In July 2025, The Wall Street Journal published a blockbuster report: “Jeffrey Epstein’s Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.”
The headline alone was captivating because of three words: “Epstein,” “Trump” and “bawdy.”
Reporters Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo wrote, “The letter bearing Trump’s name, which was reviewed by the Journal, is bawdy — like others in the album. It contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair. The letter concludes: ‘Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.’”
It was a bombshell story that appeared to tie Trump more closely to Epstein, the convicted sex offender.
The piece was part of the work that became a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and won a Poynter Journalism Prize. At the White House Correspondents’ Association’s recently rescheduled dinner, with Trump sitting just a few feet away, the Journal was honored with the prestigious Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for its Trump-Epstein stories. In fact, Trump greeted them after they were awarded their prize.
All the while, Trump has been suing the Journal for defamation over that very story, seeking $10 billion.
In April, a judge dismissed the suit, ruling that Trump’s team came “nowhere close” to proving the paper acted with actual malice — the legal standard needed to win a defamation case. However, the judge also said Trump’s attorneys could refile, which they then did in May.
But once again, Trump’s suit appears on shaky ground.
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The Guardian’s Jeremy Barr reported on Wednesday, “A federal judge in Florida seemed skeptical of arguments from Donald Trump’s legal team on Wednesday over whether the court should allow a $10bn defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal to move forward.”
Trump attorney Alejandro Brito argued that the Journal “didn’t follow journalistic standards sufficient to make the claims.”
But Barr wrote that U.S. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles from Florida “seemed particularly skeptical that Trump was financially harmed by the Journal’s publication, saying his lawyer’s claims seemed ‘rather conclusory.’”
Barr added, “Brito responded that Trump’s team did not need to specify financial harm and had ‘done enough at this stage.’”
The lawyers representing the Journal, parent company News Corp. and its founder Rupert Murdoch said Trump’s new argument is no better than the one that had already been tossed out.
Andrew J. Levander, an attorney representing the defendants, said, “It is time for this baseless lawsuit to come to an end. You gave the plaintiff a roadmap to fix this case and he couldn’t do it.”
Barr wrote, “While Gayles did not issue a ruling from the bench, he indicated at the end of the 90-minute hearing that one would soon be coming. He also agreed to stay discovery in the case.”
It appears Trump’s case is in trouble. Stay tuned.
Poynter to honor Pelley
(Photo: Michele Crowe/CBS News)
Each year, Poynter honors the career of an outstanding journalist by presenting them with the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism.
Past recipients include Jane Pauley, Robin Roberts, Anderson Cooper, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Katie Couric, and Lester Holt, among other legendary journalists.
And this year’s name fits in nicely with this esteemed roster. Scott Pelley, the longtime former correspondent at “60 Minutes,” will receive the 2026 Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism at Poynter’s annual Bowtie Ball in November in Tampa, Florida.
“Scott Pelley embodies qualities that set great journalists apart: courage, craft and candor,” Poynter president Neil Brown said in a statement. “Poynter’s mission is to promote these fundamentals of independent journalism, and so we honor and celebrate Scott for a career reporting and telling stories that are the hallmark of a free press.”
Pelley’s career in journalism spans five decades, including as anchor of the “CBS Evening News” from 2011 to 2017. But he is probably best known for his work on “60 Minutes.” He first joined “60 Minutes II” as a correspondent in 1999 before becoming a correspondent for the flagship “60 Minutes” broadcast in 2004. He helped continue that program’s legendary status by becoming one of its most esteemed investigative journalists.
His time at “60 Minutes” and CBS News came to a stunning end earlier this year when he was fired after standing up for colleagues as the iconic show underwent staff and leadership changes.
In a statement, Pelley said, “I’m enormously honored to be recognized by one of the world’s leading advocates for a free press and high-quality journalism. I accept this award on behalf of hundreds of people at CBS News who helped build my career. We owe our gratitude to Poynter for leading the way through challenging times.”
Despite profit, NYT raises concerns with higher-than-expected costs
For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague Angela Fu.
Despite reporting another quarterly profit Wednesday, The New York Times faced investor questions over the higher-than-expected costs it incurred last quarter.
The Times — which has generally found financial success over the past few years — ended the quarter with an adjusted operating profit of $155.3 million, an increase of 16.1% compared to the same period last year. Total revenue also grew 11.2% to $762.5 million. But investors focused on rising costs and slowing subscriber growth — two trends that drew repeated questions during Wednesday’s earnings call.
