more manageable goals. Meeting our annual budget requires us to raise $220,005 per month, $50,770 per week or $7,233 per day.”
MORE FROM MIRROR INDY: Mirror Indy’s has launched a text channel called the Jobs Line. Subscribers will receive texts every week about upcoming job fairs, free and low-cost training opportunities and employment resources. You can sign up by texting JOBS to 317-676-4163.
PROMOTED: Emily Hopkins at Mirror Indy reports she is stepping into the title of senior reporter – apparently a change based on the work she has been doing.
NEW HIRE: Kathryn Casteel announced she is starting at Mirror Indy as news editor – coming here from Charleston, S.C. where she was metro editor for The Post and Courier.
LOSING: Several social media sites have posted apparent legal losses by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, owner of Indy Politics, who tends to sue his critics. Around the same time, he posted on LinkedIn asking people to financially support his independent journalism endeavors by donating a sum of $2,000.
RETIRING: CBS4 (WTTV) Sports Director Chris Widlic, according to the IBJ, is retiring “from that role.” Widlic wrote on social media he will with the station until July. His last 10 years have been spent at this station.
WINNING: Rob Kendall, formerly of WIBC Radio, seems to be doing well on his new online presence landing quite a few top name candidates prior to the May 5 primary.
FIRED – NOW REHIRED: Via Jim Rodenbush, the fired student media director formerly at the IU Media School, from his LinkedIn: “I've been pretty somber on this platform over the past six months, so I'm happy to shake it up today and share some good news. I've landed a new job. This fall, I'll be joining the faculty at Western Kentucky University as an associate professor of journalism. There are no student media responsibilities - though they are just across the street and those in charge have said I can come by and say hi when I want. There are details left to sort out and a ton of thank yous to share in a later post. I'm thrilled to have found a new home and ready to get back to work.” Rodenbush has also dropped his lawsuit against IU for the time being but plans to refile. Rodenbush said the refiling is “procedural,” and that the new filing will happen in state court instead of federal.
MOVING UP: Bill Ruthhart, formerly of IndyStar, Chicago Tribune, and now NYT gets a promotion there. Via the Times - “Bill is being promoted to senior early careers editor to be a thought leader for our team. In his new role, Bill will not only continue his extensive mentoring work but also help us strategically evolve and expand our efforts to strengthen the newsroom talent pipeline. Those efforts include adding structure to the many college visits and talks that our team undertakes; making curriculum improvements to The School of The New York Times; and adapting our early career programs so that they fit the needs of both tomorrow’s newsroom and the candidate pool.”
NEW IN SOUTH BEND: Gray Media’s WNDU-NBC has hired Brendan Reidy as its new sports director. Reidy last worked at WGEM in the Illinois/Missouri market. (BTW, WNDU has a huge investigate team judging by its staff page, which also lists anchors as part of those efforts.)
EXITING SOUTH BEND: Weigel Broadcasting's WBND-ABC reporter Jackie Bauer exits after more than three years and joins the reporting team at WCPO in Cincinnati.
RADIO RETIREMENT: Rob Rupe retired from 92.5 FM in Kokomo after broadcasting on Kokomo radio since 1985 and at various other Indiana radio stations (WWHC, WBMP, WSHW, WNDE, WKLR, and when Emmis owned WNAP.)
UPDATE FROM VINCENNES: (via statement posted on FB) Vincennes University has announced that WVUT-TV will conclude its affiliation with PBS, effective June 30. WVUT-TV will continue to broadcast PBS programming through the end of June, ensuring access to its current schedule for viewers during the transition period. WVUT-TV provides educational programming, cultural content, and public affairs coverage to southwestern Indiana and surrounding areas, reaching thousands of households each week.
UPDATE FROM MUNCIE: Cameron Noe steps into the job of assistant news director next year at NewsLink Indiana. NewsLink Indiana via Ball State describes itself as Delaware County's only live, local newscast. You can watch NewsLink Indiana on weeknights at 9 p.m. on its Facebook page and YouTube channel.
