Good morning. Here are 10 media stories.
- 911 tapes, call logs, arrest records also requested
A coalition of several news organizations, including The Associated Press, BuzzFeed, NPR, Bloomberg and The Baltimore Sun are represented in a letter requesting that the Baltimore City Police Department release the results of the investigation into the treatment of Freddie Gray. “This is a matter for which no review should be required because there is enormous public interest in and an expectation of transparency with regard to this matter, and release of the document would therefore only serve the public interest. In this particular situation any effort to withhold the report, even temporarily, would itself be manifestly contrary to the public interest.” (The Associated Press)
- NPR ombud: Breast cancer story ‘missing some science’
Elizabeth Jensen, the ombudsman for NPR, highlighted some deficiencies from a “Morning Edition” story that covered the political back-and-forth over breast cancer screenings. The story, Jensen writes, needed more balance. “Even as a piece about politics, not science, it needed at least a summary of the task force recommendations. The online headline is also skewed toward the Congressional critics, making it sound as though Congress has no choice but to intervene in the issue.” (NPR) | The original story. (NPR)
- 145 PEN members criticize Charlie Hebdo award
More than 100 writers belonging to the PEN American Center have lent their names to a letter objecting to the center’s decision to honor the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo with its “freedom of expression courage” award. “Our concern is that, by bestowing the Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award on Charlie Hebdo, PEN is not simply conveying support for freedom of expression, but also valorizing selectively offensive material: material that intensifies the anti-Islamic, anti-Maghreb, anti-Arab sentiments already prevalent in the Western world.” (The Intercept) | Several of Charlie Hebdo’s staffers, including its top editor, were murdered by terrorists earlier this year. (The New York Times)
- Earnings day
The New York Times Company and New Media Investment Group on Thursday both released quarterly earnings reports. (The New York Times, New Media Investment Group) | “The New York Times Company posted a $14 million net loss for the first quarter of 2015, driven by a pension settlement charge and a drop in lucrative print advertising.” (The New York Times) | But it’s not all bad, Poynter’s Rick Edmonds writes. “Investors seemed to respond positively to the results with New York Times Co. shares trading up nearly 5 percent early afternoon.” (Poynter) | New Media Investment Group, which has bought up Halifax Media and the Stephens Group, plans to continue acquiring new properties. (Poynter)
- Who wants to buy Circa?
News app Circa is “seeking a buyer after failing to secure a new round of venture capital funding,” Dan Primack writes. “The San Francisco-based startup’s 20-person staff was informed of the situation this afternoon by co-founder and CEO Matt Galligan, who says that there will not be any immediate layoffs.” (Fortune) | “Since its 2012 launch, Circa has raised over $5 million from venture-capital firms that include Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Quotidian Ventures, and Menlo Ventures as well as a handful of angel investors.” (The Wall Street Journal)
- NYT public editor addresses controversial essay
An op-ed essay from actress Sofía Vergara’s ex-fiancé regarding custody of their frozen embryos “started to draw fire almost immediately after its publication,” Margaret Sullivan writes. “Still, in this case, the word ‘tabloid-y’ — if that is, indeed, a word — comes to mind.” (The New York Times) | “It’s truly hard to tell who deserves more blame in this scenario: Nick Loeb, Sofia Vergara’s aspiring politician ex-boyfriend, for writing a baldly self-serving op-ed about their frozen embryos—or the New York Times, for publishing it.” (Gawker) | Here’s the essay. (The New York Times)
- Vox Media monetizes its CMS
At a presentation Thursday, Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff announced that the company was taking the long-anticipated step of making its content management system available to advertisers. Journalism heavyweights like Melissa Bell and Ezra Klein have praised the platform before. “The crowd seemed to respond to the news, as cheers of ‘woo!’ and ‘yeah!’ were audible.” (Capital New York)
- NYT requests cat-themed homepage be taken down
On Thursday, I wrote about nytimes.cat, a website that looks almost exactly like The New York Times’ homepage, with the flag and some branding stripped away. Bad news if you like the site: The New York Times wants it removed. “While he is very clever, this is a clear violation of use of our intellectual property, and we’ve asked him to take the site down,” said New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha in an email to Poynter.
- Front page of the day, selected by Kristen Hare
The cover of the the Nepali Times’ earthquake issue.
(Courtesy the Nepali Times)
- Job moves:
Bryan Monroe will be Verizon Chair professor at Temple University’s School of Media and Communication. Previously, he was Washington editor of opinion and commentary at CNN. (Temple University) | Charles Duhigg is now senior editor at The New York Times’ live events business. Previously, he was a reporter there. (The New York Times) | Janko Roettgers will be Silicon Valley correspondent for Variety. Previously, he was a senior writer at Gigaom. (Fishbowl NY) | Mark Tapscott will lead The Daily Caller News Foundation Investigative Group. He is executive editor at The Washington Examiner. (Politico) | Job of the day: Salon Media Group is looking for a video editor. Get your résumés in! (Journalism Jobs) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
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