Latest E&P Exclusive Reporting

The journalism salute: A podcast fighting the ‘enemy of the people’ narrative

Mark Simon, who comes from a baseball broadcasting background, created a podcast, The Journalism Salute, in which he interviews journalists. Over four years, he’s interviewed more than 190 journalists across many genres and beats. His work reflects the diverse work being done in journalism today.

The 2402 Foundation, which is designed to help journalists operate safely by providing safety equipment and hostile environment and first aid training, is now shifting its focus toward mental health support. The prolonged nature of the war in Ukraine, coupled with the intense emotional demands of frontline reporting, has made mental health a pressing issue for journalists.

In a surprise announcement at the New York Amsterdam News headquarters, Elinor R. Tatum, publisher and editor-in-chief of one of the nation’s oldest Black newspapers, was named Editor & Publisher’s (E&P) 2024 Publisher of the Year. Tatum, who has led the publication for three decades, was honored for her visionary leadership in transforming the newspaper through digital innovation, investigative journalism, and her unwavering commitment to racial justice. Surrounded by over 30 colleagues, friends, and team members, Tatum’s impact was celebrated, highlighting her pivotal role in shaping the future of Black journalism.
More E&P Exclusive Reporting
Nonprofit news outlets have a unique advantage. They can innovate and experiment with new strategies more freely, benefitting from their size and mission-driven focus. For nonprofits, marketing, ad sales, audience development and fundraising are the different sections of an orchestra. When each area is in sync and adapting to changing circumstances, they create a powerful performance that resonates with audiences and drives sustainable growth.
This year, The Marshall Project celebrates its 10th anniversary. Founded by Neil Barsky, the nonprofit newsroom’s name honors the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Its stirring reporting is focused on the criminal justice system and the people impacted by it.
NPR’s Next Generation Radio project is both a unique professional development opportunity and a talent pipeline for audio journalism and the broader journalism field. It’s an intensive five-day boot camp for aspiring audio storytellers funded by NPR member stations. Not only is it free, but participants receive a stipend to help cover their costs for the week.
As the 2024 election cycle heats up, a new buzzword is making waves in media circles: “sanewashing.” The term refers to how some media outlets sanitize Donald Trump’s often incoherent and erratic remarks, presenting them as more polished and conventional political discourse. Critics argue that by reshaping Trump’s rambling responses into digestible news bites, journalists unintentionally protect him from scrutiny, failing to fully expose the chaotic nature of his statements. This phenomenon, which has sparked widespread discussion, highlights the ongoing challenge of how the press covers politicians whose rhetoric increasingly defies the norms of political communication.
The best salespeople have innate talents. They have figured out what brings them to the playing field and what their blind spots are. There are some things at which they don’t excel as well as others, but they don't let this deter them. Instead, they zero in on their areas of excellence so they can perform at high levels.
The popularity of newsletters with readers and the revenue-generating opportunities for publishers have increased substantially since E&P’s February 2022 Revenue Round-Up article. A new study of monthly newsletter readers released in July from MAGNA Media Trials and Sherwood Media found 41% said it was their preferred news source — topping a list of 12 sources. The study also found that one-third of newsletter readers don't use news websites as their regular news source.
Since its inception, the National Press Photographers Association has worked with photographers across traditional film-based and digital photography and video on topics such as freelancing and understanding First Amendment laws. Advocacy is the centerpiece for the NPPA.
The University of Vermont doesn’t carry the reputation of the legacy journalism powerhouses, but it is making a journalism splash far beyond the confines of its campus and state borders. UVM's Center for Community News coordinates efforts nationwide to pair professional editors with college students to produce local news. So far, more than 130 college programs are participating.
Documented is an independent nonprofit newsroom reporting on and for New York City’s immigrant communities. The team produces a website and its flagship newsletter, “Early Arrival,” published three times a week. Documented is led by Mazin Sidahmed and Max Siegelbaum, who met while reporting in the Middle East.
You can always learn something from a copy editor. In this column, E&P columnist Rob Tornoe seeks knowledge from Bob Yearick, columnist and author of “The War on Words,” and some copy editors about the low-hanging fruit of the English language, which writers often trip over in the mad dash to meet a deadline.
In the current news industry environment, legacy newspapers face two future scenarios. First, they continue to operate with their decades-old business models and experience declining revenue and fewer print days, eventually closing and creating news deserts. Second, they are acquired by new owners with a 21st-century entrepreneurial spirit to build a stronger bond with their communities. The citizens of Pinehurst, Southern Pines and surrounding communities in North Carolina are pleased. The Pilot is following the second path.
News media can be a fast-paced environment, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed, especially when resources are limited and difficult decisions about budget cuts or reallocations must be made. This constant drive to stay ahead often leads to innovation fatigue. To address this challenge, E&P columnist Richard E. Brown developed the S.C.O.R.E. framework — a tool designed to evaluate and communicate strategies and guide the entire innovation process.
