For the Record

"Revoke It":

According to Tiffany Stevens of the Columbia Journalism Review, Baltimore-based journalist Brandon Soderberg, Georgetown University Law Center’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) and Maryland Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Maryland law that "forbids anyone from recording or broadcasting criminal procedures if they occur in a trial court or before a grand jury, even if the audio or video in question was purchased directly from the court." "This law, consistent with a lot of other First Amendment-type violations, has had a real chilling effect on people's ability to engage in protected speech and activities," said Nicolas Riley, an attorney with ICAP.

"Viral Articles":

A statistical study conducted by The Economist found "no evidence of ideological bias" in Google News's curation of reportage. The technology platform has maintained that "10,000 human evaluators who rate sources for its search engine assess 'expertise' and 'trustworthiness' but not ideology." While "center-left sites" (defined by The Economist as including The New York Times, NBC News and NPR) "got the most links," these figures largely corresponded to or failed to reach the predicted tallies in the publication's model. However, a variety of publications defined as "centrist" (USA Today, Reuters, Bloomberg), "far-left" (The Daily Beast, Vox, Mother Jones) and "far-right" (Fox News, The Daily Caller, Breitbart) outperformed the model.

"Sign of Unity":

More than 300 Vox Media employees staged a walkout Thursday as a result of media company's inability to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the Vox Media Union after a year of negotiations. "What you are seeing right now is commitment and solidarity between Vox Media employees," said Jason Gordon of the Writer's Guild of America East, which is representing the proposed unit.

"Cautionary Tale":

Danny DeVito's production company "has optioned the screen rights to 'Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation,' the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Dan Fagin," Deadline reported Wednesday. The proposed adaptation will be co-produced by DeVito (who was raised in nearby Asbury Park, N.J.) and his children.

"We Need The Tools":

Craig Newmark Philanthropies will fund Consumer Reports' Digital Lab program with a $6 million gift, the magazine announced Thursday. CEO Marta Tellado told The Chronicle of Philanthropy that the lab "will focus on testing new smart products, apps, and services, including printers, routers, cars, and password managers." "Putting consumers first in a world of big tech and relentless data, privacy abuses, hacks and breaches is the consumer challenge of our time," she continued.

"Outrageous Attack":

The Australian Federal Police raided the offices of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Wednesday in connection to allegations that the public broadcaster published classified information in its 2017 "Afghan Files" project. The home of Sunday Telegraph Political Editor Annika Smethurst also was raided, marking the first such action against an Australian journalist in more than a decade. "This is a serious development and raises legitimate concerns over freedom of the press and proper public scrutiny of national security and defense matters," said ABC Managing Director David Anderson.

"Big Stories":

Vice Media has dismissed Vice.com Editor in Chief Jonathan Smith and Managing Editor Rachel Schallom, the company announced Tuesday. Erika Allen, formerly a senior editor at The Cut, now will oversee digital coverage as executive managing editor. Despite its ongoing lack of profitability and a round of layoffs earlier this year, the company recently raised $250 million from various sources and has advertised several new editorial positions.

"Public Shots":

In a series of Monday tweets, President Trump suggested that a "consumer boycott" of CNN's parent company, AT&T, could affect the network's coverage of his administration. "I believe that if people stoped [sic] using or subscribing to AT&T, they would be forced to make big changes at CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway," he said. "For a president to call for punitive action against a corporation in an effort to shape news coverage is, to say the least, highly unusual," said 2009 Biography winner Jon Meacham.

"Nothing Was Wrong":

Producer Peter Berg and former HBO President Michael Lombardo will adapt Eliza Griswold's "Amity and Prosperity" as a limited series, their Film 44 production company announced Tuesday. The book received the 2019 General Nonfiction Prize.

"He Is Not Gone":

The Newseum has added the names of 21 journalists who were murdered in 2018 to its Journalists Memorial, including the four reporters who were fatally shot at the Capital Gazette newsroom last June. The glass memorial includes the names of more than 2,300 journalists slain across the world. "It's hard for me to speak those names and realize that they are more than the friends and colleagues I knew," said Rick Hutzell, the newspaper's editor. "By virtue of the events of June 28, the support of our community and the honors bestowed by our profession, they have become symbols."