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** OPINION
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** Donald Trump made a bizarre pick to lead Voice of America
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President-elect Donald Trump with Kari Lake at a campaign event in October. (AP Photo/Ross Franklin)

What a week it has been for President-elect Donald Trump, including a troubling pick to lead the respected Voice of America news agency. More on that in a second.

But let’s start with the news we all saw coming. I’ve written about it a few times this week, but it’s now official. Donald Trump is Time magazine’s person of the year ([link removed]) .

For the second time, Trump won a presidential election and was then named the Time person of the year. In explaining the choice ([link removed]) , Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs wrote, “Since he began running for President in 2015, perhaps no single individual has played a larger role in changing the course of politics and history than Trump.”

He later wrote, “Over time, we’ve seen the Person of the Year franchise shift: from Man of the Year to its current designation; from the period between the world wars, defined by leaders like Mohandas Gandhi and Wallis Simpson, to the first quarter of the 21st century, an era marked by the tremendous changes ushered in by a technological revolution. Although the American presidency has evolved across these eras, its influence has not diminished. Today, we are witnessing a resurgence of populism, a widening mistrust in the institutions that defined the last century, and an eroding faith that liberal values will lead to better lives for most people. Trump is both agent and beneficiary of it all. For marshaling a comeback of historic proportions, for driving a once-in-a-generation political realignment, for reshaping the American presidency and altering America’s role in the world, Donald Trump is TIME’s 2024 Person of the Year.”

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** Check your facts
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Trump sat down for an extensive interview ([link removed]) conducted by Time national political correspondent Eric Cortellessa, executive features editor Alex Altman, Washington bureau chief Massimo Calabresi and editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs.

Now, for the rest of the story: Time then published a 2,800-word fact check ([link removed]) of the Trump interview. Yeah, 2,800. You read that right. You know how some news outlets say at the top of a story how long it will take you to read the story? Time says it will take 12 minutes to read the fact check.

That’s a lot of fact-checking.

Speaking of the Trump interview, here’s New York magazine’s Margaret Hartmann with “10 Stunning Things We Learned From Trump’s Time Interview.” ([link removed])


** Wait, who?
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Trump is simply trolling us with some of his administration picks, right? The latest are-you-serious suggestion is Kari Lake as director of Voice of America, the federally funded broadcaster that provides independent news reporting around the world.

Yes, the same Kari Lake who has spent the past several years losing elections (first for governor of Arizona, and then for senator) when she isn’t spreading lies about the 2020 presidential election, whining that she was cheated out of her gubernatorial election and calling the media “fake news.” Odd coming from a former news anchor herself.

And she might end up in charge of the VOA, which CNN’s Brian Stelter notes ([link removed]) is “part of the US Agency for Global Media, which also runs networks like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. VOA produces award-winning journalism and, in doing so, promotes democratic values around the world. The US government has historically portrayed VOA as a counterweight to foreign propaganda and a model for free, fair, truth-telling news coverage.”

Stelter adds, “Partly for that reason, VOA says it has a ‘firewall’ in place that ‘prohibits interference by any US government official in the objective, independent reporting of news.’”

Because of that “firewall” and some other bureaucratic red tape, Lake is not assured of becoming the head of the VOA. As Stelter wrote, “So for now, Trump’s announcement is more of a suggestion — albeit a highly influential one.”

But this headline on a column by USA Today’s Rex Huppke seems to capture it all: “With Kari Lake as Voice of America head, Trump now has his MAGA propaganda arm.” ([link removed]) Huppke wrote, “Objective reality had a good run here in America, but it’s largely out the window now.”

The New York Times’ Minho Kim wrote ([link removed]) , “Mr. Trump was accused of using his appointees to try to turn Voice of America, whose aim is to offer unbiased news to audiences around the world, into a pro-Trump propaganda outlet during his first term. In his announcement of Ms. Lake, a local TV news anchor turned election denier who lost races for Senate and governor in Arizona, Mr. Trump hinted that he believed he had found an ally to try to reshape its coverage.”

That’s true. In a social media post, Trump wrote Lake will “ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media.”

Media Matters’ Matt Gertz writes ([link removed]) , “Trump’s selection of Lake … is a nakedly partisan assault on journalistic values that demonstrates the level of fealty he expects from the press.”