SPJ AWARDS: It’s generally a long list that you can check out here to catch who you know and what other journalists deemed award worthy. A couple to break out for you: The board honored Ed Feigenbaum & Emily Ketterer of Hannah News Service-Midwest with the First Amendment Award for their expose that revealed unaddressed concerns in the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. The student journalists at the Indiana Daily Student and Purdue Exponent received the Indiana Journalism Courage Award for their commitment to independence, fairness and the truth after the Daily Student’s publication was threatened.
WHO’S ON FIRST: Fox59 Anchor Angela Ganote took exception to an IndyStar headline that said WTHR was the city’s top rated station. She did so on X – pointing out that Comscore and Nielsen both rank her station as “number one.” The Star provided an FCC filing that provided the documentation to their reporting. But Ganote still took issue. (This “feud” was continually promoted on the FB page of Black Indy LIVE for several days.)
COMING TO INDY: Indy Monthly reports that the Michelin Guide, one of the world’s most respected restaurant rating systems, will introduce a new Great Lakes edition in 2027 that will include Indianapolis.
LOCAL REPORTED ELSEWHERE: Law & Crime Network shared the police bodycam footage of the search warrant served at Jonathan Peternel’s home. The video also shows interviews with mom and dad, a close connection to Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith. Peternel, son of Life Church lead pastor Nathan Peternel, is spending a few years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of child exploitation and three counts of possession of child sex abuse material.
LOCAL TO NATIONAL (FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY): The shoot-up of City-County Councilman’s Ron Gibson’s house landed national on NBC News online behind the paywall. Headline: “Why an Indianapolis politician is standing by a $500 million data center — even after his home was shot at”
NEW BABY: WTHR’s Matt Standridge and his wife welcomed Eden Janae Standridge into the world in late April.
NEWLY MARRIED: Radio host Tom Griswold of “The Bob and Tom Show” reported that he has married his longtime girlfriend, Kelly. He shared a photo of his beach wedding on the show’s Instagram channel.
RECOGNIZED: Clifton Brown, who was an enterprise writer and covered the Pacers for The Indianapolis Star, was inducted into the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame in April. Brown has worked for The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, The Sporting News and the Baltimore Ravens website. He covered the Detroit Pistons "Bad Boys" and was the first Black golf reporter at the Times.
AS PROMISED TO FCC: Nexstar/WXIN is adding more hours but not with new people. Promoted heavily on the Final Four weekend is a new 11 a.m. edition called Midday hosted by anchors Daniel Miller and Chelsea Helms. It’s a retread of the morning headlines with no live reporting (so far).
CANDIDATE ARRESTED: Senate District 31 Democratic primary candidate Andrew Dezelan was arrested in Fishers April 26 and faces charges of possession of cocaine and resisting arrest. During a court hearing the next day, it was revealed that he faces a similar drug charge in Wisconsin (as reported by Current Publishing). According to the probable cause affidavit, Fishers Police Department officers were dispatched to the Britton Falls neighborhood at about 8 p.m. April 26 after a report of a person soliciting door to door. A field test for a white substance in his vehicle tested positive for cocaine.
NEARBY IN OHIO: Comedian Dave Chappelle, who lives in Ohio, did this. “WYSO Public Radio celebrated the opening of its new studio in the historic former Union School in Yellow Springs (OH) after 68 years on the Antioch College campus April 9. The building, owned by Dave Chappelle’s Iron Table Holdings, includes a performance venue, a classroom and recording space. Chappelle said during a ribbon cutting ceremony that “I only know what’s going on” because he listens to WYSO every morning. He added: “This is not my radio station; this is WYSO’s radio station, this is our community space and just facilitating it is a life’s dream.”
