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** OPINION
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Good Wednesday morning. We’ll get to Elon Musk and everything going on with him these days — and there’s certainly a lot to unpack — in just a moment.

First, I wanted to tell you about the latest in our special project. So let’s start there …


** Next up in The Poynter 50
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As I hope you know by now, in celebration of Poynter’s 50th anniversary in 2025, we are unveiling throughout the year something called “The Poynter 50.” ([link removed]) It’s a series that reflects on 50 moments and people that shaped journalism over the past half-century — and continues to influence its future.

We released the first chapter of our project last week when I looked at CNN’s coverage of Operation Desert Storm ([link removed]) in 1991 and how it forever changed the cable news industry.

Today, we bring you the next item on our list. My colleague Amaris Castillo writes, “TMZ’s scoop on Michael Jackson’s death marked the moment digital news overtook legacy media.” ([link removed])

As Castillo notes, it was a scoop that changed journalism. She wrote, “It marked the beginning of a new era, one where speed, access and aggressive digital reporting could outmaneuver even the top legacy newsrooms.”

Castillo’s story has lots of great background and memories from those who chased this huge pop culture story. So be sure to check it out.

And now to the rest of today’s newsletter, starting with how one successful businessman is questioning how Musk can do all the jobs he has these days. Here we go.


** Can Elon Musk really do it all? Dave Portnoy doesn’t think so
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Elon Musk, left, sitting next to President Donald Trump inside a Tesla that Trump purchased on Tuesday. (Pool via AP)

From pizza to politics? Did Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is also known for his pizza reviews, almost land a job in the Trump administration?

Portnoy said on his “Davey Day Trader Global” podcast ([link removed]) this week that he got a call a while back asking if he would be interested in joining the Department of Commerce and working under Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Portnoy didn’t say who the call came from.

Portnoy said the caveat was that he would have to give up running his highly successful website and digital media company Barstool Sports, which he wasn’t willing to do. Also, Portnoy said, he never got a follow-up call after the initial inquiry.

Portnoy said, “They were like, ‘Let us know if you could find somebody to run Barstool and if you are interested we’ll schedule a call in a week to go over the next steps.’ That never happened. It was weird.”

Did it happen? Did someone from the Trump administration actually reach out to Portnoy? Who knows, but it wouldn’t be outrageous to suggest Trump would want someone just because that someone is famous and runs a high-profile, money-making business. Also, Trump probably digs Portnoy’s self-proclaimed nickname: El Presidente.

The larger point that Portnoy seemed to be making was that he thought it impossible to run his company and work for the government. No wonder, Portnoy theorized, that Elon Musk is having difficulty working in the government while also running Tesla, SpaceX and X.

Portnoy said, “How do you run Tesla when you’re working on DOGE 24/7? I know Elon doesn’t have a specific title, but you kind of want your CEO with the eye on the ball.”


** Speaking of which …
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Musk sat down for a rare TV interview on Monday with Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow and was asked about what you would think is a heavy workload. Kudlow asked ([link removed]) , “How are you running your other business?”

Musk said, “Uh, with great difficulty.”

After a long pause and a sigh, Musk said, “I’m just here trying to make the government more efficient, eliminate waste and fraud and so far, we’re making good progress.”

Still, Musk’s answer seemed to suggest that he is having a hard time balancing all that he is doing.


** X doesn’t mark the spot
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During his interview with Kudlow, Musk talked about Monday’s issues with X, which had intermittent outages early in the day. Musk went on social media Monday and said it was some sort of cyberattack. He then told Kudlow, “We’re not sure exactly what happened, but there was a massive cyberattack to try to bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area.”

So is Musk suggesting that Ukraine had something to do with X going in and out?

Wired’s Lily Hay Newman looked into such claims for her story: “What Really Happened With the DDoS Attacks That Took Down X.” ([link removed])

Newman wrote, “Web traffic analysis experts who tracked the incident on Monday were quick to emphasize that the type of attacks X seemed to face — distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS, attacks — are launched by a coordinated army of computers, or a ‘botnet,’ pummeling a target with junk traffic in an attempt to overwhelm and take down its systems. Botnets are typically dispersed around the world, generating traffic with geographically diverse IP addresses, and they can include mechanisms that make it harder to determine where they are controlled from.”

In other words, just because an IP address says it is from one area doesn’t mean it is from that area. The attackers frequently use various means to scramble their true origins.

Newman wrote, “DDoS traffic analysis can break down the firehose of junk traffic in different ways, including by listing the countries that had the most IP addresses involved in an attack. But one researcher from a prominent firm, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about X, noted that they did not even see Ukraine in the breakdown of the top 20 IP address origins involved in the X attacks.”


** Hearst and a local group are competing for wine country’s newspaper
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For this item, I turn it over to Poynter media business analyst Rick Edmonds.

A newly formed local group is bidding to acquire The Press Democrat, the regional newspaper based in Santa Rosa, California, that serves Sonoma County and its renowned wine country. It was reported a month ago that huge, privately-held Hearst was in the process of acquiring The Press Democrat from its current owners, another local group of wealthy individuals.

