The death of a newspaper
Ten years ago today, one of America’s legendary newspapers shut down for good. On Feb. 27, 2009, the Rocky Mountain News folded just a few weeks shy of its 150th anniversary.
Today on Poynter.org, I take a deep dive into the history of the paper, why it folded and what has happened in Denver since then. I talked to longtime Rocky Mountain News editor and publisher John Temple, Scripps chair Rich Boehne and former staffers of both the Rocky and The Denver Post.
One Rocky staffer told me: “I felt it was kind of like the feeling when you’ve got an elderly loved one in your family that finally ups and dies. You’re sort of expecting them to die at some point. And then when they actually do die, you’re like, ‘Holy (expletive), they died.’”
Lara Logan’s next step
What’s next for former CBS News correspondent Lara Logan? In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Logan said she is not going to play a part just to get a job.
“There are many (companies) I would work for, but I’m not going to be something I’m not,” Logan told THR. “I’m not going to pretend to be conservative so I can be the darling of the conservative media. I’m going to be who I am.”
The idea of working for a conservative outlet came up last week after she did an interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity and Hannity said, “I hope my bosses at Fox find a place for you.”
Logan said she has known Hannity a long time and he has been saying that since they met.
Logan answered all the questions THR had for her except one. When asked what she thought of President Donald Trump, Logan said, “I am outspoken but I am not an idiot. You really think in this climate I would even go there?”
Logan left CBS News in August of 2018 after a story she did on the U.S. Embassy attacks in Benghazi for “60 Minutes” was what CBS called “deficient in several respects.”
“I’m a journalist, so that’s always what I want to do,” Logan said. “I’m only 47, so I’m not done yet. I haven’t decided what I am going to do.”
A new target
“Fox & Friends” have found someone they like to go after on the air: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). As CNN’s Brian Stelter tweeted, “AOC is starting to fill a spot occupied by Hillary Clinton for years.”
“Fox & Friends” host Pete Hegseth, commenting on Ocasio-Cortez’s reported $93 trillion cost of the Green New Deal, said, “Listen it’s like your kids spewing nonsense at you … and you’re like, ‘Quiet, quiet, learn something before you come back to me.’”
‘The Dan Patrick Show’: homeless?
NBCSN has been simulcasting Dan Patrick’s radio show since 2012, but that will end March 1. Patrick’s show, which runs weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon Eastern time, will continue to air on Fox Sports Radio and Sirius XM, as well as DirecTV. But NBCSN said in a statement that it could not come to “renewal terms” with the show.
The big question now is will Patrick’s show end up somewhere else on television? Hopefully it will find a home, as it’s one of the better sports talk shows in the business. But there aren’t a ton of potential landing spots. Meantime, NBCSN will replace Patrick’s show with PFT (Pro Football Talk) Live with Mike Florio from 9-11 a.m. and Sky Sports News from 11 a.m. to noon.
Other media news
These are the 10 best designed newspapers in the world, according to the Society for News Design.
The Chicago Sun-Times, BuzzFeed News and the Washington Post all reported on R. Kelly’s sexual abuse allegations. So how come it took Lifetime’s documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” to make a real impact? Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan tells why.
Out magazine has a fresh reboot, but the New York Times reports that there are problems behind the scenes.
NBC News is telling the story of 10 black women who are shaping their communities and making a difference.
The Washington Post’s Ben Strauss asks if the cool kids at Deadspin can become the sports internet’s moral authority?
The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch continues his series on sportswriters talking about the greatest games they ever covered. This part is from football writers.
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Regarding the Dan Patrick Show, I think what is in this article is a little misleading… The show is first and foremost a radio show so it’s not going away. It has been simulcast on Direct TV’s Audience Network so it won’t be “homeless” on radio or television.