For the Record

Quartz Pivots to AI:

A new Quartz investigative team will use crowdsourced political ads and machine learning techniques to report on political influence in the 2020 presidential election, Editor in Chief and CO-CEO Kevin J. Delaney announced Tuesday. Following the election, the group will continue to "tackle one issue at a time, drawing on our unique background and global experience reporting on business structures, practices, and incentives to hold public and private institutions accountable for their choices and their use of power," Delaney said.

Beacon Project Investigates USC — of Its Own Volition:

The University of Southern California's Beacon Project has paired undergraduate journalism students with a team of distinguished reporters (including 2000 International Reporting winner Mark Schoofs and 1998 Investigative Reporting winner Gary Cohn) in an unusual initiative designed to investigate the institution's recent litany of scandals, including gynecologist George Tyndall's sexual abuse of students and the 2019 college admissions bribery indictments. "This was an idea in my mind, something I was passionate about," said Sasha Urban, a junior who participated in the program, "but there was no way I could do anything without the resources — the pay, the space, the reporting tools."

Ito Resigns From MIT, Harvard, Board Appointments:

Technologist Joichi Ito has resigned from the directorship of the MIT Media Lab; his faculty appointment at the university; a visiting professorship at Harvard University; and the boards of The New York Times Company, the Knight Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation after a report from 2018 Public Service named contributor Ronan Farrow alleged that Ito facilitated $525,000 in donations to the lab from Jeffrey Epstein and worked with development personnel to conceal their provenance. Epstein, who allegedly solicited donations to the lab from Bill Gates and other figures, also disbursed $1.2 million to Ito's personal investment accounts. 

Baron Defends 2018 National Reporting Winners:

Washington Post Executive Editor Marty Baron condemned recent comments by President Trump against 2018 National Reporting contributors Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker as an attempt to "denigrate and intimidate the press." According to Baron, "We stand fully behind them and their important work. [...] It's unwarranted and dangerous, and it represents a threat to a free press in this country."

Academic Panel Proposes Federal Journalism Vouchers:

A panel led by University of Chicago economist Guy Rolnik has proposed a $50 income tax checkoff voucher that Americans could donate to the eligible news organizations of their choice. The voucher could be distributed among several news organizations, while the balance of any remaining funds from those who do not participate would be distributed pro-rata to each selected organization. "We think journalism is a public good that has always been underfunded, and that has only gotten worse," said Rolnik.

Lansing Joins NPR:

Veteran government broadcast and cable executive John Lansing will succeed Jarl Mohn as chief executive of National Public Radio, the media organization announced Thursday. Lansing, who currently serves as CEO of the federal U.S. Agency for Global Media, told NPR that he envisions the organization "serving the public with information and an excellence and quality about it that makes it 'must see' on a variety of platforms."

Meredith Stock Tumbles:

According to Kamaron Leach of Bloomberg, Meredith Corp. has "suffered its worst stock decline since 1986 after the publisher and broadcaster delivered a disappointing forecast and acknowledged that its $1.8 billion acquisition of Time Inc. isn't delivering the payoff it wanted." Although the company maintains that it reaches 90% of millennial women, CEO Tom Harty told Leach that it has "taken longer than we initially expected to elevate the print and digital performance of the Time Inc. assets."

Tree of Life:

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, which won the 2019 prize in Breaking News Reporting for its coverage of a massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue, will donate the paper's prize money toward rebuilding the synagogue. "We feel bound to you and your congregation — by memory and duty. Ane we offer you, in humility, our service — as scribes and witnesses," Executive Editor Keith Burris said in a presentation speech.

Bleacher Report Opens Basketball Camp:

Reflecting a broader revenue shift among media organizations toward events and live programming, sports news site Bleacher Report will open a basketball camp under the imprimatur of its Generation Z-oriented House of Highlights Instagram brand. Doug Bernstein, House of Highlights' general manager, said: "This is about taking our community and deepening our connection by going to them in real life, or IRL, as the kids would say."

Boston Globe Names New Editorial Page Editor:

Bina Venkataraman, a fellow at New America and the director of Global Policy Initiatives at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, will succeed Ellen Clegg as editorial page editor of The Boston Globe. "We thoughtfully look for ways to advocate, to progress, and to help others use their voices to inform and inspire others," said Managing Director Linda Henry. "We are thrilled and fortunate to add Bina’s perspective and leadership to our board." Venkataraman also served as senior adviser for climate change innovation in the Obama White House.