Journalism

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Why reporting matters

Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios

Trust in journalism fell far and fast. Elon Musk and millions more argue it is — and should be — buried forever, Jim writes. They say anyone with unrestrained speech — anyone on X — can easily replace a discredited media. "You are the media now," Musk repeatedly tells his 206 million followers. Why it matters: My response, in a speech at the National Press Club that went shockingly viral, was: "Bullshit!" I argued that an America without clinical, fair, deep and fearless reporting will perish. Absent reporting, which I define as the pursuit of fact-based truth without fear or favoritism, you'd have: more opioid deaths … more kids sexually abused in churches … more welfare fraud in Mississippi … more lawlessness in rural Alaska … more Harvey Weinsteins preying on young women … more corruption … more misinformation. Reality check: You're right to dunk on biased, sloppy, lazy coverage. I hate it, too: It undercuts the hard work of every on-the-level reporter working their beats — whether at the White House or in my hometown of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. But we need to distinguish between "the media" and honest reporting. I try to avoid junk food — not all food. I'd starve. ? The backstory: Angry emails I received after the speech show how many lump all parts of "the media" together, sweeping in anyone who's paid to talk or type or report. I read every one. To say a lot of people on X hate "the media" is a gross understatement. My inbox confirms this emphatically. Axios is very much not the legacy media, which has done plenty to undermine its own credibility. I have helped build two media companies — Politico and Axios — based on my own frustrations with legacy media. Journalists too often write for each other or awards committees. They're too slow to own up to mistakes, and too quick to pop off on social media in ways that betray bias or righteousness. So 18 years ago, I left The Washington Post to help start Politico — aiming to build a more direct, authentic relationship between readers and reporters. Eight years ago, I left Politico to help start Axios, grounded in an "audience first" mentality. We'll never have an opinion section. And our audience "Bill of Rights" promises: "We will go the extra mile to earn your trust. All employees are asked to refrain from taking/advocating for public positions on political topics." Maybe it's masochistic. But I want to take you inside a world with no trust in the sort of journalism that adheres to rigorous standards. I also want to remind fellow journalists of the very legitimate concerns of our critics. Make no mistake: This is a war to restore faith in our work. And we're losing — decisively. ? Between the lines: The American miracle rests on untamed democracy, the animal spirits of capitalism, the magic of unrestrained innovation, and the soft power of a vigilant and vibrant free press. I'm a believer in — and beneficiary of — all four. I'm also, on balance, a fan of our increasingly scattered information ecosystem. I'm smarter today about health because of podcasters like Peter Attia, and exposed to new people and ideas because of Joe Rogan and a lot of smart people on X and other platforms. But I also believe strongly and immovably that reporting and journalistic standards are vital for the American system, and emerging information ecosystem, to prosper.  Hell, I would find X a snore if it didn't surface and feed off reported news. Too many seem ready to dismiss anything produced by what they call legacy media. We're playing with fire here. Torch all networks, all newspapers, all news sites with trained reporters, and you're left with little to police government, the powerful, the corrupt, or foreign wars. Random tweeters aren't equipped to invest the time, money or meticulous care to reveal: What The Boston Globe did with a monumental investigation of sexual abuse by priests in the Catholic Church abuse scandal — courageous reporting that led other denominations to root out molestation of kids. What the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica did with their "Lawless" series, exposing rampant sexual assault in Alaska's rural communities. Many citizens now have police protection and newfound safety. What Eric Eyre, then of the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette-Mail, did by overcoming well-funded opposition and exposing the superhighway of opioids to depressed towns in coal country. "Follow the pills and you'll find the overdose deaths," his series began. What The Wall Street Journal did by uncovering failures of the U.S. exit from Afghanistan, documenting volunteers' rescues of stranded civilians, and the Taliban's success in outwitting and outwaiting the world. And what Mississippi Today did by exposing the state's rampant welfare fraud, provoking criminal charges — and now a furious legal effort by the ex-governor to expose the sources of the nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom. State of play: Musk argues on X that legacy media "forgot that honesty really is the best policy," and has become a "click-maximizing machine, not a truth-maximizing machine!" This school of thought argues that citizens posting on social media are superior to legacy reporters, who can be corrupted by groupthink, corporate profits and misguided trust in "experts." But X is a massive part of ... the media! It's easily the most powerful platform for Trump's MAGA movement, which just swept full control of Washington. But that doesn't turn its users into reporters, any more than my owning a Ford F-150 makes me an automaker. ? What you can do: I advise my friends — or critics — who are skeptical of Axios or legacy media to try out a publication for a few weeks. Decide for yourself if that organization seems to be trying to get to the closest approximation of the truth, and achieves it the vast majority of the time. Notice the standard isn't perfection. It's intent and results. Based on your clear-eyed appraisal of the totality. One bad story — or dumb headline, or clumsy phrase that gets screenshot and lit up — does not a failed publication, or industry, make. But we in "the media" need to do better. That's where critics are right. ? What we can do: As an industry, we have been too ... Quick to trust establishment experts: You've especially seen this during wars and COVID. Our job is to be skeptical until we learn otherwise. If something seems head-scratching — like medical experts speaking with total certainty about a novel coronavirus — it probably is. Slow to admit error: We're so much stronger when we confidently and clearly admit what we get wrong — and explain why. Not with ass-covering explanations, but bluntness. We'd all benefit from a tad more humility. Condescending, and not incurious: Reflect on how you, or your organization, covered Donald Trump and his followers. Did you try to understand the voters, the roots of their concerns or fears, and why they flocked to Trump? Did you come at it with preconceived ideas about people who live in small towns, or carry guns, or wear MAGA hats? Curiosity is the antidote to condescension. It's also the gateway to understanding. Fearful: It takes courage to question the status quo, write unpopular stories or argue internally when coverage is drifting into groupthink. It will take courage to do your job when critics pile on — or try to discredit you in the years ahead. The bottom line: This historic war for truth is just beginning. The coming years will reorder everything we know and think about news and information and opinion. Shame on us if reported truth is the biggest casualty. Go deeper: "Shards of glass: Inside media's 12 splintering realities."

