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** OPINION
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** EU offers support to Radio Free Europe, an outlet targeted by the Trump administration
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A 2024 photo of Trump advisor Kari Lake, who is overseeing the U.S. Agency for Global Media. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Just a quick note before we get started. The Poynter Report will not publish on Monday in observance of Memorial Day. We will return on Tuesday. Now onto today’s newsletter.

While the Donald Trump administration is doing what it can to dismantle Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the European Union is stepping up to lend a hand to the embattled news organization.

Since taking office, Trump has targeted the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (and Voice of America). The USAGM provides Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty with $12 million a month in congressional funding. That money is currently frozen while this all plays out in the courts, which means Radio Free Europe desperately needs some kind of cashflow.

The EU announced this week that it will provide the equivalent of $6.2 million to Radio Free Europe. Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said, “In a time of growing, unfiltered content, independent journalism is more important than ever.”

But this appears to be only a short-term fix. Kallas added the EU could not provide the news outlet with all the money they need. It has been reported the Trump administration is, at the moment, holding back about $75 million.

Steve Capus, president of Radio Free Europe, said in a statement, “We are grateful for the emergency funding to help keep Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty afloat.”

But, he added, “Radio Liberty's survival remains at risk as long as these funds are withheld.” He said the money from the EU will keep the outlet running “for a short while longer.”

Trump senior advisor Kari Lake, who is overseeing the USAGM, said the administration welcomes the EU putting up the money, adding, “If Radio Free Europe is important for Europe, they can pay for it.”

The New York Times’ Jenny Gross notes ([link removed]) , “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which has been funded by Congress since it began broadcasting during the Cold War, reports on human rights and corruption in several countries run by authoritarian governments. In the 1980s, it reported on the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, details of which the Soviet authorities had obscured. Today, it broadcasts in 23 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as nations in Central Asia and the Caucasus.”

A MESSAGE FROM POYNTER

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** Baltimore Banner’s Editor-in-Chief Kimi Yoshino moves on to a big job at the Washington Post
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For this item, I turn it over to my colleague Rick Edmonds, Poynter’s media business analyst.

The Baltimore Banner, one of the highest profile nonprofit startups, lost its first editor-in-chief Thursday. Kimi Yoshino is leaving to become a managing editor of the Washington Post. Her portfolio will include features, sports, local, investigations and data.

Founder Stewart Bainum Jr., who has pledged $50 million to the Banner’s launch, lavishly praised Yoshino in the site’s own article ([link removed]) : “She has been our architect — the person who took an audacious idea and with grace and grit made it real…We had a vision. We had no playbook. We just had a belief that local journalism still matters, and she made it happen.”

In three-and-a-half years, The Banner has grown to Maryland's largest newsroom, eclipsing the established Baltimore Sun on that. This spring it won the Pulitzer Prize ([link removed]) for local reporting for a series of stories on the city’s opioid crisis, which was produced for The New York Times’ local investigations fellowship.

The Banner is growing but not yet breaking ([link removed]) even, ([link removed]) as my colleague Angela Fu reported in January. It projects reaching that point in 2027. The publication is not burdened with any printing and delivery costs, thus it can dedicate a higher percentage of spending to news.

As the Banner searches for a new editor, Brian McGrory will fill in for the interim. He is a member of the board, the dean of the school of journalism at Boston University and a former editor-in-chief of The Boston Globe.

Over at The Post ([link removed]) , Yoshino’s hire completes a team of four managing editors that Executive Editor Matt Murray has formed. Two of the others – Jason Anders, formerly of The Wall Street Journal, and Liz Seymour, formerly of The Financial Times – were also added this year.

The Banner’s full coverage is here ([link removed]) .


** The drama at CBS News
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CBS news is experiencing a tumultuous spell.

The owner of the network, Paramount, is being sued by President Trump for $20 billion because he believes they deceptively edited a “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris last year to help her win the election.

And even though legal experts say Trump has no case, outlets ([link removed]) report ([link removed]) that Paramount appears to be in talks to settle the case, mostly because it needs government approval (i.e. Trump approval) to be sold to Skydance Media.

The mess really started to hit the fan when respected “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens resigned last month, saying he could no longer run the show the way it needed to be run. Then this week, Wendy McMahon, the president and CEO of CBS News and Stations, abruptly quit ([link removed]) , saying, “It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward.”

So, do the math. Trump sues. Reports of a settlement. One top news executive quits. Then another. Add it all up and what do you get?

The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr writes ([link removed]) , “Now many staffers at the network are viewing McMahon’s departure as further proof that a settlement is imminent, particularly coming after the resignation last month of ‘60 Minutes’ executive producer Bill Owens, who also opposed a deal.”

One unnamed CBS News staffer told Barr, “As soon as it was announced that Wendy was leaving, the general mood was, ‘Okay, this settlement is much closer than we thought.’ It really felt like she was another scalp following Bill Owens, and maybe that is something that would appease Trump and his negotiators.”


** The launch of the Journalist Assistance Network
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For this item, I turn it over to my Poynter colleague Amaris Castillo.

On Thursday, the Journalist Assistance Network was launched to provide legal and safety resources and training to journalists and newsrooms in the United States.

