L.A. Times Walks Out:
The staff of the Los Angeles Times walked out Tuesday afternoon. "It's been 14 months of negotiating and our newsroom has lost patience in top editors," said John Schleuss, a data editor at the newspaper who is running for the national presidency of the NewsGuild.
CPJ Releases Safety Report:
The Committee to Protect Journalists has released a collection of safety resources for female journalists, including a survey in which 70% of respondents asserted that they have experienced safety issues or threats over the last five years. "CPJ’s research confirms that female and non-binary journalists face unique threats, and that these need to be taken seriously by editors and newsrooms," said Maria Salazar Ferro, the organization's emergencies director. "We intend for these tools to help women working in journalism to better think about risk and mitigation, and to be a means to combat challenges and feel safer."
New Yorker Contingent Workers Gain Employee Status:
Condé Nast announced Tuesday that it will hire subcontracted fact-checkers and editors at The New Yorker as direct employees as negotiations with the magazine's new union continue. "We continually review our contingent staff and assess if particular roles should transition to staff or are appropriate to continue as freelance," said spokesperson Joseph Libonati. "We have been doing that across brands, not just at The New Yorker."
Times Withdraws From Oil and Money:
According to Jillian Ambrose of The Guardian, The New York Times has withdrawn its sponsorship of the Oil and Money conference "after pressure from climate campaigners, including Extinction Rebellion." The activist group has also called for the newspaper "to include more climate change coverage in its pages and to use 'climate emergency language.'"
Karem Press Pass Restored:
Federal District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered the restoration of Playboy White House Correspondent Brian Karem's press pass Tuesday. In his opinion, Contreras cited the Trump administration's failure to "provide fair notice of the fact that a hard pass could be suspended" as the main rationale for his decision. Although Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told CNN that the decision "essentially gives free reign to members of the press to engage in unprofessional, disruptive conduct," it will not appeal the case.
Pompeo Spurns State Department Press Corps:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Brussels Monday without any members of the press. "The State Department Correspondents' Association believes it is vital for the press to be present on all official trips of the Secretary of State," said Shaun Tandon, president of the group. "Crises can erupt at any moment, so it is indispensable to have reporters who can quickly, thoroughly and accurately cover the decision-making of the top diplomat of the United States."
Leslie Gelb (1937-2019):
1986 Explanatory Journalism contributor Leslie Gelb died Saturday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan from complications of diabetes. He was 82. A political scientist and protégé of Henry Kissinger, Gelb held a variety of positions at The New York Times, including diplomatic correspondent, national security correspondent and deputy editorial page editor. He also served as president of the Council on Foreign Relations and as an assistant secretary of state in the Carter administration.
Vindicator Absorbed by Tribune Chronicle:
The first Tribune Chronicle-produced edition of The Vindicator of Youngstown was released Friday. "Overall, we hope you are pleased with what you see today," said the staff in an unattributed note. "However, if we have missed something that you view as important, we'd like to hear from you."
New Era for Music Journalism:
The closure of many publications has resulted in tectonic shifts in music journalism over the last decade, exemplified by more persistent daily coverage that eschews the medium's previous emphasis on lengthy profiles and the discovery of hitherto unknown artists. "You don’t sleep; there's always news happening," said publicist Ken Weinstein. "We're sending out a lot more press releases; we're churning and churning and churning that news."
Podcasting's Pernicious Reviews:
As a key venue for podcasting and one of few that allow for public reviews, Apple Podcasts "has become the main target for angry fans interested in taking down a show" with barrages of one-star reviews, according to Ashley Carman of The Verge. "There’s no recourse with something like this,” said journalist Taylor Lorenz, who hosted an affected podcast. "There’s nothing we could do, so we just quit doing the podcast shortly after. It’s definitely when I emotionally just gave up on podcasting."