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America's news fatigue

Data: Data: Adweek, Nielsen; Chart: Axios Visuals Viewership for all three major cable news networks — both daytime and prime time — has fallen notably since the week of the election, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer reports. Prime-time ratings for CNN and MSNBC are at their lowest levels for the year. Fox News continues to benefit from its rivals' decline. While viewership on Fox News is down from election week, it's up compared to Fox News' average prime-time audience figures this year. Startling stat: Following the election, the vast majority (72%) of the prime-time audience across the three major cable news networks has watched Fox News. ? Between the lines: This is specifically about news, not a reflection of cord-cutting or other changing viewership habits. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade drew record viewership, and football on Thanksgiving pulled in almost 40 million viewers. People are watching TV — just not cable news.

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?Wikipedia's most read

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

The Wikimedia Foundation — the nonprofit organization behind Wikipedia — is out with its list of the most-read topics of 2024, Axios' Eleanor Hawkins writes. ? The top five: Deaths in 2024 Kamala Harris 2024 United States presidential election Lyle and Erik Menendez Donald Trump ?️ Politics dominated the top 10 list, with JD Vance coming in at No. 7 and Project 2025 ranking 9th. The year's deaths have been in the top three every year since 2015.   Hot topics The crowdsourced information site Wikipedia revealed its most popular pages for 2024, and a list of deaths led the way once again. Here’s what else people really wanted to read about this year.

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Paul Krugman retires as Times columnist

I want to take you back to Jan. 2, 2000, a day when Y2K was in the rearview mirror and the dot-com bubble burst was just around the corner, when the Dow stood at a mighty 11,500 and a New York Times Opinion columnist debuted on the scene with the first of many prescient arguments and ideas about economics and government.

https://www.nytco.com/press/paul-krugman-retires-as-times-columnist/?

