Good morning. The sports media controversy involving The Athletic’s Dianna Russini came to a stunning conclusion on Tuesday. But first, major news involving The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which was moments away from shutting down.
So, to start today’s newsletter, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague, Angela Fu.
Less than three weeks before it was supposed to close, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced Tuesday that it would be acquired by the nonprofit that owns The Baltimore Banner.
The owner of the Post-Gazette, Block Communications, shocked media observers earlier this year when it announced it would stop publishing the 99-year-old paper on May 3, leaving Pittsburgh without its largest daily. At the time, Block blamed continued cash losses of more than $350 million over the past 20 years.
But the Venetoulis Institute for Journalism, the nonprofit that founded the Banner in 2022, said it had reached an agreement with Block Communications and would continue publishing the Post-Gazette after May 3. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, though The New York Times reported that hotel magnate Stewart Bainum Jr. would be committing $30 million over the next five years to help fund both the Banner and the Post-Gazette. (In 2022, Bainum helped launch the Banner with a pledge of $50 million over five years.)
“We are committed to working with exceptional journalists, along with civic and business leaders across the region, to build a new future for local journalism in Western Pennsylvania,” Venetoulis Institute CEO Bob Cohn said in a press release. “We are clear-eyed about the task ahead. We have learned in Maryland that this work takes time, discipline, and investment.”
The Banner is online only, but the Post-Gazette will continue printing twice a week. It is unclear whether the deal will lead to layoffs. The press release announcing the deal states that while newsroom and local business leadership at the Post-Gazette will continue to be based in Pittsburgh, some technology and business operations will be combined to help support both publications.
Bainum told the Post-Gazette that the paper’s roughly 100-person newsroom might need to be reduced in size. “The Post-Gazette’s current business model does not support the size of the current newsroom. We’re going to have to thoughtfully address that.”
A Venetoulis spokesperson, however, told Poynter via email that there would be no layoffs.
“Since this is an asset purchase, Venetoulis will be building a new Post-Gazette newsroom from scratch. As a result, there are no layoffs,” the spokesperson wrote. “We are excited to begin a hiring process that will include many of the talented journalists at the newspaper.
Block Communications, meanwhile, will continue to operate The Toledo Blade in Ohio. The Times reported that in accepting the deal with the Venetoulis Institute, Block forewent larger offers from other bidders. One of those bidders was notorious investment firm Alden Global Capital, which is known for making cuts to the papers it acquires.
In buying the Post-Gazette, the Venetoulis Institute may also be acquiring the paper’s complicated relationship with its union, although the Banner’s story about the deal states that the institute will not be required to take on the contracts of Block Communications.
One of the reasons Block Communications decided to shut down the paper was a series of court losses to the union, which went on strike for three years starting in October 2022.
Cohn told the Post-Gazette that the Venetoulis Institute was “aware” of the labor dispute, saying, “Our approach is to treat everyone with dignity and fairness and work toward solutions that both support journalism and the long-term sustainability of the Post-Gazette.”
The union warned in a statement Tuesday that the sale does not erase the millions of dollars owed to workers as a result of federal courts finding that Block Communications had violated labor law by suspending the union’s old contract and imposing new working conditions without bargaining.
“PG Publishing Co. continues to owe its workers several million dollars, and the enforcement of unfair labor practice rulings, including a requirement to bargain in good faith, remain,” the union’s statement reads.
When Bainum and the Venetoulis Institute launched the Banner, they viewed the venture as an experiment to develop a sustainable business model that could be replicated in other communities across the country. In less than four years, the Banner grew to a nearly 100-person newsroom sustained by a mix of subscription, advertising and events and philanthropic revenue. It won its first Pulitzer Prize last year and currently has 80,000 subscribers.
Despite those successes, the Banner has not yet reached profitability. The Post-Gazette, which will be converted to a nonprofit, will be another test of the Banner’s model.
My thanks to Angela Fu. Now onto the rest of today’s newsletter …
Russini resigns from The Athletic
NFL reporter Dianna Russini, shown here reporting from an NFL game in 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)
NFL reporter Dianna Russini has resigned from The Athletic following a controversy involving her and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. And, as you will see, her resignation was a defiant one.
The New York Post’s Page Six recently published photos of Russini and Vrabel at a luxury resort in Arizona, where they were seen interlocking hands, hugging and lounging in a hot tub. The resort was in Sedona, not far from where the NFL owners recently held their annual meetings.
Russini claimed the photos did not show that the two were there with a group of friends. Steven Ginsberg, the executive editor of The Athletic, said in a statement to The Post that the photos were misleading and “lack essential context.” He added, “These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL, and we’re proud to have her at The Athletic.”
But since then, The Athletic, which is owned by The New York Times, confirmed it had started an internal investigation, including looking into the nature of the relationship between Russini and Vrabel. Both are married to other people, but the bigger question for The Athletic was if Russini had a conflict of interest in reporting on Vrabel by having an inappropriate relationship with him.
On Tuesday before the investigation was complete, Russini — who came over to The Athletic from ESPN in a much-publicized hire in 2023 — stepped away.
She resigned, but offered no apologies and admitted no wrongdoing.
In a letter to Ginsberg obtained by The Associated Press, Russini wrote, “I have covered the NFL with professionalism and dedication throughout my career, and I stand behind every story I have ever published. When the Page Six item first appeared, The Athletic supported me unequivocally, expressed confidence in my work and pride in my journalism. For that I am grateful. In the days that followed, unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.”
