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** OPINION
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Good morning! Tom Jones is off today, but the team at Poynter is keeping tabs on the latest media news and analysis. Today’s newsletter was written by Amaris Castillo, Rick Edmonds, Angela Fu, TyLisa Johnson and Ren LaForme. Here's what you need to know.


** Don’t blame AI for Jim Acosta’s high-profile interview flop
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In this Nov. 14, 2018, file photo, Jim Acosta, then with CNN, walks into federal court in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Jim Acosta, former CNN chief White House correspondent, ignited a firestorm Monday after teasing an interview ([link removed]) with an artificial intelligence version of a Parkland shooting victim — created by the victim’s family to raise awareness about gun violence.

The move sparked outcry over AI usage, journalistic taste and whether Acosta, six months after leaving CNN and launching a Substack, is trying too hard to stay in the spotlight.

“At 4p ET/1p PT, I’ll have a one of a kind interview with Joaquin Oliver,” Acosta wrote on Bluesky. “He died in the Parkland school shooting. But his parents have created an AI version of their son for a powerful message on gun violence.”

Oliver died in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, one of 17 victims. In Acosta’s interview ([link removed]) , a video version of Oliver is presented, created through AI, apparently from a photo. In the clip, Oliver — dressed in a beanie and with a flat expression — appears to speak as Acosta asks, “What happened to you?”

The AI’s answers are stilted and flat; its movement jerking and uncanny. Acosta mostly treats it as a normal interview.

The reaction was immediate and unrelenting.

“There are living survivors of school shootings you could interview, and it would really be their words and thoughts instead of completely made-up,” one user responded.

Others weren’t as diplomatic:

“Hey Jim. Quick question. What the (expletive) is wrong with you.”

To give Acosta a bit of credit, nearly everyone, across all industries and ways of life, is grappling with how and when to use AI. This is uncharted territory. For every Lewis and Clark, there’s going to be a Dr. Livingstone. This isn’t just a high-profile misstep; it's part of a larger, ongoing conversation about AI’s potential and risks in journalism. (Poynter has developed a starter kit to help newsrooms navigate AI use ([link removed]) .)

But this particular story isn’t really about AI. It’s a story about news judgment.

Every time a big-name journalist like Don Lemon, Terry Moran or Jim Acosta leaves a well-known news organization to join the “I’m-Starting-A-Substack-Club,” the conversation turns to money, reach and scoops. Can they replicate the fame and influence they had in their previous roles? Who is going to subscribe to that? How long before they wind up at some B-tier cable news outfit that most people haven’t heard of?

Often lost in that conversation are the significant benefits of working within established media structures, including one that would have been beneficial in this situation: the presence of people whose sole job it is to keep your foot away from your mouth.

Many of these journalists are used to being surrounded by an army of help. Even big names like Lemon and Acosta can only yield a small squad of assistance in their new indie ventures. Presumably, someone at CNN would have told Acosta that this might not be the best idea.

So, maybe this sounds a bit self-serving coming from someone who shepherds drafts to publication all day, and maybe it’s a bit trite to say, but here it is:

Everybody needs an editor.

One person asking, “Are you sure?” is often what stands between a lousy idea left to moulder in a notebook and the condemnation of a small industry of blogger-critics. Trust me, I know from experience.

As for AI, it has been an infernal engine driving a number of high-profile mishaps in journalism and beyond over the past couple years. It’s also led to plenty of good, though we hear about that less. As it seeps into more and more aspects of our daily lives, it’s up to society to collectively decide where it’s appropriate and where it isn’t.

In the meantime, I hope Jim Acosta decides to phone a friend next time. We’ve all got a lot of figuring out to do.

By Ren LaForme, managing editor

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** Sarasota, Florida, event: Poynter’s 50th anniversary exhibit
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Step into the story of how journalism has changed and where it’s headed. Poynter’s "Moments of Truth: An Exploration of Journalism’s Past, Present, and Future" exhibit runs August 4–11 at The Ringling, featuring interactive displays and a free week of media literacy events. The week culminates in a thought-provoking community conversation with leaders in journalism and AI, examining how emerging technologies are reshaping the truth behind the images we see.

Register for the events ([link removed])


** Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler explains why he left
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A quote from former Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee is displayed on the wall of the newspaper’s office in Washington, D.C., on July 18, 2017: "The truth, no matter how bad, is never as dangerous as a lie in the long run." (Nicole Glass Photography/Shutterstock)

Before leaving behind a three-decade career at The Washington Post last week, fact-checker Glenn Kessler had a conversation with publisher Will Lewis in which he was asked, thrice, “What should The Post do to appeal more to Fox News viewers?”