ALSO IN OHIO: Almost 50 years after the premiere of the WKRP TV sitcom, a Cincinnati radio station has acquired the call letters and has rebranded “The Oasis” nostalgic rock music format as “WKRP in Cincinnati.” The familiar voice of WKRP in Cincinnati star Gary Sandy welcomed listeners to the new WKRP in Cincinnati on the radio May 4 as “The Oasis” 1970s rock music stations. “We play essentially the same music that they played on WKRP. It made more sense for us to do this than any other station in town,” says Jeff Ziesmann, who owns the three-station network which beams the new WKRP from northern Kentucky to north of Dayton.
NEARBY IN ILLINOIS: Mary Gordon has been promoted to news director for the Nexstar Media owned CBS affiliate WMBD TV in Peoria. She had been working as the assignment editor and content director.
RIP: Indy radio legend Bob Kevoian, co-founder of "The Bob & Tom Show," died at age 75 after a battle with cancer. Kevoian and his partner Tom Griswold started their morning radio show in 1983, which became nationally syndicated in 1995. He retired from the show in 2015, the same year he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. In 2023, Kevoian launched a podcast called "The Bob & Cancer Show" to document his health journey. His wife, Becky, and three sons were in the room with Kevoian, playing his favorite album, The Beatles' "Abbey Road," Side 2. That album ends with the song "Golden Slumbers."
RIP: Stephanie Salter, a pioneer female sports journalist, passed away April 15 at the age of 76. As a freshman at Purdue University, Salter joined the Exponent newspaper staff, according to the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame. During her junior year, she was the first female editor-in-chief since World War II. In 1971, following her graduation, Salter was hired by Sports Illustrated in New York City. Salter moved to San Francisco in 1975, where she freelanced for a year before being hired as a sports writer by the San Francisco Examiner. She spent 28 years as a sports, general assignment and investigative reporter, and as an op-ed columnist. She also served on the editorial board. In 2004, she returned to Terre Haute, where she worked as a reporter and assistant editor for opinion and commentary at the Tribune-Star.
INDIANA NEWSMAKER RIP: Bobby Kern, a frequent political candidate in Marion County, has died. Cause of death was a stroke. He was slated to run in the Democratic primary for county clerk. He was also the CEO of Hoosier Enquirer, which bills itself as an online news site. He was 62.
INDIANA NEWSMAKER UPDATE: A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Brown County man who sued the Trump administration for pushing Apple to remove an app he created that allows users to post and monitor the activities of Immigration Customs and Enforcement. App creator Mark Hodges sued then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in February, alongside Kassandra Rosado, creator of a Chicagoland Facebook group where residents could report ICE sightings. Apple and Facebook took down the Eyes Up app and "Ice Sightings - Chicagoland" page in October 2025, for which Bondi and Noem claimed credit in public statements. Since the lawsuit was filed, Bondi and Noem have been replaced by Todd Blanche and Markwayne Mullin, who are the new defendants in this case. The injunction blocks the government from coercing the platforms to continue prohibiting or suppressing the content.
ON THE NATIONAL FRONT
PULITZERS ANNOUNCED: The most prestigious prizes in journalism have been announced. A good bit of coverage focused on abuses of power in the Trump administration. Such as nearby for staff of The Chicago Tribune: For its powerful coverage of the Trump administration’s militarized immigration sweep of the city that described in vivid, muscular prose how the siege-like incursion of ICE agents unified Chicagoans in resistance. (Moved by the Board from the Public Service category, where it was originally entered and nominated to the category of Local Reporting.) Also notable to me:” A special citation is awarded to Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown for her groundbreaking reporting in 2017 and 2018 that exposed Jeffrey Epstein’s systematic abuse of young women, the justice system that protected him, and, over time, his powerful network of associates and enablers. Her Perversion of Justice series, published nearly a decade ago, revealed how prosecutors shielded Epstein from federal sex trafficking charges when he was first accused of abusing young women. She went on to document and give voice to the scores of victims who had been groomed and abused by him and others in his circle. Her work, and the release of the government’s Epstein files, continue to reverberate around the world.” You can’t overlook the person who first brought this story to light ...
