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The Poynter Institute

@poynterinstitute.bsky.social

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Journalism. Truth. Democracy. We’ve been a school for journalists for 50 years. Home to the Poynter newsroom, PolitiFact, MediaWise and the International Fact-Checking Network.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 12h

Steve Lopez chronicles life in Los Angeles as a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. But he doesn’t sit at his desk and spout opinions. He reports from the ground, like the series of columns that won him a 2025 Poynter Journalism Prize. youtu.be/u8wCQragPGI

Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez has home-field advantage I WriteLane

The WriteLane Podcast returns with a new season focusing on winners of the 2025 Poynter Journalism Prizes. In this episode, hosts Maria Carrillo and Lane DeGregory talk with Steve Lopez, columnist…

The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 17h

President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East was described by many news organizations on Monday as a victory lap — “The war is over,” Trump told reporters — but they were also quick to point out that many questions remain.

Read more in today’s Poynter Report: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

Q&A: For Fox News’ Trey Yingst, covering the Middle East ceasefire is only the beginning - Poynter

The Fox News chief foreign correspondent talks about the challenge of covering a fragile peace and the need to return to Gaza

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 17h

One night, two of journalism's most influential voices: Join Dean Baquet and Cleo Abram for Poynter's Evening of Impact — a rare, behind-the-scenes conversation on October 21 at Manhatta in New York City.

🎟️ Reserve your seat today:

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 1d

From today’s Poynter Report:
-An uneven start for “Saturday Night Live”
-ProPublica responds to insults
-Remembering Poynter media business analyst Rick Edmonds

Read these stories and more in our Monday-Friday media industry newsletter:
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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 5d

The CEO of the Illinois Press Association resigned this week after a clash with the organization’s board over joining a lawsuit against the Trump administration for actions toward journalists outside a Chicago-area ICE facility.

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The leader of a major press association resigned after his board opposed a lawsuit defending journalists’ rights - Poynter

The Illinois Press Association’s Don Craven resigned after a clash with his board over joining a lawsuit about police treatment of journalists

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 5d

-Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz plans a bill to strengthen legal protections against government censorship.
-The Pentagon Press Association speaks out against potential U.S. military restrictions on press access.

Read these stories and more in today’s Poynter Report:
www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

The anti-censorship movement has an unlikely ally - Poynter

After defending Jimmy Kimmel’s right to speak, Sen. Ted Cruz plans a bill to strengthen legal protections against government censorship

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 6d

President Donald Trump said that “Portland is burning to the ground,” but his claim is exaggerated. While there have been dozens of arrests since June from protests at an ICE site, recent images also show normal everyday life in the city.

Read the full fact-check:

www.poynter.org/fact-checkin...

Trump says Portland is ‘burning to the ground.’ It’s not. - Poynter

Recent protests have led to a handful of small fires and arrests, but city life continues as normal

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 7d

When Bari Weiss left The New York Times in 2020, she seemed completely done with so-called “legacy media,” but as of Monday, Weiss is officially in charge of CBS News. What changed? What will Weiss’ appointment mean for CBS?

Read today’s Poynter Report newsletter: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

What will Bari Weiss do as head of CBS News? Her past may offer clues. - Poynter

Weiss promises courage and truth at CBS News. Her track record running The Free Press shows what that might look like.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 8d

Bari Weiss – whose background is in opinion journalism and commentary – was named editor-in-chief of CBS News today. The move is being met with apprehension among CBS News’ journalists.

Read the commentary: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

Today is MSNBC’s first day apart from NBC. Here is its new code of principles. - Poynter

The new network’s 10 core principles emphasize fairness, accuracy, transparency and firm limits on AI

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 8d

After more than 29 years of association with NBC News, MSNBC will split off today to establish its own newsgathering operation.

Read the Q&A about MSNBC leadership’s 10 core principles (and more stories) in today’s Poynter Report newsletter: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

Today is MSNBC’s first day apart from NBC. Here is its new code of principles. - Poynter

The new network’s 10 core principles emphasize fairness, accuracy, transparency and firm limits on AI

www.poynter.org

The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 11d

Poynter’s AI expert Alex Mahadevan takes you on a tour of the new slop factory, Sora 2.

Want to get savvier on AI tools? Take Poynter’s course. www.poynter.org/shop/fact-ch...

The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 11d

In a new Gallup poll, only 28% of Americans say they have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of trust in the mass media. The distrust is more stark depending on political views, but that’s not the only factor with a noticeable gap. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

Trust in media at an all-time low according to latest Gallup poll - Poynter

Public trust in media has steadily declined over the years, but the trend accelerated as President Trump made "fake news" a focal point.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 12d

“What I’m trying to show you is I’m a real guy who takes the bus to the city to get the information that you need.”

