In Memoriam: Lisel Mueller:
Chicago poet Lisel Mueller, who won a Poetry prize in 1996 at age 73, has died aged 96 of aftereffects of pneumonia. “I think it is the poet’s job to find the unconscious spring that unites all people,” she once told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Bloomberg, Information Launch Bundle:
The Information and Bloomberg "have come together to offer a $499 one-year subscription to both Bloomberg.com and TheInformation.com," Kayleigh Barber of Digiday reported Wednesday. The subscription will offer all paywalled content on both sites alongside "access to The Information’s new app, monthly video calls, events and a subscriber-only Slack channel, and Bloomberg’s subscriber newsletters, Bloomberg TV live streams and podcast." Under the arrangement, subscribers to both sites will save $315.
Markup Announces Board:
Nonprofit technology newsroom The Markup announced its board of directors Wednesday. Pulitzer Prize juror and Temple University Klein College of Media and Communication Dean David Boardman will serve as the organization's chair alongside such figures as 2005 International Reporting winner Dele Olojede and Wake Forest University Maya Angelou Presidential Chair Melissa Harris-Perry. "The experience, skills and insights our directors bring have already proven invaluable," said Editor-in-Chief and 2003 Explanatory Reporting contributor Julia Angwin. The site will launch on February 25.
Hill Completes Solomon Review:
The Hill announced Wednesday that it has completed its review of former executive John Solomon's columns on alleged connections between the Biden family and Ukranian interests. "In some columns, there was context and/or disclosure that should have been included at the time of his writings," the news organization said. "In other cases, these editor's notes highlight what has been learned since Solomon's columns were initially published." Going forward, Editor-In-Chief Bob Cusack will have "enhanced [...] authority" over opinion-based coverage. According to Oliver Darcy of CNN, Solomon's work "helped trigger the chain of events that led to Trump asking the recently-elected Ukrainian president to probe" the former vice president and his son Hunter.
State Designates Chinese Media Entities as Foreign Missions:
The U.S. State Department announced Tuesday that five major Chinese media companies (including Xinhua, China Daily and People's Daily) have been designated as "foreign missions," according to Nicole Gaouette and Jennifer Hansler of CNN. An unnamed source pointed to the 2017 National Security Strategy as a rationale for the decision. Although each entity previously was required to register as a foreign agent, the new status will predicate the acquisition of commercial property on federal approval.
China Expells Wall Street Journal Reporters:
Three of its journalists have had their press credentials revoked by the Chinese government, the Wall Street Journal has reported. The move marks the first time the country has expelled multiple reporters from one international news organization simultaneously since the Mao era, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated it was in response to an opinion piece in the paper that referred to China as the "real sick man in Asia."
Bookshop.org Attempts to Rival Amazon:
A new website, still in its Beta phase, is designed to generate income for independent booksellers and become an alternative to Amazon for shoppers. The American Booksellers Association is backing the initiative and more than 200 sellers have signed up.
Second Circuit Ruling Endangers First Amendment:
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in United States v. Blaszczak opens state and federal government whistleblowers who communicate with journalists to conversion and wire fraud charges, according to Roger Parloff of Air Mail. "The mere act of disclosure — if the whistleblower or leaker knows that the information is confidential — that's the crime right there,” said former Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. "That's what this opinion says."
Professional Distance at Bloomberg:
According to Michael Grynbaum of The New York Times, political reporters at Bloomberg News are "battling a perception" that the news organization "is an adjunct of its boss's political operation" amid Michael Bloomberg's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. However, Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait has maintained that he has had no contact with Bloomberg since his campaign commenced.
Facebook Accepts the Need for Some Regulations:
Mark Zuckerberg spoke at the Munich Security Conference and addressed Facebook’s responsibility for providing regulation over the content disseminated on the site. The company, which describes itself as an intermediary between a telephone company and a newspaper, has yet to develop a formula for how this regulation will take place.
