Good Friday morning. For today’s Poynter Report, a list of good journalism to catch up on over the weekend, along with a few media tidbits and thoughts. Why is there a photo from the premiere of “All the President’s Men” leading the newsletter? Read on and you’ll find out. Talk to you again on Monday.
- The Supreme Court announced decisions on several cases Thursday, but nine still remain, including what likely will be a landmark ruling on abortion access. That ruling could come today. Or next week. Or the week after that. CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Jasmine Wright have “Biden braces for Supreme Court to overturn Roe after months of planning for next steps.” However, they write, “The White House has been hesitant to reveal what executive actions the President is considering as the court nears the end of its term.”
- On this topic, check out the compelling work from The New York Times: “They Searched Online for Abortion Clinics. They Found Anti-Abortion Centers.”
- Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruling that drew most of the attention Thursday was about guns. The court struck down a New York gun law that said you have to demonstrate a need to carry a gun in order to get a license to carry one in public. The court essentially said that violates the Second Amendment. The ruling could clear the way for legal challenges in states with similar restrictions, including California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey. As The Associated Press’ Jessica Gresko wrote, it’s “a ruling likely to lead to more people legally armed in cities and beyond.” There is plenty of opinion about the court’s ruling, with many worried it could turn major cities into the Wild West. President Joe Biden called it “deeply disturbing” and said that it should “deeply trouble us all.”
- Here’s a good piece from The Atlantic’s Timothy Zick and Diana Palmer: “The Next Fight Over Guns in America.” Zick and Palmer write, “Are people carrying guns at schools and shopping malls and public parks? What about at churches and synagogues and mosques? What is it like to pray in places where fellow supplicants are armed? Courts and legislatures will have to decide whether people can carry guns at protests and political demonstrations, in voting booths, on the subway and bus, and in pretty much every other public space in American life.”
- One more about the Supreme Court. Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor recently had nice things to say about conservative Justice Clarence Thomas. That led Los Angeles Times columnist Nicholas Goldberg to write, “Is Clarence Thomas a nice guy? Would you want to be his friend?”
- The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday is my favorite movie critic. So here are two recent pieces from her worth reading. First, a review: “Watching ‘Elvis’ feels like being in a washing machine for 2 ½ hours.” But you really need to read this one: “How ‘All the President’s Men’ went from buddy flick to masterpiece.” In fact, if you only have time to read one story all weekend, make it this one. (And here’s an interview that media reporter Elahe Izadi did with Hornaday on the “Post Reports” podcast.)
- You don’t have to be from New York City to thoroughly enjoy this piece in The New York Times Style Magazine. It’s Rose Courteau, Kate Guadagnino and Miguel Morales with “The 25 Most Significant New York City Novels From the Last 100 Years.”
- The latest from Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan: “How journalists can spot the signs of autocracy — and help ward it off.”
- My Poynter colleague, Kristen Hare, with “We’re not done with alt-weeklies.”
- For Sports Illustrated, on the 50th anniversary of the landmark ruling, it’s Emma Baccellieri, Julie Kliegman, Kristen Nelson and Jamie Lisanti with “Title IX’s Next Frontiers in the Fight for Gender Equality.”
- And, also regarding Title IX, here’s this opinion documentary from Ben Proudfoot on The New York Times website about the late Hawaii Congresswoman Patsy Mink: “When the Backlash Came for Title IX, She Fought Back.”
- Rolling Stone’s Matt Sullivan with “The ‘Miracle Boy’ of Surfside Shares His Story of Surviving the Condo Collapse — and Rebuilding His Life.”
- The Washington Post’s Philip Bump writes about Georgia GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest slide off the road in “Greene, when a Brit asked about mass shootings: What about mass stabbings?” Bump’s best line: “Yes, there are mass stabbings in the U.K., but they’re also far less deadly than mass shootings for reasons that no adult needs to have explained to them.”
- The New Republic’s Chris Pomorski writes about a man who has spent 30 years in prison for a murder that he and others say he didn’t commit in “When Innocence Isn’t Enough.”
- Good stuff here from Politico’s Daniel Lippman, Meridith McGraw and Max Tani with “Book bombs: Trump aide tell-alls fail to sell.” The Politico reporters write that former chief of staff Mark Meadows’ book has sold only 21,569 books. They go on to write, “The memoir of Deborah Birx, the Covid response coordinator under Trump, has sold fewer than 6,000 copies; Dr. Scott Atlas’ book sold 27,013 copies; Dr. Ben Carson’s book sold 21,786 copies; former White House press secretary turned Trump critic Stephanie Grisham sold 38,249 books; counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway has sold 42,273 books since it was published in late May; and former defense secretary Mark Esper sold 20,900 books.” Meanwhile, former attorney general Bill Barr sold 64,103 books and Peter Navarro’s “In Trump Time” has sold 80,218 copies so far.
- MSNBC will air a Pride Month special Sunday night called “Pride of Stage and Screen.” Hosted by Jonathan Capehart, the show highlights LGBTQ+ artists and activists who are working to advance the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. It includes interviews with actress and activist Laverne Cox, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson, and more. It will air at 10 p.m. Eastern. (Here’s a sneak peek.)
- From TVNewsCheck’s Michael Stahl: “At News 12 New Jersey, A Staff Exodus Over Workplace Toxicity Claims.”
- The New York Times’ Sheera Frenkel and Cecilia Kang with “As Midterms Loom, Elections Are No Longer Top Priority for Meta C.E.O.”
- And, lastly, The Washington Post’s Sarah Ellison, Jacqueline Alemany and Josh Dawsey with “The subtle stagecraft behind the Jan. 6 hearings.” And, along with it, NPR’s David Folkenflik with “Jan. 6 hearings use TV tricks to great effect even as critics call them show biz.”
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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- Columbia Journalism School announces its annual call for applicants for the Age Boom Academy. Deadline to apply is June 30.
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