That conversation, which took place in April 2024, precipitated Kessler’s eventual decision to accept a buyout from the paper, he wrote ([link removed]) in a Substack column Tuesday. Titled “Why I left The Washington Post,” the piece recounts Kessler’s failed attempts to get the paper to hire an ombudsman and — later, once he had taken the buyout — a successor to his “The Fact Checker” vertical.

Lewis and executive editor Matt Murray, Kessler wrote, have failed to articulate a clear vision or strategy for the paper, which has bled staff over the past year. The most recent exodus has been the result of buyouts, but staff have been leaving since February, when billionaire owner Jeff Bezos announced the opinion section would no longer publish pieces that opposed “personal liberties and free markets.” A few months earlier, Bezos had spiked a planned endorsement of former Vice President and Democrat Kamala Harris for the presidential election.

“There was no strategy in how the buyout was structured, except that people were encouraged to leave if they did not align with the new vision — still undefined and vague,” Kessler wrote. “In his emails, Lewis seemed to want to push out as much of the old guard as possible — i.e., anyone who worked at The Post before the Bezos era.”

The Post has struggled financially for several years, and the spiked endorsement and changes in editorial policy only drove away more readers, Kessler wrote.

“The Post’s liberal columnists generated huge traffic — that’s because of the liberal slant of the readership — and now they’ve all quit,” he wrote. “Every day, I checked the daily traffic numbers and, year over year, it was like being on a waterslide — with no bottom.”

A Washington Post spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement that the paper is undergoing a “significant reinvention” that will increase engagement and give readers more control over how they pay for the Post’s journalism, which the spokesperson said has remained “high quality” and “impactful” even during the transition.

“The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the rapidly changing industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are,” the spokesperson wrote. “The Post has been transforming all aspects of its business to not merely meet the moment but to thrive in it.”

Kessler wrote that he realized during the latest round of buyouts that it would make more financial sense to take a buyout than to stay in an “uncertain” situation. A “senior editor” told him and other reporters that any further staff reductions would be done through layoffs, not buyouts. “Many more” Post reporters would have taken the buyout if they had been able to line up a job or were better positioned to enter the job market, Kessler wrote.

Kessler had run “The Fact Checker” since 2011, and before he left, he offered to stay on until the Post could find a reporter to replace him. During a July 22 meeting, Murray suggested that the Post extend Kessler’s employment by two months to find and train his replacement, Kessler wrote. But when he consulted human resources, he was told he could not extend his employment longer than a month. Kessler said he decided then to take the buyout.

“When I drafted the staff notice that I was taking the buyout, I included a line about leaving shoes to fill — as a way to indicate The Fact Checker would continue,” Kessler wrote. “By the time the announcement emerged from Murray’s office, that sentence had been stricken.

“To me, the episode demonstrated that there is no vision, no game plan, and no commitment to build on existing traffic. Instead, the buyouts have removed some of The Post’s biggest traffic generators — and I don’t see a strategy to replace what has been lost.”

By Angela Fu, media business reporter


** Alden is not quitting yet in its pursuit of The Dallas Morning News
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Despite the most decisive of rebuffs, Alden Global Capital is still maneuvering through its MediaNews Group to buy the parent of The Dallas Morning News.

DallasNews Corp. announced a definitive agreement July 10 to be acquired by Hearst ([link removed]) . When Alden offered an upset bid July 28, Robert Decherd, who votes a controlling family share, reiterated that he is sticking by his unconditional backing of the deal. He added that he would never vote for a sale to Alden ([link removed]) , preferring a little less money but the reliable commitment to journalism quality that Hearst offers.

On Monday, Alden/MediaNews Group surfaced a provision in the DallasNews bylaws it hopes will stop the train. It turns out that final acceptance of a transaction requires two-thirds approval from the family group (B shares) and, separately, other stockholders (A shares). DallasNews Corp. immediately called a shareholder meeting to approve the Hearst deal ([link removed]) .

I emailed a MediaNews Group contact for comment but did not receive a response.

Apparently, MediaNews Group hopes to draw in other nonfamily stockholders to supplement its 10% share and vote the Hearst proposal down. But there is a catch to the strategy. Other shareholders would be rejecting Hearst’s $15 offer, about triple their stock’s value before the bid. There is no guarantee another deal would follow, so they could simply lose the nice premium they stand to get.

Alden, notorious for deep newsroom cuts, doesn’t win every takeover fight it picks, but it are persistent, upping bids and attempting legal threats. Parenthetically, if the Hearst bid does go through, Alden still stands to win while losing. The investment fund would exit at Hearst’s $15 price, turning a substantial gain.

