Blog Feed

Healthcare Dive. White House seeks 12% cut to HHS in 2027

The Trump administration is requesting about $111 billion in discretionary funding for the HHS, nearly $16 billion less than its budget in 2026. – PL

NYT. Forest service will close research stations that study wildfire risk

Scientists say their work on fires and climate change could be lost as the agency moves its headquarters to Utah from Washington and shuts 57 research stations. – PL

NYT. CDC pauses testing for rabies and pox viruses

The diseases were removed from a list of tests the agency conducts for state and local health departments. Experts worry that with drastic staff reductions, the testing may not resume. – PL

Stat News. Medicare is restricting care for 1 million Americans based on a faulty assumption. Congress must intervene

Limiting choices for ostomy supplies is not the way to save money. – PL

Stat News. Government watchdog urges FDA to finalize guidance for advisory committee conflicts of interest

Agency often fails to share how it determines whether panel members have conflicts, GAO says. – PL

Stat News. NIH director’s invocation of Vannevar Bush’s legacy to promote Trump science policies sparks pushback

Biographer accuses Bhattacharya of ‘hijacking Bush’s legacy’ to legitimize administration actions. – PL

9 News. Fred Brown, longtime Denver journalist, left a legacy of respect, kindness and fair play

Brown spent 39 years at The Denver Post, earning a reputation for fair, insightful and deeply reported coverage of the legislature and governor’s office. – PL

NYT. Can a journalist be a celebrity anymore?

Patrick Radden Keefe’s carefully applied ambition has propelled him to a rarefied perch. – PL

The Independent. CBS News chief Bari Weiss set to remake network’s iconic 60 Minutes: report

Weiss could “blow it up as soon as the season is over.” – PL

WSJ. What the looming sale of CNN means for Trump’s feud with the network

Animosity from the White House has taken on new meaning amid an imminent sale to David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, fueling anxiety among journalists. – PL

AP. AP says it will offer buyouts as part of pivot away from newspaper journalism

The news organization is becoming more focused on visual journalism and developing new revenue sources, particularly through companies investing in artificial intelligence, to cope with the economic collapse of many legacy news outlets. – PL

CJR. The problem with binding news and prediction markets

Polymarket and Kalshi are quickly making deals with news publishers, with potential implications for the regulation of prediction markets. It’s unclear how journalism wins. – PL

NYT. Trump’s media-bashing is coming back to bite him in court

Judges have cited attacks on the press by the president and his appointees when ruling against the government in at least three court cases. – PL

Cronkite News. Kari Lake tried to silence the Voice of America, and turmoil persists at the global US broadcaster

An appeals court order Tuesday to halt the reinstatement of Voice of America staff has prolonged uncertainty at the global broadcaster left decimated by Kari Lake, the former Phoenix TV news anchor. – PL

NYT. Trump officials try to fight foreign disinformation they once dismissed

The war in Iran has exposed the need to mount a defense against foreign influence campaigns, officials and experts say. – PL

Chron. Gov. Abbott sparks outrage by sharing AI-generated Iran rescue photo

Abbott reposted the image Sunday morning with the caption "This is so awesome." – PL

Altitudes. Breaking news misinformation: A step-by-step guide to verifying stories before you share

False news stories spread approximately six times faster than accurate ones on social platforms, and the average person encounters up to 74 misleading headlines per month during high-news periods, according to MIT Media Lab research. – PL

Fortune. Craigslist founder donating $15 million to promote journalism ethics

Craig Newmark is the forefront of philanthropists focused on journalism, a cause he's supported with some $85 million in the past few years. Some in the industry see irony in that, since the online classified advertising site that made him rich took away a lucrative revenue source for many newspapers. – PL

Medill School of Journalism. Medill accepts 10 Fellows into George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop

Creative writing bootcamp for veteran journalists will guide them in writing their debut novels. – PL

Arizona State University. ASU’s Cronkite School and Poynter Institute launch training collaboration to support members of media