Hearst did not confirm the negotiations, but a member of the current ownership group told The San Francisco Standard ([link removed]) that he and others are “aging” and looking to find a responsible buyer.

The Press Democrat has long been considered a jewel among small city papers, winning the 2018 Pulitzer Prize ([link removed]) for breaking news reporting for its coverage of wine country wildfires. It was acquired by The New York Times Co. in 1985 while the Times still had a regional newspaper group and owned The Boston Globe. It was sold to locals in 2012 ([link removed]) .

Gem or not, The Press Democrat is not fetching big money. Cindy Gallaher, a member of the so-far unnamed group, said in a news release Tuesday that it is offering $12 million and understands Hearst’s bid to be $8 million.

Unions are backing the new group, which has pledged to keep staffing local. Hearst would likely consolidate business functions at its nearby San Francisco Chronicle.

Hearst has been on a buying binge already this year, acquiring the Austin American-Statesman from Gannett and adding the Waterbury Republican-American to its Connecticut holdings, both in February.


** Finding the right words
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The New Yorker is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, but it is trying to get more with the current times when it comes to language.

Andrew Boynton, New Yorker’s head of copy, wrote this week ([link removed]) that The New Yorker is updating its house style on certain words. This comes after New Yorker editor David Remnick suggested it was time for the magazine to look into its style and see if anything needed updating.

Boyton wrote:

The group — comprising copy editors, current and former, and editors — met this past January and came up with a list of styles that might qualify for changes, and in a subsequent meeting the following month the director of copy and production and I came up with a limited list of proposals. It was decided that, while no one wanted to change some of the long-standing “quirky” styles (teen-ager, per cent, etc.), some of newer vintage could go. Along with a few other changes, “in-box” is now “inbox,” “Web site” is now “website,” “Internet” is now “internet,” and “cell phone” is now “cellphone” (though everyone acknowledges that the word “cell” in this context will soon disappear altogether).

Check out Boynton’s note for a more clever look.


** MSNBC’s latest addition
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Washington Post opinion columnist Catherine Rampell, who is joining MSNBC. (Photo: courtesy of MSNBC)

Washington Post opinion columnist Catherine Rampell is joining MSNBC as evening co-host on “The Weekend.” She will continue working for the Post.

The show airs Saturday and Sundays from 6 to 9 p.m. Rampell will join veteran MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin and an additional, to-be-named co-host.

During her time at the Post, Rampell has focused on economics, politics, public policy and immigration, and has a strong background in data-driven journalism.


** Media tidbits
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* New York Times opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg with “This Is the Greatest Threat to Free Speech Since the Red Scare.” ([link removed])
* The Washington Post’s Amanda Shendruk and Catherine Rampell with “How Trump is reshaping reality by hiding data.” ([link removed])
* White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had a testy exchange with an Associated Press reporter over, quite honestly, a legitimate question. The exchange ended with Leavitt saying, “I now regret giving a question to The Associated Press.” Mediaite’s Ahmad Austin Jr. has more in “‘Insulting’ to ‘Test My Knowledge!’ Trump Press Secretary Balks When AP Reporter Confronts Her on Tariffs.” ([link removed])
* Remember when Megyn Kelly flipped her lid ([link removed]) and said a bunch of rotten things about the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles because she heard — wrongly, I might add — that the Eagles had turned down an invitation to the White House? At the time, the Eagles hadn’t even been invited, let alone declined an invite. (Kelly later admitted the story might not have been accurate.) On Tuesday, Leavitt announced the Eagles have been invited to the White House and have “enthusiastically accepted.” The Eagles are scheduled to visit the White House on April 28.
* The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Flint with “Hollywood Pivots to Programming for Trump’s America.” ([link removed])
* For Columbia Journalism Review, Sacha Biazzo with “Trump’s Tariffs Are Causing Chaos for Newspapers.” ([link removed])
* For Nieman Lab, Gretel Kahn, Marina Adami and Eduardo Suárez with “How Trump’s cuts are crippling journalism beyond the United States.” ([link removed])
* The Washington Post’s Laura Wagner with “For NPR’s Anas Baba, covering the war in Gaza also means living it.” ([link removed])


** Hot type
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* For The Atlantic, Tom Bartlett (with photos from Jake Dockins) with “His Daughter Was America’s First Measles Death in a Decade.” ([link removed])
* Politico Magazine with “Sex, Drinking and Dementia: 25 Lawmakers Spill on What Congress Is Really Like.” ([link removed])
* Finally, today, go grab some tissues before you read this. The Washington Post’s Sydney Page with “Dying dog sits in yard waiting for attention. Neighbors are lining up.” ([link removed])


** More resources for journalists
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* This Poynter Leadership Academy is our flagship workshop for experienced managers and leaders. Apply by March 24 ([link removed]) .
* Gain a deeper understanding of Immigration policy with Poynter’s Beat Academy training. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Learn the Fundamentals of Investigative Journalism. Enroll now ([link removed]) .
* Turn your reporting into a compelling non-fiction book concept. Apply by April 25 ([link removed]) .

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