Email not displaying correctly?
View it in your browser ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
[link removed]


** OPINION
------------------------------------------------------------


** The Trump assassination attempt — one year later
------------------------------------------------------------
Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he is helped off the stage at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., last July (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

It was one year ago Sunday that there was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump near Butler, Pa.

Trump at the time was the former president of the United States and the Republican presidential nominee. He was speaking at an outdoor rally when his right ear was apparently grazed by a bullet, and he temporarily ducked to the ground. The Secret Service quickly helped him to his feet, and once back upright, he pumped his fist to the crowd before being rushed to a car.

It’s possible the moment had a profound effect on the election. We don’t have any way to measure how the moment changed the course of history, the country or the world that day. What we do know, though, is that things did, indeed, change.

It’s also hard to quantify what actually happened. The details are sparse.

Here’s what we do know: The would-be assassin, a 20-year-old man, was shot and killed at the scene by a Secret Service agent. This week, following an investigation, the Secret Service suspended six agents for various lengths up to six weeks.

What we don’t know, however, are the shooter’s motivations or how the day’s events unfolded.

Matt Quinn, Secret Service deputy director, told CBS News ([link removed]) , “We are laser-focused on fixing the root cause of the problem.

Quinn added, “We aren't going to fire our way out of this. We're going to focus on the root cause and fix the deficiencies that put us in that situation. The Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler. Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again.”

And the media continues to pursue the story.

Last month, The New York Times’ Steve Eder and Tawnell D. Hobbs produced this interesting piece: “The Quiet Unraveling of the Man Who Almost Killed Trump.” ([link removed]) It’s a penetrating look at the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.

There’s more.

On Sunday, NewsNation will air a special, “The Plot to Kill Trump: One Year Later” at 9 p.m. Eastern. Hosted by senior national correspondent Brian Entin, the one-hour show will feature a live discussion with a Congressional Task Force Member and an interview with an eyewitness. The segment will cover the news of the Secret Service suspensions, too.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s CBS affiliate, KDKA, is launching a new documentary series called “KDKA Originals.” The first of the series entitled “In the Crosshairs: The Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump,” aired Thursday night.It is being streamed on CBS News Pittsburgh ([link removed]) . It’s worth noting Butler is just outside Pittsburgh.

By the way, I want to pause right here to applaud local stations like KDKA for still making a commitment to produce deep-dive news stories like this. Julie Eisenman, president and general manager of KDKA, said in a statement ([link removed]) , “KDKA Originals represents a strategic expansion of the station's content offerings, allowing for deeper exploration of complex stories that extend beyond the constraints of traditional newscasts. We will provide nuance and detail to certain stories that simply can't be told in a few minutes.”

KDKA was on the scene covering Trump’s speech last July. Shawn Hoder, vice president of news at KDKA, said in that statement, “Our team witnessed and documented one of the most unforgettable events in recent U.S. history. This documentary provides a comprehensive, firsthand narrative of how the day unfolded — what our journalists saw, how they responded, and what happened in the critical moments after the shots were fired.”

It should not be forgotten that while Trump’s ear was grazed by a bullet, one man was killed and two others were badly injured in the shooting. Corey Comperatore, a local firefighter, was shot and killed, presumably by Crooks.

Sol McCormick, a reporter at the local paper, the Butler Eagle, profiled Comperatore’s family in “Corey Comperatore’s family tells of their year of grief.” ([link removed])

Comperatore’s eldest daughter, Kaylee Comperatore, told McCormick, “Everything I knew for the 24 years of my life got taken away in an instant. It’s been very hard trying to pick up the pieces and accept that my life will never be normal again.”

Comperatore’s widow, Helen, told McCormick, “I had to learn how to live without my best friend. We haven’t been apart in 34 years; (the future’s) a long time to go without your mate. I had to try to figure out how to be a single parent.”

The two men injured in the shooting were David Dutch and Jim Copenhaver.