National partnership expands access to trusted journalism training, AI expertise and career resources. – PL

404 Media. Journalist sues FAA over drone no fly zone designed to prevent filming ICE

A Minnesota journalist is challenging a 3,000 foot restriction on flying near DHS assets on First Amendment grounds. – PL

PBS. New York Times says Pentagon is ignoring court order on press access

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman didn't immediately rule from the bench after hearing a second round of arguments from lawyers for the newspaper and the Trump administration. – PL

Yahoo! News. “Embarrassing”: Boebert gets into nasty spat with reporter who accused her of making “Stuff Up”

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) got into a spat with Reason journalist Billy Binion after Binion called her out for a misleading statement on airport security lines. – PL

The Guardian. US directs embassies to team up against foreign “hostility” – and use X to “counter anti-American propaganda”

Cable signed by Marco Rubio and seen by Guardian suggests staff work with Pentagon psychological operations unit. – PL

AP. Judge blocks Trump order to end funding for National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service

Citing the First Amendment, a federal judge on Tuesday agreed to permanently block the Trump administration from implementing a presidential directive to end federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, two media entities that the White House has said are counterproductive to American priorities. – PL

Stat News. CDC leadership in limbo as Trump administration set to miss deadline to nominate director

Director of the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya, is leading the agency on an acting basis, but will have to give up some responsibilities. – PL

National Security Archive. A disappearing data chronology

The Disappearing Data Chronology lists fundamental changes to the federal information landscape under the Trump administration, including major data losses and restorations, legal challenges to information takedowns, and threats to archival collections. – PL

Stat News. How the next CDC director can win back America’s trust

Restoring trust will require disciplined reform and leadership that is prepared to implement it. – PL

More Than Just Parks. Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service

The Trump administration is closing the Forest Service’s regional offices, including over 50 research facilities, and moving its headquarters to Utah (the home of the sell-our-public-lands movement). “When these facilities close, the experiments die. The datasets end. The partnerships with universities that took generations to build collapse.” — MK

NYT. Paul Brainerd dies at 78; pioneered desktop publishing with PageMaker

His software brought printing into the digital age, allowing users to stop manually splicing columns of text and graphics and instead create layouts on a virtual pasteboard. – PL

NYT. Write it up! How fast do our journalists type?

When it comes to breaking news, it’s a race not only to get the story, but to record it. The New York Times tracked down some of the speediest fingers in its newsroom. – PL

Poynter. When covering a protest leads to arrest, what protections do journalists really have?

From Texas to Minnesota, recent cases show how easily legal protections for journalists can collapse in chaotic protest scenes. – PL

Reuters Institute. Understanding young news audiences at a time of rapid change

As “social natives,” the 18-24 demographic is moving away from traditional news media like television, print, and even news websites, gravitating instead towards a social-first and audiovisual-heavy media diet, where news is one type of content consumed among many. – PL

NYT. Versant pursues a deal for Vox Media’s podcast business

Versant, the parent company of CNBC and MS NOW, is looking to continue expanding its business beyond cable TV. — PL

We Are Iowa. Nearly two dozen Iowa newspapers threatened after publishing company announces closure

Multiple newspapers across Iowa have announced they received notice from their ownership company, Mid-America Publishing Corporation, that it will close in April. – PL

NYT. TMZ sics its tipsters on a new breed of celebrity villain: Members of Congress

After lawmakers left Washington for a two-week spring break with the Department of Homeland Security shut down, the Hollywood tabloid began publishing photographs of them living it up around the country. – PL

Sky News. Shelly Kittleson: US freelance journalist kidnapped in Iraq — new details and AP footage

Efforts are underway to locate Shelly Kittleson and the perpetrators following the incident in Baghdad. – PL

Border Telegraph. Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon kills three journalists covering the war

Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV said its longtime correspondent Ali Shoeib was killed in southern Lebanon. Beirut-based pan-Arab Al-Mayadeen TV said reporter Fatima Ftouni was killed in the same airstrike along with her brother Mohammed, a video journalist. – PL

Al Jazeera. The challenge of reporting in Chechnya

Independent journalism no longer exists as a functioning practice inside Chechnya. What remains is a profession rebuilt in exile, forced to operate at a distance from the very place it is meant to cover. – PL

CJR. Who is left to cover Lebanon?

