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| Joe Kahn |
The New York Times names Joe Kahn, who has been the paper’s managing editor since 2016, to the paper’s top newsroom job. Kahn will become executive editor when current executive editor Dean Baquet exits the position, which is expected to happen in June. Kahn served as China correspondent for The Dallas Morning News and editor and publisher of The Far Eastern Economic Review before coming to the Times in 1998. In addition to serving as managing editor, his posts at the paper have included Beijing bureau chief, deputy foreign editor and international editor. “Joe brings impeccable news judgment, a sophisticated understanding of the forces shaping the world and a long track record of helping journalists produce their most ambitious and courageous work,” said Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger in a memo to its staff.
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Infowars, the website founded by Alex Jones, has filed for bankruptcy. Jones has placed Infowars under the control of outside administrators, who have put the company under Chapter 11 protection in an attempt to hold off litigation as the company tries to resolve legal claims against it. Jones was held liable by courts in both Connecticut and Texas for defaming families of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting through his claims that the families were actors and the deaths of the shooting’s victims were faked. A formal damages reward has not yet been made by either court. According to a report the Wall Street Journal, plaintiffs in the Texas case claimed that Jones drew about $18 million between 2018 and 2021 from Free Speech Systems, which operates Infowars.
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| Wendy Rieger |
Wendy Rieger, who anchored the 5 p.m. newscast on Washington, DC’s NBC4 for more than two decades, died on April 16 following a battle with glioblastoma. After getting her start in journalism at American University’s WAMU, she subsequently served as a weekend reporter for CNN and joined NBC4 as a reporter in 1996. She became a news anchor in 1996, and retired from that position in 2021. “Wendy delivered the news honestly — with humor, heart, & expertise and she will be missed dearly,” said DC mayor Muriel Bowser in a tweet.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which has roots going back to 1786, is going out of business, the paper’s owners, Block Communications, announced on Jan. 7... GQ editor Will Welch is stepping down to take on a new Paris-based role with the musician Pharrell, who is also men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton... Semafor says it has raised $30 million on a $330 million valuation, following its first profitable year. 
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
