For the Record

"Protected Political Speech":

Following the expiration of a Virginia grand jury's term, Chelsea Manning was released from an Alexandria jail Thursday after being detained on contempt charges for more than two months "for refusing to testify about her past ties to WikiLeaks." According to Gizmodo, Manning has been subpoenaed by another grand jury and may be returned to custody as early as next week. "Chelsea will continue to refuse to answer questions, and will use every available legal defense to prove to District Judge Trenga that she has just cause for her refusal to give testimony," her lawyers said.

"An Ongoing Debate":

According to an indictment unsealed Thursday, former NSA analyst Daniel Hale has been charged with theft of government property for leaking documents on the United States drone warefare program to an unnamed reporter in 2015. The journalist's description matches Jeremy Scahill, a founding editor of The Intercept. "The Intercept does not comment on matters relating to the identity of anonymous sources," said Editor-in-Chief Betsy Reed. "These documents detailed a secret, unaccountable process for targeting and killing people around the world, including U.S. citizens, through drone strikes. They are of vital public importance, and activity related to their disclosure is protected by the First Amendment." Hale, who faces 50 years in prison, would be the third person charged with passing on classified information to the national security publication if Scahill's identity is corroborated.

Information Wars:

Hundreds of journalists, academics and publishers have convened at Columbia University for an ethics symposium marking the launch of the Columbia Journalism School's Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security and the Poynter Institute's Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership. Pulitzer Prize Board members Neil Brown, Steve Coll and John Daniszewski will appear at the event alongside former Pulitzer Prize jurors Emily Bell and Kyle Pope, Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief Noah Shachtman and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.

"Elevated Levels":

According to CNN, The New York Times "reported net income of $30.2 million for the first three months of 2019, beating analysts' expectations and outpacing the $22 million in net income it posted a year ago." The newspaper also added 223,000 digital subscriptions during the quarter, "bringing the total number of subscribers to 4.5 million."

"Long-Term Growth":

Disney has recorded a $353 million impairment charge on its investment in Vice Media following a previous $157 million write-down in 2018, the company announced in its first-quarter earnings report Wednesday. "Vice is firing on all cylinders and on target to meet, if not exceed, its financial targets for the third straight quarter," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Update:

Former President Barack Obama's White House memoir is unlikely to be published in 2019, Penguin Random House said in an internal statement to foreign partners Tuesday. Obama has been working on a first draft in longhand on legal pads, reprising his writing process for his first book, "Dreams from My Father." According to the Associated Press, Michelle Obama's "Becoming" "quickly became one of the most popular political memoirs in history, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide."

"Other Ways":

Rolling Stone is launching a new suite of music charts to compete with Billboard in conjunction with Alpha Data, a "a three-year-old analytics start-up formerly known as BuzzAngle Music that has been building up clout within the industry since its 2016 launch." According to Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo, the charts "will be updated daily as opposed to weekly" in addition to offering increased transparency.

Changes:

According to an internal memo obtained by Utah Policy, The Salt Lake Tribune "will change from a for-profit entity to a newspaper and nonprofit foundation." The newspaper is expected to become a digital publication next year following the end of a joint distribution agreement with the Latter Day Saints-owned Deseret News. The reorganization would also enable the publication — currently owned by Huntsman Corporation scion Paul Huntsman — to cover the future political endeavors of his brother, Ambassador John Huntsman, who has expressed interest in seeking the state's Republican gubenatorial nomination next year. 

"Worth Your While":

Amazon is "in talks with big American publishers, including the New York Times and BuzzFeed, about deals that would reward them for expanding their international presence, specifically in consumer-oriented shopping sites," according to Vox's Peter Kafka, marking the platform's first foray into sponsored content. "Publishers I've talked to about Amazon’s discussions say they’re not uncomfortable contemplating taking money from Jeff Bezos and company," said Kafka.

Confusion:

The Defense Department has shifted to "off-camera briefings, chatting with reporters about single subjects and occasionally limited on-camera chats while traveling" since last conducting a formal press briefing 341 days ago. According to Splinter News' Jack Crosbie, "This creates a system where we get confusing tidbits or information and wildly conflicting points iterated by different wings of the government: Defense or State Department officials saying one thing, the White House saying something else, who [...] knows what’s actually going on."