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** OPINION
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** Donald Trump wants Paul Ryan fired. You can probably guess why.
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In this photo from 2019, then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, right, listens to President Donald Trump speak at the White House. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Former President Donald Trump wants Rupert Murdoch to fire Paul Ryan, the former Republican speaker of the House, from the board of Fox Corp. Why? Because Ryan says he won’t vote for Trump in November.

In a post on his Truth Social ([link removed]) late last week, Trump wrote, “Rupert Murdoch should fire pathetic RINO Paul Ryan from the Board of Fox. Ryan is a loser, always has been, and always will be. He was the WEAKEST & MOST INCOMPETENT Speaker of the House in its History. Fox will sink to the absolute bottom of the pack if Paul Ryan has anything to do with it!”

Last Tuesday, Ryan was speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference when he said, “Character is too important to me. And it’s a job that requires the kind of character that he just doesn’t have.”

But that does not mean Ryan is endorsing or voting for President Joe Biden.

Ryan said he would write in another candidate instead, although he didn’t say who. He said, “Having said that, I really disagree with (Biden) on policy. I wrote in a Republican the last time, I’m gonna write in a Republican this time.”

Vanity Fair’s Bess Levin wrote ([link removed]) , “Note: This is not the way to prevent Trump from becoming president.”

Ryan is just one of many Republicans who say they will not vote for Trump, but also are not voting for Biden, either.

Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, won’t endorse his former boss, but said, “I would never vote for Joe Biden. I’m a Republican.” Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who made an unsuccessful bid to become the Republican nominee, said he won’t vote for Trump, but also won’t vote for Biden.

The Guardian’s David Smith wrote ([link removed]) , “While such dissent from Trump and his authoritarian ambitions is welcome, critics say, refusing to support his opponent because of policy differences draws a false equivalence between them. If a significant number of Republican voters do likewise, not voting or writing in a name such as ‘Ronald Reagan,’ it could prove costly to Biden in a close election.”

Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman, told Smith, “I have zero respect for guys like Chris Christie, Mike Pence and Paul Ryan who come out and say. ‘I’m not gonna vote for Trump but I won’t vote for the only guy who can beat the guy who’s unfit.’ To me, that’s cowardly. What they’re doing is staying relevant as Republicans. They want to run again as Republicans.”

Walsh added, “Here’s the deal. If, as a Republican, you say I’m voting for Joe Biden because Trump is unfit, you end your career as a Republican. I did that five years ago. (Former congressman) Adam Kinzinger did that this past year. Then you end your relevance as a Republican. Guys like Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Mike Pence don’t want to give that up. It’s purely a political decision.”

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** New help for journalists facing uncooperative sources
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Poynter’s Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership has just published a new report on how journalists can continue providing independent, thorough coverage even as more sources are refusing to engage, blocking access to public records and keeping reporters out of places where news is made.

Read: “Shut Out: Strategies for good journalism when sources dismiss the press” ([link removed])

We’ll also be hosting a LinkedIn Live at 4 p.m. May 16 ([link removed]) to talk more about this dynamic and hear your thoughts. Join us!


** Addressing the future
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MSNBC president Rashida Jones gives the commencement address at the University of District of Columbia on Saturday. (Courtesy: Patricia McDougall)

MSNBC President Rashida Jones gave the commencement address at the University of the District of Columbia, an HBCU in the nation’s capital, on Saturday.

Jones told the graduating class, “I know a number of you are first-generation graduates. You are setting the example in your own families and communities. That pressure — the pressure of being a first or only — is a privilege. There is a certain responsibility when you are the first to do something. I have personally seen it and felt it. But that pressure means you are doing something extraordinary.”

Jones also talked about journalism, adding, “Pressure comes in all shapes and sizes in a role like mine. As journalists, we are writing the first draft of history and a lot of responsibility comes with that. I lead an organization that values the First Amendment and the power journalism has in putting a mirror up to the world. It is important for all of us, in each of our ways, to hold the powerful accountable and to leave the world in a better place because of it. That responsibility that pressure empowered journalists like Ida B. Wells and Ethel Payne to lay down a foundation for fundamental change and inspire the modern civil rights movement.”


** And another speech …
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There was another notable commencement address on Saturday as comedian Jerry Seinfeld spoke at Duke University. That speech did include some boos, as well as students leaving, as part of anti-war protests that took place on college campuses across the country. Most reports said the number of walkouts was in the “dozens.” The Associated Press said the number was about 30 out of 7,000.

NBC News Doha Madani wrote ([link removed]) , “It’s unclear whether the booing was intended for Seinfeld or the student protest, or potentially both, but chants of ‘Jerry’ were heard shortly after. Seinfeld was later able to deliver his speech uninterrupted.”

