Gaetz’s new gig
CNN’s Kristen Holmes with the news that former Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz, who flamed out as Donald Trump’s attorney general pick, has lined up a new job: anchor for right-wing, ahem, news network One America News — better known as OAN. Sounds about right, eh?
Gaetz resigned as a Florida representative when Trump nominated him to be attorney general. But when it became clear Gaetz wasn’t going to be confirmed by the Senate, he withdrew. Now he has found a new home.
Gaetz’s show is expected to air weeknights at 9 p.m.
Holmes wrote, “OAN has established itself as perhaps the most extreme of the pro-Trump news outlets. The little-watched network regularly gives airtime to baseless conspiracy theories that support Trump. The channel even worked closely with Russian operatives on a propaganda-style documentary during Trump’s first impeachment in 2019 over allegations he pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.”
OAN promoted the show with a bunch of graphics on its website on Tuesday. Politico’s Kimberly Leonard reported, “At OAN, Gaetz will also co-host a video podcast with Dan Ball, host of ‘Real America with Dan Ball,’ that the network said would feature ‘unfiltered conversations’ for Gen Z, Millennials and early Gen Xers.”
Posting the news
As I mentioned in Tuesday’s newsletter, Matea Gold, a managing editor for The Washington Post who was believed to be considered for the Post’s top editor role at one point, is moving over to The New York Times, where she will be a senior editor in its Washington, D.C., bureau.
That’s a pretty significant move: a senior editor at The Washington Post moving over to become a senior editor at The New York Times.
Now, this might be only truly interesting to those of us in media circles, especially because Gold is not someone who readers would be familiar with. Still, according to NPR media reporter David Folkenflik, the Post had planned to write a story about it, but the story never was published.
Folkenflik wrote, “On Saturday, Acting Executive Editor Matt Murray told editors that the paper should not cover itself, according to four people with knowledge.”
However, Folkenflik added, “This is not how the Post has handled past developments about itself or its leaders. Last year, it covered the retirement of Senior Managing Editor Cameron Barr and in 2015, it published an article about Managing Editor Kevin Merida's decision to leave for ESPN.” (Also, others on X pointed out that The Washington Post does cover itself when it wins awards, such as Pulitzer Prizes.)
Again, this Gold news isn’t earth-shattering, but former Post media reporter Paul Farhi summed it up well in this tweet: “Who would care if an article like this *was* published? Now there will be questions about why it wasn’t.”
Special shoutout
The New York Times with excellent hustle here from Corey Kilgannon, Mike Baker, Luke Broadwater and Shawn Hubler — and 19 (!) contributors — for this timely report: “Suspect in C.E.O. Killing Withdrew From a Life of Privilege and Promise.”
Media writer Paul Farhi tweeted:
An amazing piece of journalism, if only for the resources on display. It is the work of:
—Four bylined reporters.
—*19* contributing reporters.
—Three researchers.
Not many news orgs in America (or the world) that can marshal this kind of firepower.
Media news, tidbits and interesting links …
- A deeply disturbing investigation from The Washington Post’s Shawn Boburg and Chris Dehghanpoor: “He was suicidal and needed help. Online predators pushed him to take his life on camera.”
- The New York Times’ Ellen Barry (and photos by Graham Dickie) with “Spying on Student Devices, Schools Aim to Intercept Self-Harm Before It Happens.”
- Compelling reporting from NBC News’ Richard Engel, along with Gabe Joselow and Alexander Smith, in “Syria's celebrations muted by evidence of torture in Assad's notorious prisons.”
- The Atlantic’s Alan Taylor with “Top 25 News Photos of 2024.”
- Last Sunday’s “Meet the Press” on NBC, which featured an interview with President-elect Donald Trump, drew more than 2.9 million viewers, making it the show’s most-watched episode in more than a year.
- Boston Globe Media is laying off 11 staffers from Stat News, the health and medicine publication. That’s about 11% of the staff. The Boston Globe’s Aiden Ryan has the details.
- Sad news. Jeff Babineau, a longtime golf writer based in Orlando and former editor of Golfweek, has died. He was 62. I knew Jeff years ago when I was a sportswriter at the Tampa Bay Times and he was with the Orlando Sentinel. He was a superb sportswriter, but more than that, truly one of the nicest guys you’d ever hope to meet. Soft-spoken and kind and humble. Here’s more from Golfweek’s Jason Lusk.
- Legendary baseball columnist Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post has been named the 2025 winner of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America Career Excellence Award. He will be honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame next July. Boswell officially retired from the Post in 2021, but still occasionally contributes columns. The Post’s Spencer Nusbaum has more on Boswell.
- Finally, let me point you in the direction of this amazing interactive piece from The New York Times. If you look at nothing else today, look at this. This is top-notch stuff: “58 Jazz Luminaries Assembled for This Photo. Only One Remains.”
More resources for journalists
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].