A nation that helped shape modern war reporting is now treated as peripheral. In the wake of journalist killings, the consequences are clear not only for members of the press, but for how the story of Lebanon is being told. – PL

The Hill. FCC’s Brendan Carr: Trump is “winning” against “fake news media”

In December, Carr suggested that the FCC was not independent from the administration, despite the website previously labeling it as an “independent government agency responsible for implementing and enforcing America’s communications law and regulations.” The word “independent” was removed after the agency’s chief testified before lawmakers. – PL

WSJ. Israel suspends battalion that detained CNN crew in West Bank

A soldier who made “inappropriate remarks” has been dismissed from service, the IDF said. Reservists from the ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda unit held the journalists for two hours. – PL

The Badge Herald. Disinformation disproportionately harms nonwhite groups online through voter suppression

A University of Wisconsin (UW) study on voter suppression revealed that disinformation organizations used social media ads to suppress voting in nonwhite communities primarily in battleground states like Wisconsin, according to UW News. – PL

Fortune. “There are a lot more attacks happening that aren’t being reported”: Iran’s cyber response creeps across the globe

As they fled an Iranian missile strike, some Israelis with Android phones received a text offering a link to real-time information about bomb shelters. But instead of a helpful app, the link downloaded spyware giving hackers access to the device’s camera, location and all its data. – PL

Global Investigative Journalism Network. Investigating disinformation in the age of AI

The scale of misleading and manipulative content has fundamentally altered the conditions under which journalists operate. – PL

Geopolitical Futures. Disinformation: A new battlespace for democracy

Democratic systems are particularly susceptible to information warfare. – PL

Horizon. An arms race over disinformation: using AI to detect AI

In a world full of deepfakes and fake news, EU-funded researchers are building tools to help journalists tell what’s real and what’s not. – PL

Northeast Valley News. Misinformation and OPSEC (Operational Security) risks rise as the war in Iran plays out—online

Advances in artificial intelligence and the speed of online platforms have made misinformation and disinformation easier to create and spread during the war. – PL

The Times. Putin’s propaganda machine joins Kim’s circus of spin

The Russian and North Korean state news agencies Tass and KCNA have signed an agreement to counter “disinformation” by their “many enemies.” – PL

Vermont Biz. Balint introduces bill to strengthen protections for journalists against unreasonable searches

Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) and U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore), introduced a bill to strengthen privacy protections against unreasonable government searches and seizures that could chill reporting critical of the government. The bill follows Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) raiding the home of a Washington Post reporter. – PL

Mondoweiss. Trump suggests treason charges for journalists as Iran war spins out of control

You know a war probably isn't going well when the president starts threatening media outlets with treason charges. And as the situation in the Middle East inevitably gets worse, Americans can expect more First Amendment threats. – PL

Salon. Trump wants to punish media for his unpopular war

The president and FCC Chair Brendan Carr are threatening journalists and broadcasters for their coverage of Iran. – PL

CNN. The Pentagon’s press crackdown meets some real resistance

The ruling by a federal judge striking down Pentagon press limits was cheered by the news organization that sued over the policy, The New York Times, and by a wide range of First Amendment advocates. – PL

Honolulu Civil Beat. Removal of federal data affects us in our hometowns

The bottom line is that the public is being kept in the dark and decision-making is hobbled. Yet the outcry over disappearing data has been limited mostly to academics, scientists, finance people and others who regularly mine government data and documents to inform their work. – PL

Stat News. Researchers surveyed by STAT detail the toll of grant cuts: labs shutting down, data unanalyzed

A nationwide survey of nearly 1,000 researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health revealed that, while some of the administration’s policies have been reversed and others never came to pass, all is not well with the nation’s research enterprise. – PL

