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The Poynter Institute
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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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Don’t let lawyer costs get in the way – and other tips on navigating public records requests from The New Yorker’s Parker Yesko.

Read more tips: www.poynter.org/educators-st...
3 public records tips to remember: ‘Learn how it works‘ - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their…
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November 14, 2025 at 2:01 PM
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Following the departure of two top leaders, the BBC is reportedly planning to make a formal apology to President Donald Trump in hopes of getting him to drop his lawsuit against the British public broadcaster.

Read this story and more in today’s Poynter Report: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
November 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
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Over the weekend, President Donald Trump promised Americans $2,000 each from the “trillions of dollars” in tariff revenue he said his administration has collected. But experts said tariff revenue is projected to be far below what’s needed to fund payments.

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Will Americans really get $2,000 from Trump’s tariff ‘dividend’? Experts say don’t count on it - Poynter
Economists and tax policy experts say tariff revenue is far short of what’s needed to fund the payments, and legal challenges could shrink it further
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November 12, 2025 at 7:01 PM
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-“60 Minutes” still feels like “60 minutes,” despite leadership changes at CBS News – at least for the moment.
-President Donald Trump threatens BBC News for $1 billion.

Read these stories in today’s Poynter Report, our Monday-Friday media industry newsletter:
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A few months into its new era, ‘60 Minutes’ still feels like ‘60 Minutes’ - Poynter
Two fact-driven stories critical of Trump suggest that, even under new leadership, CBS News hasn’t changed its stripes. At least not yet.
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November 11, 2025 at 7:03 PM
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Happy Birthday, Poynter!

🎂 We did the cake, 🎈we did the balloons, ✍️ we did the half century of democracy-building work to improve the ethical practice of journalism.

Now it’s your turn. Keep Poynter’s dream alive for the next 50 years. Make a gift of any size today: buff.ly/5iNqbJq
November 10, 2025 at 9:59 PM
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Two BBC leaders resigned following a controversy involving an edit of President Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 speech for an episode of a documentary series.

Read this story and more in today’s Poynter Report, our Monday-Friday media industry newsletter:
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BBC resignations over a Trump speech edit show the high cost of editorial mistakes in a polarized era - Poynter
A sloppy edit of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech sparked two BBC resignations and a reminder that even small errors can fuel big narratives
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November 10, 2025 at 7:00 PM
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Elon Musk wrote, “The New York City ballot form is a scam” because “mayoral candidates appear twice,” but that’s false.

It’s part of New York’s long tradition of fusion voting, in which multiple parties can nominate the same candidate.

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Elon Musk says New York’s ballot is a scam. It’s actually a 19th-century voting tradition. - Poynter
New York’s mayoral ballots list candidates multiple times because of fusion voting, designed to empower minor parties and clarify voter preference
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November 6, 2025 at 7:01 PM
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Poynter has so far documented 70 federal actions aimed at constraining journalists and their ability to report and hold the government accountable. Here are the latest: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
Tuesday’s blue wave had the media asking what it means for Trump’s influence - Poynter
Democrats’ wins in key races had newsrooms questioning whether Trump can still rally voters without his name on the ballot
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November 6, 2025 at 6:30 PM
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One thing is clear: Tuesday was a good day for Democrats. In today's Poynter Report newsletter, senior media writer Tom Jones unpacks notable coverage, analysis and reactions to the 2025 election. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
Tuesday’s blue wave had the media asking what it means for Trump’s influence - Poynter
Democrats’ wins in key races had newsrooms questioning whether Trump can still rally voters without his name on the ballot
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November 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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In his first “60 Minutes” interview in five years, President Donald Trump misled about the Insurrection Act, his administration’s deportation strategy and his record on grocery costs.

PolitiFact fact-checked Trump’s statements from the interview. Read the facts:

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Trump misleads on deportations and inflation in first ‘60 Minutes’ interview since 2020 - Poynter
The former president’s claims about immigration raids, grocery costs and the Insurrection Act don’t hold up to the facts
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November 5, 2025 at 2:13 PM
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On Nov. 10, 1975, Nelson Poynter founded a journalism school built on a simple but powerful belief: that sharing stories and information can, and must, be a force for good.
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November 3, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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-A reporter emailed the wrong man. The result was a cautionary tale for journalists.
-Gayle King to leave her post as co-host of “CBS Mornings.”
-Gannett’s debt falls below $1 billion for the first time since its 2019 merger.

Read these stories and more: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
Bill de Blasio or DeBlasio? What happened when a longstanding newspaper failed to verify its source.
A respected UK paper failed to verify it was talking to the right Bill de Blasio and quoted a wine importer instead of the former NYC mayor.
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October 31, 2025 at 2:20 PM
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A massive reduction at Paramount began on Wednesday as 1,000 staffers — somewhere between 5% and 10% of the organization — were laid off, as part of a larger plan to reduce costs and staff at the network.

