If you follow coverage of the media, you know Brian Stelter. He was the veteran reporter at CNN who hosted a Sunday morning show — a very good show, I might add — about the media called “Reliable Sources,” as well as the lead author of the “Reliable Sources” newsletter about the news industry.

But that came to a stunningly abrupt end a little more than two years ago, in August 2022, when CNN, under then-new (and now former) network boss Chris Licht, canceled the Sunday morning show and parted ways with Stelter.

CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy took over the “Reliable Sources” newsletter and Stelter went on to write a book and freelance for various outlets, including a story or two for Poynter. Recently, Stelter began appearing occasionally again on CNN, which is now being run by Mark Thompson.

Then, about a month ago, Darcy surprisingly announced that he was leaving CNN to start his own independent newsletter about the media. At that point, CNN announced that it would regroup, but that the “Reliable Sources” newsletter would return at some point.

What goes around, comes around.

In a bit of a shocker, Stelter announced Tuesday that he is returning to CNN as chief media analyst, which includes being the lead writer on the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. There was no mention of the return of the “Reliable Sources” TV show. Stelter, however, did say he will appear on the air, as well as provide other digital content. The newsletter, he said, will return Sept. 9.

Stelter wrote in a special “Reliable Sources” newsletter, “But this is not going to be a ‘Back to the Future’ remake. The media industry has matured, CNN has evolved, and I have changed a lot since I signed off two years ago. I loved my old life as the anchor of a Sunday morning show but, to borrow some lingo from my video game blogger days, I finished that level of the game. Time for new levels, new challenges.”

Stelter added, “I always scoffed at people who said ‘getting fired was the best thing that’s ever happened to me’ — until, well, it happened to me. After 20+ years as a news junkie, I changed my habits and tuned out for a bit. I also changed my vantage point, moving from Manhattan to a horse farm near one of Donald Trump’s golf clubs. I experienced the news more like an everyday consumer, and in doing so, I learned a whole lot about the attention economy and the information ecosystem. I’m looking forward to sharing what I learned with you.”

Lookout Santa Cruz opens a second site

For this item, I turn it over to my colleague Rick Edmonds, Poynter’s media business analyst.

Four years after launching Lookout Santa Cruz, its founder, Ken Doctor, announced Tuesday that Lookout Local is expanding with a second venture in Eugene-Springfield, Oregon. The new site will launch in early 2025, and Doctor added that he plans three more by the end of 2026.

Lookout Santa Cruz has been the object of close attention in the crowded local news startup universe. Doctor was a leading business analyst of the newspaper and digital news industry for 15 years, then decided to take a shot at a launch that would embody what he had learned for his hometown. Going in, he said that he hoped the model would be successful enough to replicate elsewhere.

This spring, Lookout Santa Cruz won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news reporting for its coverage of a flood and mudslide over New Year’s weekend 2023. The judges particularly praised how much useful service information its relatively small staff provided during the event and an extended recovery period that followed. My boss, Poynter President Neil Brown, mentioned Lookout Santa Cruz as an illustration of vitality in the local news sector in the institute’s OnPoynt report, also released Tuesday.

A distinction of Doctor’s model is that Lookout is incorporated not as a nonprofit but as a public benefit corporation. Under that structure, the venture is for profit but obliged by law to moderate margins and document service to the community.

I asked Doctor by email about that choice, and he replied that in his view, there were several important advantages:

“First off, it says, what we are, our mission: Public benefit. (We say, ‘We look out for Santa Cruz County and you.’) In short, there are four reasons PBC works well for this kind of new news operation: 1) We’re part of the small business community, offering a valuable good for members and advertisers, and not just asking for support; 2) We’re able to do, and have done, endorsements (spending 1:1 hours with each candidate) for local races and measures; 3) We’re able to offer stock options to attract and retain key leadership; 4) We’re able to issue debt or equity, to fund expansion.”

Eugene-Springfield meets Lookout’s target to serve mid-sized metro areas.  A news release said that 20 individuals or couples and four local family foundations are providing startup support, as well as several national foundations and the Google News Initiative.

Lookout is recruiting a staff of 20, 12 or them for the newsroom. It has also added two corporate executives.

The Lookout Santa Cruz site is digital only and paywall protected with fully priced annual subscriptions of up to $188 and a monthly option at $17.

Remembering a legend

Associated Press special correspondent Linda Deutsch holds a copy of her book, “Verdict: The Chronicle of the O.J. Simpson Trial,” at her home in Los Angeles in 2014. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent for The Associated Press who covered some of the most famous court trials of all time, died Sunday. She was 80. The AP’s John Rogers reported that Deutsch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022. She underwent successful treatment, but the cancer recently returned.

Deutsch reported on many famous and infamous trials, including those for Charles Manson and O.J. Simpson. Her career as a courts reporter began when she covered the trial of Sirhan Sirhan, who was convicted for the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

In addition to the Manson and Simpson trials, Deutsch also covered the trials of Patty Hearst, Phil Spector, the Menendez Brothers, Richard Rarmirez (known as the Night Stalker), the “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski and the police officers charged in the beating of motorist Rodney King.

Louis D. Boccardi, who served as AP’s executive editor for a decade and as president and CEO for 18 years, told Rogers, “When a big trial loomed, AP’s assignment editors didn’t have to ask who should get the assignment. No, the instant question was, ‘Is Linda available?’ She mastered the art of celebrity trial coverage and, in the process, became something of a media celebrity herself.”