Stat News. NIH grant terminations affected women scientists more than men, study finds

Female Ph.D. students and assistant professors saw disproportionate impacts. – PL

Stat News. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) conflict is test of Trump’s support for RFK Jr.’s vaccine policy overhaul

A court ruling has put the administration in a delicate political position. – PL

Science Literacy Project. Viewpoint: There are dangerous consequences to firing credible scientists and gutting US health agencies

Editorial by a former NIH leader and biomedical research advocate, worries that the rapid and substantial loss of institutional knowledge will be bad for those who NIH ultimately serves: patients and the American people. – PL

Dataindex.us. Announcing Take Action Monthly Office Hours

Data Index will begin hosting drop-in office hours starting April 3rd. Visitors will be free to ask questions, although it seems geared toward helping those who wish to respond to public comment calls regarding changes to government data collection. — MK

Inside Higher Ed. Halfway Through the Fiscal Year, NIH Has Only Obligated 15% of Research Funding

“The science community fears the funding agency’s slow contract and grant making could result in another rush of multiyear obligations at the end of the fiscal year.” Last year, the multiyear funding approach resulted in fewer new grants being awarded, which impacted early-career researchers. — MK

Politico. The Education Department is poised to lose its longtime HQ

The Education Department is being evicted from the Lyndon B. Johnson building, and the Energy Department is moving in. I imagine this is meant to cause disruptions to both agencies, making them easier to dismantle or manipulate. — MK

NYT. Richard Mauer, reporter who probed corruption in Alaska, dies at 76

He routinely took on the powerful and was part of a Pulitzer-winning team at The Anchorage Daily News that investigated alcoholism and suicide among Native Alaskans. – PL

News 4 SA. Journalism community mourns death of leader and mentor Diana “DeeDee” Fuentes

With more than 35 years in journalism, Fuentes previously worked as deputy metro editor at the San Antonio Express-News and held leadership roles across several journalism organizations. She also helped establish and grow the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists (SAAHJ). – PL

The Westerly Sun. Former Sun publisher David T. Lucey dies at 84

David T. Lucey Sr., a decades-long veteran of the New England newspaper industry, who served as first post-Utter family publisher of The Westerly Sun from 1999 until his retirement in 2004. – PL

NYT. Tracy Kidder, author of The Soul of a New Machine, dies at 80

A Pulitzer Prize-winning narrative journalist, he wrote deeply reported books that often focused on heroic goodness in people. – PL

WSJ. The Ellisons are building a media empire. Trump keeps cheering them on.

The president and defense secretary have each heaped praise on Larry and David Ellison as the Justice Department reviews Paramount Skydance’s Warner Bros. deal. – PL

NYT. Newsmax executive named as Voice of America’s deputy

The appointment raised concerns that the Trump administration would try to erode the news group’s independence after picking a deputy who had been at conservative news channels for around 20 years. – PL

Committee to Protect Journalists. “I’m displaced too”: Lebanese journalists cover war after fleeing home

In early March, as the Iran war spread across the Middle East and Israeli strikes rained down on Lebanon, many journalists covering the country’s growing displacement crisis found themselves living it. – PL

Variety. CBS News to lay off 6% of staff, shut down CBS News Radio Service

The staff reductions — about 60 to 70 in all — come after Bari Weiss, editor in chief of CBS News, articulated a plan to make CBS News more relevant to younger, digitally savvy generations, which may entail recalibrating the traditional deference given to the bread and butter operations of the business — linear TV programming. – PL

The News Guild of NY. Unionized staff at ProPublica vote to strike

Workers at the nonprofit newsroom take action after management’s persistent refusal to agree to a fair contract that includes industry-standard “just cause” job security protections, and guardrails around the use of AI. – PL

Semafor. Vox Media tried to sell its podcasts, and itself

Vox is the last company standing from the long-ago era of venture-backed startups fueled by social media and vast traffic numbers. – PL

Press Gazette. US newspaper circulations 2025: Washington Post print declines 21% in a year

Twenty-four out of top 25 US newspapers saw print circulation decline in 2025. – PL

Pew Research Center. Where do Americans turn first for information about breaking news?