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This Is How Trump’s Department of Justice Spied on Journalists

During the first Trump administration, the Justice Department launched four sprawling leak investigations that ultimately targeted two Democrats in Congress, dozens of congressional staffers from both parties, and eight reporters at three national outlets, as described in a report from the top DOJ watchdog on Tuesday.

https://theintercept.com/2024/12/11/trump-justice-department-spied-journalists-congress/?

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Top editors stiff WashPost

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

The situation at The Washington Post is so dire that two candidates to run the paper — Cliff Levy of The New York Times and Meta's Anne Kornblut, a former Post editor — both withdrew from consideration for the top newsroom job over the paper's strategy, sources involved in the process tell us. Why it matters: The Post is scrambling to find a new executive editor, the chair once held by Ben Bradlee, amid shrinking paid readership and revenue. Publisher and CEO Will Lewis, handpicked by owner Jeff Bezos to save The Post, hasn't impressed the candidates with his vision for the future, the sources tell us. One person involved in the search told us Lewis' pitch was foggy and uninspiring. ? Zoom in: Levy, who pulled out last week, and Kornblut, whose conversations ended in September, declined to comment. Other candidates include current interim executive editor Matt Murray. But it's hard to imagine this monthslong process unfolding so publicly — only to end with the same guy in charge. A few candidates were asked to write six-page memos — a hallmark of Amazon culture — about their journalistic vision for the paper, using AI and how to grow The Post's audience. Levy is a two-time Pulitzer winner who was an early advocate for digital innovation, and now is deputy publisher of two prized Times properties, The Athletic and Wirecutter. He started talking to The Post in August after the paper's search firm, Egon Zehnder, reached out. Kornblut, who declined to move forward with the process after initial conversations, is Meta's VP of global product content operations. She had a formidable newspaper career before moving to the Bay Area as a tech executive: She was a Washington correspondent for The Boston Globe and The New York Times before becoming a Washington Post reporter and editor for eight years. Kornblut rose to deputy assistant managing editor for national news, where she was the lead editor on Pulitzer-winning coverage of Edward Snowden's NSA revelations. Matea Gold — a respected, popular managing editor many reporters wanted in the top job, and who conceived of and ran The Post's Pulitzer-winning investigation into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — announced last week that she's moving to The New York Times as Washington editor, making her deputy to the bureau chief. There's lots of anxiety in The Post newsroom right now about whether the paper is still committed to that kind of fearless accountability reporting. Axios confirmed that the search firm also reached out to Kevin Merida and Steven Ginsberg, two former Washington Post managing editors. Neither expressed interest in the role. ?️ The big picture: Bezos has said little about what he wants for a revived Post. He is scheduled to dine with President-elect Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week — two months after killing a Post endorsement of Trump's rival, Vice President Harris. Bezos' various business interests — Amazon and the Blue Origin space company — stand to gain or suffer from Trump's presidency. The Post has announced no major shifts or innovations under the Lewis regime. Toss in a demoralized staff and invigorated labor unions, and you have a mighty challenge for the next top editor. ? Between the lines: The Post has lost a ton of talent this last year, and several stars are talking to competitors about leaving soon. One hot rumor inside The Post: The Atlantic is licking its chops over political writers who are increasingly poachable. Other Posties are eying The New York Times, long known at the Post as "Brand X." People involved in the process say Bezos has been mostly MIA at the Post, leaving matters to Lewis, who is unpopular in the newsroom. Several people familiar with The Post's search were baffled by the apparent absence of editorial vision or business strategy. "I'm not sure it's salvageable," one of them said. The extravaganza will be replaced by a smaller awards dinner in the new year for the winners, including revered sportswriter Sally Jenkins, and their families. A scaled-back toast to the newsroom winners will be held today at 2:30 p.m., along with a sendoff for Gold.

