Good morning. Here are 10 media stories.
- ‘It’s a little tone deaf’
The White House is doing away with a regulation that “subjects its Office of Administration to the Freedom of Information Act,” Gregory Korte reports for USA Today. The office, which maintains White House records, has been legally exempt from the FOIA since 2009. Still, the decision “raised eyebrows among transparency advocates, coming on National Freedom of Information Day.” (USA Today) | “‘It’s a little tone deaf to do this on Sunshine Week, even if it’s an administrative housecleaning,’ added Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government initiative for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.” (UPI)
- Politico’s European venture will debut next month
Politico.eu will launch on April 21, according to Capital New York. The European operation echoes Politico’s business model, with a website accompanied by a print product and subscription-based content. (Capital New York) | Politico also announced several hires for the venture. (The Huffington Post) | Related: “Politico, Axel Springer acquire European Voice” (Poynter)
- Mark Twain’s old paper relaunched
The Territorial Enterprise, the Nevada paper Mark Twain worked at as a reporter in the 1800s, has been “revived as an online and monthly print publication,” according to The Associated Press. Although it will mostly contain news, the Territorial Enterprise will also include “fictional and partly fictional stories from time to time,” editor Elizabeth Thompson says. (The Associated Press) | “The Territorial Enterprise, like a friendly ghost returned home after a long absence, is back in business.” (Las Vegas Review-Journal) | Thompson: “It is with joy, gratitude, and great humility that I endeavor to honor my predecessors and literary betters in these pages.” (Territorial Enterprise)
- Dean Baquet will keep a bureau in the Big Easy
In a lecture at Loyola University in New Orleans, New York Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet pledged to keep a bureau in his hometown during his tenure as top editor. “In the old days, head editors who got fired typically wound up as London bureau chiefs, he said. ‘But if I get bounced, there’s always New Orleans.'” (Nola.com) | “‘I have as much of a romance with print as anyone, but that’s not how the next generation reads the news,’ Baquet said. ‘But we have let digital journalism be associated with something bad, with chasing clicks.'” (bestofneworleans.com) | Baquet says “he’s made sure his obituary in The New York Times will give him ‘sole and full credit for the best political quote of all time.'” (theneworleansadvocate.com)
- TLDR isn’t cancelled
Despite a tweet from host Meredith Haggerty, WNYC’s technology podcast will continue, according to a WNYC spokesperson. (Capital New York) | Founders PJ Vogt and Alex Goldman moved to podcasting startup Gimlet Media in 2014. (Technical.ly)
- Durst filmmakers talked to police years ago
Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling, the filmmakers behind a documentary chronicling the life of Robert Durst, got in touch with police officers in October 2012, several months after their second interview with Durst. Durst was arrested on a charge of murder Saturday, one day before he appeared to confess to multiple slayings in the final part of the documentary. (The New York Times) | “Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki has said Durst knew he was being recorded and signed a contract giving the project free rein in using the material it gathered. Any evidence was shared with police well before the series aired, he said.” (The Associated Press) | “Robert Durst’s agreeing to participate in that documentary at all is a pretty mystifying thing.” (@RosieGray)
- The Economist’s chili pepper cover sparks backlash
The Economist illustrated its cover story on Latino Americans this week with an American flag partially composed of chili peppers, to the disapproval of many observers. “But by representing Latinos and Latinas through a particular spicy food, the Economist is buying into offensive stereotypes and inadvertently minimizing a diverse group of people in the US.” (Vox) | “Magazine cover #fail” (@AubernaLevy) | “The Economist is under fire for running a cover image directly equating Latinos in the United States to one spicy and stereotypical food.” (The Huffington Post)
- A deep look at BuzzFeed U.K.
Nieman Lab’s Joseph Lichterman talks to BuzzFeed U.K. editor Luke Lewis about the strategy behind BuzzFeed’s original international site. “The idea is that we want international offices to start being not just satellite offices, but being centers of gravity themselves.” (Nieman Lab)
- Front page of the day
The (Manitowoc, Wisconsin) Herald Times Reporter features a centerpiece story on public records requests.
(Courtesy the Newseum)
- Job moves:
Ryan Heath has been named senior EU correspondent at Politico. Previously, he worked at the European Commission. Pierre Briançon will lead coverage of France at Politico. He is the Europe editor of Reuters Breakingviews. (Capital New York) | Nadia Damouni is now a mergers and acquisitions team leader at Reuters. Previously, she was a corporate boards reporter there. (Fishbowl NY) | Blake Burman has been named Washington correspondent at Fox Business Network. He is a weekend anchor and reporter at WSVN 7 News Miami. (Muck Rack) | Job of the day: Money is looking for a social media writer. Get your résumés in! (Time Inc.) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
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