MORE SPORTS: Exclusive streaming home for all CW Sports live events offered by The CW Network will now be the ESPN app, in an agreement announced on April 29 by the unit of the Walt Disney Co. and the broadcast network controlled by majority owner Nexstar Media Group. The ESPN App access comes through its “ESPN Unlimited” subscription plan and includes live coverage of live coverage of college football and men’s and women’s basketball from the ACC, Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, WWE NXT, PBA Bowling, PBR Bull Riding, AVP volleyball and the 2026 Arizona Bowl.
AP OUT: The Associated Press, long the most trustworthy news service, is moving away from print – and probably largely because its print members abandoned the wire. In announcing a large layoff in early April, AP’s own report stated: The News Media Guild, the union that represents AP journalists, said more than 120 of the staff members it represents received buyout offers. The news organization is becoming more focused on visual journalism and developing new revenue sources, particularly through companies investing in artificial intelligence, to cope with the economic collapse of many legacy news outlets. Once the lion’s share of AP’s revenue, big newspaper companies now account for 10% of its income. “We’re not a newspaper company and we haven’t been for quite some time,” Julie Pace, executive editor and senior vice president of the AP, said in an interview. In the meantime, the company has doubled the number of video journalists it employs in the United States since 2022.
MEANTIME: The Associated Press is warning Lee Enterprises, one of the largest independent local newspaper companies, that its attempt to break a news licensing contract is "not valid." AP warned it may start charging interest or cut off its services if Lee stops payments before their deal ends on Dec. 31. Lee owns dozens of daily newspapers and hundreds of weekly and specialty publications across more than 70 markets nationwide. Two years ago, two of the largest newspaper groups in the country, USA Today (formerly Gannett) and McClatchy, said they would stop licensing AP's news content, citing costs. (That’s when IndyStar dumped AP.)
RESIGNED FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION: NFL reporter Dianna Russini resigned from The Athletic (owned by The New York Times) following an internal investigation into photos showing her with New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel (in a hot tub). The photos, taken in Arizona, sparked scrutiny about potential conflicts of interest, though both parties denied any impropriety.
AND MORE FALLOUT: NFL reporter Crissy Froyd has been fired from her position at USA Today after she publicly celebrated Russini’s resignation (see above item). “USA TODAY Sports has ended its contractor relationship with Crissy Froyd effective immediately. Her recent statements do not reflect our commitment to professionalism or uphold our principles of ethical conduct.” Froyd responded: “I want to say firstly that I do not regret anything that I said and that I stand behind the fact it is all indeed true. I want to thank USA TODAY SMG for the incredible run I had there for about half of my life. It is deeply, deeply emotional to me that this relationship has come to an end and that my contract has been terminated because of this.”
KIDNAPPED THEN RELEASED: American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped on a public street in Baghdad March 31 by the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah, was released in early April. Her release followed a week in captivity and involved a prisoner swap for several militia members held by Iraqi authorities. Kittleson is a freelance journalist known for reporting in high-risk areas, often working independently to cover stories in the Middle East.
ARRESTED AND RELEASED: CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reported that he and his crew were detained and assaulted by members of the Israeli military while reporting from the West Bank. And they have video of the incident. Diamond wrote that CNN was covering a story about Israeli settlers brutally attacking several Palestinians and establishing a new illegal outpost in the village of Tayasir. While there, Diamond reported, Israeli soldiers pointed guns at the CNN team and ordered them to sit. Diamond wrote, “Seventy-three seconds later, one of the soldiers came up behind CNN photojournalist Cyril Theophilos and put him in a chokehold, bringing him to the ground and damaging his camera. Within minutes, we and several Palestinians in the area were detained by the soldiers.” Another soldier knocked Diamond’s cellphone out of his hand as other soldiers pointed their guns. The crew was detained for two hours by a reserve battalion of the Israeli military. After the journalists were released, the Israeli military told CNN, “The actions and behavior of the soldiers in the incident are incompatible with what is expected of IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers operating in the Judea and Samaria area.”
