Israel initiates an unprecedented attack on the free press, ABC News ousts Kim Godwin, Joe Kahn refuses to complete an uncomfortable equation, the Pulitzer Prize board announces winners, Condé Nast strikes a deal with unionized employees to avert a Met Gala protest, Jack Dorsey reverts back to praising Elon Musk, "The Fall Guy" falls flat at the box office, and so much more. But first, the A1.

Spectators of History

New York Magazine

In mid-April, when New York magazine sought to report on the pro-Palestinian student protests engulfing Columbia University, the features editor overseeing the storied publication's coverage devised an outside-the-box approach.

Rather than dispatching his own staff writers to the Morningside Heights campus, the editor, Nick Summers, tapped away at his keyboard, writing an email to Isabella Ramirez, the editor-in-chief of Columbia Daily Spectator.

The Spectator, the student newspaper that has served the university since 1877, had been all over the story — and Summers was hoping to tap into its network of sources, deep knowledge of the campus community, and trust its staff had amassed over the years among students and faculty for New York's May issue.

"It was clear from the outset that The Spectator was really leading the coverage," Summers told me by phone Monday. "And so we had the idea to approach them and offer: Do you want to make the next cover package?" 

The final product, out Monday, is a special report on the campus unrest, executed in total partnership with The Spectator. It includes an oral history of the encampments and Hamilton Hall takeover, portraits of both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators, and a 700-person poll of the campus community. 

The package was not only written in its entirety by the student journalists, but it was edited by Ramirez who worked hand-in-hand with Summers and another features editor, Rye Spaeth. The photographs were captured by student journalists — including the cover image shot by freshman Stella Ragas — working in conjunction with New York photo director Jody Quon.

"They delivered a depth of reporting that exceeded our expectations," said Summers, who once served as the top editor at The Spectator himself.

Working with the magazine also allowed the students to learn from top industry veterans, who Quon told me took joy in passing along tips to the next generation of journalists. Quon relayed a story from when she visited campus to help with the photography process. She said she introduced some students to top industry photojournalists, who took time to offer their advice.

"I was so warmed by that," Quon said.

Gathering reporting from campus for the issue, however, was not without its challenges for the student journalists. The Spectator's staff is comprised, obviously, of students — and the protests reached the crescendo just as finals approached and end-of-the-semester papers were due. Adding to the stress was the fact that many student demonstrators have been press shy, expressing skepticism that the news media has accurately portrayed their views.

That also gave The Spectator an edge over just about everyone else. The protesting students who wanted to speak to the media were far more likely to trust their fellow classmates than the hordes of reporters from national and international news organizations who had descended on the campus.

"There is significantly more trust of us than national outlets who parachute in and maybe don't have the intimate knowledge," Ramirez told me.

"We have been covering this since October 7. We have been here before, during, and we will be here after," Ramirez added. "And I think what that means is we have cared about this storyline even before the peak of escalation. And so we spent months forming our connections with the organizers."

For the journalists at The Spectator, offering the campus community an unrelenting stream of updates about the tense and politically polarizing situation carried with it a strong sense of duty. And so, they have spent the last several weeks pouring their souls into the coverage. 

In fact, when the encampments first propped up on campus, Ramirez told me that the student journalists were reluctant to retire for the night. For the first few days, they remained tirelessly on scene. Ultimately, a shift system was put into place that allowed reporters and editors to continue delivering updates on the protests on a rolling, 24/7 basis.

"Someone needs to do the history keeping, the record keeping," Ramirez said.

While The Spectator churned out non-stop breaking news alerts, the partnership with New York magazine allowed the journalists to "take a step back and explore a long form medium," Ramirez said. She said the "ability to do something incredibly comprehensive" added important context into the historical record. 

"I think it will stay for us forever," Ramirez said, "and I hope it will stay with our community forever."

CNN Photo Illustration/Al Jazeera

Axing Al Jazeera: Israel is supposed to be the leading example of democracy in the Middle East, but the country has moved forward with some wildly anti-democratic behavior. Not only did the Benjamin Netanyahu-led country over the weekend ban Al Jazeera from broadcasting for 45 days, but its authorities confiscated the Qatari-funded outlet's broadcast equipment, shut down its offices, and blocked its website in the country — an unprecedented move that comes as Netanyahu tries to quash criticism of how Israel is carrying out its war on Hamas in Gaza. "In accordance with the government’s decision, Al Jazeera channel broadcasts were stopped in Israel," a message reads for those who try to access the channel in Israel. The anti-free press move immediately prompted strong denunciation by advocates for a free news media. The Foreign Press Association, which represents a number of major outlets, described the move as "a dark day for democracy" and the Committee to Protect Journalists said it "sets an extremely alarming precedent for restricting international media outlets." CNN has more here. 

🔎 Zooming in: "The move raises an important question. Could this law be used against another outlet? Journalists in Israel are already worried that the door has been opened," CNN's Hadas Gold writes. "No matter what one's view of Al Jazeera's coverage, the law could technically be used against any foreign outlet (BBC, CNN, Sky News, Reuters, etc.) that operates in the country. As with so many moves in politics: the message by the Israeli government has been sent, loud and clear. Netanyahu has often criticized the media and for years advocated shutting Al Jazeera down. Now he’s done it. Will there be another?"

CNN Photo Illustration/John Lamparski/Getty Images

Thy Kimdom Crumbles: Well, that was quick! Days after we reported that Kim Godwin was skating on dangerously thin ice at ABC News, the House of Mouse cut to the chase and evicted her from its grounds. Showing her grace, the Bob Iger-led company let Godwin announce Sunday evening that she had "resigned" from her post at ABC News. But it's quite clear that she was shown the door, a pre-destined move that was likely expedited after we spilled the beans and reported on Debra OConnell's critical review of Godwin's leadership, as well as Godwin's private complaints about being micromanaged by Disney brass. Who ultimately pulled the trigger over the weekend remains unclear, but it's hard to imagine that Iger, who has a special place reserved in his heart for ABC News, wasn't involved in the process. In fact, Iger, who is in New York ahead of Tuesday's quarterly earnings release, was spotted by ABC News'ers in the building Monday.

