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** OPINION
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Good morning, everyone. Tom Jones is out today, but the team at Poynter is keeping tabs on the latest media news and analysis.


** A Washington Post investigation prompts changes at surveillance company Flock
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A Flock Safety license plate reader is seen along a public road, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Flock, the company that operates an extensive network of license plate readers, announced Thursday that it will implement new safety measures to deter police abuse of its surveillance cameras, The Washington Post reported ([link removed]) .

Flock’s cameras automatically record license plate numbers in a nationwide database that law enforcement and other Flock customers can then search. The database allows police to track specific vehicles or identify others bearing certain characteristics. Agencies can also share that data with one another.

The Post noted that the announcement comes one week after the paper published an investigation ([link removed]) finding dozens of examples of police officers using Flock’s cameras to stalk women without their knowledge or consent. In one case, a police chief searched his ex-girlfriend’s license plate more than 500 times and repeatedly sent her messages indicating he knew her location.

By Jan. 1, law enforcement using Flock’s database will be required to label every search they conduct with a criminal case number. Flock will also automatically identify “abnormal activity” among searches — such as repeated searches for a particular license plate number — and will change its default setting so that license plate data is only stored for seven days. (Police departments can choose to lengthen that period to a year with approval from an elected official or governing body.)

Police departments that share their license plate data with others will be able to set restrictions on what kinds of investigations that data can be used for. The Post offered an example: “A city could, for example, allow its camera data to be searched for violent crimes but not for immigration enforcement.”

Beyond issues of police misconduct, Flock has attracted controversy in recent months for its data’s role in aiding ([link removed]) immigration operations and for instances in which its camera system erroneously ([link removed]) identified vehicles as being stolen, leading to police confronting innocent people. Critics say Flock’s cameras are an example of oversurveillance, and some protesters have vandalized ([link removed]) and destroyed the cameras.

By Angela Fu, media business reporter

A NOTE FROM POYNTER
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** New from MediaWise: Weekly lessons for educators
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Coming this September: MediaWise Weekly, a free series of classroom-ready lessons from Poynter's MediaWise. Each week includes a video from Local News International co-founder and former Washington Post TikTok Dave Jorgenson, paired with a bite-sized lesson connecting news stories to media literacy skills. Supported by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, the first 1,000 educators who sign up will receive complimentary one-year subscriptions to Local News International newsletters and weekly lesson plan alerts.

Sign up today ([link removed])


** Spokesman-Review executive editor placed on leave
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The executive editor of The Spokesman-Review, Rob Curley, has been placed on administrative leave, and the newsroom’s bargaining unit has issued a vote of no confidence in his leadership.

The Spokane, Washington-based newspaper cited a statement ([link removed]) released Tuesday by publisher William “Stacey” Cowles, who said Curley was placed on leave “in the wake of several personnel complaints.” The newspaper plans to bring in an outside investigator and outside counsel to examine the circumstances preceding the decision.

The Spokesman-Review also reported that staff members of the Comma Community Journalism Lab were involved in the complaints. The lab is a nonprofit co-founded by Curley that is in the process of taking over ownership of The Spokesman-Review. According to the nonprofit’s website ([link removed]) , Comma is owned by the public, operates for the public benefit and has no private shareholders. Comma described Curley as having rebuilt and revitalized The Spokesman-Review’s newsroom during the past decade.

During the investigation, The Spokesman-Review newsroom will be overseen by managing editor Lindsey Treffry. The probe is expected to last several weeks.

Bill Simer, the board chair of the Comma Community Journalism Lab, spoke with Range Media ([link removed]) , a worker-owned news outlet in Spokane, and described a verbal altercation over coverage of the recent Spokane Complex fires.

“I do think it was a situation where professional conflict was high,” Simer told Range. He declined to offer details about the nature of the dispute but added, “I’d heard of people who had worked three days with very little sleep.”

Curley declined to speak with Range and did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday from The Spokesman-Review.

“We are committed to conducting an independent and fair process to resolve conflicts, preserve the privacy of those involved and stay focused on the mission,” Cowles said in a statement, according to the newspaper. “The ultimate goal is to fulfill the vision that community journalism be rooted in the community, its schools, universities and institutions.”

In a December 2025 interview ([link removed]) for “Across the Lawn,” a series produced at Saint George’s School in Spokane, Curley was asked about the roles and responsibilities of a newspaper editor. He said an editor helps set the tone for a newspaper’s personality. He said editors have different skills; some, he pointed out, are really good at enterprise stories or local photography.

“My strength is community,” he said. “When you hire me, you know that I’m going to get rid of all the national news on the front page and just make it about that town. So the editor helps (set) the tone, and then makes sure everybody stays with that focus.”

The transfer of ownership of The Spokesman-Review, which is more than a century old ([link removed]) and owned by the Cowles family, to Comma is expected to continue during the investigation.

By Amaris Castillo, staff writer


** Media tidbits and links for your weekend review
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* The 2026 Edward R. Murrow Awards were announced Thursday ([link removed]) . Among the winners: a piece on Russian war crimes ([link removed]) from fired “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley, which won for Excellence in Writing.
* The New York Times’ Eric Wemple (with photos by An Rong Xu) writes about The Chronicle of Glens Falls, New York, in “Here’s a Man-Bites-Dog Story: A Newspaper That’s Doing Well.” ([link removed])
* For CJR, it’s Issie Lapowsky with “Axios Wants to Save Local News with AI.” ([link removed])
* Mediaite’s David Gilmour writes “CNN Host Straight-Up Asks Scott Jennings If He Wants Karoline Leavitt’s Job.” ([link removed])
* The Atlantic’s Matteo Wong writes “It May Be Time to Panic About AI.” ([link removed])
* The xxxxxx’s Will Sommer writes about two prominent right-wing media figures in “The Charlie Kirk Murder Business Gets Its Crassest Spectacle Yet.” ([link removed])
* The New York Times’ Eve Washington, Larry Buchanan and Claire Cain Miller write “😭 or 😂: Do Your Emojis Make You Look Old?” ([link removed])
* This is a few days old, but a harrowing first-person account from Maryam Tahmasebi, a permanent resident of the United States who has been held in an immigration detention center for months, for The Nation: “One Woman’s Message From the Hell of ICE Detention.” ([link removed])
* Wired’s Reece Rogers with “McDonald’s Built a 515-Page Dossier on Me. It Says I’ll Never Stop Eating There.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* Learn critical skills that new managers need in this dynamic, in-person, five-day workshop: Nov. 16-20, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Apply now. ([link removed])
* Start reporting today on the changes shaping the 2030 Census. Our Beat Academy course covers policy, methodology and local story opportunities. Enroll now. ([link removed])
* Transform your editing with our five-week course designed for new editors: Edit to Elevate. Starts on Mon. Aug. 31, then each Wed. Sept. 2-Sept. 30 2026. Enroll 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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