For the Record

Muldoon Edits McCartney Memoir:

2003 Poetry winner Paul Muldoon will edit and contribute an introduction to "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present," a forthcoming memoir by Paul McCartney, Hillel Italie of the Associated Press reported Wednesday. In the book, which will be released by Allen Lane and Liveright in November, the former Beatles and Wings member "will trace his life through 154 songs," including work from his partnership with John Lennon and more recent solo endeavors. McCartney in a statement: "I know that some people, when they get to a certain age, like to go to a diary to recall day-to-day events from the past, but I have no such notebooks. What I do have are my songs, hundreds of them, which I’ve learned serve much the same purpose."

Thomson Reuters Announces AI, Machine Learning Initiative:

Thomson Reuters "will streamline technology, close offices and rely more on machines to prepare for a post-pandemic world," Kenneth Li and Nick Zieminski of its Reuters News division reported Tuesday. Under the plan, the company "will spend $500 million to $600 million over two years to burnish its technology credentials, investing in AI and machine learning to get data faster to professional customers increasingly working from home during the coronavirus crisis." It also will "cut annual operating expenses by $600 million through eliminating duplicate functions, modernizing and consolidating technology, as well as through attrition and shrinking its real estate footprint." Although revenues "rose 2% to $1.62 billion" for the company in the fourth quarter of 2020, the news division "showed lower revenue in the fourth quarter."

Washington Post Names Cameron Barr Interim Editor:

The Washington Post "has tapped Cameron Barr, one of four managing editors, to be its acting executive editor ahead of Marty Baron’s exit on February 28," according to Keith J. Kelly of the New York Post. "The search for the next executive editor is actively underway with a broad and diverse group of exceptional journalists,” said Publisher Fred Ryan, who is heading the search. "It will not be complete prior to Marty's departure at the end of this month." A 2003 Beat Reporting finalist, Barr previously has served as a metro reporter, Middle East editor, national security editor and national editor before being named managing editor for news and features at the newspaper in 2015. 

Haberman Takes on New Role:

2018 National Reporting contributor Maggie Haberman will join The New York Times' Washington investigative/enterprise desk while "[continuing] to work with the Politics desk to track the post-Trump landscape and the early rumblings of the 2022 midterms and the 2024 presidential campaign," the newspaper announced Monday. Haberman, who joined The Times in 2015, previously worked at Politico, The New York Daily News and The New York Post.

Google Resumes Political Advertising:

Google "informed its advertising partners Monday that its platforms will resume accepting all political ads starting Wednesday after banning them following last month's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol," according to Sara Fischer of Axios. Under a limited implementation of its sensitive events policy, advertisers were unable to run any political ads, including those "referencing candidates, the election, its outcome, the upcoming presidential inauguration, the ongoing presidential impeachment process, violence at the U.S. Capitol, or future planned protests on these topics." Facebook has enforced a temporary ban on political advertising since the election.

Facebook to Restore News in Australia:

Facebook has "reached a deal with the Australian government to restore news pages to the social media company’s platform following a five-day suspension because of a disagreement over payment for content," Mike Cherney of The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The agreement stipulates an "additional round of negotiation with media companies before binding arbitration kicks in, as well as more acknowledgment of any deals Facebook reaches with publishers on its own," with CEO Mark Zuckerberg now intending to pursue the latter strategy in the platform's dealings with news organizations. "It's always been our intention to support journalism in Australia and around the world," said Campbell Brown, the company's vice president of global news partnerships. "We'll continue to invest in news globally and resist efforts by media conglomerates to advance regulatory frameworks that do not take account of the true value exchange between publishers and platforms like Facebook."

Time, Meredith Dispute Bookazine Contract:

Meredith lawyers "recently fired off a 'cease and desist' letter to Time magazine Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal" alleging that a contract for high-priced newsstand special issues (or "bookazines") with Bauer Publications violates the terms of the publisher's 2018 sale to Marc and Lynne Benioff, according to Keith J. Kelly of the New York Post. "We are perplexed by Meredith's letter," Time said in a statement. “We provided them the opportunity to continue to be our partner on bookazines, but ultimately decided that the best business decision was to partner with Bauer going forward. We understand that they would be disappointed that this did not work out as they had hoped." In 2020, Meredith produced more than 300 bookazine issues that "sold 18 million copies at retail and grossed over $235 million."

Soon-Shiong Denies Wall Street Journal Report:

Los Angeles Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong "reaffirmed his commitment to the news organization" Friday after The Wall Street Journal published an article indicating that he was exploring a sale of the newspaper and its sister publication, the San Diego Union-Tribune, according to Staff Writer Meg James. "WSJ article inaccurate. We are committed to the @LATimes,” Soon-Shiong tweeted. "We are aware of Dr. Soon-Shiong’s tweet," said Wall Street Journal spokesperson Steve Severinghaus. "We are confident in our reporting and will continue to follow this developing story." The dispute follows the announcement of Tribune Publishing's sale to hedge fund-backed Alden Global Capital, which requires approval from Soon-Shiong, The biotech entrepreneur purchased The Times and the Union-Tribune in June 2018 for $500 million.

GroundTruth Project Launches Global Service Program:

The GroundTruth Project announced Thursday the launch of Report for the World, a global service program that "will match local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe, beginning with six 'corps members' in two partner newsrooms this spring," Scroll.in in India and TheCable in Nigeria. "The absence of local news— both here in the U.S. and in under-covered corners of the world — is a crisis for democracy,” said Editor-in-Chief Charles Sennott. “Report for the World responds to this crisis by partnering with newsroom leaders who understand the critical role journalism can play giving a voice to the communities and issues that matter most.” The program is modeled after the organization's Report for America initiative, which now includes more than 300 corps members.

PEN America Settles First Amendment Lawsuit:

PEN America and Project Democracy have settled the 2018 lawsuit PEN America v. Trump, the organizations announced Thursday. A settlement agreement reaffirms a March 2020 federal court ruling that upheld PEN America's standing to pursue a challenge to former President Trump's alleged threats and acts of retaliation against journalists and the media. "Our lawsuit and the settlement reached today represents an important win for free speech, a free press and the First Amendment," said PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel. "The outcome is clear: Not even the president of the United States can invoke the power of government to threaten members of the press based on their coverage. While a president has First Amendment rights, he or she does not have license to use the authority of the office to menace critical journalists or punish their coverage."