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Media vs. reporting

Via X

This week's epic fight over funding the government captures the power — and flaws — of the new information ecosystem, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. Why it matters: Elon Musk and his followers on X proved they dominate the Republican media industrial complex — using a digital revolt to kill a spending bill, and open the door to a government shutdown. That revolt was powered by some false information, tweeted with total self-certainty. "We aren't just the media here now. We are also the government," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted yesterday to his 13 million followers. MAGA's online army now can assess "information rapidly & pressure our representatives to act in a manner that actually represents what we want," Don Jr. added. "They can't hide and do the bidding of swamp oligarchs anymore." ?️ The big picture: This reality highlights the difference between media (what people consume) and reporting (a set of standards for pursuing fact-based information). In the new world order, media and reporting are tossed together with a mix of truth, opinion, and nonsense. This helps explain the confusion that engulfs almost every real-time topic, from drones in the New Jersey skies to whether billions were stuffed into a spending bill for a new D.C. football stadium. (The bill banned the use of federal funds for the stadium.) ? Truth bomb: This is your present and future, and little can be done to stop it. A fragmented media means fragmented truths and standards. The winners are those who control the flow of information to the largest numbers of people — or the right people at the right moment on the right topic. Right now, Musk controls both for the incoming governing party. This allowed Musk to tweetstorm (150+ posts) the defeat of the federal spending bill, while sharing some demonstrably false information — including the size of a proposed congressional pay raise (now dropped from the bill). Musk also reposted a false claim that the bill included $3 billion for a new NFL stadium in D.C. But the provision, also now stricken from the bill, merely transferred the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. Musk said the original bill funded a bioweapons lab. It didn't. Musk reposted a claim the bill contained $60 billion for Ukraine, which it didn't appear to. So when Musk tells X followers "You are the media," it's true they're part of his media. But that's different than declaring they're all reporters, trying to validate information before sharing it. That puts even more pressure on you as a news consumer to discern what and who you can trust for reliable, actionable information. It demands skepticism and patience when hot news hits fast. You need to be skeptical of people or sources unless you feel confident they routinely get it right. You need to be patient in not overreacting to — or oversharing — stories that hit your dopamine button. A similar burden now falls on businesses, where big strategic decisions are shaped by evolving events. Discerning reality will get harder, as will discerning the scale of micro-movements that quickly become macro-movements — or disintegrate instantly. Finally, as we've written before, it puts pressure on media companies like Axios to up our games by winning and keeping trust — offering clarity in moments of confusion, and reporting clinically not emotionally. ? Case in point: New York Times columnist Zeynep Tufekci, a Princeton professor who wrote a book about Twitter and social movements, found a 70-year-old parallel with the New Jersey drone craze. In 1954, an epidemic of car owners in Washington state reported pits in their windshields that they feared could be caused by vandals ... or even H-bomb tests. The Seattle mayor sought presidential intervention. The Seattle police crime laboratory determined that the damage reports stemmed from 5% "hoodlum-ism" and 95% "public hysteria." "In the Seattle windshield panic," Tufekci wrote, "mainstream media outlets amplified people's panic. In the internet age, ordinary people can perform that service." ?️ Context: Newspapers long were the natural home of great investigative reporters. But the pandemic expedited cuts to newsrooms. Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer points out that as news organizations scrambled to survive, investments that would've gone to hiring more reporters went to establishing audiences on TikTok and other new platforms, or making content for streamers. More local news outlets were forced to pull back or shutter, removing accountability coverage for thousands of U.S. counties. Most places around the country that saw their newspapers shutter still haven't gotten replacements. Those communities are relying on TikTok for news. Studies have shown that when a local community loses a legitimate news source, there's a huge spike in wasteful government. ? What we're hearing: Trump insiders tell us this week's X revolt was just the beginning. "The problem Congress faces," a Trump transition source says, "is that Elon now has an army of people reviewing every word of every bill — and he's gonna amplify the crazy sh*t in there. So until they come up with a bill without a lot of crazy sh*t, the government will stay shut down."