Dutch, 58, told KDKA ([link removed]) , “It felt like somebody punched me right in the gut.”

Copenhaver, 75, was shot once in his triceps and once in his midsection. He walks now with a cane, as one of the bullets is lodged near his spine. He told KDKA, “I was standing up looking at the Jumbotron behind me, and next thing I know my sleeve has been yanked. I could see a portion of it going by pretty fast, and I heard 'pew.' I heard it, and I didn't realize at the time that I had gotten shot. But I turned around, and that's when I got the second shot. So, the second shot didn't hit bone. Mine went into all soft material. It was like a jolt. I didn't knock me over, but I didn't want to stand anymore.”

Again, strong work by KDKA to tell the story of what happened that day from a national and local perspective.

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER


** Career power-ups, delivered weekly.
------------------------------------------------------------

Get the latest Poynter offerings and advice to help you level up as a writer, reporter, producer, editor and leader, including free and low-cost courses on specific beats, and career-changing sessions with industry leaders. They’re all in our Weekly Training Digest newsletter.

Subscribe today. ([link removed])


** Dallas Morning News sold to Hearst
------------------------------------------------------------

Pretty big news in the newspaper world: Hearst is buying the Dallas Morning News in a transaction valued at $75 million. And so, Hearst Newspapers expands its footprint in Texas. It already owns the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News and the Austin American-Statesman.

Hearst Newspapers publish 28 dailies and 50 weeklies across the United States.

My colleague, Rick Edmonds, Poynter’s media business analyst writes about the deal in “Hearst buys the The Dallas Morning News, and 140 years of local ownership ends.” ([link removed])

Edmonds writes, “Staff reductions on the business side can be expected as those Dallas Morning News functions are consolidated with the rest of Hearst, but except for production, I would expect the newsroom to remain nearly intact. The Morning News’s story on the deal said that it has 157 news employees.”

Check out Edmonds’ story for much more.


** Journalism under attack
------------------------------------------------------------

An event supporting local journalism at The Buffalo History Museum on Thursday night had to be canceled because of threats against a journalist from The Buffalo News.

Earlier this week, Adam Zyglis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist from The Buffalo News, drew a cartoon ([link removed]) that showed a man wearing a MAGA hat being swept away by floodwaters in Kerr County, Texas. As the man is being submerged, he is holding up a sign that says, “Help.” A speech bubble to the man reads, “Gov’t is the problem not the solution.” It is all under the heading “SWEPT AWAY …”

The cartoon was criticized by many in the MAGA world.

Zyglis then posted an announcement on his Instagram page ([link removed]) Thursday from the Buffalo Newspaper Guild that said it and the Buffalo History Museum were postponing a happy hour called “Drawing Support for Local Journalism” in light of “serious concerns about public safety and direct threats that have warranted intervention by Buffalo police.”

The event was to highlight the work of Zyglis, who won a Pulitzer in 2015.

In his Instagram post, Zyglis wrote, “Tonight’s event at the Buffalo History Museum is unfortunately postponed (due to) safety concerns. Threats to me and my family are never an acceptable response to disagreeing with an editorial cartoon. Threats of violence have no place in a democracy that supports Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment.”

In a statement, The Guild also addressed that Zyglis has received death threats, adding, “We wholly condemn the individuals who have chosen to twist a positive, public event into an attempt to terrorize and silence Zyglis, spread fear among journalists and their supporters, and distort the mission of a free press. Zyglis is an opinion cartoonist who puts his name to every cartoon he draws. While his work is separate and independent from the work of newsroom reporters and editors at The Buffalo News, the Buffalo Newspaper Guild will not stand for physical threats of harm against him and his family. Those who stoop to such cowardly, disgraceful and anonymous acts must be held accountable. The threats made against Zyglis are being forwarded to law enforcement.”