** Cozying up to Trump
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Mark Zuckerberg, shown here in September. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Back in September, The New York Times ran a story with the headline, “Mark Zuckerberg Is Done With Politics.” ([link removed]) Times reporters Theodore Schleifer and Mike Isaac wrote, “In conversations over the past few years with friends, colleagues and advisers, Mr. Zuckerberg has expressed cynicism about politics after years of bad experiences in Washington. He and others at the top of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, believed that both parties loathed technology and that trying to continue engaging with political causes would only draw further scrutiny to their company.”

Then comes this headline this week from The Wall Street Journal: “Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Donates $1 Million to Trump’s Inaugural Fund.” ([link removed])

What gives? I have no doubt the Times story was accurate. So what happened?

Journal reporters Dana Mattioli and Rebecca Ballhaus wrote, “The contribution and efforts to court the incoming administration are emblematic of the balancing act for technology CEOs whose companies have often been the target of ire from Trump and other Republicans and whose workforces tend to lean strongly to the left. Now, with Republicans set to take control of the White House and both houses of Congress and calling for new regulation of tech, some executives are adopting a new posture toward Trump.”

The sizable contribution comes just a month after Zuckerberg dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. The Journal wrote the dinner “focused on general relationship-building.” Zuckerberg also congratulated Trump on social media after Trump won the election, writing, “We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country. Looking forward to working with you and your administration.”

It would appear then that Zuckerberg is not done with politics, mostly, one would assume, because it’s in Zuckerberg’s best interest to not be done with politics.

Meanwhile …


** Philanthropy surges as Report for America and LION Publishers land multi-million dollar grants
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For this item, I turn it over to Poynter media business analyst Rick Edmonds.

Journalism foundations are going on an end-of-the-year spending binge. Thursday brought three announcements of major grants to support the digital startup sector and a historic African American publication.
* Report for America will get $20 million over three years ([link removed]) from the Knight Foundation. The nearly eight-year-old program places journalists in newsrooms, typically to cover an underserved group or geography. Report for America picks up half the reporter’s salary, with the partner organization and local philanthropy covering the rest. The project has placed 658 mainly early career journalists, a press release said, and 82% continue to work in the field. 46% of the most recent cohort of reporters landed jobs at the sponsoring newsroom.
* LION Publishers — short for Local Independent Online News — will receive $4 million in support from the MacArthur Foundation. The 500-member association provides management support for the digital startup sector, both for-profit and nonprofit, and makes grants to promising ventures. The grant was part of a $20 million commitment, MacArthur announced Thursday ([link removed]) . Other recipients include the Listening Post Collective ([link removed]) and Tiny News Collective ([link removed]) , two more support groups for the sector.
* The Oklahoma Eagle, ([link removed]) a Black-owned weekly in Tulsa launched shortly after the city’s 1921 race massacre, is planning a $14 million expansion. Funded by local and national philanthropies, it aims to quadruple its staff. With the assistance of the American Journalism Project, it will incorporate a parent Tulsa News Initiative, with latitude to make grants to other local newsrooms. AJP has helped launch similar projects in Ohio, Indiana and Houston.

The grant announcements reflect foundations’ tendency to make substantial investments in established organizations with track records that show they are a good bet to do more good work. (Separately, Knight and MacArthur created Press Forward, a $500 million effort to bolster local news. The initiative dispensed grants to 205 early stage startups in a recent funding round ([link removed].) .)

AJP CEO Sarabeth Berman included an artful pitch for her organization and the digital nonprofit sector in an essay for Nieman Journalism Lab’s annual predictions feature ([link removed]) . It concluded: “There’s an old adage in the news business that journalists only cover the planes that crash. But in this case, we need to cover the planes that are taking off. A new generation of thriving local news outlets, doing journalism at the highest level: This is a story that needs to be told.”


** Lee Enterprises executives tout AI partnerships after $9.5 million quarterly loss
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For this item, I turn it over to Poynter media business reporter Angela Fu.

After ending fiscal year 2024 with a $23.6 million loss, Lee Enterprises appears to be pinning its future on artificial intelligence.

The company, which operates newspapers in 73 markets, revealed Thursday ([link removed]) that it had ended both its most recent quarter and the entire fiscal year in the red. Though Lee was able to grow digital revenue, which now represents more than half of its total revenue, it suffered a $9.5 million loss for the quarter — a worse performance than the same period last year. Similarly, its $23.6 million loss for the year represented a decline from last year, when it lost $2.7 million.