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Kara Swisher's long-shot Post bid

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Kara Swisher, the popular podcaster and pioneering tech journalist, is trying to round up a group of rich people to fund a bid for The Washington Post, she told us. One big problem: Jeff Bezos, the owner, has shown no interest in selling. Why it matters: Swisher — who started in The Post mailroom, and became an early tech reporter at the paper (and later one of the first at The Wall Street Journal) — believes the Amazon founder will eventually want to sell, since the paper has become a managerial nightmare. Like many, Swisher thinks Bezos should sell since he has other financial and personal interests — like space tech — that are more important to him, and can conflict with his Post ownership. "The Post can do better," she told us. "It's so maddening to see what's happening. ... Why not me? Why not any of us?" The backstory: Oliver Darcy reported this fall in his newsletter, Status, that Swisher was "interested in assembling a consortium of wealthy investors to make a bid for the paper." Since then, a banker who worked with Swisher in the past has been helping her think through how to move the idea forward. The storied paper would be run by a board of civic-minded people willing to write a big check to be part of something important. She'd be open to Bezos remaining a partial investor. ? In Swisher's recent memoir, "Burn Book," she recalled imploring former Post publisher Don Graham to pay more attention to the coming digital revolution. She's busy as a CNN contributor, host of the "Pivot" podcast with Scott Galloway and her solo "On with Kara Swisher," and editor-at-large for New York Magazine. But she has ideas for innovative people who could energize the newsroom, and move the business side toward break-even. The bottom line: Swisher is confident the money is there. But Bezos would have to want to sell. And she notes there would surely be a long line of other suitors, including giant private equity firms and other power-minded billionaires. "Hopefully not Elon," Swisher added, "though he seems pretty busy these days being President (Not) Elect." ? Between the lines: The paper's great quest for an executive editor, once Ben Bradlee's job, has ended with a whimper. Matt Murray, originally named to the job through the election, yesterday announced the newly formed masthead position of standards editor — to be held by Karen Pensiero, who worked for Murray as a managing editor when he was editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal. The appointment was intended to signal Murray is there to stay after a high-profile external search.

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?️ WashPost cartoonist quits

Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa via Reuters Yesterday's resignation of longtime Washington Post editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes adds to soaring newsroom angst, as scores of tenured journalists depart amid exasperation with leadership, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. Why it matters: Because The Post has seen an unprecedented number of senior defections in the past few months, new departures feed into a broader narrative of systemic issues at the company. Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize winner, quit after claiming one of her cartoons was killed because it targeted The Post's owner, Jeff Bezos. "As an editorial cartoonist, my job is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job," she wrote on Substack. The cartoon shows Bezos kneeling alongside several Big Tech CEOs handing money to a towering figure meant to resemble President-elect Trump. The other side: David Shipley, The Post's editorial page editor, said in a statement that he respects Telnaes "and all she has given to The Post.' "But I must disagree with her interpretation of events," Shipley continued. "Not every editorial judgment is a reflection of a malign force. My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition." ? Zoom out: Telnaes' exit comes on the heels of several major departures within The Post's newsroom. Two of The Post's star political reporters, Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, moved to The Atlantic this week. Tyler Pager, a rising talent, was poached by The New York Times as a White House reporter. Pager will join former Post managing editor Matea Gold, who announced last month that she's moving to The Times as deputy Washington bureau chief. Gold, a well-liked senior figure within the Post newsroom, left late last year after being passed over for executive editor. Several opinion editors stepped down from The Post's editorial board last year after the paper's endorsement of Vice President Harris for president was spiked at the 11th hour, at the behest of Bezos. Axios hears other star reporters are in discussions to depart. ? What to watch: The Post's new CEO and publisher Will Lewis, who assumed the role a year ago, has yet to formally announce a new executive editor to replace Sally Buzbee, who stepped down in June. Last month, Murray named managing editor Krissah Thompson to be editor of WP Ventures, formerly the "Third Newsroom," which will house multimedia and social-media teams. See the cartoon.

