Poynter Report author Tom Jones is on vacation this week and will return next Monday. Today’s Poynter Report was written by Kristen Hare, Angela Fu, Barbara Allen, Amaris Castillo and Rick Edmonds.

A university president was sacked on Friday for muzzling the speaking rights of students and professors – including a student journalist.

Native News Online reported that Ronald Graham “was fired by the Haskell National Board of Regents last Friday after an internal investigation was revealed that it stifled the free speech rights of students and faculty.”

In October, we wrote about Graham, president of Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Graham had issued a “directive” to the editor of the student newspaper at the historically Aboriginal-serving institution directing him, among other things, to “contact the police department (or any other government agency)” – essentially forbidding him to do journalism.

The president’s scathing order led to the case being picked up by the Student Press Law Center, the Native American Journalists Association, and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

The Lawrence Journal-World reported that about a week after issuing what amounted to a gag order on student editor, Jared Nally, “Graham sent a directive to his staff limiting how they could communicate.

Both orders were rescinded in April, but they led the Haskell Faculty Senate to a damning 25-0 vote of no-confidence against Graham’s leadership. That April vote led to an investigation and the eventual dismissal of Graham last week.

A day after announcing a restructuring that would reduce some hearing, editor and fact-checking positions, The Appeal decided to put the layoffs on hold while he talks to his newly formed union.

The Appeal first announced a series of layoffs on Monday, five minutes after its staff publicized its union campaign. The layoffs were part of a larger effort to make the nonprofit newsroom financially independent from its sponsors, Tides Advocacy and Tides Center. As part of the restructuring, the entire hearing team would be cut off and some writers, fact-checkers and executives would lose their jobs.

The appeal union called the dismissals retaliation. Executives denied the allegation, saying they had been discussing the restructuring for months.

Media unions denounced the actions of The Appeal and The Appeal Union organized a letter-writing campaign that resulted in over 400 letters being sent to newsroom managers.

On Tuesday, the Appeal informed the union that it would recognize them voluntarily and suspend the layoffs. A fact checker who was fired Monday morning has returned to his post.

“This is a positive step. This gives our union time to negotiate with management about the future of The Appeal and our staff ”, the union tweeted Tuesday. “But there is still work to be done. We hope that management will reverse the layoffs completely and are still seeking clarification on the status of some staff. “

The National Headliner Awards, one of journalism’s oldest annual recognition competitions, announced their winners on Tuesday. The categories cover journalism in newspapers, magazines, photography, online, radio and television. The awards program detailed the winners, including some comments from the judges, in two separate documents on its website.

This year’s Best in Show Newspapers award went to two journalists, Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi of the Tampa Bay Times, owned by Poynter, for their 2020 survey titled “Targeted.” “With a mind-boggling hit parade of police camera footage and a well-written account, The Tampa Bay Times uncovers a shocking law enforcement practice that amounts to harassing would-be criminals from the unwelcoming compound of Pasco County, Fla.,” said the judges.

Here are some more notable winners:

• The Los Angeles Times won 15 awards, including six top spots. The Times’ Marcus Yam and Alan Hagman won Best in Show Photography for Yam’s wallet titled “The Long Road: An Exodus from Venezuela”. Hagman, a veteran photographer, died in 2019 at age 55.
• The Minneapolis Star Tribune won nine awards, including six first places.
• National public radio won eight awards, including three first places.
• CBS News won 16 awards, including five top spots.

For the full list of winners and judges’ comments, check out this list and this one.

In March, after eight people were killed in Atlanta, journalists and editors struggled to convey the story of anti-Asian hatred. Kristen Hare of Poynter recounted how the Asian American Journalists Association worked that day and in the days that followed to offer support to members, expose racist coverage, and provide nuanced advice to editors and reporters. TEGNA’s editorial staff are among those who have been grateful for the chance to take a break from a busy news cycle and work to get the story right.

“When we are in this situation, having an organization like AAJA publishes a guide that forces us to take a break… it allows us to take control of our work and helps us move forward in a more responsible way,” said Joanie Vasiliadis, TEGNA vice president of digital content. “In a perfect world, our brains are wired to do these things in conjunction, to act quickly with these inclusive practices in mind, but I think everyone in the news knows we have a way to make it happen. “

The Washington Post’s Margaret Sullivan writes Wednesday on Reality Winner, a former National Security Agency contractor, who shared a copy of a classified document with The Intercept about Russia’s attempts to hack election websites.

Sullivan writes, “A heartbreaking – and infuriating – new documentary about how Trump’s Justice Department prosecuted her reinforced my long-held belief that while her jail term is due to end in November, he’s great. time for our government to release Winner. “

The hardship report project supports articles, essays, documentaries and other articles on poverty and economic injustice. It was honored this week as the best non-traditional news organization in a new online awards competition sponsored by New York University’s School of Journalism.

The project’s eclectic portfolio includes supporting articles that led to a domestic worker book, “Maid,” and an upcoming Netflix drama series; a Washington Post editorial by television reporter Ray Suarez on the consequences of paying huge bills after losing dental insurance; and a personal essay on Poorest Americans and Their Pets for a dog magazine, The Bark.

With a staff of three, the project seeks, he said in a statement, “to support independent journalists so that they can create compelling stories that counteract common moody narratives, and then inject those stories into the big media. public, mobilizing readers to change the systems that perpetuate economic hardship. “

The group was founded by author Barbara Ehrenreich, whose 2001 book “Nickel and Dimed” is considered a classic exposition of the miserable working conditions of fast food workers, housekeepers and others in the economy. at low wages.

New York Times opinion writer Elizabeth Bruenig will join The Atlantic as editor later this month, the magazine said on Wednesday. She will cover the intersection of politics, religion and culture within the Ideas team.

Bruenig was the last person in the New York Times to hold the title of Opinion Writer, Politico reported. She is the fifth reporter to leave The Times for The Atlantic this year.

Ellen DeGeneres (AP Photo / Chris Pizzello, on file)

Ellen DeGeneres announced Wednesday that “The Ellen Show” will end in 2022, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

DeGeneres told the post, “When you’re a creative person you have to be constantly challenged – and as great as this show is, and as fun as it is, it’s no longer a challenge.”

It might depend on the types of challenges we’re talking about. The DeGeneres show, which will begin its 19th season, made headlines earlier this year after BuzzFeed News published accusations of a toxic workplace on set.

The host, who built her brand on the motto ‘Be Kind,’ opened Season 18 in September with a lengthy apology, telling viewers, ‘I’ve learned that things are happening here that would never have happened here. had to happen. I take this very seriously. And I mean I’m so sorry for the people who were affected. While the mea culpa was widely seen – Ellen’s highest-rated debut in years, according to the New York Times – viewership dropped quickly, even though Hollywood’s A-list remained loyal guests.

Do you have any comments or advice? Email Tom Jones, Media Editor at Poynter, at [email protected]

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