Seinfeld also received an honorary degree from Duke — where his daughter previously graduated and his son currently attends. Madani wrote, “Seinfeld, who is Jewish, has been vocally supportive of Israel and visited the country following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.”

In recent interviews promoting his new Netflix movie, “Unfrosted,” Seinfeld stirred up some controversy. In an interview with The New Yorker ([link removed]) , Seinfeld claimed “the extreme left and P.C. crap” killed comedy on television.

The Daily Beast’s Corbin Bolies wrote ([link removed]) , “Seinfeld’s speech largely steered clear of his recent public scuffles, focusing instead on jokes surrounding the students, AI, and his honorary degree. In a riff on the idea of privilege, though, he made specific mention of his heritage to loud cheers.”

That mention from Seinfeld: “I grew up a Jewish boy from New York. That is a privilege if you want to be a comedian.”


** Shooting for ratings
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The Caitlin Clark Show returns this week. The college basketball sensation who set scoring records on the court and helped boost TV ratings will return to the court and television screens. She will make her WNBA debut Tuesday night in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

And even though there’s plenty going on in the sports world, including the NBA and NHL playoffs, the WNBA is hopeful Clark can catapult TV ratings to new heights.

The Wall Street Journal’s Rachel Bachman has a good breakdown of the so-called Clark effect in “Caitlin Clark Is Already the GOAT of TV Ratings.” ([link removed]) Bachman’s reporting shows that Clark’s impact on TV ratings provides a bigger boost than even many of the great transformative athletes such as Michael Jordan, Serena Williams and Tiger Woods.

Bachman writes, “But Clark didn’t just push up the audience of her own games. She also elevated the expectations for her sport as a televised product. Even viewership of non-Iowa games in the tournament jumped 76% year-over-year.”

Bachman rightly notes that trying to compare viewership numbers across history and sports is very much an inexact science, but there’s no question that Clark has had a profound impact on women’s college basketball. In addition, this could be the most pivotal moment in WNBA history.


** Good work
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Zahra Skaik, a Palestinian woman featured on Monday’s “Face the Nation” on CBS. (Courtesy: CBS News)

If you get a chance, make sure to check out this special feature ([link removed]) that CBS’s “Face the Nation” did for Mother’s Day. Moderator Margaret Brennan talked with Zahra Skaik, a 44-year-old Palestinian woman who was living in Gaza City and managed to escape the war thanks to her sons, one of whom is an infantryman in the United States Army.

Skaik described how she left Gaza with nothing but a small backpack and the same clothes she had been wearing since the war began.


** Remembering a legend
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Roger Corman, a cult and B-film producer and director, died over the weekend. He was 98. NPR had a perfect description ([link removed]) of Corman: a B-movie legend who launched A-list careers.

Corman produced more than 300 films and directed 50 or so, including low-budget horror films, such as “A Bucket of Blood,” “The Masque of the Red Death” and the original “The Little Shop of Horrors.”

However, The New York Times’ Aljean Harmetz notes ([link removed]) that Corman went on to produce films for up-and-coming young directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Peter Bogdanovich and Ron Howard. Corman also gave Jack Nicholson his first movie role. Those are just a few of the examples.

Harmetz wrote, “In addition to being remembered for the opportunities he gave young filmmakers, Mr. Corman was renowned for his ability to make movies with almost no money and even less time.”

Corman received an honorary Oscar in 2009.


** Media tidbits
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* Speaking of Caitlin Clark, Front Office Sports’ Owen Poindexter with “Behind the Scenes of a New Caitlin Clark Docuseries.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Ryan Mac, Jack Nicas and Alex Travelli with “Elon Musk’s Diplomacy: Woo Right-Wing World Leaders. Then Benefit.” ([link removed])
* You need a Los Angeles Times subscription for this one: Meg James with “Shari Redstone was poised to make Paramount a Hollywood comeback story. What happened?” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* In an op-ed for The New York Times, Mark Penn, a pollster and an adviser to President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton from 1995 to 2008, and chairman of the Harris Poll, with “Biden Is Doing It All Wrong.” ([link removed])
* Also in The New York Times, Lulu Garcia-Navarro with “Charlamagne Tha God Won’t Take Sides.” ([link removed])
* Robert Costa’s feature on “CBS News Sunday Morning”: “Bill Maher on not pulling punches.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* Delve more deeply into your editing skills with Poynter ACES Intermediate Certificate in Editing ([link removed]) .
* Beat Academy ([link removed]) offers eight trainings for one low price.
* Work-Life Chemistry ([link removed]) six-week newsletter course: Ditch work-life balance for a more sustainable approach.
* Understand U.S. Immigration From the Border to the Heartland ([link removed]) — Start any time.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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