LOSING VIEWERS: The annual number of unscripted and reality series with season premieres in the U.S. has plummeted by a third since 2022, according to Luminate, a research group. It fell 15 percent just last year, to 794. The entertainment industry has spent a lot of time reflecting on the sharp decline in scripted shows. The changes to reality television are just as stark as an era of unscripted television quietly vanishes but have received much less attention. The declines have hit every subgenre, from cooking, design and home shows to travel and crime, according to Luminate. In interviews, executives attributed the steep drop-off in total series to three issues: the rapid decline of cable, the continued momentum of YouTube and other digital outlets, and the industry’s nearly endless consolidation.
GONE: Jeff Shell is departing his role as president of Paramount Skydance. His exit follows a public dispute and messy legal battle with R.J. Cipriani, a professional gambler who asserts that Shell owes him $150 million for crisis communications services and alleges the exec shared confidential information about Paramount Skydance in violation of securities laws. This is Shell’s second high-profile exit in three years from a major media company.
SAVED BUT: The publisher of a highly regarded nonprofit digital news outlet based in Baltimore announced that it has agreed to acquire the assets of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, ending nearly a century of family control of the newspaper and ensuring the future of Western Pennsylvania’s largest news organization. Toledo, Ohio-based Block Communications Inc. is selling the Post-Gazette assets to the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, publisher of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Baltimore Banner. The newsroom and local business leadership will remain in Pittsburgh while other functions, including technology and business operations, will be combined with teams at the Venetoulis Institute. The sale becomes effective May 4, and the Post-Gazette name will be unchanged. But then the shoe dropped. The transition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to new ownership began with significant newsroom layoffs, according to multiple accounts from staff and union leadership. The cuts are expected to affect a substantial portion of the paper’s reporting, editing and production staff. Andrew Goldstein, president of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, said, “At least a third of newsroom workers are losing their jobs. We expect that figure to climb to closer to half.” You can see the reactions here on the Pittsburgh Guild X account.
SUING: A long-term Thomson Reuters employee, Billie Little, filed a lawsuit against the company after being terminated following her leadership of an internal protest regarding multi-million dollar data contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The legal action, reported on April 21, alleges that the Toronto-based media and data firm violated Oregon whistleblower protection laws by firing Little shortly after she and 170 colleagues flagged potential unlawful uses of the CLEAR investigative platform. The dispute centers on the CLEAR database, which aggregates personal data including license plate records and social media information. ICE currently holds a nearly $5 million contract with Thomson Reuters, effective May 2025, for license plate reader data intended to support arrests and seizures.
INDICTED: The Southern Poverty Law Center, a longtime source for media, was indicted on federal fraud charges, alleging it improperly paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups without disclosing the payments to donors. The center’s CEO, Bryan Fair, said the payments went to confidential informants in order to monitor threats of violence from the extremist groups – and that the information the center received was frequently shared with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. The information gathered by the informants helped save lives, Fair said. “We are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC,” Fair said. The justice department alleged that the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the same extremism that it claimed to be fighting. The indictment says payments of at least $3 million went to informants affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, the National Socialist Party of America and other groups between 2014 and 2023.
FINAL WORDS: The White House Correspondents' Association dinner, as you all know, was cut short due to shots fired by an intruder who attempted to get into the Hilton ballroom. This was worrisome to watch live as the incident then unfolded into a news conference with Trump gushing as if everyone had bonded over this moment of violence. It was a time for Trump to also shamelessly promote his own in-the-works ballroom and to refer to rescheduling the dinner using “we.” Another bizarre moment in that led to the exclusive interview with CBS’ Norah O’Donnell (already mentioned above) who was chided by an angry Trump. Apparently, he felt he had not scored the points he had hoped in the dinner aftermath. It remains to be seen if the dinner will be rescheduled and how it will be managed in the next 60 days. But there should be no “we” when it comes to any president and the press.
Have a tip for Media Moves? You can reply to this newsletter or send directly by clicking the email at the top of this newsletter. This is the only free newsletter in Indiana that exclusively shares headlines and news about media happenings here, there and everywhere. (H/T to Todd Gillman for the photo from WHCA below.)
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