Here’s how Poynter Journalism Prize winner and NJ.com’s S.P. Sullivan approaches TikTok, Instagram and the news: https://buff.ly/VBRMiwd

Forget clicks. ‘You can engage people’s curiosity.’ - Poynter

How NJ.com’s S.P. Sullivan approaches TikTok, Instagram and the news.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 12d

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s war on “leakers and internal dissent” continued this week with a new mandate imposing strict NDAs and random polygraph tests for Pentagon workers.

Read today’s Poynter Report newsletter:
www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

Pete Hegseth’s war on leaks has reached a new level of absurdity - Poynter

Preapprovals, NDAs and polygraph tests — oh my! The Pentagon’s bizarre leak crackdown makes it harder for the press to inform the public.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 12d

Reporting grants can do wonderful things: Opening the door to great reporting, connecting with new audiences, winning awards. But not everything with this money is sweet.

Here are 7 things to keep in mind before you apply for your next reporting grant: buff.ly/P0BmC6l

With grant-funded reporting, be careful what you wish for - Poynter

Getting the money is great. Usually.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 12d

Podcast host Dan Koh said, “If the government shuts down, members of Congress still get paid. The janitors never get paid.” PolitiFact rated that claim Mostly True.

Who gets paid and who doesn’t when the government shuts down?

Read this fact-check: buff.ly/ieGh16t

Congress gets paid during a government shutdown. What about the janitors? - Poynter

Federal workers are guaranteed back pay after a shutdown, but contractors — including janitors — aren’t covered by the law.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 13d

Poynter's Alex Mahadevan spent a few hours on Sora 2 so you don’t have to. He found AI slop, material that raises obvious copyright questions and people scamming for likes. www.poynter.org/tech-tools/2...

My journey into the artificial world of Sora 2 - Poynter

OpenAI’s new social media platform is filled with AI slop and people scamming for likes

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 13d

A photojournalist was taken to the hospital in New York City on Tuesday after a chaotic altercation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other journalists.

Read these stories and more in the Poynter Report:

www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

Comedians blast fellow comics for joining Saudi Arabia’s controversial festival - Poynter

Critics say the event whitewashes a regime accused of silencing dissent and of killing Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 13d

This week, the WriteLane podcast tells the story of how a “TikTok investigation” won an award for great writing while delighting audiences along the way.

Hear more wherever you get your podcasts or watch on Poynter’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHDb...

The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 14d

Artificial intelligence technology, like others before it, is changing how we work, teach and learn. But wherever AI goes, editing should go with it, writes professor of practice Lisa McLendon.

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AI is everywhere. Editors should be, too. - Poynter

Human oversight is the only safeguard against AI’s errors, blind spots and fabrications reaching the public

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 14d

Latin superstar and Grammy winner Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in February. The choice makes perfect sense, writes senior media writer Tom Jones, even if the political overtones can’t be ignored.

www.poynter.org/commentary/2...

Bad Bunny is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. The reaction says as much as the pick. - Poynter

The Super Bowl stage is global, and the Puerto Rican-born artist fits the bill. But the ensuing media storm shows the NFL knew what it was doing.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 18d

For reporters, it’s difficult to cover a complex, opaque system like child welfare. KTOO Education Reporter Jamie Diep spent the past six months going through Poynter’s training on it. Here are things to keep in mind as you look into your own local child welfare agency: buff.ly/cIatoj2

How to cover the child welfare system with depth and care - Poynter

Here are some ways to build relationships and to responsibly report on the system that pulls in some of the country’s most vulnerable people.

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The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 18d

Poynter has just launched our course on how to master AI in media. You’ll gain the skills to spot AI risks like bias, misinformation and hallucinations before they harm your work, and apply tools transparently and ethically. www.poynter.org/shop/fact-ch...

AI for Journalists and Content Creators: From Understanding to Application - Poynter

Future-proof your career: Earn a Poynter AI certificate to save time, boost your skills and build lasting audience trust.

www.poynter.org

The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 18d

Want to keep your data and sources safe, but analyze your reporting with AI? Poynter’s AI expert (and total thrasher) Alex Mahadevan explains how.

The Poynter Institute @poynterinstitute.bsky.social · 18d

In 2017, Tylenol posted that it didn’t recommend using its products during pregnancy. Around the same time, Tylenol also encouraged people to consult doctors before taking it during pregnancy. PolitiFact put the resurfaced post in context.

www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...

An old Tylenol tweet is being taken out of context. Medical groups continue to back its safety in pregnancy. - Poynter

The deleted tweet from 2017 has raised questions, but major medical groups stress the risks of avoiding acetaminophen are greater

www.poynter.org