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** OPINION
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** The Nancy Guthrie disappearance case keeps unfolding in public view
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A Pima County Sheriff's Department member stands next to his vehicle in front of Nancy Guthrie's home on Tuesday in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

One of the more bizarre and disturbing stories we have ever seen continues to play out in Tucson, Arizona. It is now 11 days since Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie, went missing from her home. Authorities have said she was taken against her will.

On Tuesday, the case took a dramatic turn as the FBI released chilling video and photos taken from a camera on Nancy Guthrie’s front door. The black-and-white images from the night Nancy disappeared showed a man wearing a mask and a stuffed backpack trying to tamper with the camera, and then attempting to cover it with shrubbery taken from near the front porch. He is also wearing a holster with a gun.

FBI Director Kash Patel posted ([link removed]) the photos on social media, writing, “Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may have been lost, corrupted, or inaccessible due to a variety of factors - including the removal of recording devices. The video was recovered from residual data located in backend systems. Working with our partners - as of this morning, law enforcement has uncovered these previously inaccessible new images showing an armed individual appearing to have tampered with the camera at Nancy Guthrie's front door the morning of her disappearance.”

The video and images were taken from a Google Nest, even though Nancy Guthrie didn’t have a subscription to the device that would have uploaded them to the cloud. While the FBI was vague — perhaps purposefully so — about how it was able to retrieve those images, Patel’s tweet indicated Google helped them.

Initially, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos told the media that footage from the camera could not be recovered because Nancy Guthrie did not have the monthly subscription. But, apparently, tech experts — most likely from Google — were able to find a way to retrieve the information.

From all accounts, the FBI decided to release the images to the public because they had no other leads.

Former FBI agent Katherine Schweit told The Associated Press’ Ty Oneil and John Seewer ([link removed]) , “This will get the phone ringing for lots of potential leads. Even when you have a person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. You can see their girth, the shape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth. You can see a gait that people around that person may recognize immediately.”

Savannah Guthrie posted the images on Instagram and wrote ([link removed]) , “Someone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home. Anyone with information, please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff’s Department 520-351-4900.”

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER
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** Contest deadline is approaching
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The deadline to enter the Poynter Journalism Prizes is 6 p.m. Eastern Friday, Feb. 13. The contest offers cash prizes from $2,500 to $10,000 for winners in 12 categories, honoring reporting on local accountability, public service, climate change, poverty, justice and First Amendment issues, as well as innovation, diversity and writing in multiple forms, including general excellence, short writing, column writing and editorial writing.

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** Message from the White House
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt started her Tuesday news conference ([link removed]) with reporters by talking about the Guthrie situation.

Leavitt told reporters that she and President Donald Trump had reviewed the images released by the FBI and called the ordeal “heartbreaking.”

She then said, “The president encourages any American across the country with any knowledge of this suspect to please call the FBI. … Once again, I will reiterate that the prayers of this entire White House are with Savannah and her family at this time. We hope this person is found soon and that her mother is brought home safely.”


** Despite quarterly loss, new Lee leaders attempt optimism
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For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague, Angela Fu.

Despite ending the most recent quarter in the red, new leadership at Lee Enterprises attempted to strike an optimistic tone during a Tuesday earnings call, highlighting a recent $50 million capital infusion.

The newspaper chain — which includes dailies like The Buffalo News and Omaha World-Herald — ended its last quarter ([link removed]) with a $5 million loss. That was an improvement over the same period last year, during which it lost more than $16 million. Total revenue declined 10% year over year to $130 million. Total expenses also declined, primarily due to job eliminations and cuts to print, said vice president and interim chief financial officer Josh Rinehults.

The Tuesday call was the first to be led by president and interim CEO Nathan Bekke, who assumed his position as a result of a $50 million deal ([link removed]) between Lee and billionaire David Hoffmann that closed last week. As part of the deal, Hoffmann purchased $35 million in stock to acquire a majority stake in Lee and join its board as chair. (Other investors contributed the remaining $15 million). In exchange, former CEO Kevin Mowbray stepped down. The deal also resulted in Lee’s lender, BH Finance, reducing the company’s annual interest rate from 9% to 5% for the next five years, saving Lee more than $18 million a year.

Bekke and Rinehults spotlighted that deal during the call, stating that the money would help Lee invest in its digital business.

“That significant cash flow improvement over the five-year horizon will allow us the flexibility to invest in our core business and drive digital growth,” Bekke said. “The proceeds from the deal will be used primarily for working capital and to fund current and future digital transformation projects.”

Declines in print and changes in how audiences consume news have caused many outlets to struggle in recent years, and Lee is no exception. Its last profitable quarter was the one ending in December 2023. In an attempt to reduce its losses, it has executed layoffs, signed deals with artificial intelligence companies and centered its business model on growing its digital revenue streams.