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Layoffs hit CBS News and Paramount as David Ellison’s cost-cutting plan takes effect - Poynter
Roughly 1,000 staffers were laid off Wednesday, part of a broader effort to trim more than $2 billion in expenses
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October 30, 2025 at 1:37 PM
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Hurricane Melissa slammed into Jamaica yesterday as one of the strongest Category 5 storms on record, tearing off roofs and flooding streets. We spoke with AP photojournalist Matias Delacroix about what he’s witnessed on the ground. www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...
Through wind and flooding, an AP journalist shows what Hurricane Melissa left behind in Jamaica - Poynter
A photojournalist with The Associated Press speaks about covering Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica.
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October 29, 2025 at 8:21 PM
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In a remarkable piece of dogged reporting published Tuesday, CNN’s Clarissa Ward tracked what may have happened to Austin Tice, the journalist and former U.S. Marine who went missing in 2012 while reporting from Syria. www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
Inside CNN’s investigation into what happened to missing journalist Austin Tice - Poynter
CNN’s Clarissa Ward found a man who claims to know Tice’s fate, but her reporting shows how elusive the truth remains in Syria
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October 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
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-CBS News’ John Dickerson announces his departure from the network.
-MSNBC officially becomes MS Now on Nov. 15.
White House East Wing demolition buzz continues.

Read these stories and more in today’s Poynter Report: our Monday-Friday media industry newsletter: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
Bari Weiss’s CBS era begins with the loss of one of the network’s top journalists - Poynter
John Dickerson’s 16-year run at CBS spanned nearly every major role in the newsroom. His exit has deepened unease among colleagues.
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October 28, 2025 at 9:01 PM
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Here’s everything you need to know about aluminum in vaccines – including why metal is in some vaccines, if there are risks and how long vaccines have contained aluminum.

Read the PolitiFact story: buff.ly/87iHBsF
Trump officials want to pull aluminum from vaccines. Public health experts say that move defies science. - Poynter
The metal has been used safely for nearly a century to boost immune response. But misinformation keeps finding new targets.
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October 21, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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We’re having some temporary technical issues on Poynter.org right now, but we’re working to solve it quickly so you can get back to the best industry news and journalism training on the market. :wrench: Thanks for your patience.
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Poynter is a nonprofit media institute and newsroom that provides fact-checking, media literacy and journalism ethics training to citizens and journalists in service to democracy.
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October 21, 2025 at 4:26 PM
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-How effective are Sora 2 guardrails against deepfakes? Poynter AI innovation lab members talk Sora 2
-President Trump refiles his $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times

Read these stories and more in today’s Poynter Report newsletter:
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Sora 2 launched to doomsday headlines. How bad is it really? - Poynter
OpenAI’s new video generator can create realistic clips of almost anything. While early results are often absurd, experts say the risks are real.
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October 20, 2025 at 1:32 PM
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“[Indiana] university claimed it was not about censorship, but about concentrating on the digital product. But, it should be up to the staff — not the university — to decide whether news should be in the print product,” writes senior media writer Tom Jones.

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Major controversy and hard knocks journalism lessons from Indiana University
Indiana University faces backlash after firing student media director Jim Rodenbush and cutting funding for the Indiana Daily Student’s print edition, sparking outcry over censorship and press…
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October 17, 2025 at 1:59 PM
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Writing is a job and a miracle. It’s at the center of Susan Orlean’s fantastic memoir, “Joyride,” which also serves as a nonscolding guide to navigating that peculiar life. www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...
Q&A: The New Yorker’s Susan Orlean on why she treasures ‘the stuff of life’ - Poynter
The legendary journalist (and new memoirist) talks with Poynter about life and writing, which are one in the same.
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October 16, 2025 at 9:01 PM
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This week, Indiana University fired Indiana Daily Student adviser Jim Rodenbush in what appears to be a grapple for control over the pages of an upcoming print issue. The firing comes after years of tension between the university and its flagship student publication.

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At Indiana University, the journalism school forgot what journalism is for - Poynter
By firing the Indiana Daily Student’s adviser, IU showed how easily universities can seize control of the press they claim to support
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October 16, 2025 at 2:28 PM
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New layoffs at NBC come with a twist: The company is repurposing approximately a dozen of the eliminated positions into new roles, and the affected employees have been encouraged to apply for them.
Read more about these cuts in today’s Poynter Report: www.poynter.org/commentary/2...
NBC News is laying off 150 people — and asking some to reapply for open roles - Poynter
No anchors are reportedly part of the 7% reduction, which comes as NBC and MSNBC finalize their split and the network reshapes its newsroom
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October 16, 2025 at 1:17 PM
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“Fill the page with nonsense, if you must,” said Poynter’s audience engagement producer TyLisa C. Johnson. “Even if I’m just writing a stream of consciousness, some of those streams have led to major breakthroughs.”

Here are four writing tips for storytelling (and memes): buff.ly/YmSTbmg
How we’re using humor in fraught times - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their…
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October 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM
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On Tuesday, media organizations from across the political spectrum came together to fight back against recent restrictions on their coverage by the Trump administration by declining to sign the latest Pentagon press policy under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

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A united media stands up against the Pentagon’s press restrictions - Poynter
No major news outlet agrees to sign on to policy limiting reporting to authorized information, costing them Pentagon access. Only OAN agrees.
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October 15, 2025 at 1:15 PM