** Media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review
------------------------------------------------------------
* For Los Angeles Times subscribers, Mitchell Landsberg and Gale Holland with “The real story of how L.A. became the epicenter of America’s homeless crisis.” ([link removed])
* It really is remarkable when you think of it, that Fox News has given a show to the daughter-in-law of the president of the United States. Media Matters’ Matt Gertz writes about Lara Trump in “The president's daughter-in-law hosts a weekly show on Fox News. To call it ‘propaganda’ is too kind.” ([link removed]) Gertz writes in his piece, “It should go without saying that it is wildly unethical for a purported news outlet to turn over network airtime to a family member of the president so she can relentlessly promote his agenda and routinely interview his top officials — but Fox executives have apparently given up even the pretense that the network is something more than Trump’s personal megaphone.”
* Circling back on this in case you missed it. My colleague Rick Edmonds, Poynter’s media business analyst, with “Loss of local journalists may be even worse than you think.” ([link removed])
* Wowza. Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins absolutely dismantles tennis analyst John McEnroe in “Tennis fans deserve better than John McEnroe.” ([link removed]) Just check out her first paragraph: “Please, someone in American television, break the McEnroe grip on tennis microphones. Belching up words is not broadcasting, a craft John McEnroe never learned. Johnny Mac has become an entitled air quaffer, a lapsed past master turned trifler who refuses to work at it. Witness how he tends to butcher the names of anyone not ranked in the top five. As for younger brother Patrick, he burps out banalities with the same offbeat affect as his bro, apparently believing it passes for alert observation. You need Pepto after listening to them for two hours.” Oh, she’s just getting warmed up in this takedown.
* The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch reports ([link removed]) that Kevin Harlan, who had been calling NBA games on TNT since 1996, has signed with Amazon Prime Video to call NBA games starting next season. TNT’s NBA contract expired after last season, and Amazon Prime’s package starts next season. In addition, Amazon Prime Video has added Brent Barry as a game analyst to its coverage. The son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry, Brent Barry spent 14 seasons in the NBA as a player, and has also been an assistant coach and worked in the front office.
* You’ve heard of Bill Ackman, right? He’s the billionaire hedge fund manager who pressured his alma mater, Harvard, to fire its president, in part, because of plagiarism allegations. And then Business Insider did a report accusing Ackman’s wife, Neri Oxman, a former Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, of plagiarism. And it turned into a whole controversy ([link removed]) . Well, now there’s more contention involving Ackman and professional tennis. USA Today columnist Dan Wolken writes about it in “Billionaire playing in ATP tournament makes mockery of pro tennis.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
------------------------------------------------------------
* New TV producers: Apply by July 18 to get the tools to create standout content, handle journalism's challenges, and lead your newsroom effectively. Apply today ([link removed]) .
* Learn how to “lead your leaders” in this virtual intensive for journalism managers handling big responsibilities without direct reports. Apply today ([link removed]) .
* Refine your immigration policy expertise with Poynter's Beat Academy. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Journalism leaders of color: Poynter’s prestigious Diversity Leadership Academy has helped over 200 journalists of color advance their careers. Apply today ([link removed]) .
* Access ([link removed]) Poynter’s comprehensive mental health reporting resources.
* New manager? Gain the critical skills you need on your path to leadership in journalism, media and technology. Apply now ([link removed]) .

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
The Poynter Report is your daily dive into the world of media, packed with the latest news and insights. Get it delivered to your inbox Monday through Friday by signing up here ([link removed]) . And don’t forget to tune into our biweekly podcast ([link removed]) for even more.
[link removed]
Help Poynter support journalism, truth and democracy. ([link removed])
GIVE NOW ([link removed])

ADVERTISE ([link removed]) // DONATE ([link removed]) // LEARN ([link removed]) // JOBS ([link removed])
Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here. ([link removed])
[link removed] [link removed] [link removed] [link removed] mailto:[email protected]?subject=Feedback%20for%20Poynter
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
© All rights reserved Poynter Institute 2025
801 Third Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
If you don't want to receive email updates from Poynter, we understand.
You can change your subscription preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe from all Poynter emails ([link removed]) .