Six years ago, digital revenue made up just over 20% of Lee’s total operating revenue. As of this year, that figure is 54%, and Lee wants to increase that number to 90% by 2030.

Despite growing its digital revenue, Lee has still struggled, paving the way for the Hoffmann deal. At an event hosted by the St. Louis Business Journal last week, Hoffmann said he was prepared to invest in Lee to make it profitable and that “layoffs for us is a bad, bad word,” the Journal reported ([link removed]) .

To increase the reach of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch — one of Lee’s flagship papers — Hoffmann said it would need to shift its reporting and editorials to the “middle” since it was currently “a little too left.” He added that the paper would likely also need to reduce its print days, continuing a trend started by Lee at many of its papers.


** Super numbers
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold celebrates with the Lombardi Trophy after his Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Sunday. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)

As I predicted in Tuesday’s newsletter, network viewership for Sunday’s Super Bowl didn’t break the all-time record, but the number was still massive.

NBC said the Super Bowl LX averaged 124.9 million viewers. That was down 2% from last year’s record of 127.7 million on Fox. That game featured the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles — two marquee teams, and it did have the Taylor Swift effect.

This year’s game was a bit of a dud, with the Seattle Seahawks easily dominating the New England Patriots in a game that didn’t feature much offense. There were no touchdowns in the game until the fourth quarter.

Still, 124.9 million viewers is huge — the second-largest in Super Bowl history.

As far as the halftime show, featuring Bad Bunny, that drew 128.2 million — which was more than the average audience for the game. Again, a tremendous number, although a bit short of last year’s record of 133.5 million when Kendrick Lamar was the featured performer.

And, as Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp notes ([link removed]) , on par with other recent Super Bowl halftime shows.


** Today’s the day
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Ask me anything!

Do you have questions about the recent layoffs at The Washington Post? What’s going on in the Bari Weiss era at CBS News? About Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance? What’s my favorite Tom Jones song?

Join me over on the Poynter Instagram for an Ask Me Anything on Instagram Live today at 1:30 p.m. Eastern.

I’ll answer your questions about the media, how the industry is changing, what we do at Poynter and anything else you’ve been curious about but didn’t know who to ask. I’ll even talk about “Vanderpump Rules.” (And “Southern Charm!”)

Have a question already? Submit it ahead of time ([link removed]) and I’ll try to tackle as many as I can live.

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** Media tidbits
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* Variety’s Todd Spangler with “Paramount Skydance Says It Will Pay Warner Bros. Discovery Shareholders an Extra $650 Million per Quarter if Its WBD Takeover Isn’t Completed by End of 2026.” ([link removed])
* For The New Yorker, Becca Rothfeld writes about The Washington Post shutting down its book section with “The Death of Book World.” ([link removed])
* The Washington Post’s Ian Duncan with “Under growing pressure, the biggest social networks agree to be rated on teen safety.” ([link removed])
* Megyn Kelly completely flipped her lid about Bad Bunny’s halftime performance. Here’s Steve Schmidt, on his YouTube show “The Warning,” ([link removed]) as he breaks down Kelly’s comments and “MAGA’s culture of hate.”
* Three seats were left open at Tuesday’s press conference ([link removed]) with Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn in honor of The Washington Post, which will no longer cover the team daily because the sports section was eliminated. Quinn said the reporters who covered the team were “true pros” and “their presence is missed.” He said he was “absolutely bummed” to hear the Post was mostly eliminating sports coverage. One of those open seats usually belonged to Post columnist Barry Svrluga, who tweeted ([link removed]) that Quinn sent a personal message to all three reporters when the Post announcement was first made.
* Meanwhile, Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni opened a video call ([link removed]) with the media on Tuesday, lamenting the loss of the Post sports department. “It doesn’t feel totally real,” he said.
* And on a similar topic, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel closed his press conference ([link removed]) on Tuesday by thanking the media for covering the team this season. Quite the difference between that and longtime Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who was never known to be chummy with the media, or even grateful for their coverage.
* From CBS News: “Journalist describes capturing Lindsey Vonn crash during her first Winter Olympics assignment.” ([link removed])
* And here’s that AP photographer — Jacquelyn Martin — writing about that experience ([link removed]) .


** Hot type
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* Did you catch Jon Stewart’s Monday night commentary on “The Daily Show?” ([link removed]) As always, it was must-see as Stewart lit into MAGA for whining over the Super Bowl halftime, defending Trump’s racist social media posts about the Obamas, and their perceived victimhood despite clearly being in charge of the country.


** More resources for journalists
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* Deadline ahead for experienced media leaders: Amplify your managerial strengths, navigate ethical decision making and strategize for what’s ahead. Apply now ([link removed]) .
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* New managers: Get the critical skills you need to help forge successful paths 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.
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