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?️ WashPost adrift

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Journalists leaving at an unprecedented clip, combined with looming layoffs and expected leadership changes, has The Washington Post on edge as it prepares to cover the second Trump administration, Axios' Sara Fischer writes. Why it matters: Once a close national competitor to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, The Post is now battling for relevance in its own backyard. ? State of play: Yesterday brought more announcements about star political reporters leaving — another gut punch to the Post newsroom, which has seen a slew of top talent flee in recent weeks amid frustration with management. Puck announced it hired Leigh Ann Caldwell as its chief Washington correspondent. The Wall Street Journal confirmed it hired Josh Dawsey, one of The Post's top Trump chroniclers. Last week, two of The Post's other top political reporters, Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer, moved to The Atlantic. Tyler Pager, a rising talent, was poached by The New York Times as a White House reporter, joining former Post managing editor Matea Gold, who announced last month that she's moving to The Times as deputy Washington bureau chief. On the opinion side, cartoonist Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize winner, quit last Friday. Several opinion editors stepped down from The Post's editorial board last year after the paper's endorsement of Vice President Harris for president was spiked at the 11th hour at the behest of owner Jeff Bezos. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, via X ? The big picture: While the Times and Journal continue to grow their digital subscriber bases, The Post reported that 250,000 subscribers canceled after the endorsement debacle — about 10% of digital subscribers. ? What we're hearing: Numerous Post editors and reporters have told us sadly that if there's a plan or vision, they don't know what it is. Just before the holidays, The Post announced WP Ventures, formerly known as the "Third Newsroom," with a focus on "expanding our presence on social media and creating new commercial opportunities for consumer and lifestyle journalism, while accelerating innovation and cross-company collaboration."

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A French journalist recounts 711 days of captivity as a hostage of Islamic extremists in Mali

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — For a foreign correspondent in Mali, the assignment seemed like a dream: as Islamic extremists upended the region, Olivier Dubois, a French journalist, secured a rare interview with a leader of JNIM, an al-Qaida’s affiliate in the Sahel.

https://apnews.com/article/mali-french-journalist-olivier-dubois-jnim-al-qaida-sahel-kidnappings-8f2f4ae746d272ad1f5da753de857f1d?

Former ‘Meet the Press’ moderator Chuck Todd exits NBC News after nearly two decades

Former “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd is leaving NBC News after nearly 18 years at the network.

https://apnews.com/article/nbc-todd-exit-trump-welker-746b58bbd6b7eb03f6be0cbeabf84004?

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The power of independent journalism: From her Brooklyn apartment, she ‘scooped’ the nation’s media

First word of the Trump administration’s since-rescinded order to freeze spending on federal loans and grants came not from a major news organization, but from a woman working alone in her Brooklyn apartment.

https://apnews.com/article/independent-journalists-trump-local-news-a60b49c97058d14f1b2e36cdc771d8f7?

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Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos says opinion pages will defend free market and ‘personal liberties’

The billionaire owner of The Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, narrowed the topics covered by its opinion section Wednesday to defending personal liberties and the free market, a pivot away from its traditional broad focus and prompting the news outlet’s opinion editor to resign. Read More.   WashPost opinion editor resigns after Jeff Bezos announces changes to Opinion section The Washington Post's Opinion Section editor David Shipley resigned after owner Jeff Bezos mandated the section prioritize two topics, personal liberties and free markets, and not publish dissenting views in those areas. https://www.axios.com/2025/02/26/washingon-post-jeff-bezo-opnion-editor-resign?

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Washington Post columnist quits after her opinion piece criticizing owner Jeff Bezos is rejected

A columnist who has worked at The Washington Post for four decades resigned on Monday after the newspaper’s management decided not to run her commentary critical of owner Jeff Bezos’ new editorial policy. Read More.

