Drew Harwell

At BlackPressMediaUSA we examine how entertainment stories can illuminate systems of power — from funding ties to policy influence. Our latest analysis shows why independent Black press scrutiny matters: it connects cultural moments to real accountability, uncovers stakeholders, and equips readers to demand transparency. Read the full industry spotlight for clear context and concrete takeaways. https://wix.to/Rf6eiQP #MediaAccountability #InvestigativeJournalism #EntertainmentIndustry 🔎

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Important update from our CEO Bob Cohn here at The Baltimore Banner (excerpted here below): "Across the country, local journalism is in crisis. In the last 15 years, newsroom employment has dropped nearly 60 percent and newspaper ad revenue 80 percent. A recent study by the University of Maryland found that two out of five news organizations in the state are skeptical they’ll survive another two years. "But here at The Banner, local news is finding new life. "It was just three years ago this week that The Baltimore Banner launched its website, posting 14 stories that first day. Since then, we have published some 15,000 articles as we spread across the state to find stories that inform, engage and inspire us all. With 84 journalists and a total staff 130, we are the largest newsroom in Maryland. And we are working hard to meet our commitment to revitalize local journalism. Our journalism is having an impact in our communities. • Our reporters continue to explore details of the Key Bridge collapse, including this riveting story, based on new audio, of the frantic final minutes aboard the Dali.  • The Banner broke the story of Justin Tucker’s alleged misconduct with 16 massage therapists across the city, leading to an official NFL investigation. • We published a comprehensive voter guide to the 2024 election, covering statewide ballot initiatives, all 14 city council races, and three school board contests. • Through our partnership with Baltimore City’s Public Schools, all public school students can read The Banner for free. "We’re pursuing stories that have been ignored or untold. • Baltimore’s unreliable public transit system creates massive hardship for public school students, making it impossible for them to reliably get to school on time and adversely affecting academic performance. • Three days after we published our investigation into PHA Healthcare, a controversy-riddled drug addiction treatment provider, they were issued a cease-and-desist by the state and have since stopped providing treatment. • We were the first to publish an independent audit of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which found 36 cases where individuals died in police custody that should have been ruled homicides. "We’ve received some of the most prestigious awards in journalism. • Last month, Banner reporters Alissa Zhu, Jessica Gallagher and Nick Thieme won the Pulitzer Prize for their multi-part coverage of Baltimore’s overdose crisis. That same series also claimed the George Polk Award for Local Reporting. .... "On the strength of this and other work, we now have 66,000 subscribers and are on our way to financial sustainability...."

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Great programs, real-life experience for students that I wish I had back in j-school. The next important step: How to generate enough revenue across the industry — and build enough professional outlets who want and are able to hire — to get them jobs when they graduate.

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Jane Ferguson on Full Disclosure 🎙 The veteran foreign correspondent -- PBS News; The New Yorker; Afghanistan; Somalia; Sudan -- on founding Noosphere, Inc. Amid declining linear TV and other legacy media, the app connects journalists and content creators with their viewers / subscribers. 🎧 NPR, Spotify, Apple, et https://lnkd.in/e_-33P2n 🎥 watch on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/epSpZyXr Chuck Iva Yvette #journalists #content #TVNews #digitalmedia #journalism #media #news Radio IQ/WVTF Public Radio Ian

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Anthropic PBC convinced a federal judge to deny music publishers’ bid to expand their copyright infringement lawsuit against the AI company to include a piracy claim. The decision may prevent the case from turning into what Anthropic has called "Bartz II," referring to a similar lawsuit brought by book authors that the AI company recently settled for $1.5 billion. The judge also asked the parties whether Anthropic’s Bartz settlement might include music publishers since their copyrighted lyrics could have been in the pirated books covered by the deal. Music publishers said they didn’t think so, whereas Anthropic's counsel said it'd likely depend on the final settlement class. https://lnkd.in/eY9gRx8E

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The K-pop industry may be entering a new phase of competition in 2026, as several prominent producers and entertainment companies prepare to launch new boy groups this year. Among them are Lee Soo-man, former head of SM Entertainment and now CEO of A2O Entertainment, as well as upcoming acts from Ooak Records and SM's highly anticipated #SMTR25 project. In this article, I explore whether a new power map could emerge in K-pop — and whether Lee will continue to shape the industry with his next group or if the balance of influence may shift. https://lnkd.in/gNGEt4Gq

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"Diplomacy is complex, more difficult to report than bombing and killing". "Why? Wars sell". A few days ago I listened to a webinar by UNITAR: Why Public Diplomacy Matters in the 21st Century. Dr. Elizabeth Colton's presentation shed light on something that might seem obvious: there are alternatives, different paths to this reality that is seemingly 'inevitable'. In these times flooded with content designed for rage-baiting, texts like Dr. Colton's are precisely what we need to read and delve into.