By Rick Edmonds, media business analyst


** The New York Times welcomes two deals to expand The Athletic podcast network
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In a move to expand its subscriber base, The New York Times Co.’s Athletic brand has signed two new podcast licensing deals, according to Bloomberg ([link removed]) : “Pablo Torre Finds Out ([link removed]) ” and “The Sports Gossip Show ([link removed]) .”

“Pablo Torre Finds Out” is hosted by Pablo Torre, a sportswriter who worked for years at ESPN. “The Sports Gossip Show” is hosted by freelance journalist Madeline Hill and sports feature writer Charlotte Wilder.

A person familiar with the details told Bloomberg that the agreement with sportswriter Torre, whose show is produced by Meadowlark Media, is in the seven figures.

In an interview, Athletic chief commercial and development officer Sebastian Tomich called this the “single best way for us to go out and reach millions of more sports fans.”

The Times declined to comment on the financial terms of the show, Bloomberg reported.

In a sit-down ([link removed]) in June on the “A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe” podcast, host Sue Bird described Torre as one of the most buzzed-about interviewers on the internet. She teased that he may be on a media tour. Torre said something happens when you’re “making sacrifices to the algorithm.”

“My show has now done episodes that people actually have heard, consumed and want to talk about,” he told the hosts. “Most recently, it was my multipart investigation into Bill Belichick and his girlfriend, and their business, and how one of the most private people in American life has become kind of the opposite in key, interesting ways.”

Torre said this has led to some beef with people he doesn’t consider enemies. He said he’s using journalism to “solve mysteries” that are both deeply serious and, at times, incredibly frivolous.

Bloomberg reports that Meadowlark will continue to produce Torre’s program.

“The Sports Gossip Show” will follow a similar model to Torre’s, focusing on stories that attract regular sports fans and those who dip in and out of sports. The hosts uploaded a short clip on YouTube announcing the news ([link removed]) . Wilder said they strongly believe it’s much more fun to watch athletes on the field if you know what they’re up to off of it.

By Amaris Castillo, staff writer


** Media tidbits and links
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* Big news broke late Tuesday: The NFL will take a 10% equity stake in ESPN ([link removed]) . In exchange, ESPN will acquire the NFL Network and some rights to the RedZone Channel, a favorite among fans. This deal blurs the lines between the biggest sports media organization and the biggest sports league in the United States. We’ll have more exploring that tension and further details as they emerge in the coming days and weeks.
* Artist Amy Sherald’s “Trans Forming Liberty” painting will still be seen by thousands of eyeballs — not at the Smithsonian, but immortalized on the Aug. 11 cover of The New Yorker ([link removed]) . The stunning artwork featuring the unmistakable hues of the transgender pride flag was at the center of controversy in July after Sherald withdrew her upcoming solo show ([link removed]) from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C., when she learned that the museum was considering removing the artwork from her larger show, “American Sublime,” to avoid provoking President Donald Trump. The painting depicts a dark-skinned transgender Statue of Liberty. Sherald is best known for her soft and serene portrait paintings, including her 2018 portrait of first lady Michelle Obama and 2020 painting of Breonna Taylor.
* Media mogul Rupert Murdoch won’t be forced to testify anytime soon in President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal after all. Trump, who is suing the Journal over its reporting on Trump’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sought to compel Murdoch to testify on an abbreviated timeline because of his age. Late Monday, several news outlets reported that the two sides had reached an agreement on that would not force the matter ([link removed]) .
* Report for America, colloquially known as a Peace Corps for local journalism, released an impact report after seven years of service ([link removed]) this week. The top-level stats: More than 100,000 stories have been told since Report for America first began placing journalists in local newsrooms. In addition, 429 newsrooms have hosted a total 759 corps members, and 82% of those members are still working in journalism.


** More resources for journalists
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* Journalism leaders of color: Poynter’s prestigious Diversity Leadership Academy has helped over 200 journalists of color advance their careers. Apply today ([link removed]) .
* Get strategies to find diverse sources, understand systemic barriers and advance mental health equity in your area. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
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* Refine your immigration policy expertise with Poynter's Beat Academy. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Journalists of color: Join a free four-day workshop at Poynter's waterfront campus, where accepted applicants develop the skills needed to become powerful writers. Apply now ([link removed]) .
* Turn your life story into a memoir in this pioneering virtual workshop led by Poynter's Director of Craft Kristen Hare, featuring accomplished authors as guest instructors. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Join a five-day, in-person workshop that gives new managers the skills they need to help forge successful paths to leadership in journalism, media and technology. Apply today ([link removed]) .
* Access ([link removed]) Poynter’s comprehensive mental health reporting resources.

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

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