Circulation revenue rises at Gannett’s local papers

Good morning. Here are 10 (OK, perhaps slightly more than 10) media stories.

1. Gannett had a good second quarter: Broadcast revenue was “almost 88 percent higher in the quarter compared to the second quarter last year.” Publishing advertising revenue fell about 5 percent; circulation was roughly flat, and “At local domestic publishing sites, home delivery circulation revenue was up in the quarter due, in part, to strategic pricing actions associated with enhanced content.” (Gannett)
2. Washington Post fights the “wonk wars”: The Washington Post’s new “Storyline” project is “dedicated to the power of stories to help us understand complicated, critical things,” Editor Jim Tankersley writes. (The Washington Post) | Michael Calderone takes a look: “It’s unlikely The Post would’ve launched a project like Storyline a few years ago.” (HuffPost) | Tankersley writes that as a college student he was inspired by Richard Read‘s 1998 series about french fries: “Those stories brought the crisis home in a way no textbook or straight news piece could, because at each step, they showed how global trends touched people’s lives and livelihoods.” (The Oregonian)
3. Why corrupt politicians should avoid Vermont: Vermont has the best-covered legislature in the country, and California has the worst, Pew finds. It takes another view of its data on statehouse reporters, looking at the relationship between the number of reporters and states’ population. (Pew) | “Yes, most national news sites have had to slim down but they remain major behemoths in terms of staff. Regional and local news organizations have been hit far harder, meaning that the at-the-roots level coverage of politicians and policies is significantly restricted if not nonexistent.” (The Washington Post)
4. Press secretary lectures reporters on anonymous sources: White House press secretary Josh Earnest complained about the sourcing of a Washington Post story. (The Daily Caller) | The “criticism doesn’t make sense,” Post national editor Cameron Barr says. “We are sometimes compelled to rely on background sources with knowledge of internal deliberations – that is one of the best means available to hold the administration and other powerful institutions to account.” (Poynter) | “This is rich.” (Politico) | “Two reporters pointed out the White House is hosting its own anonymous call Monday afternoon on a job-training report.” (Business Insider) | “What Earnest knows so well is that competitive Beltway reporters will continue participating in those accountability-defying background briefings, even though the White House press secretary is on record as questioning their utility.” (The Washington Post)
5. Jill Abramson sought friendly press: Women reporters have shown an “absurd display of credulity and clubbiness” while interviewing the former NYT executive editor, Liz Spayd writes. (CJR) | Very slightly related: Here’s Abramson talking about traffic safety. (The Village Voice)
6. Analyst says Tribune’s newspapers are worth $635 million: That’s “less than 10 percent of Tribune Co.’s total valuation,” Robert Channick reports. (Chicago Tribune)
7. “I regret wasting time thinking I wasn’t good enough”: Advice for young journalists of color from Cord Jefferson, Anna Holmes, Jenna Wortham, Wesley Lowery and others. (BuzzFeed)
8. There’s money in events: Functions put on by AtlanticLive, the company’s events business, “now account for close to one-fifth of the Atlantic’s overall revenue.” (DigiDay) | Recently: NPR’s Margaret Low Smith will run AtlanticLive. (Poynter)
9. Here’s today’s world news, edited by Kristen Hare: Colin Brazier, the Sky News reporter who pulled items out of a suitcase from the MH17 crash while on air, apologized in a column in The Guardian on Tuesday. | Journalists lives are in danger while covering Gaza, Reporters Without Borders wrote Tuesday. Two Palestinian journalists have been killed and four injured so far. | International News Safety Institute reported Monday that “Ukraine was the most dangerous country for journalists” in the first half of the year. So far, seven members of the media have been killed. | Here’s the front page of The West Australian, from Perth, Australia, courtesy Newseum:

   

10. Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin: Andy Wright is the new publisher of The New York Times Magazine. | Janet Mock has been named a contributing editor to Marie Claire. She’s the author of New York Times bestseller Redefining Realness, and a former staff editor at People. (@janetmock) | Garrett Graff has joined Politico Magazine as a senior staff writer. Formerly, he was editor-in-chief of The Washingtonian. (Politico) | Slate moves: Dan Kois is now culture editor at Slate. (@juliaturner) John Swansburg is deputy editor, Josh Levin is executive editor. (Muck Rack) | Katie Nelson will be national editor at the Huffington Post. Previously, she was deputy managing editor for digital at the New York Daily News. (@Joy_Resmovits) | Zach Pagano has joined KRDO in Colorado Springs, Colorado as a multimedia journalist. Formerly, he was an anchor at KCWY in Casper, Wyoming. (Zach Pagano) | Jon Skorburg will be vice president and general manager at WOI in Des Moines, Iowa. Formerly, he was vice president and general manager at WQRF in Rockford, Illinois. (Mediabistro) | Margaret Schmidt has been named editor of The Jersey Journal. Formerly, she was managing editor of the paper. (The Jersey Journal) Job alert: California’s KQEDis looking for interns to start in September. Get your résumés in! | Send Ben your job moves:bmullin@poynter.org.

Suggestions? Criticisms? Would like me to send you this roundup each morning? Please email me: abeaujon@poynter.org.