For the Record

Employees Call for Further Differentiation Between Journal News and Opinion:

More than 280 reporters, editors and other Dow Jones employees signed an open letter to Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour calling for the news organization to clarify the distinction between news and opinion content online, citing "concerns about the opinion section’s accuracy and transparency," according to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg. The letter noted that a recent op-ed by Vice President Mike Pence included erroneous figures that initially were not checked and "proposed more prominently labeling editorials and opinion columns" alongside the implementation of a separate ranking for top opinion pieces. (Editorial Page Editor Paul Gigot, who oversees opinion content, is a past chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board.)

AP Offers Further Stylistic Guidance on Race:

Pulitzer Prize Board member and Associated Press Vice President of Standards John Daniszewski announced Monday that the organization's grammar style "will continue to lowercase the term white in racial, ethnic and cultural senses," citing the risk of "subtly conveying legitimacy" to white supremacist beliefs and "considerable disagreement, ambiguity and confusion about whom the term includes" across the world. Daniszewski added that the style will "continue to avoid the broad and imprecise term brown in racial, ethnic or cultural references."

Levien Succeeds Thompson as Times CEO:

New York Times Company COO Meredith Kopit Levien will succeed CEO Mark Thompson effective September 8, the organization announced Wednesday. According to Edmund Lee, Levien is the "youngest person ever to lead [The Times'] executive ranks" and "also will serve on the company’s board." Publisher A. G. Sulzberger has characterized Levien as a "brilliant and transformative leader."

Acquiring a Newspaper:

Although "carving out" newspapers from hedge fund-owned chains "is not an easy exercise" (as reflected by the Huntsman family's stewardship of The Salt Lake Tribune, culminating in its conversion into a nonprofit entity last year), it "can be done successfully with the right patient investors, the right market and the right business plan," according to Rick Edmonds of Poynter. "Our revenues are going to be within a couple hundred thousand dollars of what they were in 2012,” said Steve Falk, publisher of the Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Press Democrat, which was acquired by an ownership group that included "two venture capitalists, financier Sandy Weill and Jean Schulz" from Halifax Media Group that year. "I answer to people with modest profit expectations. It also helps that we are debt-free."

Sullivan Doubles Subscribers:

In a Monday tweet, Andrew Sullivan announced that nearly 60,000 subscribers have "signed up to subscribe to The Weekly Dish," doubling the base of The Dish, his previous standalone blog. Set to debut Friday following Sullivan's departure from New York magazine, the Substack-based publication offers various subscription plans, ranging from a free option to a $200/year "Founding Weekly Dishhead" designation.

Reuters Institute Publishes COVID-19 Mental Health Study:

Preliminary results "from a new study on mental health among journalists covering the pandemic were so worrisome" that the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University "decided to publish the preliminary data," according to Sarah Scire of NiemanLab. Of the group of 70 who responded, 70% "said they were suffering from psychological distress," while "more than a quarter of respondents demonstrated symptoms like worry, feeling on edge, insomnia, poor concentration and fatigue." 

Report Explores Twitter Vulnerabilities:

A King's College London Centre for Science and Security Studies report "coincidentally released the same day" as last week's Twitter hack "[explores] what would happen" if the platform's "vulnerabilities were exploited on the international level," according to Bryan Walsh of Axios. In the document, researchers Heather Williams and Alexi Drew delineate ways in which governments should "refrain from tweeting from personal accounts and [...] instead rely on officially coordinated messaging," citing a potential "catalytic escalatory effect on allies."

McClatchy Submits New Sales Timeline:

McClatchy "filed a new sale timeline" to the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court late Friday, potentially indicating that the newspaper publisher "has yet to reach final agreement on terms with the New Jersey hedge fund that won it at auction," according to Kevin G. Hall of McClatchy DC. The new timeline, which "pushes the sale proceedings into August," also reflects Judge Michael E. Wiles' full calendar. In a statement, the company said that it is "continuing to work collaboratively with Chatham Asset Management on the final details of the transaction."

NewsGuild Tweets 'Day Without News':

As part of its Save the News campaign, many newsroom units affiliated with the NewsGuild tweeted graphics of headlines (such as The Sacramento Bee's "State must contain spread of fires and coronavirus” and VTDigger's “How much is your town spending on police?”) fading away Thursday to draw attention to the economic decline of local news. A feed of highlights may be found at the Save the News campaign page. 

Vox Media Layoffs Commence:

Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff announced Thursday in an internal memo obtained by Kerry Flynn of CNN that it will lay off 6% of its staff, including some furloughed employees alongside active employees. Additionally early 30% of furloughed employees will return to work. "We expect, based on the current outlook, that the difficult actions we are taking today will be sufficient to weather this downturn and uncertainty, without additional measures," Bankoff added. The media company's properties include New York, The Verge, SBNation and Eater.