When a breaking news event happens, 36% of U.S. adults say they typically turn first to their preferred news organization to get more information. Another 28% look to search engines like Google or Bing, and 19% make social media their first destination. A smaller share (5%) usually asks friends, family or acquaintances for more information. – PL

AP. Pentagon will remove media offices after judge reinstates New York Times press credentials

The journalist-led Pentagon Press Association said the announcement “is a clear violation of the letter and spirit of last week’s ruling.” – PL

The Washington Post. Pentagon tightens control of Stars and Stripes after blasting it as “woke”

The Defense Department previously pledged to rid the military newspaper of “woke distractions” and refocus coverage on “warfighting.” – PL

The Guardian. Nashville journalist arrested by ICE released after 15 days in detention

Colombia-born Estefany Rodríguez, whose detention had alarmed press freedom advocates, was freed on a $10,000 bond. – PL

NYT. An autocrat jailed her, but she wants the world to talk to him

Maria Kalesnikava is campaigning for the West to engage with the regime in Belarus that imprisoned her for more than five years. – PL

Kabul Now. Taliban frees journalist Mahdi Ansary after 18 months in custody

Ansary, a reporter for the Afghan News Agency (AFKA), was arrested by agents from the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) on October 5, 2024, near his office in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi area. His family initially reported him missing before sources confirmed his detention by the Taliban. – PL

NBC News. Supreme Court rejects citizen journalist's case against Texas officials who arrested her for reporting

Officials in Laredo dropped the charges against Priscilla Villarreal, but she then filed a civil rights lawsuit, alleging they violated her free speech rights under the First Amendment. – PL

Radio Info. Community radio announcer shot dead in Philippines

Julio Calo, 49, was gunned down by an unknown assailant who pulled over in an SUV outside his house in Barangay Robles. – PL

NPR. Voice of America staffers sue, alleging Kari Lake put on propaganda

"The Voice of America has been breaching the Constitutional and statutory rules that require that outlet not to push propaganda or censorship," one of the lead attorneys on the lawsuit, Norm Eisen, told NPR. "In a time of crisis and conflict, like what we have right now in Iran, people count on the U.S. government broadcasts, and in particular, the Voice of America, to tell the truth." – PL

Courthouse News Service. First Amendment suit challenges shuttering of University of Alabama magazines

Students claim viewpoint discrimination after publications highlighting Black experiences and women’s issues lost all university funding and support. – PL

People. Trump unexpectedly attacks Newsmax reporter on camera and warns he won't last at MAGA-aligned network

At one point during a press gaggle, the president cut off Newsmax White House correspondent Mike Carter and opted to take a question from a CNN reporter despite his longstanding animosity toward the latter network. – PL

CBC. Netanyahu posts video to dispel rumours of his death after disinformation spreads online

Claims that an earlier video of the Israeli PM showed him with 6 fingers led to speculation about his health. – PL

Texas Public Radio. Why don't Americans trust the government?

Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer speculates that the current distrust, which has grown by the decade, is a result of the misinformation and disinformation that successive governments have issued during wartime. – PL

Independent. Pete Hegseth again uses Iran war update to tear into media and assures Americans “we’re winning, decisively”

Hegseth berated the press for “calling into question every step” of the conflict and attempted to reassure the American people that it was not “a forever war” – PL

MS Now. Alex Jones’ Infowars is shutting down, but his disinformation legacy lives on

Only after Trump leaves the stage, and the MAGA movement fades with him, will Infowars truly be gone. – PL

Euro News. Impersonating Euronews: Pro-Kremlin disinformation network takes aim at Hungary's elections

A network linked to pro-Kremlin actors is impersonating major media outlets to spread false claims about Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar ahead of parliamentary elections. – PL