Welcome to the team, Mark!

As more layoffs are being announced, a reminder that SPJ has put together a webpage with resources for journalists who have been laid off. There are links to community aid, mental health resources, job boards and more. spj.org/together.asp

For journalists who have been laid off, SPJ Mental Task Force chair Anastasiya Bolton, @LesRangelonFox7, Patricia Whitehouse and Kati Kokal have put together a video that goes over a variety of resources: youtube.com/watch?v=m-RL_-…

Another newspaper in the Midwest bites the dust. For now. Kavahn Mansouri jumped in to help St. Louis Public Radio report this developing story about The Riverfront Times. stlpr.org/2024-05-22/rft…

Really cool job: The Washington Post is starting a narrative investigations team. Storytelling and accountability reporting do not have to be kept separate! washpost.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/washingtonpost…

St. Louis Pro has co-signed this letter, urging hearings on the PRESS Act to protect journalists and their work with (at last) a federal shield law.

Needless to say, the The Midwest Newsroom team is beyond excited to welcome Isa Luzarraga!!

SPJ urges the Mississippi Supreme Court to overturn a lower court order against Mississippi Today. "Without journalists, citizens are kept in the dark, giving those in power no accountability and freedom to abuse that power," said SPJ President @AshantiBlaize. spj.org/news.asp?REF=3…

Disgusting.

Let's do some great investigative work in the Midwest, y'all.

At this fire last night and neighborhood kids asked if I was going to give my evidence to the news. Explained that I was the news. Then they wanted to be on the 'video', like Chicago Fire. Said I was only taking photos. Sorry kids.

A Friday in the Great Midwest means it's time for my weekly 🧵of notable work from our The Midwest Newsroom partners. 1/7 Up first: Iowa's new "heartbeat" law could have ripple effects across the region | Natalie Krebs Iowa Public Radio & Side Effects Public Media iowapublicradio.org/ipr-news/2024-…

We knew this day would come for word people.

The 🧵 hath dropped! Check out Holly Edgell's picks of great journalism from our partners in the Midwest.

When it comes to AI & elections, democracy itself is at stake. Join Zach Seward of The New York Times, Loreben Tuquero of ПолитФакт & Eric Wishart of AFP News Agency for this important online panel discussion at 5 pm EDT, 9/4/24 by Society of Professional Journalists' media ethics committee. Register here us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

Devastating portrait of a nightmare situation for a reporter, a lot to think about espn.com/nfl/story/_/id…

Members: check your inboxes! The SPJ election has begun, and if you are a member, you should have a ballot waiting for you. Check out our blog or the SPJ website for further details and information about the candidates. This is a critical time for SPJ; let your voice be heard!

Heads up, our next investigation publishes tomorrow. The Midwest Newsroom dug deeper into the intersection between housing and education in the Midwest. You'll be surprised at what we found. In the meantime, I'm entering pre-publish mode. In other words...

This was a very nice thing to see in my inbox after vacation. A big congrats and thanks to all of the people who made this possible.

Fellowship! The JAWS JAWS Health Fellowship trains early-career journalists on how to cover important health topics to inform their audiences. Info and application here: jaws.org/apply-here