Media Insider: The Intercept Spins Off, Legislators Push for C-SPAN on the House Floor
Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s roundup of media news stories from the week.
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The Intercept spinning off as an independent nonprofit
Axios | Sara Fischer
Progressive nonprofit investigative outlet The Intercept will spin off from its parent, First Look Media, in a plan that’s been in place for some time. The hopes are that the spin-off will allow The Intercept to more easily secure outside funding and build a more sustainable business model. First Look Institute, the nonprofit arm of First Look Media that housed The Intercept, will provide the outlet with a multiyear grant to help ensure a smooth transition. The transition includes a restructuring of staff and budgets, which will result in layoffs of an undefined number of staff. The pivot to nonprofit was a growing trend during the pandemic as companies sought ways to accept charitable donations while still being able to sell ads and subscriptions.
In other investigative journalism news, ProPublica is launching a new regional team of investigative journalists to report on accountability issues in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho.
Gaetz introduces amendment to bring C-SPAN cameras back to House floor
Fox News | Jessica Chasmar
An amendment introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) would require the speaker of the House to allow C-SPAN to broadcast floor proceedings. Typically, cameras are fixed on the dais and are controlled by the House Recording Studio, whose footage is then used by C-SPAN. But during Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s contentious speaker election, the network freely roamed the House floor, allowing viewers to witness moments they usually wouldn’t see. “I’ve received a lot of feedback from constituents about how interesting it was and that you were able to see in real time how our government is functioning, what alliances are being created, what discussions are being had, what animated moments drive the action,” Gaetz told Fox News Digital. “It’s interesting to see how our leaders communicate with one another, and it’s humanizing,” he continued.
Read next: Twitter cut at least 12 more employees in charge of handling content moderation.
Axios Launches Centralized News Hub
Axios | Staff
Axios plans to launch a new centralized news hub in 2023 that will bridge its national and local coverage. The new team will examine national and local news reporting to identify key stories and trends across the country. They will also produce data-driven journalism, weekend reports, and city guides to break down the connections between national trends and readers’ communities. Holly Moore, previously at USA Today, will join the hub as managing editor. “The hub will further connect the dots between our coverage areas to help audiences get smarter, faster on the issues poised to shape our generation,” said Sara Kehaulani Goo, editor in chief of Axios.
Catch up on the latest media trends, including an M&A stalemate, news job cuts, and more in this week’s Media Trends newsletter from Axios.
Sqoop, News Service For Journalists, Is Closing
MediaPost | Ray Schultz
Sqoop, a service that provided updates for journalists based on SEC filings, patents, court dockets, releases, and business stories, is closing after almost a decade in business. An email from founder and CEO Bill Hankes said “a series of outages and technical setbacks over the course of the last six months” put a strain on the development team and it was determined that fixing the tool was too far out of reach. “We launched Sqoop with a simple idea: Create a journalist-first news discovery experience. Sadly, I’ve been unable to turn that vision into a sustainable business,” said Hankes, a former public relations executive and journalist.
Read next: Future plc closed its office in Atlanta, less than a year after it opened as the new video production hub, as well as its office in D.C.
Joel Simon to Head New Initiative to Combat Growing Threats to Journalism
Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism | Staff
Press freedom advocate Joel Simon will join the Newmark J-School on February 1 as the founding director of the Journalism Protection Initiative. The program will conduct and host research into the growing threats to journalism in the U.S. and around the world. Its focuses will include “disinformation and propaganda, tech regulation and policy, rising authoritarianism, and the use of violence, repression, and lawfare to suppress critical voices.” Simon is the former executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, where he helped establish the organization’s Emergencies Department to provide safety information and direct support for journalists under threat. “The Journalism Protection Initiative will seek to ensure that journalists have the skills and resources to defend themselves and the integrity of their work in an increasingly adversarial environment,” said Simon.
Speaking of disinformation, the fourth annual News Literacy Week will take place from Jan. 23-27. The week aims to “elevate the role of news literacy and a free press in our democracy.”
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Rocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.