So now the question is all about what happens next. As enormous relief rushed through ABC News on Monday, staffers were wondering what will become of Godwin's top lieutenants, including Stacia Philips Deshishku, executive editor and executive vice president; Katie den Daas, acting D.C. bureau chief; Derek Medina, executive vice president; and Jose Andino, vice president for the office of the president and process management (whatever that means). I'm told that members of that group are openly speculating with colleagues about their fate, with some expecting they'll be dismissed in due time. Indeed, most ABC News staffers expect them to exit in the coming days/weeks. We'll see. But OConnell is making it clear that, for now, she is in charge. OConnell led the network's editorial meetings on Monday and has phoned top talent over the last 24 hours to offer reassurance and answer any questions they may have.

In terms of who OConnell will ultimately appoint to lead the network, a few names have been floating around. There is Chad Matthews, who leads ABC stations and worked hand-in-hand with OConnell during their time at WABC. There is Tom Cibrowski, who currently heads the ABC station in San Francisco. And there is Simone Swink, the executive producer of "Good Morning America." It's always possible that ABC will look to an external candidate (as we reported, feelers were sent out to some potential candidates before Godwin's exit), but given how poorly hiring from CBS News went, it may be a safer bet to appoint someone already inside the Magic Kingdom.

CNN Photo Illustration/Mary Altaffer/AP

Uncomfortable Math: It seems The NYT's top editor, Joe Kahn, would rather not solve the math equation before him, likely because the answer is an uncomfortable one. But the equation is, actually, fairly easy to solve. The NYT has publicly stated over the years that it supports the bedrock principles of American democracy and is opposed to authoritarianism. And, over the last several months, its reporters have indicated that Donald Trump, if elected, would rule with a blatant disregard for democratic norms, akin to an authoritarian. Which means, if one does the math, that The NYT as an institution should by default oppose what Trump's candidacy embodies. Sure, it's an uncomfortable answer to grapple with, but it's as easy to solve as 2 + 2. However, instead of wrestling with the thorny issue, which speaks to the unprecedented nature of the 2024 race and the high stakes it presents, Kahn set up a straw man and largely declined to address the matter in a softball Q&A published Sunday by Semafor's Ben Smith. 

In the interview, Kahn said that the role of the press is "not to skew" coverage toward one candidate or another, but "just to provide very good, hard-hitting, well-rounded coverage of both candidates, and informing voters." He went on to tell Smith, "To say that the threats of democracy are so great that the media is going to abandon its central role as a source of impartial information to help people vote — that’s essentially saying that the news media should become a propaganda arm for a single candidate, because we prefer that candidate’s agenda." Democracy, Kahn added, is "not the top" issue for voters.

That's a lot to unpack — probably too much to do so in the limited space we have here. But, suffice to say, Kahn's answer feels overtly disingenuous. It is, of course, entirely feasible to express concerns about Trump's anti-democratic rhetoric and acknowledge them in a real way without morphing into a "propaganda arm" for President Joe Biden. In fact, I am not aware of anyone who has called for The NYT to treat Biden like Fox News treats Trump (an aside, but has Kahn's outlet yet worked up the courage to label Fox News "propaganda" or is that only a term that gets thrown around when smacking down straw men?). As Hunter Walker posted on Threads, "If we agree that democracy is an objective good then, we must also grapple with what it means that Trump has tried to stay in power a different way. We need to be clear about authoritarian and even fascistic tendencies. This can, in fact, be objective." To be fair to Kahn, he is not the only news chief dodging the uncomfortable math before him. I'm not aware of any major newsroom leader who has discussed its complexities openly in public. But it is worth asking: If newsrooms are pro-democracy, and if their reporting indicates one candidate is opposed to democratic values, how can they feign ignorance on the 2024 race?

CNN Photo Illustration/Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Dorsey's Dizzying Dance: It seems that Jack Dorsey can't quite figure out where he stands on Elon Musk's stewardship of the social media platform he co-founded and once led. First, Dorsey helped Musk take over Twitter. Then, Dorsey voiced criticism of Musk's management of the platform, eventually founding Bluesky as a decentralized, open alternative. Now, Dorsey has exited Bluesky and is back to lavishing praise on Musk. In an X post confirming his Bluesky departure, Dorsey wrote, “Don’t depend on corporations to grant you rights. Defend them yourself using freedom technology. (you’re on one)." Apparently, in Dorsey's eyes, X is "freedom technology." Never mind all the anti-free speech actions Musk has openly taken, I guess. Bluesky, for its part, thanked Dorsey for his role founding the company and said it is now "thriving as an open source social network." TechCrunch's Anthony Ha has more.

► Casey Newton nails it on Threads: "Truly breaks my brain that Jack is still posting on the website his hand-picked successor destroyed while also abandoning the platform he created that actually achieved his dream of decentralized independence." 

CNN Photo Illustration/Universal Pictures

'Fall Guy' Falls Flat: Uh oh. The summer box office is off to a less-than-sunny start. "The Fall Guy" debuted over the weekend with a disappointing $28.5 million in domestic ticket sales, falling under analyst projections that the Universal picture would clear the $30 million figure. That spells trouble given that the Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt action-comedy cost upwards of $140 million to produce. And the larger industry-wide worry is it could be a harbinger of things to come. Variety's Rebecca Rubin has more here.