For the Record

Denial:

In an interview with Jonathan Swan for HBO's Axios docuseries, White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner refused to hold Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman responsible for the assassination of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. "Once we have all the facts, then we'll make a policy determination, but that would be up to the Secretary of State to push on our policy," Kushner said. President Trump reiterated Kushner's stance while taking questions from reporters Sunday. "When did this come up again?" Trump asked. "What are you back — are you back — are you back four months ago? No."

"Inauthentic Behaviors":

Twitter has apologized for suspending accounts that were critical of China's response to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. "Sometimes our routine actions catch false positives or we make errors. We apologize," the platform said on its public policy feed Saturday. Activists have been using the platform to share information in the lead-up to the 30th anniversary of the protests on June 4.

Update:

The Philadelphia Inquirer celebrated its 190th anniversary Sunday by unveiling a new domain name (inquirer.com) and an updated logo co-designed by former MacArthur fellow Matthew Carter. "We like that the new logo maintained the unique characteristics of the original, iconic design, but made subtle yet recognizable changes for a better experience across all formats," said Jen Strauss, the newspaper's sssociate director of design.

"Trailblazer":

The Atlantic and Anonymous Content (a production company best known for "Spotlight" and "True Detective") have signed a first-look agreement. Under the deal, the company "will have the initial crack at developing and making scripted and unscripted content from The Atlantic’s past and present articles and content." Laurene Powell Jobs's Emerson Collective is the majority owner of The Atlantic and a minority stakeholder in the production company.

Talks:

Following its recent defeat of a hostile takeover bid from hedge fund-backed Digital First Media, Gannett has commenced merger negotiations with GateHouse Media. According to The Wall Street Journal, Gannett "has also been speaking recently with others about potential deals, including Tribune Publishing and McClatchy." If Gannett were to reach a deal with GateHouse, the ensuing company "would be the largest U.S. publisher by number of titles and circulation."

"Mega-Ideological":

According to Joe Pompeo of Vanity Fair, The New York Times "has come to 'prefer,' as sources put it, that its reporters steer clear of any cable-news shows that the masthead perceives as too partisan, and managers have lately been advising people not to go on what they see as highly opinionated programs," including The Rachel Maddow Show and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell. Pompeo said it is unclear if reporters with political-analyst contracts at the major networks will be affected by the policy.

"Products and Initiatives":

Google announced plans to extend its Digital News Initiative (which has disbursed €140 million in Europe since 2015) to the United States. Projects "will receive funding up to $300,000, with Google financing making up to 70% of the total project cost; applications are due July 15 at midnight PT." Although Google has reserved the right to go past those benchmarks on "large projects that significantly benefit the broad news ecosystem," all funding is restricted to "general and overhead costs."

Drought:

According to Michael Calderone of Politico, the Pentagon press corps "has chafed for months at what reporters see as a sharp decline in access to information, including limited access to officials during trips" and an unprecedented dearth of on-camera press briefings since last year. "No reporter is sitting in the briefing room waiting for a camera to turn on," said Defense One Executive Editor Kevin Baron. "But details about Iran troop movements are not supposed to come from leaks and background whispers."

Edmund Morris (1940 - 2019):

1980 Biography winner Edmund Morris died on May 24 at a hospital in Danbury, Conn. following a recent stroke. He was 78. Best known for his trilogy on Theodore Roosevelt (including the Prize-winning 'The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt') and an experimental book about Ronald Reagan, Morris became known as one of his generation's "leading practitioner[s] of narrative biography" after a largely autodidactic education. His final work, a biography of Thomas Edison, is scheduled to be released in October. 

Tony Horwitz (1958 - 2019):

1995 National Reporting winner Tony Horwitz died Monday while walking to a promotional appearance at the Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. He was 60. A graduate of Brown University and the Columbia Journalism School, Horwitz is survived by his widow, 2005 Fiction winner Geraldine Brooks. His winning portfolio, written for The Wall Street Journal, explored the plight of low-wage workers in poultry and recycling plants in the aftermath of the early 1990s recession. Horwitz's most recent book, 'Spying on the South,' focused on Frederick Law Olmstead's journeys through the region during the celebrated landscape architect's brief career in journalism.