Lee executives glossed over these results on an earnings call Thursday, instead touting the company’s digital growth before highlighting several new AI partnerships. Within the past week, Lee has announced partnerships with AI search engine Perplexity ([link removed]) and startup ProRata.ai ([link removed]) . An agreement with Amazon Web Services to support the technical demands of these AI partnerships will be formally announced next week, chief transformation and commercial officer Les Ottolenghi said on the call.

News organizations have been split ([link removed]) on how they address the growth of generative AI. While some are filing lawsuits against AI companies for copyright infringement, others are signing deals with them. Lee sees itself as “the interface between the consumer and the world of AI content,” Ottolenghi said.

“The time to act is now. Legal battles, fair use lawsuits — while sometimes necessary — are often time-consuming, very costly and likely to get tied up in the courts for years to come,” CEO and president Kevin Mowbray said. “We’re focused on strategies that position us as leaders and collaborators in this transformation.”

The company will announce additional AI partnerships in the next quarter, executives said. Lee stock was $16.55 a share Thursday afternoon, down 0.6% from the previous day’s close.


** And now for more media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review …
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* Big media move of the week: Dasha Burns, one of NBC News' top national political correspondents, is headed over to Politico to become their White House bureau chief. Here’s the announcement ([link removed]) from Politico global editor-in-chief John Harris.
* Good behind-the-scenes insight from The New York Times’ Katie Robertson: “Los Angeles Times Owner Wades Deeper Into Opinion Section.” ([link removed]) Robertson reports on another editorial blocked by Los Angeles Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.
* The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr with “Fox News and the blurred lines of covering Pete Hegseth.” ([link removed]) In a particularly smart passage, Barr writes, “There is certainly pride among Fox hosts that one of their own is up for such an important position. But in many ways, Fox News is in a no-win position. If Hegseth is formally nominated and affirmed by the Senate, it will cement the close relationship between the president-elect and the network. With Hegseth as defense secretary, how could the network’s opinion hosts and journalists cover their close friend impartially? Could Fox News viewers credibly expect critical coverage of a Hegseth-led Department of Defense? There is also sure to be ample discussion of Hegseth’s career at Fox during his confirmation hearing, which will undoubtedly be aired live on Fox. If Hegseth withdraws, those on the network who have gone all-in on his behalf could look
foolhardy. And, if Trump’s camp is seen as forcing Hegseth out, that could create tension with a group of Fox hosts who are ardent Trump supporters but also care deeply about Hegseth’s career.”
* In an article originally published by Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative and republished by Poynter: Mark Caro with “In Massachusetts towns haunted by ghost newspapers, startups are fighting to meet audience needs.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin with “BuzzFeed Strikes Deal to Sell ‘Hot Ones’ Company for $82.5 Million.” ([link removed])
* Carol Hunter, executive editor of The Des Moines Register, announced Thursday she is retiring after a 45-year career in journalism. The Register’s Bill Steiden has more ([link removed]) .
* I’m not totally shocked that NFL coaching legend Bill Belichick has agreed to become the new head coach at the University of North Carolina. The 72-year-old is a coaching lifer. It’s in his blood. It was looking like he wasn’t going to get another NFL job, so why not go coach in college? Like I said, I’m not surprised. But I am disappointed. Why? Because he turned into a heck of a broadcaster, which was mildly surprising considering how dry he was with the media over the years when he was head coach of the New England Patriots. He was doing a bunch of media jobs, but the two that stood out were his appearances on the Monday Night Football “ManningCast” with Peyton and Eli Manning, and his regular weekly segment with Pat McAfee. It’ll be good to see Belichick back on the sidelines, but he will be missed as a broadcaster because he was so smart, insightful and, believe it or not, had a great sense of humor.
* Someone thinks the Belichick hire isn’t going to work. The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel with “Here’s why North Carolina is going to regret hiring Bill Belichick.” ([link removed])
* Awful Announcing’s Matt Yoder with “Top 10 most explosive sports media moments of 2024.” ([link removed])
* And one more sports note that brings some excellent news. Legendary ESPN college basketball announcer Dick Vitale announced Thursday that he is cancer free. The man known as Dickie V has been battling cancer off and on for the past several years. Here’s more ([link removed]) from USA Today’s Jordan Mendoza.
* Justin Sayles with “The Ringer’s 30 Best Albums of 2024.” ([link removed])


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