For the Record

Scrubbed:

As part of a lawsuit settlement, The Washington Times retracted a March 2 op-ed column in which retired Adm. James Lyons asserted that late DNC staffer Seth Rich "downloaded the DNC emails and was paid by Wikileaks for that information" in conjunction with his brother, Aaron Rich. The retraction stated the newspaper "understands that law enforcement officials have interviewed [Aaron] Rich and that he has cooperated with their investigation."

"Exactly The Intersection":

The Atlantic has hired sportswriter Jemele Hill to cover "the intersection of sports, race, politics, gender and culture," Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg announced Monday. Hill and ESPN "SportsCenter" co-anchor Michael Smith "tried to focus on cultural topics outside of sports" during their tenure, culminating in Hill "accusing President Trump of white supremacy" last year.

"Access and Ways":

In an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, Sarah Sanders defended the White House's decision to greatly curtail the frequency of press briefings. "I always think if you can hear directly from the president and the press has a chance to ask the president of the United States questions directly, that’s infinitely better than talking to me," the press secretary said.

Adversaries:

The Trump administration announced Sunday that it will sue the state of California to block "what some experts have described as the toughest net neutrality law ever enacted in the United States, setting up a high-stakes legal showdown over the future of the Internet." In a statement, FCC Chair Ajit Pai asserted the law is "illegal" and "hurts consumers."

Freedom:

The families of imprisoned Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo will petition the Myanmar government for pardons on their behalf, attorney Amal Clooney announced at a United Nations press freedom event Friday. "This case is about much more than two innocent men," Clooney told Reuters. "If you care about press freedom you care about this case."

"Every Unexpected Thing":

In the wake of recent "hand-wringing over whether podcasting’s bubble has burst," podcaster Eric Nuzum has taken a more sanguine outlook. "Despite all the news of the past few weeks," he said, "nothing much has really changed. People still want to listen to great stuff."

Sale:

The Oklahoman Media Company announced Thursday "that it was being sold to GateHouse Media — and laid off 37 staffers." Fifteen of the eliminated jobs were newsroom-related.

"Unintended Consequences":

Several days after endorsing the potential social and journalistic applications of e-sports and gaming platforms, Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong "advocated for a change in how people consume news on social media, calling misinformation and how it's spread the 'cancer of our time.'" "The short attention span we're creating in this millennium is actually very dangerous," he continued.

"Not Over":

Members of the University of Michigan community are assisting Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, a Knight-Wallace fellow who was jailed by the Trump administration after fleeing death threats earlier this year. As he prepares for an October hearing, "librarians and translators have worked to unearth three decades of his journalism from local outlets in Mexico's northern Chihuahua state."

Temptation:

Although the algorithm-driven Apple News app "has recently surged in popularity and influence," a lack of compatibility with the "common ad systems that dominate ad sales on the web" has resulted in little revenue for participating news organizations.