According to an announcement from PEN America ([link removed]) , the nonprofit organization is aimed at raising awareness for the protection of free expression in the U.S. and worldwide. PEN America is one of its founding members. The other four are the Committee to Protect Journalists ([link removed]) , Freedom of the Press Foundation ([link removed]) , the International Women’s Media Foundation ([link removed]) and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press ([link removed]) .

In a written statement, CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said journalists and newsrooms from across the country are “increasingly concerned about a raft of measures and actions that threaten press freedom in the United States. We hope this network will make it easier for individuals and media organizations to locate advice and assistance.”

According to the press release, the press freedom organizations will coordinate holistic safety and legal training for U.S. journalists, journalist organizations and newsrooms. It will also promote safety and legal resources to help reporters understand what assistance is available and refer requests for support to member organizations within the Journalist Assistance Network who can meet the specific need.

Bruce D. Brown, president of the RCFP, said in a written statement that the organizations behind the network want to make it easy for any journalist who needs help to find it, “no matter the issue.”

Organizations that provide legal assistance to journalists have had to adapt and expand or shift resources to navigate a growing climate of hostility. Kay Murray, managing attorney of Lawyers for Reporters, which provides pro bono legal assistance to local and mission-driven journalism organizations throughout the country, recently told Poynter ([link removed]) that clients are expressing new fears.

“They’re coming to us with concerns about more lawfare. For example, SLAPP suits coming based on the sort of maelstrom of reporting opportunities that are out there,” Murray said, referring to lawsuits filed in an effort to silence or intimidate the press rather than over a genuine legal claim. “So there’s more opportunity, but clients are wary because of an environment of hostility to the press.”


** Disappointing news on ice
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Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) blocks a shot in a Stanley Cup Eastern Conference playoff game earlier this week. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

Bad news for the National Hockey League: the U.S. national television ratings are massively down this postseason, according to Front Office Sports’ David Rumsey ([link removed]) . Through the first two rounds of the playoffs, ratings are down 28% from 2024 on ESPN. Individual games are averaging only 886,000 viewers. On TNT, the average viewership is 882,000 — a 19% drop from a year ago.

Something to keep in mind: For starters, in the first round, local regional networks can air the games, which will affect the national networks’ views. For instance fans in Washington can watch the Capitals on their local station with local announcers. This helps explain the low viewership numbers on national games, but it still doesn’t explain the percentage drop. And, anyway, viewership numbers for the second round (when the games are exclusively on national networks) for both ESPN and TNT Sports are down a collective 25% to 1.2 million viewers.

Some other factors: Five of the 16 playoff teams were from Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg), and that likely cut into interest in U.S. markets. In addition, some of the teams from the biggest and most dedicated U.S. hockey markets (New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago) missed the playoffs.

Nevertheless, these numbers are concerning for the NHL.


** More media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review
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*
+ NBC News’ Peter Nicholas, Megan Shannon and Megan Lebowitz with “White House purges transcripts of Trump's remarks from its website.” ([link removed])
+ The New York Times’ Kate Conger, Kenneth P. Vogel and Theodore Schleifer with “Regulators Are Investigating Whether Media Matters Colluded With Advertisers.” ([link removed])
+ The Wall Street Journal’s Isabella Simonetti and Nate Rattner with “Streamers Are Finally Making Money. For Consumers, It’s Getting Messier.” ([link removed])
+ The Daily Beast’s Corbin Bolies with “The View’ Goes Hard at Trump After Execs Say Tone It Down.” ([link removed])
+ ABC News’ Devin Dwyer with “Trump administration asks Supreme Court to block FOIA case against DOGE.” ([link removed])
+ For Nieman Lab, Andrew Deck with “How this year’s Pulitzer awardees used AI in their reporting.” ([link removed])
+ Los Angeles Times senior television writer Yvonne Villarreal with “On his travel show, Conan O’Brien is on a treasure hunt for the unexpected.” ([link removed])
+ The talented sportswriter Kent Babb of The Washington Post with “Chasing ghosts with Dale Earnhardt Jr.” ([link removed])
+ After a 23-year run, ESPN’s “Around the Horn” airs its final episode today at 5 p.m. Eastern.
+ The University of North Carolina football team was supposed to be the featured team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” the long-running short series that follows a team during training camp. But then the whole thing got weird with new coach Bill Belichick and his young girlfriend. It’s unclear exactly what happened, but UNC is no longer going to be on the show. Instead, HBO and NFL Films is turning back to the NFL and will feature the Buffalo Bills. That should go over well with a national audience because the Bills should be really good and they have a superstar in quarterback Josh Allen. This news especially pleases the editor of this newsletter and Poynter’s managing editor, Ren LaForme, a Buffalo native and rabid Bills fan (aren’t they all?). “Hard Knocks” premieres on Aug. 5 at 9 p.m. Eastern and airs on Tuesdays through Sept. 2.
+ Speaking of Belichick, Tom Kludt has this piece for Vanity Fair: “Veteran Sportswriter Pablo Torre Says the Bill Belichick–Jordon Hudson Saga Is More Shakespeare Than TMZ.” ([link removed])


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