Total operating costs grew 11.2% to $644.4 million, primarily due to higher compensation expenses and increased marketing and promotion expenditures, according to chief financial officer Will Bardeen. One area in which the Times has invested heavily is video. Both Bardeen and president and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien reiterated past Times messaging that video is a key part of the company’s future.
“We believe video allows us to have even greater impact with our journalistic investment because we’re penetrating a large market and a new market for us,” Kopit Levien said. She added that the Times has been publishing thousands of original videos as it ramps up production of reporter videos, news clips, visual investigations and shows.
In response to an investor question, Kopit Levien said video was not yet driving significant advertising revenue growth but that the company would focus on monetization after first building up production of and engagement with its video content.
The Times added 280,000 digital subscribers last quarter, bringing its total number of subscribers to 13.35 million. It was the smallest quarterly subscriber gain in a year. For the next quarter, the Times is predicting a slight slowdown in digital subscription revenue growth compared to the past several quarters. That outlook reflects factors such as the company’s ability to persuade customers to pay for more expensive subscriptions and its mix of single-product and multi-product subscriptions, Bardeen said.
New York Times shares were down 13.4% to $65.48 Wednesday afternoon following the earnings report.
Conduct unbecoming of a VP
Vice President JD Vance took to X on Wednesday to body-shame Fox News contributor and Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen.
It took a few social media posts to get there. It started when conservative commentator Matt Walsh commented on high grocery prices.
That led Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet to tweet, “One of our TPUSA college students gave me his take on affordability: ‘A burrito shouldn’t cost $20.’ Yeah, a lot of this is a hangover from Covid and Biden-era inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much.”
Thiessen replied, “Cry me a river. The burritos in the college cafeteria are included in your meal plan.”
And then Vance followed with, “I’m surprised to hear Mark say this. If you’ve ever met him in person, it’s quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito.”
Not exactly what you’d expect from a man who describes himself in his X profile as “Christian, husband, dad. Vice President of the United States.”
Podcaster and former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau tweeted back to Vance, “Welcome back to (expletive)posting, sir! Don’t listen to Susie Wiles – keep Twitter on your phone!”
So what gives? Why did the vice president stoop to an insult that should be beneath his office?
Mediaite’s Alex Griffing wrote, “Vance, who has noticeably slimmed down in recent months, was likely holding onto some anger over Thiessen’s most recent column in the Washington Post titled, ‘Trump’s Iran strategy is working. His vice president’s isn’t.’ In the piece, Thiessen argued Vance had given Iran a ‘veto’ over the U.S. declaring victory in the war with his failed negotiations.”
Fun list of the day
Author Gillian Flynn, shown here in 2018. (Brian Ach/Invision/AP)
If you’re like me, you’re a sucker for fun lists.
The New York Times has a really fun list out now. It polled 291 crime novelists, editors, booksellers, librarians and other book lovers to come up with “The 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century.”
Many of the books on the list have been adapted into superb movies and TV shows, such as “Gone Girl,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Mystic River,” “No Country for Old Men” and “Winter’s Bone.”
You can also check out the ballots from some of the famous writers polled, including Gillian Flynn, Stephen King, John Grisham and James Patterson.
Also, readers can participate in “What Are Your Favorite Thrillers of the Century?”
Media tidbits
- The Washington Post’s Ethan Beck, Emily Yahr and Scott Nover with “Perez Hilton hospitalized after harming himself on live stream.”
- The BBC’s Caroline Davies with “Pakistan restricts international media reporting.”
- For Poynter, Victoria Valenzuela with “I taught prison reporting because I know how bad coverage can hurt.”
- And here’s my Poynter colleague Kristen Hare with “Here’s how newsrooms are working with influencers.”
Hot type
- A cool list from The New York Times’ opinion section and Emily Keegin (with illustrations by Laurent Allard): ”Welcome to my museum of America.”
More resources for journalists
- Transform your editing with our five-week course designed for new editors: Edit to Elevate. Starts on Mon. Aug. 31, then each Wed. Sept. 2-Sept. 30 2026. Enroll now.
- Strengthen your investigative reporting with Will Work for Impact: Fundamentals of Investigative Journalism. Enroll now.
- Learn critical skills that new managers need in this dynamic, in-person, five-day workshop: Nov. 16-20, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Apply now.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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