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?️ Biggest story in the world

Data: NewsWhip; Chart: Axios Visuals The Atlantic story detailing the security lapse has quickly become the top news story of the year worldwide, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes from new data tracking social media engagement. A spokesperson for The Atlantic said it was "one of the top subscription driving stories" for the magazine of all time.

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How Investigative Journalists Actually Find Fraud, Waste and Abuse

While investigative journalists immerse themselves in minutiae to identify waste and fraud, Elon Musk’s team has taken a chainsaw approach to spending based on cursory examinations. That might help explain some of their well-publicized stumbles.

https://www.propublica.org/article/doge-government-waste-fraud-approach?

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YOU LOVE TO SEE IT

 

Justice for journalism. A judge just sided with a nonprofit newsroom in Mississippi, after the newsroom was sued for exposing how the state’s former governor allegedly diverted tens of millions in public assistance dollars slated for the state’s poorest residents to instead help NFL players build startup businesses and family members score special state assistance.

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New York Times wins 4 Pulitzers, New Yorker 3; Washington Post wins for coverage of Trump shooting

The New York Times won four Pulitzer Prizes and the New Yorker three on Monday for journalism in 2024 that touched on topics like the fentanyl crisis, the U.S. military and last summer’s assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. Read More.

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Journalists under pressure

Executives at several major media outlets have reportedly told their newsrooms to temper coverage of President Trump and his administration, amid growing fears of political retribution, Axios' Sara Fischer and Christine Wang report.

• The abrupt resignations of CBS News chief Wendy McMahon and longtime "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens underscore the tensions between CBS' news division and its corporate parent, Paramount. "It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward," McMahon said in her resignation note.
• PBS station WNET cut 90 seconds from a documentary in which the film's subject, author and cartoonist Art Spiegelman criticized Trump.
• Disney CEO Bob Iger and ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic reportedly suggested to the hosts of "The View" that they broaden the scope of their coverage to focus less on politics.

? The other side: NPR sued the Trump administration today over its effort to shut off federal funding for public radio.

• The Associated Press also took Trump to court after the White House limited its access to the Oval Office and Air Force One.

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The Lever Wins The 2025 National Press Club Award. This award is a major milestone not just for The Lever’s newsroom, but for all independent news outlets competing with the world’s biggest media conglomerates.

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Death threats over Texas flooding cartoon force museum journalism event to be postponed

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — An event in support of local reporting was postponed after death threats against a journalist for his newspaper editorial cartoon about the catastrophic flooding in Texas, according to a union.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-floods-newspaper-cartoon-buffalo-cb168f7b72809d1b68cddf1e94b34c23?