Russini then upped her defiance by writing, “Moreover, this media frenzy is hurtling forward without regard for the review process The Athletic is trying to complete. It continues to escalate, fueled by repeated leaks, and I have no interest in submitting to a public inquiry that has already caused far more damage than I am willing to accept. Rather than allowing this to continue, I have decided to step aside now — before my current contract expires on June 30. I do so not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
Still, questions remain about Russini, as well as Ginsberg’s immediate aggressive defense that Russini had done nothing wrong – a defense that came before The Athletic launched its investigation.
In a statement to staff announcing Russini’s resignation, Ginsberg wrote, “While I can’t share the details of our investigation into Dianna’s conduct, I want to emphasize that the leadership of The Athletic has taken this matter seriously from the moment that we learned about it.”
He added, “When this situation was brought to our attention last week, there were clear concerns, but we received a detailed explanation and it was our instinct to support and defend a colleague while we continued to review the matter. As additional information emerged, new questions were raised that became part of our investigation.”
Honestly, it appears that the instinct to immediately defend Russini, while perhaps well-intentioned, was premature, irresponsible and reckless.
Ginsberg added in his note that The Athletic “will continue a standards review” of Russini’s work. That is being headed up by Mike Semel, The Athletic’s editorial director for standards and editorial quality.
For Russini, even though she wrote that she did not want this episode to define her career, it almost certainly will. Before Russini’s resignation, USA Today columnist Nancy Armour wrote in a column that it didn’t matter what the investigation turned up, that “the damage has already been done.”
Armour wrote, “Russini has given new fire to the infuriating trope that women in sports are only here to hook up with athletes. Even if they turn out to be innocent, the photos of Russini and New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel hugging and socializing at a resort in Arizona cast a cloud of suspicion on the interactions every woman reporter or broadcaster has with athletes, coaches and front-office personnel.”
Armour adds, “It’s not fair, but it’s the reality: Russini made it harder for every single woman in sports, regardless of what we cover, to do our jobs. By risking her own credibility, she’s put ours in jeopardy, too.”
As of now, we still don’t know if the relationship between Russini and Vrabel has crossed the line from a journalistic standpoint. But the photos, especially the ones in a hot tub, are, at the very least, bad optics.
Armour wrote, “Every woman in sports journalism I know has had conversations about how to build relationships with the people we cover in a way that makes it abundantly clear we have no interest in anything else. How do you ask for a phone number? Can you get drinks alone with a coach or GM if it’s in a public place, or does it have to be with a group of reporters? How can you have repeated conversations with the same athlete without it raising eyebrows? If an athlete (or coach or front-office person) is pushing boundaries, what’s the best exit strategy without burning bridges?”
These are, as Armour points out, questions that male reporters do not have to ask.
Going forward, we will see if this has any lingering effects at The Athletic, and whether or not Russini will be able to salvage her career as a sports journalist.
Disney layoffs
Massive layoffs are underway at Disney under new CEO Josh D’Amaro. Reports are the number of jobs cut could be 1,000.
Variety’s Todd Spangler wrote the cuts are “primarily as a result of Disney’s formation of a consolidated enterprise marketing division under the leadership of Asad Ayaz, chief marketing and brand officer, a source familiar with the situation said. The cuts will span marketing functions across Disney’s studios, TV networks, ESPN, product and technology, and corporate groups, the source added.”
D’Amaro has been CEO for only a month, taking over for Bob Iger. In a memo to staff, D’Amaro wrote, “Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney. Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow’s needs. As a result, we will be eliminating roles in some parts of the company and have begun notifying impacted employees.
D’Amaro added, “I know this is hard. These decisions are not a reflection of their contributions, or of the overall strength of the company. Rather, they reflect our continual evaluation of how to more effectively manage our resources and reinvest in our businesses.”
As of last September, Disney reported having about 231,000 full- and part-time employees.
Media tidbits
- Semafor’s Max Tani with “Media newsletter recapping media newsletters acknowledges errors recapping media newsletters.”
- NPR’s David Folkenflik writes about Nexstar’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival Tegna in “2 local TV giants merged. Then a court stepped in.”
- Mediaite’s Ahmad Austin Jr. with “FCC Chair Thinks NFL Puts Too Many Games on Streaming Services as Trump’s DOJ Opens Probe into Broadcast Deals.”
- Axios’ Sara Fischer with “Women snatch MAGA’s megaphone.”
- Nieman Lab’s Hanaa’ Tameez with “Independent journalists are mission-driven, but financially strained, a new report says.”
- Awful Announcing’s Brendon Kleen with “Jim Nantz defends CBS Masters coverage, acknowledges ‘mistakes’ on final Rory McIlroy putt.”
Hot type
One of the more hilarious — and sometimes R-rated — accounts on X is Super 70s Sports, a humorous mix of sports, pop culture and older times, particularly from, well, the 1970s. The New York Times’ Joe Drape profiles the man who runs that account in “Remembering Cars Without Seatbelts and Athletes Who Smoked.”
More resources for journalists
Reporters and editors with ambition to do investigative journalism: Get guidance from ProPublica’s Alexandra Zayas in this five-week, hands-on seminar. Enroll today.
- Reporters and editors with ambition to do investigative journalism: Get guidance from ProPublica’s Alexandra Zayas in this five-week, hands-on seminar. Enroll today.
- Master trauma-informed reporting to cover mental health with accuracy, empathy and impact. Webinar: June 9 – Enroll now.
- Learn how to cover ICE enforcement and its impact on children and families. Webinar: April 28 – Enroll now.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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