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#NEW in ADWEEK: Global indie DEPT® is scaling its U.S. presence with senior hires from WPP, PMG, Edelman, Anomaly, and R/GA... and preparing to open a New York HQ in 2026. The Carlyle Group-backed agency is reporting double-digit growth and leaning into an integrated model that blends creative, media, data, and technology. “Modern brands need modern agencies,” DEPT Americas CEO Carryn Quibell told me. “We truly believe they’ll be built by combining the best talent with the best technology.” 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g7MnMW_b #exclusive #advertising #independentagencies

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I've never seen another newsroom do this, but InfoAmazonia has an interactive web tool that shows where their stories are focused #dataviz https://lnkd.in/eGdZERg9

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NEW: DOGE is pointing to moving the federal retirement process online as a win --- But the project pre-dates DOGE. https://lnkd.in/eZhdQRAQ

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Very excited about this legislation, which establishes safeguards for workers in the news industry and protects the public from being force-fed AI slop. Our industry is full of profit-driven media tycoons for whom "editorial integrity" and "public good" will always be secondary. For them, AI is purely a way to cut costs to the bone -- even if it means our communities are left without anyone to tell their stories. Legislation like the NY FAIR News Act ensures that we won't forget about the journalists when technocrats wax poetic AI's "exciting opportunities."

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The irony of professional networking is that the people who most stand to benefit are often least able to afford it. Some of my best tips for attending industry events include: 1) Plan well in advance — If you can't make it this year, look up flights and hotels for next year as soon as your conference location is announced. Set up alerts for cheap deals and book rooms in advance that you can cancel later if you find a better rate. Planning ahead also applies to most of the points below: It's easiest to get what you want/need when you already have a plan in place. 2) Volunteer your time in exchange for admission — Not only does this keep cash in your pocket, it gives you the opportunity to meet and connect with unexpected people. Most conferences take volunteers; you can also apply to speak. 3) Get a roommate — In addition to cutting costs in half, you also get to know one specific person very well. I've learned something important from every conference roommate I've ever had. 4) Apply for funding — Your employer, school, professional organization, or city may offer grants and scholarships for professional development. It may be as easy as registering for the conference and applying to be reimbursed, or you may need to express interest to your HR department before you sign up. The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists) are particularly generous with offering stipends for freelancers, students/recent graduates, and professionals in need. 5) Use your time wisely — You don't have to stay for the whole conference. If you only have resources to attend for one day, check the list of speakers/attendees and schedule 1:1 meetings with the people you most want to speak with. If you're actively looking for a job, prioritize the career fair/tradeshow instead of attending sessions. If you have to miss some sessions, email the speakers and politely let them know you'd love to get their slides/notes. Thanks, Mallory Carra, for the opportunity to speak with NBCU Academy!

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Vance’s war on Medicaid fraud risks blowback for GOP  Strategists on both sides of the political spectrum say the campaign carries risks for the administration as it seeks to move on from the deadly immigration campaign in the state earlier this year.  Maddie Twomey, communications director for the Democratic-aligned health advocacy group Protect Our Care, said attacking health care is rarely a politically sound move.  “Trump’s own pollsters have said this again and again, and yet they continue to chip away at vital programs like Medicaid and in a midterm election year,” Twomey said. “It’s kind of shocking that this would be something that they’re trying to continue to attack when people are so clear that they are concerned about health care.”  https://lnkd.in/eFmBkXt4

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🔍 NEW PIECE: In this year’s Reuters Memorial Lecture, Columbia Journalism Dean Jelani Cobb called on journalists to be more transparent about their own reporting as a way to restore trust in what they do. A new piece by our colleague Gretel Kahn looks at how five newsrooms are doing exactly that. The piece includes insights from a big newspaper in Sweden, a small newsletter, and nonprofits in Spain, the UK and the US. Transparency takes different forms for the outlets featured in the piece. civio, Bellingcat and The Markup detail their own methodologies to encourage others to build on their work. Sweden's Aftonbladet includes ethics boxes in articles to explain its own editorial decisions. Isaac Saul acknowledges his own biases and includes prominent corrections in his newsletter Tangle News every time he makes a mistake.  https://lnkd.in/dZZfwnDH

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