Profits vs. the press: Alden Global Capital hedge fund manager Heath Freeman says he set out to save local news. However, the journalists who work for Alden’s nearly 200 publications tell a very different story. Journalists have taken to protesting his office, and over 20 senators have approached him about their concerns over his methods. Writing for The Washington Post, Sarah Ellison explores how Freeman’s business model, which includes aggressive budget cuts and sweeping layoffs, ultimately bleeds local publications dry.

Moderating journalists’ social media: A report detailing The Washington Post’s social media policy was leaked to New York Times media columnist Ben Smith last week. Smith, on Twitter, wrote that the memo says women and people of color were more likely to be disciplined for their social media usage than their white, male counterparts. Writing for NiemanLab, Laura Hazard Owen examines the major problems highlighted in the report, and a few potential solutions.

Bon Appétit backlash: Adam Rapoport, top editor at Bon Appétit, resigned last Monday following two separate scandals that generated intense online backlash, Emily Heil writes for The Washington Post. The public outcry started when assistant editor Sohla El-Waylly revealed that Bon Appétit only paid their white staffers for on-camera appearances. Food writer Tammie Teclemariam also found a photo of Rapoport and his wife dressed in racist Halloween costumes. Former Bon Appétit contributors have also called on food writers to boycott the magazine.

By Maya Homan & Matt Carroll

Why Bennet is out at NYT: The turmoil caused by rolling protests ignited by the murder of George Floyd have spilled into newsrooms, particularly the New York Times. James Bennet, the Times’ editorial page editor, resigned after days of controversy stemming from a controversial op-ed written by Senator Tom Cotton. Ben Smith of the New York Times writes about revolts sweeping big newsrooms. The controversy blew up quickly. Though the Times initially defended their decision to publish the piece, executives later backtracked, saying that the op-ed did not meet their standards. On Thursday, Bennet revealed that he had not read the piece before it was published, and on Sunday, Bennet resigned. Writing for the Columbia Journalism Review, Gabriel Snyder breaks down the controversy behind the piece, and explains why much of the public criticism has come from the Times’ own reporters.

Publishing protesters’ faces: With waves of protests occurring throughout the U.S., photojournalists are faced with a pressing ethical dilemma: should they publish pictures of demonstrators faces? While legally, photographers are in the clear, many worry about the impact their photos could have on the subjects they capture. Eliana Miller and Nicole Asbury unpack both sides of the issue for Poynter.

Free summer news program: Starting July 7, The Information is launching a free news summer camp over Zoom, writes Laura Hazard Owen for NiemanLab. The program, which includes guest speakers from The New York Times, Politico, Gimlet, Insider, and other publications, was designed for journalism students whose internships were cancelled due to Covid-19. The program is scheduled to run for eight weeks, and already has over 800 people registered. Interested parties can sign up here.

By Maya Homan & Matt Carroll

Covering protests, safely: It’s a strange time in America when journalists have to take precautions to protect their physical security, when they are only doing their jobs. But times have changed. Numerous accounts of violence against journalists covering protests prompted the Committee to Protect Journalists to release a safety advisory, warning reporters of the possible dangers and advising them on how to protect themselves. Members of the press have reportedly been arrested during protests, sprayed with tear gas, shot with rubber bullets and faced violence from both police and protesters.

Fact-checking Trump’s tweets: President Trump’s tweets have been a source of notoriety since before he announced his presidential campaign. His previous tweets had largely gone unacknowledged by Twitter administrators, but that all changed on Thursday, when a tweet about protests in Minneapolis included warning labels for glorifying violence. Writing for Politico, Nancy Scola breaks down Twitter’s decision to fact-check Trump’s tweets, and explains how their new approach has been implemented worldwide.

The AP Stylebook gets an upgrade: The 55th edition of the AP Stylebook was published last week, and included new terms and tools for journalists working in the digital age. The most drastic change is a new chapter on cybersecurity, writes Josephine Wolff for Slate. It also introduced new guidelines for writing about topics like online advertising, digital wallets and audience engagement.

By Maya Homan & Matt Carroll

Reevaluating Ronan Farrow: Last week, New York Times media columnist Ben Smith published an op-ed denouncing Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ronan Farrow, who helped break the story of Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior. Smith argued that while Farrow’s reporting was not fabricated, he omitted certain details in order to keep his storylines “irresistibly cinematic.” The journalism world responded, with both Farrow and New Yorker editor Michael Luo taking to Twitter to rebut Smith’s claims. Writers from the Washington Post, Slate and Poynter also published pieces on the subject. For those who are still trying to understand the issue, L.A. Times staff writer Christi Carras published an overview of the ongoing media war. 

Alison Roman’s stewed awakening: Prominent cook and cookbook author Alison Roman is under fire for an interview with The New Consumer in which she bashed Chrissy Teigen and Marie Kondo. Although she later apologized, the exchange fueled a much larger debate about the cultural context surrounding food. Writing for Eater, Navneet Alang explores how ethic food is often portrayed as “trendy” or “fashionable” by white cooks like Roman, who craft their careers around making ethnic food more palatable for white audiences. Meanwhile, chefs of color who cook food from their culture do not receive the same level of attention or acclaim.

Delving into diversity data: Last week, The New York Times published their annual diversity report, showcasing the demographic changes among its workforce over the last two years. People of color now make up 32 percent of the staff and 21 percent of leadership at the Times. That’s the good news. However, the bad news is that NiemanLab reporter Sarah Scire revealed that publishing diversity data is still not standard practice. Furthermore, the American Society of News Editors decided to halt its diversity survey this year to reevaluate their methods. The survey will be back, but in the  meantime, journalists will have to turn to other sources for their diversity data.