For the Record

Pompeo Interview Engenders NPR, Affiliate Donations:

National Public Radio spokesperson Isabel Lara has confirmed that the nonprofit newsroom and its affiliates have seen "increased donations" following a contentious interview between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and "All Things Considered" co-host Mary Louise Kelly last week. "Love NPR and KUT programs and want to acknowledge Mary Louise Kelly’s great interview with Sec State Pompeo," said a donor to Austin affiliate KUT. "Keep asking the hard questions! Thank you to all NPR employees." Senior Vice President and Editorial Director Nancy Barnes is a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board.

Management-Labor Tensions Escalate at Tribune:

Tribune Publishing Director of Labor Relations Ann Barnes reportedly said that journalists should be "singing 'Glory, Hallelujah'" about proposed buyout packages that would allow them to "end their careers in grace and dignity," according to tweets from Virginian-Pilot union representative Sara Gregory. Although staffers at The Baltimore Sun and the Chicago Tribune are attempting to solicit new owners of their respective publications, an agreement prohibiting hedge fund Alden Global Capital from acquiring more than 33 percent of the company expires on June 30.

Atlantic Ends Contributing Editor Role After Emanuel Controversy:

According to Eric Wemple of The Washington Post, The Atlantic redesignated a select group of its contributing editors as contributing writers and eliminated the position (which amounted to a freelance role with no editorial responsibilities) after a letter from black staffers objected to Rahm Emanuel's appointment last year. Emanuel, who served as White House chief of staff from 2009 to 2010 and mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019, has been widely criticized for his "handling of the murder of black 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by white [...] police officer Jason Van Dyke on Oct. 20, 2014."

News Corp Aggregator Launches:

According to Todd Spangler of Variety, News Corp has launched Knewz, its long-gestating "curated headline-aggregation service," for beta testing. The "text-heavy" site includes content from "publications across a broad range of political leanings," including Fox News and Mother Jones. The site uses "proprietary artificial intelligence" to assist editors in selecting articles.

Buffett Divests Newspaper Holdings:

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway holding company will sell its 31 publications (including the billionaire's hometown Omaha World-Herald) to Lee Enterprises for $140 million in cash. As part of the deal, Berkshire will provide $576 million in long-term financing of Lee's debt at 9% interest. "This is a compelling and transformative transaction for Lee. It both refinances our long-term debt on attractive terms and provides new revenue opportunities as well as operational synergies across an expanded portfolio," said Lee Chairman Mary Junck. Buffett has expressed circumspection toward the industry, noting his belief that newspapers "[are] going to disappear" in a 2019 interview. 

Smith Becomes Times Media Columnist:

Buzzfeed News Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith will replace Jim Rutenberg as media columnist of The New York Times, the newspaper announced Tuesday. Rutenberg, who is known for his longform reporting, "recently became a writer at large at The Times, splitting duties between the politics desk and The Times Magazine," according to Mihir Zaveri. A joint letter from Executive Editor Dean Baquet, Managing Editor Joe Kahn and Business Editor Ellen Pollock lauded Smith as "a relentless innovator who helped change the shape of modern journalism."

Lowery Leaves Post for Quibi:

The Washington Post announced Tuesday that National Correspondent and 2016 National Reporting contributor Wesley Lowery is leaving the newspaper to join a 60 Minutes spinoff on shortform streaming service Quibi. According to Andrew Beaujon of Washingtonian, the show,  60 in 6, "will wedge 60 Minutes-style reporting into six-minute segments." Lowery told Beaujon that he looks forward to "getting a crash course from the 60 Minutes correspondents" and will continue to remain based in Washington.

NPR-Pompeo Confrontation Escalates:

NPR CEO John Lansing and Senior Vice President of News Nancy Barnes wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting the reinstatement of Diplomatic Correspondent Michele Kelemen as pool reporter on his upcoming trip to the United Kingdom. The organization reiterated that "it will have no choice but to conclude that [...] Kelemen was removed from the [t]rip in retaliation for the content of NPR's reporting" (alluding to last week's confrontation between Pompeo and NPR's Mary Louise Kelly) if she is not reinstated prior to Pompeo's departure. (Barnes is a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board.)

Post Criticized For Reporter Suspension:

The Washington Post was criticized by several journalists (including Eric Wemple, the newspaper's media critic) for placing reporter Felicia Sonmez on administrative leave Monday after she tweeted a 2016 Daily Beast story detailing a sexual assault allegation against Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles Sunday. Rachel Abrams of The New York Times reported that Executive Editor Marty Baron told Sonmez that the tweets demonstrated "a real lack of judgement." In a statement, Managing Editor Tracy Grant said that the tweets "displayed poor judgement that undermined the work of her colleagues." The Washington Post Guild, which represents Sonmez, issued a statement in support of the journalist.

AP Reiterates Commitment to Diversity After Cropping Scandal:

The Associated Press held three town hall meetings with staffers at its New York offices Monday after Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate was cropped out of a photo sent to clients. "My hope is that we can learn from this and be a better news organization going forward," Sally Buzbee, the news service's executive editor and senior vice president, said. "I realize I need to make clear from the very top, from me, that diversity and inclusion needs to be one of our highest priorities." Buzbee apologized to Nakate in a Sunday tweet.