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Rise of Super Journalists

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

We write and talk a lot about the rise of AI superintelligence machines that'll be much smarter than humans — and the technology's impact on society and traditional journalism, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes. In this column, we'll delve into the rise of what we call Super Journalists — reporters with sourcing, expertise, nuance and connections no machine can possibly match. Why it matters: We believe Super Journalists will dominate media in the AI era. ? These are journalists with true domain expertise, top-notch sourcing and historical depth to tell people things they don't know. They're not your average journalist doing a dutiful job chronicling unfolding events. Those, we believe, will be displaced by an AI agent summarizing things to match — with precision — the tastes of each individual user. No, these are the journalists with deep passion for a topic — be it politics, AI or a specific city — and deep sourcing, knowledge and credibility. They establish an authentic human connection, based on trust built over years. ? The big picture: This is great for you, the news consumer. In the future, we envision a world where discerning readers, viewers and listeners get the best of both worlds: higher quality human expertise on their favorite topics and quicker, better summaries of daily news or happenings via AI. We built Axios years ago for this very moment. We have a smaller newsroom than some older competitors. But we have true subject matter experts — including Sara Fischer on media, Dan Primack on deals, Ina Fried on tech, Hans Nichols on Congress, Neil Irwin and Courtenay Brown on economics and the Fed, Marc Caputo on the White House, Alex Thompson on national politics, Barak Ravid on the Middle East, Eleanor Hawkins on communications strategy, Joann Muller on transportation, and so many more. We're doing the same in Axios Local cities — now 34 and counting — where we hire the most wired reporters in a city to cover that city for a core local audience of smart professionals. We're not alone: Substack just raised $100 million to entice experts to go solo on its platform. New media companies, notably Puck, have adopted a similar Super Journalist ethos. AI will change journalism dramatically. We're updating the Axios Manifesto to make it clear we'll use AI as a tool for research, data collection and analysis, and compilation of data like concerts or events in cities — not to write stories. We'll soon start sharing some of the best use cases we've found. We believe AI will enable us to expand Axios Local to many more cities, much faster (more on this soon). But it won't replace Super Journalists. In fact, the spread of AI will make their work even more vital and valuable. ? Here's how we think about it: AI will help get more high quality human-generated content to more humans. The distinctiveness of true Super Journalists' work will stand out amid the sameness of commodity news spit out by AI machines. We're betting you'll yearn for and reward: Authentic scoops by people you trust. Authentic context to see and think about topics in a more sophisticated way. Authentic nuance that flows not from the literal words and actions of people — but from their facial expressions, body language and true intent. The bottom line: Super Journalists + superintelligence = information nirvana if Axios can nail the mix and win your trust. So please keep the feedback coming: jim@axios.com. Go deeper: Jim VandeHei on "Why clear-eyed journalism matters"

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• ⏱️ Journalist Tanya Simon was named executive producer of CBS' "60 Minutes," following Bill Owens' departure over concerns about editorial independence. Read the announcement.

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?️ WashPost talent exodus

Photo: Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images Sally Jenkins, the renowned sports columnist at The Washington Post for 25 years, is joining The Atlantic as a staff writer. Her longtime editor — Dan Steinberg, who created The Post's popular D.C. Sports Bog in 2006 — is jumping to The Athletic as an NFL managing editor. WashPost Supreme Court correspondent Ann Marimow is joining The Times' expanding Supreme Court team. Also heading to The Times: Post media critic Erik Wemple and obit editor Adam Bernstein. Political correspondent Dan Balz is ending his 47-year run at The Post. Also leaving: Krissah Thompson, editor of WP Ventures (once the "Third Newsroom"); Lori Montgomery, politics and government editor; and "Fact Checker" Glenn Kessler, whose last day is today after more than 27 years at The Post. Those and dozens of other Post journalists are taking buyouts and calling it quits, fueling speculation about how the storied paper can survive while bleeding so much talent, Axios Media Trends author Sara Fischer writes. Why it matters: The buyouts are designed to make it easier for staffers questioning the strategy of the Post's leadership to exit. Earlier this month, CEO Will Lewis encouraged staffers "who do not feel aligned with the company's plan" to reflect on the buyout offer. The steep cuts come amid sweeping changes implemented by the Post's new management team and owner Jeff Bezos. ? Zoom in: The buyouts are hitting some of the Post's most recognizable teams the hardest. Politico has compiled a list of at least 100 journalists who have left the paper since November. Opinion: Longtime editorial journalists such as Pulitzer winner Jonathan Capehart, Philip Bump and Catherine Rampell have taken the buyout, in addition to a slew of other names. Video: The newsroom's video team — which has won several awards and created a reputation for getting ahead on platforms like TikTok and Instagram — has seen a bunch of recent exits, including Dave Jorgenson, the company's viral TikTok content creator. Keep reading.

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In Black columnist’s firing, advocates fear decreasing diversity, vital perspectives in news media

As the founding global opinion editor for The Washington Post, Karen Attiah believed her job had always been about assessing world affairs in a way that elevated a diverse range of perspectives.

https://apnews.com/article/washington-post-karen-attiah-black-media-fired-abec1b31fe02038de8a207a87f05b7df?