Good morning.
- The obsession with a sports reporter
Here’s a lede: “If you are getting to this article because you typed ‘Erin Andrews Naked Video’ into Google, I am beyond disgusted.” That’s Rachel Stockman of LawNewz, the website overseen by longtime legal journalist Dan Abrams, son of a prominent First Amendment attorney. She notes how, according to Google Hot Trending Searches, the phrase is right now “just behind primary election results, Justin Bieber, and a few other search terms.” Tens of thousands of people have been searching for the video taken by some creep through a peephole at a Nashville Marriott while Andrews was nude. It’s at the heart of an ongoing trial of her lawsuit against the man and the hotel management company.The creep took the video in 2008. “And now, sadly, thousands and thousands of people are re-victimizing Ms. Andrews again. What if this happened to your wife or your loved one? People who are searching for the video — especially after hearing how deeply this hurt and victimized Andrews — should be ashamed of themselves.” (LawNewz) This morning, the ongoing Andrews trial was bigger news on “Fox & Friends” than the return of marathon astronaut Scott Kelly.
- The ‘comb-over creep’
“She calls him the ‘comb-over creep.’” (National Review) No, it’s not the guy in the Erin Andrews case. It’s Donald Trump, according to British journalist Selina Scott, “who rose to fame co-hosting BBC’s morning show in the 1980s” and has a distinct history with Trump. “In 1995, the blond, blue-eyed Scott — once voted Great Britain’s sexiest woman on television — sought to chronicle the business mogul’s career in a 60-minute documentary. It was a venture that began with mutual flattery and ended, as Scott puts it, in ‘bitterness, recrimination, and intimidating letters.'” - If you want to make it on ‘Dancing With the Stars…’
You probably should stray from investigative journalism or handling the religion beat. Meteorology is apparently the more direct route, with “Good Morning America” weather celebrity Ginger Zee slated to compete. (Michigan Live) - Hillary Clinton emails distract from Trump (at least for a day)
MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” which has been chided for being favorable to Donald Trump, was all over word this morning that the Justice Department offered immunity to a former State Department staffer who helped set up Clinton’s private email server. (The Washington Post) A somewhat weary Post reporter, Adam Goldman, surfaced for a pre-sunrise interview where he said, “This is another indication this is a serious FBI investigation. What it shows is the FBI and prosecutors are doing what they need to do to complete this investigation. But the former staff is just a bit player in this since he didn’t receive or send this information.” It’s unclear if any criminality will be alleged and there’s no suggestion yet that Clinton or anybody would be indicted. On CNN, Clinton loyalist Paul Begala was in full hear-no-evil-see-no-evil mode, deriding the news as a mere “hiccup for the campaign.” “I love Hillary, you know that,” he said, in case one didn’t, and assured the matter is a concern but won’t stop her “march” to the presidency. And at Fox News it was no surprise, either, as former New Jersey judge Andrew Napolitano ratcheted up his previous anti-Clinton analysis of the emails matter: “This is enough to shake the American political system to its foundation.” - 6 New Jersey papers: Dump Christie
“Chris Christie has long been loathed by New Jersey journalists. At least those who sit on editorial boards.” With his endorsement of Donald Trump, six papers in the Gannett chain are calling on him to quit as governor. They urge citizens to move for a recall election. (National Memo) Meanwhile, Christie’s new chum, Trump, gets to spend part of his evening again with Megyn Kelly of Fox News as it runs the first post-Tuesday GOP debate. (CNN Money) - New policy for anonymous sourcing at The New York Times?
On Wednesday, New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan tweeted, “NYT sources, who asked to remain nameless to avoid career suicide, say a stricter policy on anonymous sources is imminent.” (@Sulliview) Sullivan has highlighted egregious examples of anonymous sourcing throughout her tenure. (The New York Times) - Changes at Tribune Publishing
The new major shareholder is quickly making moves after canning the CEO at the company that owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Hartford Courant and Baltimore Sun. Now, he’s combined the editor and publisher positions and booting some top executives. (Poynter) As for combining the publisher and editor spots, it’s clearly a sign of the times. But it does mean that in cases like Tribune and Los Angeles Times, the new editors-turned-publishers need to get up to speed on the business and strategic sides of struggling enterprises quite quickly. (Poynter) Meanwhile, the company’s new bosses have yet to go public with a money-making strategy. (Poynter)At the heart of the matter may be the need to step back, take a bloodless look at personnel on the business and editorial sides, dissect other digital news successes and dispassionately examine Tribune’s own quality. The company’s various properties only have a combined 88,000 digital-only subscriptions, according to its quarterly earnings call Thursday that reported “a $77,000 net loss in the fourth quarter, compared to net income of $15.47 million last year.” (Crain’s) The comparison is slightly apples and oranges, but The New York Times alone has north of 1.1 million digital-only subscribers.
- Trump misstatement No. 673
This involves his bashing black students who showed up at a Georgia rally and were ejected by his security guards, as well as his deriding The Des Moines Register. USA TODAY detailed the story, and Trump’s deceits, even if to no ultimate avail. His facile derision of all things media is sadly fit for frustration-laced times. (USA TODAY) Meanwhile, “Welcome to Donald Trump’s online playground, where reality is negotiable.” (Slate) - From Missouri to the Second Avenue subway
The kids weren’t even born when plans for New York’s Second Avenue subway were hatched. Come to think of it, their parents probably weren’t born yet. But now three University of Missouri journalism students have collaborated with The Associated Press to do a virtual reality series on the ongoing construction in a $17 billion project that’s the city’s first major subway expansion in 50 years. It’s pretty cool. (The Associated Press) - The competition for sports fans
What do I know? A fellow hockey nut told me last night to check out the redesigned National Hockey League website. (NHL) I looked at it and thought, again, how local newspapers and TV stations are getting their butts kicked on sports coverage by digital competitors. Alas, apparently some folks don’t agree. “Imagine this for a moment: someone breaks into your house while you’re sleeping. They completely move all the furniture, hide some of your valuables in places you’d never think to look and maybe they even nick a few items for themselves before leaving. When you awake, your bed is in the kitchen, your alarm clock has been stuffed in between your couch cushions and your trusty coffee maker is nowhere to be seen. Basically, the new NHL.com is a mess, and they’ve given fans and media alike no guidebook to traverse its unfamiliar terrain.” (SBnation.com) Oh, well. I find it elegant, clean and a lot better than their local media competition. - Job moves, edited by Benjamin Mullin
Davan Maharaj is now the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Previously, he was the top editor there. Bruce Dold is now the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. Previously, he was the editor there. (Poynter) | Harry Siegel is now the senior opinion editor at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a columnist for the New York Daily News. (Fishbowl NY) | Job of the day: The Associated Press is looking for a Virginia correspondent. Get your resumes in! (Journalism Jobs) | Send Ben your job moves: bmullin@poynter.org.
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