For the Record

White House Allegedly Interferes in Briefing Seating:

According to Paul Farhi of The Washington Post, a White House official ordered CNN White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins "to give up her front-row seat and move to the back of the press room before President Trump’s briefing on Friday," contravening "a plan managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association and agreed to by White House officials last month." Although the official "suggested the matter would be resolved by the Secret Service" when Collins and the other reporter refused to move, no action was taken.

Bloomberg Drops Paywall for Universities:

According to Sarah Scire of NiemanLab, Bloomberg announced that it will give "every undergraduate and graduate student free access to Bloomberg.com — normally locked behind a paywall for $40/month or $475 a year — until the end of July." The offer follows The New York Times' offer of free access to high school students until July 6. 

Alaska School Board Removes Books From Curriculum:

Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna School Board decided to remove several books from its curriculum last week in a 5-2 vote, including "The Things They Carried" by Tim O’Brien, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou, "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller, "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The decision will affect 11th and 12th grade elective English students in the district's 13 high schools. "The next group of English electives that is coming actually contains the course that had the most public pushback for the controversial books on its list, and that was The Bible as History and Literature," said Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Amy Spargo. "I just put that out there as evidence that what makes something controversial is really subjective and that the books on these lists were chosen for their literary value."

Lynch: 'Radhika Works for Anna':

In a column by Ben Smith of The New York Times on Anna Wintour's role at Condé Nast, CEO Roger Lynch confirmed that Vanity Fair Editor-in-Chief Radhika Jones reports to Wintour, who has taken on additional positions at the media company (including artistic director and global content adviser) in recent years. Smith reported that "senior editors [who] were promised pensions for life equivalent to more than half of their generous salaries" (including Jones' predecessor, Graydon Carter) have retained their annuities despite the company's "current woes."

Report: Times to Replace Sunday Sports, Travel Sections:

According to Michelle Castillo of Cheddar, The New York Times plans to pause its Sunday sports and travel sections in favor of "a section focused on life while sheltering in place" called At Home. The sports section "will no longer be printed separately and will be folded into the front section of the newspaper, while "travel-related stories could live throughout the paper." The incipient lifestyle section will include "games, tips for fitness and beauty, and easy recipes, as well as advice on child care and organization among other things."

Layoffs at Protocol:

Nearly half of incipient tech news site Protocol's staff was laid off this week amid a "a strong undercurrent of bitterness," according to Matthew Ingram of CJR. Although founder Robert Allbritton (also a co-founder of Politico) and two senior managers ascribed the decision to "economic realities of the present," the decision led some on Twitter to recall the collapse of the Allbritton-owned TBD in 2011. "Allbritton cutting off the legs of a nascent news brand showing nothing but editorial promise, months after assembling a very talented team? You don't say," said former TBD staffer Daniel Victor, who now works as a breaking news reporter at The New York Times. CJR "tried to get a comment from Protocol or Allbritton, but they didn’t respond by publication time."

News Outlets Take Federal Loans:

Although the "idea of taking government money was once anathema to news organizations that guarded their independence," several news organizations announced that they received small business loans as part of the federal COVID-19 stimulus package, according to David Bauder of the Associated Press. Axios' loan (in the vicinity of $5 million) will be used to forestall layoffs and pay cuts for its staff, while "the Tampa Bay Times has said it received $8.5 million through the same program, and the Seattle Times got $9.9 million." Poynter Institute and NPR Public Editor Kelly McBride, an authority on media ethics, told Bauder that she advised more than a dozen organizations to apply for aid.

NewsGuild Meets With Republican Lobbying Firms:

According to Sam Stein of The Daily Beast, representatives of the NewsGuild-CWA, which remains North America's largest media union with 283 bargaining units, "[have] met with GOP lobbyists to solicit their help on economic rescue packages coming from Congress in response to the market crash sparked by the coronavirus pandemic." The union plans to hire a firm imminently. "We have not engaged in political work like this in decades," said Jon Schleuss, the organization's president. "But it is essential because this looks like an extinction-level event."

Wired Staffers Announce Intention to Unionize:

Staffers at Wired announced their intention to unionize with the NewsGuild of New York Tuesday, citing the need for a "protected voice within our workplace during this period of unprecedented instability [...] our goal is to work together with management to safeguard our publication and staff as these societal changes unfold." Other Condé Nast publications, including The New Yorker and Pitchfork, have unionized in recent years.

Meadows Promotes Scavino, Shuffles White House Communications Team:

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has promoted Social Media Director Dan Scavino to deputy chief of staff for communications, officials said Tuesday. According to Maggie Haberman, it "remains to be seen what the change in title means for [...] Scavino," who previously served as general manager of the Trump National Golf Club Westchester and is believed to be the only aide with access to President Trump's personal Twitter account. Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah were also promoted to the top salary billet of assistant to the president.