For so many local news outlets around the country, the cost of maintaining real estate — especially older, often historic buildings — has become untenable. However, this is a story about the antidote and how two local news publishers, in particular, are reinvesting in real estate. They're taking their brick-and-mortar assets and putting them to work as revenue generators and communal centers.
A surprising last-minute deal between Google and California lawmakers has left the local news industry grappling with mixed emotions and crucial lessons learned. While some view the $250 million agreement as a positive step toward funding journalism, others criticize it for falling short of what was needed and creating divisions among news leaders. The agreement, which bypassed two proposed bills aimed at compelling tech giants to pay local newsrooms for content, highlights the importance of unity and strategy in advocating for fair compensation in an era dominated by digital platforms.​
Disinformation has replaced disintermediation as the word of the day, and many consumers aren’t happy. People are starting to miss being able to reliably get products and information that have been vetted and provided by an intermediary. This leads to an important question: Is the pendulum about to swing the other way?
Over the past few months, news organizations have grappled with changes at Google that have led to a dramatic drop in organic search traffic. Publishers have been forced to navigate what appears to be seismic shifts in how Google doles out traffic, with the integration of artificial intelligence (which remains unintelligent and error-prone) causing panic attacks across the industry.
One of Jin Ding's first actions as CEO of Initium was moving its headquarters from Hong Kong — where it had been since it was founded nine years ago — to Singapore. Despite the move, Initium still reports on Hong Kong and mainland China with a network of trusted freelancers. This Chinese-language digital news site also is seeking to expand its reach and serve the growing number of Millennial and GenZ Chinese who have made their way to the U.S. over the past decade.
Read the Current Issue Online
CalMatters and tech-driven partners have created a centralized database that improves government transparency and the public's access to materials. Called Digital Democracy, the project launched in April using a combination of AI, publicly available databases and some real-person backups. While available to anyone, the searchable product is a news reporter's dream tool.
In a last-minute, closed-door deal that surprised many, Google secured an agreement late Wednesday with California lawmakers to circumvent two legislative bills that would have required it and other tech companies to compensate local newsrooms in the state for using their content.
Born from the upheavals of the 1970s, when the government issued reporters with a slew of subpoenas to reveal their confidential sources, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) has had the backs of journalists, editors, publishers and all news professionals. It continues to be a major advocate for protecting newsgathering rights and a proactive fighter against governmental attempts to erode and limit the press’ First Amendment freedoms.
Randall Lane, the chief content officer at Forbes Media and editor at Forbes magazine, penned a June 11, 2024 column — “Why Perplexity’s Cynical Theft Represents Everything That Could Go Wrong With AI” — citing a dispute with major AI developer, Perplexity. E&P followed up with Lane to better understand what happened and to seek his advice to other news media publishers grappling with the copyright-AI conflict.
In the generative AI space, primarily dominated by tech developers like OpenAI, Microsoft and Google, Perplexity.ai seeks distinction. E&P spoke with the company’s chief business officer, Dmitry Shevelenko, in late July, a day after the company revealed its new Perplexity Publishers Program.
There is growing angst in the news media community about how their products ­— the journalism they create, at no small expense — are being used to train the Generative AI Large Language Models (LLMs). They wonder whether copyright law will protect them, whether they should sue over copyright violations or agree to license and compensation terms offered by AI developers. E&P sought to understand these dilemmas better, so we asked news media publishers and advocates how they think these relationships will come to pass.
When Alden Global Capital sold The Baltimore Sun to Sinclair Broadcasting Group’s David D. Smith and conservative radio host Armstrong Williams, concerns about the newspaper’s editorial independence quickly emerged. Those fears were realized in June when content from Sinclair’s Baltimore affiliate, Fox45, began appearing on the Sun’s website without clear attribution, raising alarm within the newsroom. The Baltimore Sun Guild responded by demanding transparency and editorial integrity, citing the potential erosion of trust among readers as Sinclair’s content, often criticized for its lack of nuance and journalistic rigor, started to infiltrate the Sun’s storied brand. Despite some concessions from the new owners, the Guild remains vigilant, stressing that the integrity of The Baltimore Sun’s journalism must not be compromised.
Remember when we said more people use VR headsets in the U.S. than subscribe to a newspaper? That number will continue to grow in 2024 and beyond. It’s time to dive deeper into what that means for local media publishers.
With more community newspapers — often weeklies — closing their doors, the publications still surviving are seeking the secret sauce/winning formula to sustain themselves financially and continue to serve their communities. Although there isn’t a universal formula, a recent study co-sponsored by the New Jersey Press Association and the Corporation of New Jersey Local Media revealed the characteristics of successful community newspapers.
Sam Hoisington is a 20-something news entrepreneur who founded Madison (Wisconsin) Minutes in late 2020 and transformed a humble email newsletter into a daily newsletter with 20,000 subscribers. After selling the Madison Minutes in 2023, he returned to his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, and launched The Bentonville Bulletin.