For the Record

"Private Actor":

In a 5-4 decision announced Monday, the Supreme Court maintained that "a private nonprofit corporation that runs a public-access TV channel is not a state actor and therefore cannot be sued for violating the First Amendment." According to SCOTUSblog, Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck centered around the New York public-access channel operator's refusal "to put a video by DeeDee Halleck, an award-winning producer, and Jesus Melendez, a poet and playwright, on the air again after its initial broadcast" due to "threatening language" from Melendez. MNN subsequently "barred Halleck from submitting content to MNN for a year and banned Melendez for life." Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority in an opinion that was joined by the conservative wing of the Court.

"Completed Transaction":

Authentic Brands Group will license Sports Illustrated's print and digital publishing rights to The Maven, a publicly traded, Seattle-based digital media company. According to the New York Post's Kevin Kelly, who reviewed an SEC filing released Monday, The Maven "has prepaid $45 million to ABG against future royalties under a 10-year licensing agreement with guaranteed yearly minimum royalty payments." Former Tribune Interactive CEO Ross Levinsohn will serve as the brand's chief executive.

"Silence":

Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine revealed in a Sunday piece for the newspaper that his first wife experienced a "botched" illegal abortion in Philadelphia in 1962. "While eschewing opinion, I believe burying the facts is neither moral nor noble in the face of heated emotions and recent efforts to make abortion again illegal," he continued. "I think it important to remind myself and to tell others what life was like before Roe vs. Wade."

"Offensive Strategy":

Following the publication of a New York Times story that detailed U.S. cyber attacks on Russia's power grid Saturday, President Trump characterized the article "a virtual act of treason" in a tweet. "Accusing the press of treason is dangerous," the newspaper tweeted in response. "We described the article to the government before publication. As our story notes, President Trump's own national security officials said there were no concerns."

Vital Information:

Flagship PBS investigative series Frontline "is launching a new initiative to bolster local journalism in cities and towns across America with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting," home affiliate WGBH of Boston announced Thursday. As part of the Local Journalism Project, Frontline "will partner with reporters affiliated with local print, television, radio, or digital news organizations to carry out in-depth investigative projects on subjects of local relevance." The program "will support four to five such projects annually over the next four years."

"Lira Meltdown":

Past Pulitzer Prize juror and Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait has condemed an indictment from a Turkish prosecutor "requesting a jail term of between two and five years for two Bloomberg reporters and 36 other people upon a request from the nation’s banking regulator." "[O]ur reporters [...] have reported fairly and accurately on newsworthy events," said Micklethwait. "We fully stand by them and will support them throughout this ordeal."

Departure:

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will leave the White House at the end of June, President Trump tweeted Thursday. "I hope she decides to run for Governor of Arkansas ⁠— she would be fantastic," Trump wrote. Sanders, who initially served in the administration as principal deputy press secretary under Sean Spicer before succeeding him in July 2017, has not held a press briefing since March 11.

"Perennial Worry":

Cybersecurity firm Dark Matter "discussed targeting The Intercept and breaching the computers of its employees," the news organization reported Wednesday. The United Arab Emirates-based company previously has employed Emerati hackers alongside former National Security Agency analysts "to compromise the computers of political dissidents at home and abroad, including American citizens." According to an earlier Reuters report, the NSA "approved of and was regularly briefed on" the firm's activities.

"The Public Good":

The Poynter Institute announced a "major expansion" of its MediaWise digital literacy ambassador program Thursday. Among others, NBC News correspondent Savannah Sellers, YouTube science popularizer Destin Sandlin and political journalist Peter Hamby will participate in the project, which "teach[es] more than 1 million teens how to tell fact from fiction online" with funding from the Google News Initiative. "Fake news online can create and spread hate, damage our democracy and fracture our world," said Sellers. "It's vitally important that our next generation and future leaders be equipped to recognize and reject these ugly tactics."

"Get It Right":

Columbia Journalism Review has appointed public editors for The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC and CNN. "The flameout of public editors in the U.S., which reached a point of despair in 2017, [...] is the most visible sign of the growing distance between news organizations and the people they serve," said Editor in Chief Kyle Pope. "As watchdogs for the biggest news organizations in the country, they'll be ready to call out mistakes, observe bad habits, and give praise where it's due." NPR Public Editor Elizabeth Jensen is the only ombudsperson still employed by a major American news organization.