Good morning. To wrap up the week, here are some of the latest notable and interesting pieces of journalism to catch up on over the weekend, as well as a few media tidbits.
- The big news Thursday was that the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the Justice Department has filed a motion to unseal the warrant that led FBI agents to search the Florida residence of former president Donald Trump. Here’s The New York Times coverage, as well as the motion itself. Meanwhile, check out these two worthwhile stories. First, the Columbia Journalism Review’s Jon Allsop with “The maddening coverage of the Mar-a-Lago search.” And then, The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta writes about the aftermath of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago in “What Comes After The Search Warrant?”
- And there’s this from The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake: “Fox News and Trump debut new baseless defense: What about Obama?”
- What about the current president? Writing for The New York Times Magazine, it’s Jason Zengerle with “Why Isn’t Biden Ever on TV?”
- The Washington Post’s Manuel Roig-Franzia with “10 years after Austin Tice’s abduction in Syria, his parents still fight for him.”
- Los Angeles Times columnist Nicholas Goldberg with “The creepy battle over Charles Manson’s paltry estate.”
- In Thursday’s newsletter, I wrote about Margaret Sullivan announcing she is leaving her job as media columnist at The Washington Post. Here is her latest column: “Book bans are threatening American democracy. Here’s how to fight back.” I love this passage from her column: “It’s also important to keep in mind — and raise your voice to say — that book bans run counter to a core tenet of what America is supposed to stand for. So if you’re worried about threats to democracy involving voting rights, gerrymandering and the peaceful transfer of power after elections, you should save a little mental space for this, too. Opposing censorship in the form of book banning is a part of the same crucial fight.”
- Speaking of which, in a partnership between NBC News, ProPublica and the Texas Tribune, it’s Mike Hixenbaugh with “A mom’s campaign to ban library books divided a Texas town — and her own family.”
- Also from ProPublica and the Texas Tribune, Vianna Davila, Lexi Churchill, Ren Larson and Kengo Tsutsumi with “In the Army, You’re More Likely to Be Detained for Drugs Than Sexual Assault.”
- Here are the Committee to Protect Journalists recommendations for protecting journalists and press freedom in Afghanistan.
- Here’s your feel-good story of the day. The Washington Post’s Cathy Free with “A dog was missing. Cavers found her two months later 500 feet underground.”
- The Los Angeles Times’ Kate Linthicum (with photos from Gary Coronado) with “‘Not even Orwell could have dreamed up a country like this’: Journalists forced to flee Nicaragua en masse.”
- For The New York Times, Amanda Morris (with photographs by Scott McIntyre): “Embarrassing, Uncomfortable and Risky: What Flying Is Like for Passengers Who Use Wheelchairs.”
- ABC News’ superb podcast “The Dropout: Elizabeth Holmes on Trial” is returning with a bonus episode after wrapping up its second season earlier this year. The bonus episode is called “Amanda and The Other Liz.” It features actress Amanda Seyfried, who played Holmes in the Hulu limited series based on the podcast, as well as the Hulu show’s showrunner Liz Meriwether. They speak with the podcast’s host, Rebecca Jarvis. (In case you didn’t know, Holmes is the Stanford dropout who founded what was supposed to be a blood-testing company called Theranos, which is accused of alleged widespread fraud.)
- Here’s a good Q&A: The Ringer’s Justin Sayles with “Danger Mouse’s New Cheat Codes.”
- For Nieman Lab, Homa Hosseinmardi with “Cable news has a much bigger effect on America’s polarization than social media, study finds.”
- Fox News has named Shannon Bream as the permanent host of “Fox News Sunday.” She takes over the spot left open when Chris Wallace left for CNN late last year. “Fox News Sunday” has been rotating guest hosts, including Bream. She also will continue as the Fox News’ chief legal correspondent.
- And speaking of Wallace, it was learned Thursday that his CNN show, “Who’s Talking To Chris Wallace,” will air on Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. Eastern and stream on HBO Max this fall. Wallace left Fox News late last year after 18 years. He joined CNN+, the network’s streaming service that shut down just a month after its launch. So now Wallace jumps over to CNN, although the 7 p.m. Sunday slot isn’t ideal. The venerable “60 Minutes” typically airs at that time. In addition, in the fall, NFL games, always among the most-watched TV programs, often bleed past 7 p.m. And NBC’s popular pre-game show “Football Night in America” also airs at that time.
- The Washington Post’s return-to-work policy was the subject of this Twitter thread from the Washington Post Guild on Thursday.
- Look for ESPN star Stephen A. Smith to return to his daily morning show “First Take” next Monday. Smith has been out for the past month recovering from shoulder surgery.
- Finally, I need to correct something from Thursday’s newsletter. We had an item about Gannett CEO Mike Reed. He bought 500,000 share options for the company’s stock Monday, worth $1.22 million. We had different numbers listed in Thursday’s edition of The Poynter Report.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
More resources for journalists
- Covering COVID-19 with Al Tompkins (Daily briefing) — Poynter.
- Level Up: Critical Skills for Local Reporters (Seminar) — Apply by Sept. 6.
- Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Women in Media (2023) (Seminar) — Apply by Sept 9.
- Covering Political Extremism in the Public Square (Seminar) — Apply by Sept. 16.
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