Julie Pace, AP’s executive editor and senior vice president, told Rogers, “Linda was a fearless reporter who loved being on a big story — and she indeed covered some of the biggest. She was a true trailblazer whose command of her beat and tireless work ethic made her an inspiration to so many journalists at the AP and across our industry.”

Check out Rogers’ story for more on Deutsch’s career.

‘Insane question’

Granted, I don’t watch every minute of every White House press conference, but the question that Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked on Tuesday has got to be right up there with among the most ridiculous questions ever asked at a White House press conference.

Talking about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, “Since when does the vice president have what sounds like a Southern accent?”

Jean-Pierre responded by saying, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Doocy told Jean-Pierre that Harris, at a recent event in Pittsburgh, had “some kind of Southern drawl.”

Jean-Pierre, appropriately I will add, said, “I mean, do you hear the question that you’re … I mean, do you think Americans seriously think that this is an important question?”

Jean-Pierre added that Americans care about topics such as the economy and healthcare and democracy.

She then added, “I’m not even going to entertain some question about the — it’s just, hearing it sounds so ridiculous.” She went to call the question “insane.”

(Here’s the video from Mediaite’s Michael Luciano. And, oh, Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher has a story about other Fox News’ personalities talking about Harris’ accent.)

Look, I normally don’t jump on questions asked at a press conference, even ones that have a trolling aspect to them. But this question deserves ridicule. We have just over two months before one of the most significant elections in our nation’s history, and there is a question about a candidate’s accent? Seriously?

Jean-Pierre called the question “insane.” I’d go a step further and call it worse: irresponsible journalism.

The (sort of) return of “The Sports Reporters”

Puck’s John Ourand broke the news a couple of weeks ago that ESPN was reviving the once-popular, and groundbreaking sports debate show, “The Sports Reporters.”

On Tuesday, “The Sports Reporters” returned. Kind of.

Back when it aired on Sunday mornings from 1988 to 2017, “The Sports Reporters” mostly featured sports newspapers columnists from around the country, especially regulars such as Mike Lupica (New York Daily News), Mitch Albom (Detroit Free Press), William Rhoden (The New York Times) and Bob Ryan (The Boston Globe).

In the first edition of its revival, “The Sports Reporters” aired on ESPN’s YouTube channel. But that isn’t what made it different from the old show that devoted fans grew to know and love. Despite its name, this latest version felt a bit disconnected from the old show. That’s because the show featured host Jeremy Schaap talking not to sports reporters or columnists, but NFL television play-by-play announcers Joe Buck, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, and Mike Tirico.

That’s not to say the show wasn’t interesting or entertaining. It’s just to say that it really didn’t’ feel like “The Sports Reporters.”

As Awful Announcing’s Andrew Bucholtz wrote, “A conversation between Schaap and those NFL PXP voices is certainly notable, and certainly worthy of ESPN’s platforms. (And there’s a good argument to be made that this would be more worth ESPN linear airtime than many of the things they air on their main network, so it’s odd that this is only airing on YouTube.) But it is unusual to see ‘The Sports Reporters’ as the branding here, as this easily could have slotted in under a ‘SC: Featured,’ ‘E:60,’ or ‘Outside The Lines’ brand and fit in much better; Schaap is the only figure here who could be at all described as a reporter.”

Andy Tennant, ESPN’s vice president of production, who is overseeing the revival of “The Sports Reporters,” said in a statement, “This is an opportunity for NFL fans to hear from four of the most experienced voices in the sport in the same discussion, and we thank CBS and NBC for the collaboration. This is the rebirth of an iconic franchise and the possibilities for more collaborations involving other sports are endless.”

Again, that’s all well and good. It just doesn’t conjure up memories of the classic show.

ESPN wrote in its statement, “In addition to appearing on YouTube, segments from the discussion will appear on ‘SportsCenter,’ ‘NFL Live’ and potentially other ESPN television programs. The new version of ‘The Sports Reporters’ will appear regularly with different panelists and subjects. Future editions will feature a mix of new panelists and some from the show’s original run.”

Let’s hope it does feature some of the old panelists and they’re all together in the studio (as opposed to being remote) so that the show, once again, matches the name.

Check it out

In case you missed it, my Tuesday newsletter featured a Q&A with Poynter president Neil Brown about a first-of-its-kind report from the Poynter Institute examining current trends in the news and media industry. The report is called “OnPoynt — Values Rising: Trends and traction in journalism and the news industry.”

Today, Brown is hosting a series of roundtable discussions in New York City to discuss the current state of the news from those who are making the biggest impact. Topics will include AI, trust, audience building, product/business model innovation, local news, and investigative journalism, It will feature industry leaders from The Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, TIME, and other outlets as they give their thoughts through the lens of the “OnPoynt” report.

Roundtables will take place at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Eastern, all on a continuous stream. Go to this YouTube link to watch.

Media tidbits

• The New York Times’ Amanda Holpuch with “Man Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison for Harassing Journalists.”
• In a guest essay for The New York Times, contributing Opinion writer, and  Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson with “Don’t Flip Out Over Election Forecasts.”
• CNN’s Jordan Valinsky with “DirecTV is compensating customers affected by the Disney outage. But they have to take action to get it.”

Hot type

The Los Angeles Times’ Mark Athitakis, Lorraine Berry, Jessica Ferri, Bethanne Patrick and Paula L. Woods with “30 books to read this fall.”

More resources for journalists

• Public media journalists: Applications for our Digital Transformation Program close Friday!
• Find compelling climate change stories on any beat at Beat Academy.
• Find your voice at Power of Diverse Voices, for journalists of color. Closes Friday!

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at [email protected].

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